Yesterday was pretty busy.  It usually seemed on the cusp or just over the line for a different sail combination. I would put a reef in (usually 17-18kts) because the wind went to 18-22.  And then the wind would drop to 13.  Today it is supposed to build to 22-24.  Fortunately, the wind was already in the low 20s, so I switched to the J2.  That means, as long as it doesn’t ease off, I am set through tonight.  All is well on board Kite. Hope all is well with all of you. Happy Veteran’s Day.

All is well onboard.  I am getting into a rhythm slowly after having had a lot of downtime since Round Britain and Ireland and especially since my solo qualifier in June.  So far all is well with Kite.  Our solar panels could do with a bit more sun for the batteries.  Still, I had expected the first night to be much colder.  (I hope that doesn’t jynx the second night.)  We currently have 16-19 kts of wind and expect a bit of building tonight.  

Sunrise of the first morning at sea has passed, and all is well on board.

Almost four hours in and all is well on board Kite. Here’s a look at the conditions:

Kite had a clean start in the 2022 Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe against 54 other Class40s. Next stop (fingers crossed) – Guadeloupe!

In the lock. Hurrah!

Wow, what a town and what an experience. Most days have seen throngs of people pass through the village. We’ve been busy with a lot of small, nice-to-do boat jobs and handing out boat postcards to the kids who stop by the wall above the boat.

We’ve spent years following the Vendée Globe and it was a real thrill when Rich Wilson stopped by the boat to say hi.

We had one last training day before the Route du Rhum. It was great to get both spinnakers out with the new tack zips and work through maneuvers one more time. It was even better for Polkadot (Alex Mehran, USA154) to be out as well. Here are some of Alex’s drone shots while we both had the fractional spinnakers:

We had a blast on the delivery to St. Malo with 30-40 kts to start.