Turning the corner
As we continue to make our way south, the short jaunts between the islands are very pleasant. The passages from the States and through the northern islands required quite a bit of eastward movement into the teeth of winds that always blow from the east. Finally, around St Martin, we turn more and more to the south. Now that we have “rounded the corner” our path is more south and the east winds comes from our port side rather than directly on the nose. In addition, the wind is often compressed by the islands and tends to be quite a bit stronger between each pair of islands. The upshot has been wonderful beam reaches with winds in excess of 20 knots. Really ideal conditions for ECHO.