December 28th, 2013. A post from the crew on tall ship Tecla who are about to complete another leg of their round the world sailing voyage.

First on the radar and then during the night there was light…LAND! We are closing in on the Rio Plata and Chris said he is developing land-phobia. Chris sailed with the Tecla from Sydney to Auckland, then joined the Europa for the Cape Horn rounding and is now back with us on our way to Argentina. After so many days at sea a certain feeling takes hold of you when thinking of land and big cities. It is like a slight crushing feeling, a strange sort of worry pops up every now and then when you realize you are only 2 days away from landfall. We have been on land on the Falklands, but there are no busy roads in Stanley, no herds of people waiting for a traffic light, in fact I do not think I even saw a traffic light on the island.. Only a few more days with water and then for most on board it is back into reality, a plane flight home, or a few more weeks of traveling in Argentina.

The sun was amazing today. There were few who were not yet in shorts, even with a chilly breeze, a few small tops have been spotted as well. But the breeze that was there for a few hours was straight on the nose and left us completely during the afternoon watch. We let the mizzen down to stop the flapping, then the fore sails… then we caught a bit of wind again, set the sails again and during the night watch we dropped them again. Now they are back up with a sea breeze that is helping us battle the current.

The mood on board is good. The sun gives everybody energy and the prospect of hot nights and New Year in the sun is making those who are staying in the warmth very happy. No complaining about the heat, not after so many days and, especially, nights of cold.