@ 11:58 GMT
Position: 40º 30.959′ N x 73º 12.897′ W
Course: 242° True
Speed: 6.4 kts

This year I decided to do a shakedown sail before other long distance voyages. Previously, equipment malfunctions happened that shouldn’t have, so my goal was to find issues now and address them. Overall everything has been great. No major issues, rather, small ideas about how to make life onboard more comfortable while heeled over and bouncing in waves (if that’s possible!).

I got to Cepheus early on Monday, feeling both excited and a little nervous, to be heading out for the first offshore voyage of the season. I set off from Portsmouth, RI at about 0930 EDT and motored down and out of Narragansett Bay until 1500 (3pm) – there was only about 1 or 2 knots of wind. Ughh. But when I got 3 knots of breeze the sails went up and it was glorious, although slow. We had calculated the expected route based on this forecasted wind speed and direction and so far (as of 0730 Tuesday morning) everything is as planned. I am waiting for one more wind shift to ride it all the way into New York City.

All day yesterday it was cloudy and about 50°F but at night the clouds lifted and then the stars shone through. One of my favorite parts about sailing is the night sky. When my mum was alive, we would look at the sky from different continents at the same time (me in the United States and her in the United Kingdom) and knew we were both seeing them same object. Very special for me.

I managed to get lots of short naps throughout the night and am feeling refreshed. You won’t find any culinary delights in the galley. Dinner was a cup of noodles, although when cold and hungry it tastes great. Breakfast was a bagel. I will look forward to a good meal tonight in the city!