Leander is at 24 38 North, 23 34 West, on a course of 190 magnetic, sailing at 7 knots on a broad reach, taking the wind off our our port side.

All is well aboard. At dusk last night, after the kids had gone down below to bed, we had a visit from a boisterous pod of dolphins. All hands came charging back on deck, and we watched them jump and swim about. After about fifteen, minutes, both sides tired of the show, and the kids went down below as the dolpins took their leave.

The winds have been relatively steady. There were some minor squalls that passed through during the course of the night. These caused the wind to gust to 25 in their approach, and die to 12 in their wake. We were able to handle them without any sail changes, however, and simply came off the wind as the wind grew, and moved closer to a beam reach when the wind died. In this manner we were able to keep the wind in the sails in when it lessened without getting overpowered when it grew.

Other than our visit from the dolphins last night, and a single sea bird yesterday morning, we’ve seen nothing else about since our departure — no other sailboats, no shipping, and nor even any planes high overhead. At night, we have a waxing moon, nearing full, to light up the night. Although last night was considerably overcast, it was still light enough to see. It makes these first night watches a more palatable. For now, Paul is taking the night watches, and sleeps in the a.m., and Sima gets up and takes care of the kids in the morning.

The seas have quieted down somewhat. It had been fairly roaring for a while, with rolling and breaking seas making a lot of noise. Like the beach after a storm. Now the swell is coming consistently from one direction, and the wind has been a steady 18-ish for the last several hours, and the sea is somewhat less turbulent.

We are moving south just now. The wind had shifted from the NE to the ENE, and we could either sail due west or due south, unless we shifted to wing-and-wing. We are hesitant to set up that sail configuration yet, as it is more difficult to dodge squalls at night, and because we want to be more sure of a constant wind direction. It is a little bit too fickle just now to allow us sail straight down wind.

410 miles done, 2,188 to go.