We are still motorsailing; hoping the wind will come up a bit. The wind has been dead all day, and now is blowing only 3 knots. We need 10+ kts of wind to even think about shutting down the engine. Our engine "ole reliable" is purring away without so much as a complaint....hope it stays that way. The only concern aboard is fuel consumption...We knew we would JUST have enough if we were forced to motor the entire trip. BUT, we have been fighting a one knot current for the past several hours. (This means we are motoring through the water at 6.7 knts, but only going 5.7 knts over the bottom....sort of like swimming upstream, but not going anywhere.) This is really taking its toll of our fuel. Hopefully during the night, the current will reverse and push us along at 1 knot; to even things out.
Our "bail out" plan would be to go into Samana, which is on the eastern tip of the D. R. We really DON'T want to divert to Samana. We don't have any pesos left, so we would have to find a bank/ATM...good luck. In addition, we may have to clear back into the country and pay all the fees all over again. No Thanks ! So, stretching the fuel, and hoping for wind is the plan. We don't have to make a decision to divert until 4 AM.
All for now....going back to my watch. Trudie is sleeping in the cockpit, as it is pretty hot down below with the motor running.
Our position at 22:00 19 39.23 N 069 47.97 W
More later....The Crew
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