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Asylum - Asylum Report Day 3




There is always excitement at the beginning of any sailing race--some jockeying for position to be the first at the start, others trying to stay out of the way. The ARC+ rally start is no different other than it is not a race, but the excitement is palpable as 50 boats made their way to cross the start of leg 2 to St. Lucia. Asylum crossed about 2 minutes after the start and followed the leaders into the sunset. We hoisted the Parasailor as we attempted to get some speed between the islands. It was so calm that we took our chairs to the bow to watch the boats and take photos. We thought if this was the "milk run" than we'd be relaxing the whole way! Well, it only takes time and wind to dispell that thought. The winds piped up after a beautiful sunset and we opted to take the Parasailor down and had a beam reach for the night.

The next day we put the Parasailor up in the afternoon and left her up for the night if the winds were steady. We had just finished dinner and were determining the watch for the night when the autopilot disengaged so the wheel turnied to windward uncontrollably. The boat spun a full circle... the port lines, which are led forward, were suddenly behind the boat and trapped under the dinghy on the davits after snapping off our American flag on the stern The sail was wrapped around the mast and whipping like crazy. We tried to reverse the direction of the boat to see if we could undo the wrap. The night was pitch black with no moon, and we were disoriented. We finally decided to loosen all the sheets and let the halyard down... so the sail would blow off the side of the boat into the water. so the next step was to get the soggy sail on deck and secured in the v-berth where we had been using as a staging area for hoisting the sail rather than on deck. Fortunately, the previous owners had a small camping set left on the boat with a plastic sheet for a tent. We laid the tent down on the cushions and I pulled from the inside while Thane fed the sail in from the deck. Uff da! It took us awhile before we even wanted to think about rigging the pole for the jib to keep sailing. After catching our breath, the sail was set for the evening, and we were back on track.
The last couple of days have been sunny and warm with a couple of showers--we left the Parasailor up for a free shower from the salt bath she took the night before. We are finding our rhythm with the ocean. No sea life to speak of yet, except for flying fish. The 9 foot swells are magnificent but come 10 seconds aapart so we rise and fall effortlessly.

The days go by quickly as we sleep, eat, and read! Ahh. We started the 2090 mile journey on Wednesday, and we now have 1671miles to St. Lucia. The moonless sky was brilliant the first nigh out with stars I have never seen before along with the "stars" on the horizon of the mastlinghts of the boats still within sight. This time we know many of the souls on these boats, and we wish them all safe passage. Now, Saturday, have not seen another boat in the last 36 hours, but we talk on the SSB daily. The days will rise and fall quickly.

Brenda and Thane

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