We had lost all our lures but one so gave fishing another try and hooked a fish. The boat couldn’t be slowed down quick enough so we lost the fish and recovered only a mangled lure and wire trace. All that remained was the head and the wire through to the hook. In an effort to carry on fishing an improvised lure was created from cable ties and whipping cord. An hour later another Dorado was brought on deck and after another hour it was on the plate. Fishing will become continually more difficult if the trade winds kick in as predicted but given the choice we’ll take the wind and waves because after such slow progress we’re all keen to get to Rodney Bay asap.
With the improved winds came the opportunity to fly a spinnaker, great fun and improved speeds but after little more than a day we’d blown the masthead halyard. It looks like a poor splice caused the failure and we were lucky to avoid running over the sail during recovery from the sea. Even without a spinnaker the increased wind strength has enabled us to maintain an above 9 knt average speed and begin to plan an arrival date for a cold beer in Rodney Bay. It’s also meant that we have moved a little higher up the rankings towards a more respectable finishing position. Our genoa is also now looking a little weary and required some stitching attention in a big sea and while travelling at 10 knts,
After our generator failure caused us to reduce electricity consumption including turning off the fridge, we lost some of of the fresh food on board. We are now eating the vacuum packed food which has turned out to be very good indeed. All the same some fresh fruit and vegetables will be welcome on arrival in St Lucia.
We’ve had little to complain about in terms of bad weather so far and hope that it continues for the duration. Generally sunny days have been enjoyed throughout the journey although now we’re getting close to St Lucia cloud and rain seems to develop overnight through early morning then clear to a burning sun and broken cloud later in the day. The rain we have experienced has been torrential at times so we’re grateful there hasn’t been too many instances of it.
Relaxation time has given opportunity to listen to a lot of music and all crew have read a book. Victor has stopped moaning although knowing him it will only be temporary
All on board have helmed the boat, some more than others and some with more incident than others. We’ve managed a full 360 unintentional turn and ended up sailing in the wrong direction at one point after becoming disoriented during a very dark night. We’ve also experienced a number of broaches, the drama of earlier today being the most severe. In wind of 25 knts and a considerable following sea we broached and were knocked down flat and pinned for a minute or so before the crew and the boat recovered the situation. It was a hairy moment but thankfully nobody swimming although Todd was submerged for a while when clinging to the guard wire after falling as the boat went over. Unfortunately quite a lot of sea water flooded the heads and aft cabin and so the deck is presently covered in cushions and clothing drying in the sun (Victor left an aft cabin window open after a doze!). The spinnaker has been taken down and we’ll proceed with the genoa until at least tomorrow.
Our best boat speed so far has been 16.4 knts which is less than we’d expected but on a dark night in a big sea it’s probably fast enough, well done George.
Family and friends waiting for an arrival party have, like us become a little frustrated with the extended journey time. Flights and accommodation were booked on the basis of a 14 day crossing which now looks close to 19 days but if this wind continues it won’t be long now. See you soon.