Equator Ho!

Although we’re sailing upwind, the angle isn’t as bad as usual and (almost) no one is puking. Yay!!! Yesterday was a really great day. We were the first team to cross the equator! It happened on our watch and I was helming right up to the line, but let Afshin (our watch leader) take us over. We broke out some (non-alcoholic) champagne and toasted the event as 19 of us went from pollywogs (Someone who hasn’t sailed across the equator) to shellbacks (someone who has). It was a great day all around.

Even though we’re at the equator, it isn’t as hot as it was a few degrees north. I think it’s bc the trade winds are now coming from the south where the climate is cooler. Last night, I helmed during our 12am-4am and really enjoyed it. What keeps impressing me at night is how big and bright Orion is. He’s an easy constellation to spot and we’ve been watching how our angle to him changes as we sail to Uruguay. Soon, we’ll start seeing new constellations that are only visible in the Southern Hemisphere.

In terms of racing, we’re really happy with our speed and have been blessed with consistent winds around 15-20 knots and boat speed around 9-11 knots. Boats further south and west will have better conditions, so as a result we’ve been able to increase our distance from Qingdao. It was 50+ miles as of 6am this morning, up from about 30 when we started sailing post the doldrums motor period. Jorge (our first mate) says there will be a time when their conditions are more favorable and they will start to close the gap, so we are laser-focused on making our lead as big as possible while we can. We still have over 2,000 miles to go and anything can happen. Tonight we expect to start the ocean sprint. The fastest 3 teams between the 2 latitudes get extra points. Wish us luck! Big hugs to everyone back Home!

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