The ‘Azores high’ is situated east of the Azores at the moment. Lucky for us, that forces us to not go too far westerly. In the Northern hemisphere the wind turns to the right around a high pressure area. Sailing from Capetown to Gibraltar we have to take a detour in which the current position of the high pressure area is an advantage.

Not going west too far, we also reach the sector south of where the wind is shifting more favorable then southeast of it. This way we can set course more northerly heading towards the Mediterranean. A few more days and we will sail into the centre of the high pressure area. The perceptible time pressure will most probably make us decide to start the engine. Until then all miles sailed without the use of diesel are welcome. After all diesel oil is not on the surface to just pickup…. Although it is in the Gulf of Mexico…

Richard Slootweg
Captain Clipper Stad Amsterdam