Ive been trying to slow down,but its hard! All was going according to plan until 3:30 this morning, when I felt the wind die (to les# than 10kts) and come forward. On deck, I could see a huge thunderstorm ahead. Since these can bring very strong winds, I decided to drop my main entirely and sail with jib alone. After a half hour of rain, I decided it was a false alarm and raised the main again (with two reefs) in 18kts of wind.
But the wind kept building, and I kept going faster. Typically 8.5kts, but often 9.5-10. By daylight, I had spun out a couple of times and was heeled over 30 degrees when going over waves. So I decided to take the main down again, and thats how Ive been sailing all dayjib alone, doing 8+ kts. Ive decided theres no point in raising the main again until the wind is consistently below 20kts.
6:20pm: have been cruising nicely with winds in the high teens. Except I just went through a rain system, so the wind is now back in the low-20s. The seas have flattened a bit, so theres not too much jostling around.
Oh, and I saw the Norwegian Something-Or-Other on AIS today. First vessel on a roughly parallel course since I left Maine. Theyll be in Martinique tomorrow morning.