After several days of progress east, and a watchful eye on weather systems to our south, we are ready to make the turn south towards the USVI. We have put 800NM to stern from the Florida coast and have more than half of the transit behind us as we are nearly due north of St Thomas. Most importantly, the turn south allows us to begin to pick up the consistent easterly trade winds that have powered sails across the Atlantic to the Caribbean for hundreds of years. Wind and wave should also moderate as we hit the “trades” sailing Untethered on her fastest point of sail and flattening the hull some after days of hard progress east.

The crew and boat feel the change and a new anticipation of landfall on the islands. The shift in motion and sound of the hull, and the interactions of all on board, are clear as we plot the final course south and review new weather files for the end of the transit. As the sun sets off the Port Beam for the first time in the journey, boat and crew begin a recovery from hard days pushing east. It feels we have past the low point of the journey and are enjoying a renewed sense of adventure for the transit and destination.