Gulf of Maine: 08 Jul - Another Day of Good Fortune

We passed the darkness without incident, still "enduring" ideal conditions. The seas seemed smoother this second day at sea although there were many changes from one, to two, to no reefs as we proceeded. By 0830 we had daylight and 203 NM to Shelburne. A half hour later in light airs we resumed motorsailing into smooth seas for the next few hours, and at 1330 we passed 24 hours at sea with a day's run of 110 NM. Not too shabby for so little (apparent) effort.

By early afternoon we were once again reefed down for comfort and making progress, passing the halfway point of the leg at about 1950. During the entire day we "spoke" only a single AIS target, a large cargo vessel anchored in the middle of the Gulf of Maine for reasons not entirely apparent. AIS is an electronic system that allows ships to broadcast positional and other information to nearby vessels for safey purposes. It complements radar and in some cases provides information not available from either radar or GPS alone.

Our time offshore was so far characterized by excellent visibility, but this would soon change as we approached the Canadian Maritimes and colder water.