Day 23, Ascension Island to Grenada

1300Z 14JUN22, Day 23, Ascension Island to Grenada. Yet another slower progress day direct to Grenada. The weather has been mixed.

Current Position: 11 20N / 055 11W
24 hour progress: 107nm, 4.5kts avg SOG, about 2 hours motor sailing. Overall progress for the passage is 2855nm, approximately 390nm to Grenada. We sailed the asymmetric and played with angles and reefs in the main to try to get some speed.

The day started off with decent speeds and a deep broad reach. By afternoon the clouds had returned and winds were dying down. This time the lower winds were expected. We shook out all but one reef in the main and sailed a deep broad reach so as to try to take advantage of the main. It kind of worked. Speeds were low, but so was the wind speed.

In the late afternoon we tried to get our inverter on again. It really didn't want to come on this time. We decided to turn on the engine to see if that helped boost power enough to coax it to come on. It did not. As speeds were low anyway, we used the engine to assist for a short while and make a little water.

Before sunset we went back to 3 reefs in the main, secured the engine and returned to slow deep downwind sailing. We crept along. 2 forecasts suggested the wind would return in the evening and another suggested it would be the early morning hours. Unfortunately it was the early morning hours forecast that was correct. Since the winds filled back in, we have been moving well again.

The early morning also came with some rain cells that we maneuvered through. Those clouds remain scattered around and will likely mean some variable winds today. But for now we are back in strong sun. The weather forecasts suggest we will have 20+kt winds for the rest of the trip. We are hopeful that will be true.

Daxton entertained himself yesterday by trying to actively fish the sargassum patches again. He caught 2 fish in quick succession. One was deemed big enough for 2 nice fillets so was kept and filleted by him. The other was too small and returned to the sea. The hope was that a second small (but not tiny) fish would be caught, but Daxton tired of the active fishing game and we went back to trolling which ended up being the collection of weed and not fish, unsurprisingly.

Daxton spotted a couple of dolphins in the evening. They didn't stay with us very long, but they are always nice company. We were thankful for their short visit. It seems a sign that land is approaching, even if our ETA is swinging across 3 days (still). This sail has seemed to be either 3-4kts or 6+kts, not much just right, comfortable, middle ground sailing.

The sea this morning is a decidedly green color and a bit harder to see through. It is a stark contrast to the clear blue waters we have been sailing across. On the plus side, there is not nearly as much sargassum weed around this morning. The trolling line is back in, so we'll see if we can coax a fish out of the deep green.