Position: 2000 LT, 08°13’ S, 005°45’W
Date:Friday May 14, 2010

Zigzagging

We have reached the Westerly part of the World and are heading with about 10 knots towards the next meridian, the equator. Finally we have picked up some wind. Twenty knots is not the most usual on this part of the ocean so we are enjoying it. We could do with less wind, but the wind angle should be different. The ship is nearly running. Much of the usable wind is diminished by the vessel’s own speed. To avoid this as much as possible we are beating with the wind. We are changing our course, freeing the wind a bit, ‘wind free’ as they say. This way we are zigzagging the South Atlantic ocean. The extra miles we are making are nothing compared to the speed we are making.
The shifting of the wind helps perfectly to stay as close as possible to our ideal track.

Richard Slootweg
Captain Clipper Stad Amsterdam