11 February 2000

0330 - Time to tack and head back towards the mark. After coming around we decide to try an experiment - furl the staysail. use the reefed mizzen to steady the boat, and power directly on course - with the waves right on the nose. However, the seas are too steep - we need to stretch them out with angle so resume our course with staysail set, sailing at an apparent wind angle of 32 degrees - with waves at about 40.

1500 - All day we've been closing with the coast - we are now 40 miles offshore. Wind has backed 20 degrees to 055T (from 075T) but it is still blowing 25/30. Periodically light spells come through at 20 and we hope the wind machine will shut off - but then it comes back.

Current is now against us - about a knot on the nose - this slows our speed over the bottom, but lenghtens the waves out.

Conventional wisdom is to head back offshore at this point - to avoid the wind/sea state off coast of Columbia. However, course and wind angle wise, closing with the coast, and tacking up it until we can turn the corner at the Venezuelan border, makes more sense - as long as the sea state is reasonable.

We'll watch the current carefully - if it switches, and starts stacking up the waves again, we'll head back offshore.