[password] minta12
[position] 15 43.625S 006 05.469W
[weather] mostly cloudy, scattered showers, light ESE winds 10-15kn
[status] We departed St Helena at first light this morning. Light variable winds till we were several miles away from the island. The wind has filled in and we are now under spinnaker getting about 6kn.

We enjoyed our stay at St Helena very much. Swimming with the whale sharks was awesome - beautiful, gentle, inquisitive giants. Friendly, welcoming, helpful people ashore. Interesting history.

It was also great to catch up with other boats we knew and meet several new interesting ones.
S/V Neptune's Highway with Laura & Bruce arrived the day after us and left yesterday bound for their home port in the US Virgin Islands. We met first in Malaysia and they also post on YIT. S/V Jaga II with Wendie & Jim arrived on Wed so we were able to introduce them to St Helena and enjoy a few cold ones together. We have been traveling a similar route as Jaga since meeting in Port Moresby, PNG. They'll follow us to the Caribbean and then continue on to visit Jim's family on the east coast of USA.

We met a Spanish family with three young kids doing a quick one year circumnavigation. They'll be back in the Caribbean by April after visiting Brazil and then back to the Med in time for the kids to get back to school.

We met a single hander, John Sanders, from Western Australia. At the age of 80, he is on his eleventh circumnavigation. Three of them done consecutively.

We caught up with a South African family we had met in Hout Bay. Father and son (in his early twenties) have found it difficult to make a living in a South Africa that now predominantly trains and hires black citizens. With very little sailing experience, they are bravely on their way to a new life in the Caribbean.

Could go on and on - lots of interesting people out here!! But for the next couple of weeks - it's just us and maybe a few birds and fish.

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