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We haven't seen another vessel in days so foredeck lookout is usually very chill.

Prepared to wear ship during the maintenance watch by shackling blocks for the port stunsail gear to the mainmast yards and mousing them closed for safety.

Some carpentry projects barely fit in the bosun's locker.

Sunset means time to bring down the stunsails.

We've rotated watches so now I get to see the sunrise.

Finished another section of French spiral ladder railing with decorative knotwork.

First visual contact by the lookout in a week as we approach the TSS near the coast of Brazil. We hope the northerner ocean currents will help carry us through the doldrums if the winds fail.

Enjoyed the almost full moon during our night watch.

The moonlight was bright enough to set the stunsails without any headlamps.

Sunrise at sea marks the end of our night watch.

The light makes the ocean look different colors sometimes.

Today we celebrate the halfway point on our voyage from Cape Town to Sint Maarten.

Enjoyed a beautiful full moon rise at sunset as we continue our run westward on a port tack towards the Brazilian coast.

Learning how to turn a three lead decorative knot into a five lead version is tricky but doable during a quiet watch.

Let's set the stunsail flying since the winds are light...

Finally finished the French spiral and decorative knotwork on the foredeck ladder handrails using the bosun needle.

And then relaxed on the fore royal yard to enjoy Sailors Sunday before evening watch starts.

Just before sunrise we lashed down the mainmast stunsail booms for the last time, marking the end of the broad reach of our Atlantic crossing as we switch to a downwind run north for the rest of the voyage (with both port and starboard stunsails set on the foremast)

The whole pod came out to play.

Unbent the heavy main course and tied the lighter weight "tropics sail" (480g/m2) onto the yard as we approach the equator.

Waiting for the sunrise.

The sun is here but the winds are not.

We've heaved to and opened the pool since there is still no wind.

It's a really big pool.

That's not the sunrise, it's light pollution from Natal

At sunrise we could just make out the buildings of Natal and nearby cities.

Sunrise also means time to swab the deck

Enjoying the Vapor Wave aesthetic this sunrise, mostly since it means we're almost done with this watch and can go eat breakfast.

We paused during the stunsail hoisting to appreciate the actual sunrise.

Noon sight just below the equator during the equinox means the sun is nearly 89° overhead and shadows are almost straight down.

Sanding and oiling is never finished.

Nearly two knots of northward current as we transit the doldrums at the equator, which means that around a third of our distance per day is not coming from our sails.

1°S and the sun is directly overhead, making the nearly windless downwind run even hotter.

One last night watch to enjoy the southern stars before we cross into the northern hemisphere.

And we're past the equator on a fast beam reach! The line crossing ceremony will be later today once all the watches are awake.

We still have to swab the deck in the northern hemisphere.

Although the northern trade winds mean we will be on a beam reach for the rest of voyage, so we can properly furl the stun sails for stowage, unreeve the gear, and ship the booms inboard to lash them securely to the yards.

Stun sail gear stowing continues.

We encountered squalls during the night watch and doused the skysail plus the main and mizzen royals. This also helped reduce the heeling.

Since crossing the equator we've been seeing more sargasso and am curious how the winds and currents create such long straight lines.