Ryan Finn and Jzerro Can Smell the Barn
Solo sailor Ryan Finn and his trusty steed Jzerro can smell the barn on their adventure from New York to San Francisco. When we last reported, Jzerro had rounded Cape Horn and was heading toward the horse latitudes and the doldrums. “Well I’m in it now,” reported Ryan on April 3. “Getting through these doldrums is going to be brutal. The forecast completely fell apart last night when I was becalmed for hours, maybe as many as six. What current there was pushed me south 4 miles.”
After a very successful crossing of the Atlantic Intertropical Convergence Zone early in the journey, Ryan and Jzerro have to negotiate the ITCZ again on the Pacific side. Once through, the sailing should be easier. “I’ve crossed the equator again at 8:42 a.m. Mountain Time, about 19.5 days since rounding Cape Horn, which was around midnight on the morning of March 16,” he logged on April 4. “That is actually quite a fast passage to the equator for this record attempt, despite the fact that I’ve been drifting around the last couple of days.”
Keeping the boat moving was the priority. “I’m essentially ignoring the wind models for this region at this point and just trying to keep Jzerro moving with whatever wind I have. Sometimes leading to dead ends, but I need to get out of here.” On April 10 it looked like they were finally out and heading north. “On schedule last night; lots of light wind until the early AM hours when I was able to jibe back to starboard in better wind, 7-9 knots.”
Now off Cabo San Lucas, they are on the home stretch doing the Baja Bash. “It’s looking quite windy ahead, so in a few days it’s just going to be a matter of nursing Jzerro upwind to San Francisco and taking lots of care on this final stage of the voyage.”
On Monday, one of Ryan’s supporters told us that Jzerro’s ETA in San Francisco is between April 20 and 22. They have yet to confirm his exact destination port.
Follow along on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/2oceans1rock and check Jzerro’s track here.
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