Monday May 3rd, 1999    Cayenne > Salinopolis, Brazil

It is 4pm and we have just departed from Cayenne, French Guayana.   As I write this the first Atlantic swells are catching the STARSHIP from starboard, as we are still heading north to get out of the not so well marked channel.  The tidal range is about 8-9 feet and at low tide  most of the coastal waters carry only 3-4 feet of water up to 5 miles out.  Quite tricky!  We will turn to our new heading SSE(148°) in about 45 minutes.  We will try to stay at the 60 ft line most of the way down to Salinopolis.  It is a 470 nm mile run and heading against the   current we expect to travel about 60-70 hours doing anywhere between 6 and 8 knots.    The forecast is allright, 12-20 knots E/ENE with local squalls possible.   That should get us into Salinopolis by Thursday morning.

STARSHIP at the fuel dock in Cayenne

Earlier today we fueled up at a local fishing dock.  We took about 1100 US gallons in our forward tanks.  To be honest, the dock did not look all that encouraging.   We are not sure sure how clean the fuel is, so we are going to give it at least a solid 24 hour run through the centrifuge, before it goes anywhere.

I have to run. My watch is coming up. And typing has become difficult as the swell is almost breaking in these shallow waters.    I'll give you an update on our journey tomorrow.

Michael