Day 10 – Welcome to the ITCZ! 10-30-24
After one of the most peaceful nights of our passage, (I slept nearly 6 hours straight!), our arrival to the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) was announced as the weather became unsettled. Instead of partly cloudy skies with nice consistent winds, we ran into complete cloud cover, with rain squalls all around us. The wind started to shift around and eventually completely died. At noon we ran straight into our first rain squall with pouring rain, but thankfully only moderate winds.
As the rain came down and the wind speed went up, I handed the helm over to Luke and asked him to captain and figure out how to navigate the boat through the wind and rain. He and Mateo made quick work of getting the boat back on its feet and on course, while the rain pelted in their faces and bodies. They were alive with excitement from the big change in weather and their responsibility for handling the boat.
We all enjoyed the down pour, and we broke out the soap and took fresh rainwater baths. It was our first rain since we started, and it felt great to get several days of sweat and salt off of our bodies. And it was nice for Patricia Ann to get a thorough washdown as well!
The ITCZ is the area where the weather systems from the northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere collide and cause everything from dead calm doldrums to boisterous squalls and windstorms. We experienced most of this during the day. When the wind turned northeast, I thought we had made it to the northeast Tradewinds, which would signify the start of our long upwind sail home. But this did not last long…
The wind died on us, and we reluctantly turned on the engine to give us some speed for the first time during this crossing. We sailed nearly 1,500 without any engine assist. Fortunately, this did not last long either, and right after we had dinner, the winds come up again out of the south, and we were off sailing again on a broad reach in 12 to 14 knots of wind. Just like the night before. YES!
It is crazy, and a HUGE blessing that we are sailing downwind at over 7 degrees north latitude, nearly 400 miles north of the equator. Typically we would be battling head winds during this time. Based on the forecast, we could be experiencing these perfect sailing conditions for another day or even two. BUT, given the fact we are in the ITCZ, most weather models cannot accurately predict what is going to happen. So we will manage with whatever gets thrown at us!
All of us are doing well onboard, enjoying the nice sailing, telling stories, learning about seamanship and best of all, laughing…
Today would have been my dad’s 95th birthday. You are the reason I am out here, Dad, it is all your fault! Thanks for being my inspiration and mentor for our shared passion. I know you are here with me…
