Free Spirit - Saturday 30th November
Saturday 30th November
What a grey day, windy and wet. The ARC control team had warned that
there was a band of squally weather and the advice was to continue west to get
through it as quickly as possible.
Sadly this turned into a storm of 50 knot winds. Dinner was a disaster as the microwave
oven door flew open and flung out our dinner of chicken pasta all over the
galley floor. Luckily no one was
hurt and luckily no one was hurt when the table came crashing down off the
wall. But then the nightmare
started
.in the black of night with the rain lashing down and the wind gusting
to 54 kts
.the genoa blew out! All
hands on deck! Does that mean
me? No, Carole, you stay
there. Shall I switch on the deck
light? Yes I did something
useful. Then Peter and Andy went
out on to the foredeck with Dougie on the halyard, Alex on the helm and Richard
relaying the instructions being shouted back. The noise was horrendous as the bow was
crashing down in to the waves with the guys disappearing below them. I started to rehearse the Mayday call in
my head and I prayed.
My relief when they were all back safely in the cockpit is
indescribable and I did not care what else the night might throw at us as I knew
we would all be safe.
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