December 18, 2018
Days distance: 134 nautical miles
Total distance: 900 nautical miles
Prominent Feature: Heading out to open ocean, course set for The Falklands 1800 Position: 47-35’S 063-10’W
Today has been a wonderful day. We made great progress sailing 134 miles in a comfortable sea. Enormous fin whales came within 10 feet of Dawn Treader. One even exhaled some whale breath mist into my face. We saw another boat, a ship named Ben Rinnes. We have gone nearly a week since we have seen another vessel, so it was nice to see another dude out and about. Our biggest news though is that we have altered course for a straight line to the Falklands. We had been staying close to the coast to avoid the larger seas, to make westing for a better final course, and to stay in the vicinity of a number of different bail out harbors and anchorages. The latest forecast looks pretty good and we hope to cover the last 300 miles in 4 or so days. We are keeping our fingers crossed we will arrive in time to catch the Puerto Stanley Christmas Carolers. 134 miles! Great day!