The finish line is getting closer! With less than 500 nautical miles to go, I can practically hear the steel drums playing a welcome song to Trinidad. We've already sent all our clearance documents over to "Junior," and hopefully, he'll have everything ready for a smooth arrival process. My mental image of "Junior" is a bit outlandish – a towering figure over 2 meters tall with a massive beard and a weight to match. It'll be interesting to see how close reality gets to this picture!
Cruising through hurricane alley at a leisurely 6 knots isn't exactly the most relaxing way to travel, so there's been a lot of reading happening on board. Yesterday, we came across some interesting information about the red dust I've been complaining about. Turns out, it might actually be a blessing in disguise! These Saharan dust storms blowing across the Atlantic are a common occurrence at this time of year. And here's the good news: the dust disrupts hurricane formation by cutting off the moisture a storm needs to develop. As a result, the National Hurricane Center isn't highlighting any areas of concern for tropical development over the next week!
Of course, the big question is how long this break will last. Our timing seems to have been perfect – if we'd crossed the Atlantic two weeks earlier or later, things could have been a lot different. We spent a significant amount of time planning our route and analyzing the weather patterns, and it's gratifying to see that our plan and our actual track are almost identical.
Stay tuned for updates on our approach to Trinidad, our much-anticipated encounter with "Junior," and hopefully, a triumphant arrival with minimal bureaucracy.
Cruising through hurricane alley at a leisurely 6 knots isn't exactly the most relaxing way to travel, so there's been a lot of reading happening on board. Yesterday, we came across some interesting information about the red dust I've been complaining about. Turns out, it might actually be a blessing in disguise! These Saharan dust storms blowing across the Atlantic are a common occurrence at this time of year. And here's the good news: the dust disrupts hurricane formation by cutting off the moisture a storm needs to develop. As a result, the National Hurricane Center isn't highlighting any areas of concern for tropical development over the next week!
Of course, the big question is how long this break will last. Our timing seems to have been perfect – if we'd crossed the Atlantic two weeks earlier or later, things could have been a lot different. We spent a significant amount of time planning our route and analyzing the weather patterns, and it's gratifying to see that our plan and our actual track are almost identical.
Stay tuned for updates on our approach to Trinidad, our much-anticipated encounter with "Junior," and hopefully, a triumphant arrival with minimal bureaucracy.
This is a pretty interesting map of the red dust storm.