This trip feels a little strange… and I remember that it was the last one, too.

For a bit of context: from a sailor’s perspective, the Southern Caribbean is one of the most distinctive and demanding parts of the basin. It’s famous for strong trade winds, fast passages, and a more serious offshore feel. So no „day sail territory“. As one of our old sailing books puts it:

“The Venezuelan–Colombian Caribbean is fast, windy, intense, and rewarding—a place where good seamanship matters every day, and where sailors earn their miles.”

“Intense” really is the perfect word for this passage. The sea feels permanently under tension. Gusts arrive quickly and with force, and the current pushing us along gives us great speeds—but also some truly wild surfing. I saw Akuna hit 16.5 knots a couple of times which felt less like sailing and more like being released downhill.

What’s funny is that the conditions aren’t actually insane. Not gentle, sure—but not wild either. Which makes me wonder: is there genuinely some charged energy in the air here, or are we all just primed to feel dramatic about it?

Either way, that intensity gets into me. I notice that I’m not breathing deeply enough. I’m tense. It’s time to ease into it and go with the flow. And at an 8-knot + average, that phrase couldn’t be more literal.