As the 2^nd day of the passage north begins, wind has lightened and shifted south. We had hoped for stable easterly trade winds for the 1^st few days of the passage but systems on the US east coast are altering this.  The lighter breezes and a wind angle of ~150 degrees from our northwest heading to Annapolis gives crew a chance to deploy Untethereds downwind sails and gain some speed in the lighter breezes.  Untethered has recently been fitted with two new downwind sails, a Helix Gennaker that (as the name suggests) is between a Spinnaker and Genoa, and an Asymmetric Spinnaker. The Gennaker is mounted off the bow on a retractable Bow Sprit and hoisted with its furling drum just after sun is fully up to the east. The sail area on this sail is immense as the wind catches it and it unfurls rapidly to Port. She has been designed to take full advantage of the 85’ Mast and at 30% more sail area than the Genoa, is capable of efficiently driving all 65,000 lbs of the boats displacement. Untethered accelerates as the wind fully fills the sail and we are now moving briskly through smooth seas with following waves under the clear blue morning sky. This is sailing at its best and vastly different from the rough conditions of the passage south through these waters 4 months ago.

We are making great time and are averging nearly 10knts since pushing off the dock in St Thomas. As the afternoon heat further lightens the breeze we find the perfect opportunity to switch to the new Spinnaker and fly it for the 1^st time since it arrived in West Palm Beach ahead of our passage down in February. The is a very light downwind sail, again designed to move this large displacement boat in winds as light as 6knts. With 9 to 10knts of breeze crossing the transom the conditions are perfect. This is a traditional “kite” and we had great fun in the design phase of the sail picking a pattern and colors for the sail. This sail deploys from a sock that is lifted after hoisting it from the Bow Sprit, and as the sock lifts and she grabs the wind, light and dark blue and a bright yellow fill the sky. The sail is a colorful addition to the afternoon sky with darker and lighter blues that mirror sea and sky. Again an immense sail area ballooning off the port bow and Untethereds speed is now matching the 9knt winds. As we prepare to douse the spinnaker, the sun illuminates the sail and this bright patch of color is all alone in a vast blue Atlantic. She seems right at home with the yellows and oranges of the setting sun to the west and deepening blue of the Atlantic below and clear sky above. A great day of sailing as we end day two and turn attentions to the weather building ahead of us.