With big expectations we started our first trial of the round-sail. To start with the conclusion of the first trial: the wind was with with 9 – 10 kn not strong enough to pull MaRe with more than 2.5 kn forwards. According to the specs of the sail it can be used between 10 – 40 kn winds. So we were on the lower edge of the needed wind and decided to retrieve the round-sail and use the gennaker to make good STW (speed through water).

However we got terribly “disturbed”! Already before breakfast we saw a huge group of dolphins obviously hunting in a distance of about a nautical mile ahead of us. A while later this huge group of dolphins came to MaRe. For all of us an incredible experience! Some times there were almost 20 dolphins swimming around MaRe’s bows and also many enjoyed MaRe’s sterns. How many played under MaRe we don’t know. A few of them jumped and made somersaults, other slapped with their tail fins on the water to just splash water; if they would have done it directly in front of the bows, we got wet. B called the scenario “it’s like looking in a huge aquarium”; a pretty good description of what we saw. At a certain point in time they got enough of us and just disappeared the way they appeared. The Atlantic Ocean is still pretty big.

We then were able to set the gennaker and MaRe started sailing with around 5 kn in winds of with a TWS (true wind speed) of 10 kn.

Meal of the day: self-caught fried dolphinfish with potato salad. Excellent. No left overs.

Immediately after the sunset we got the gennaker in, set main and genoa and we’re prepared for the night.