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Webster - Progess at last but sailing fast into what?



Saturday 17th May noon position 31 22'N 57 26'W noon run 150NM

After the wind change last night we have been making good progress at long last in the right direction 090 degrees, due east. We have a bright moon, big waves but from NE so we have been banging into some of them hard. The wind has been very patchy so reefs have been going in and out all night. Then at 0930 came the cry '9 knots!' as Neal hit our speed record so far.

The weather forecast has a strong advisory warning to stay south of 33degs north which we are at 31 degs. Lots of chat on the SSB net about which way to go and the fact that this gale is tracking south before heading off but we considered that we are below the worst of it.

The wind built during the morning as did the waves and we were doing over 8 knots constantly. Neal decided to take this opportunity to remove a troublesome glass splinter from his foot, quite a delicate operation to perform with a Bowie knife at a 40 degree angle, but he managed to remove something whilst leaving his foot in place.

By 1600 we were putting in reef 2 as we were flying. However, in doing so the spinnaker halyard came loose and was flying all over the sky in 25 knots of wind. I was waving a boat hook hanging on to the stern trying to catch it and we tried everything to no avail, so gave up and headed back downwind which is when it miraculously came back to us on its own - how dumb are we, of course it would! Lost quite a bit of distance as we had been traveling at 9 sometimes 10 knots, indeed 11.4 knots for me!!

By 1900 the wind was at 30 knots NNW......where was that depression heading? 2 reefs in the main and two rolls in the genoa and still flying. We were rolling heavily downwind and realised that the depression had obviously dropped down to us which didn't bode well for the night ahead. When it hit 40 knots before dark there was no question about it, we were in for it good and proper. Took the decision to drop the main completely and proceed under rolled jib alone; the crew appreciated that call as there was an air of apprehension in the boat. My thoughts were that we should live to fight another day! She handled really well in huge waves on the quarter even though it was so dark we had to steer looking at the compass alone, quite tricky. When it started to rain as well on Dave and Igor's watch (known locally as the 'Tzetsy watch' given their ability and propensity to sleep), it capped off what had been a horrible night. At least we are still sailing in the right direction and the position report reflected our speed over the past 24 hours but remember its not a race but a rally......

Charlie

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