7th May

(from Steve again)

Lilly puts out to sea again from Cartagena, Colombia.

The plan (as ever subject to modification on the way!) is for a single long passage to the Azores (some 5,000 miles away).  The first 900 nm or so will be heading a bit E of N and aiming to pass between Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba, thread through the Turks and Caicos Island, keep heading roughly NE until they pick up the more favourable winds with a bit of W in them to carry them towards the Azores.

For this first part of the passage the prevailing winds are the NE trades so they can expect to be fairly close hauled most of the way. But they set out with the wind a more favourable Easterly of around 15 kts – a much more comfortable direction. As ‘they’ say, you can choose the weather you depart in, but can only accept whatever follows.

Passing close to the islands, though they don’t plan to stop, they may get enough of a signal to send a message. Otherwise it may be 6 weeks (or so …) before we get news of their passage …

They crew sound entirely happy and positive as they settle into what has become the familiar routine of life at sea.