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American Spirit II - Day 393; Auto Pilot Shuts Off & Causes Whisker Pole to Break; Tuesday, February 3, 2015



One year ago today:

"Day 31; Dingy Wipe Out; Monday, February 3, 2014. This morning we got in the dingy and proceeded a half mile along the very rocky sea shore, in the lee and east side of Isla San Jose. The tide was going out and what was a small beach the night before was becoming a huge beach. Just before we got to the shore, we had to dodge an underwater rock that was becoming visible as the 17 foot tide gushed out. Then about 50 yards from shore we killed the dingy motor and raised the shaft, not knowing how deep it was. The water was not clear due to the massive tidal action. Joel and I were paddling in when a swell turned into a 3 foot breaking wave. Just before we started riding the crest, I told Joel that we're going to flip. He confidently replied that we were not. A few seconds later we were surfing with the crest when the bow of our dingy started to turn to the left. All of a sudden, wham!"

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Relieved Jeanine at 6:45 AM. At 6:55 AM the almost full moon set off the starboard bow into a horizon of clouds. Jupiter was in the process of setting also, but at 25 degrees above and to the right of the moon it had a ways to go.

At 6:58 AM the wind is 9/12 knots and we're sailing at 4.5 knots thru the water and 5.2 knots over the land. We're still wing-on-wing, with the whisker pole on the port side and the mainsail and boom on the starboard side.

At 7:27 AM the sun rises above the clouds on the eastern horizon. There are many rain showers surrounding the rising sun. I can see the slanted, vertical strips of rain falling. The sky is clear over the boat, so no immediate chance of rain falling on us for a while, if at all.

At 7:40 AM I changed the time on my camera from St. Helena Start Time to local time, an hour earlier.

At 8:00 AM the wind is 12/13 knots and we're sailing at 4.8 knots thru the water and 5.6 knots over the land.

At 8:33 AM I put the canvas insert connecting the dodger and bimini back in, just 1 minute before a heavy rain shower hits the boat. I'd already grabbed the 3 recliners and moved them under the dodger windows; zippered up the front dodger window; and was standing at the top of the stairs leading into the main cabin when the rain hit. The shower lasted 1 minute, then was gone.

At 8:39 AM the auto pilot sent out a wind shift alarm, then the auto pilot went to its 'standby' mode. Not a good thing. The boat rounded up into the wind as I grabbed the helm and turned the wheel to the right. After what seemed like an eternity (15 seconds?), the boat started turning back to the right. It had turned so far left that the jib had back winded. That can be fatal and break the whisker pole.

At 9:00 AM the wind is 13/15 knots and we're sailing at 5.8 knots thru the water and 6.2 knots over the land. There are a lot of white trade wind clouds blowing past us; and its partly sunny as a result.

The rope burn I got from the hand fishing line the other day opened up again, exposing the infected area under what used to be skin.

The waves are 5-6 feet and rock and roll the boat when they pass under our hull. We have two wave sets: the ones driven by the wind, and some broader ones from the Southern Ocean. They're back!! We won't be rid of the Southern Ocean waves until we get north of the equator. Hopefully.

Bradley from Alpheratz hosts the 10:00 AM net.

Breakfast at 10:25 AM consists of bacon (a Jeanine favorite), eggs, potato, chilled pear halves and brown bread...for Joel and me. Jeanine has bacon, oat meal, and honey with her tea.

Our noon position is 13 degrees, 52 minutes South; 24 degrees, 10 minutes West; and we're 832 miles from Salvador. We're 136 miles closer to Salvador compared to yesterday; and have averaged 5.7 knots the last 24 hours.

At 12:13 PM the wind is 12/15 knots and we're sailing at 6.1 knots thru the water and 6.6 knots over the land.

At 12:40 PM with the wind blowing at 17 knots, the auto pilot cuts off again, for the second time today; and the boat rounds up into the wind, back winding the jib. Joel and Jeanine are in the cockpit while I'm down below emptying and bagging the garbage. The whisker pole bends backward and explodes, bending 120 degrees; and the boat lays over on its starboard side. In the galley down below, the frying pan and glass lid go flying into the opposite wall on top of the refrigerator and freezer area...and don't shatter. Yeah! The whisker pole ends up still attached to the mast and the topping lift, but the bent part is now hanging over the port side, maybe in the water. Joel and I go up and lift the pole up onto the deck; then to secure the broken pole, we bend it so that it breaks into 2 parts. Joel then uses duct tape to tape the sharp, broken sections. We then tie it to the port stanchions. After that we get the tri-reacher pole and put it up, to act as a whisker pole. The problem with that is that the tri-reacher pole is shorter than the whisker pole, so we can only roll out the sail to 120% instead of 140%; and the tri-reacher pole is thinner than the whisker pole, so it will be easier to break if we back wind the jib again. We think we can get the whisker pole repaired in Salvador, if a repair facility can be found there. Otherwise, we can probably get it fixed in St. Lucia in the Caribbean. Once we get to Brazil we don't think we'll need the whisker pole again until we get to the British Virgin Islands on our way home to Florida. A new whisker pole costs about $2,000 so getting it fixed at a fraction of that cost would be nice. We're lucky that the whisker pole didn't put a hole in the jib, or a hole in the top deck. All in all, the pole broke in a good place that should be very fixable.

By 1:10 PM, 30 minutes after the disaster, we're back sailing wing-on-wind again. Needless to say, after we're going again its 'beer thirty!'

I nap at 2:05 PM until 4:00 PM; and Joel naps from an unknown time to 4:30 PM.

At 4:30 PM the wind is 9/12 knots and we're sailing thru the water at 4.1 knots and over the land at 4.9 knots.

Dinner at 6:10 PM consists of freeze dried Chicken a la King with Noodles; homemade French fries; green beans; and peach halves.

We start the generator at 6:45 PM to run for 5 hours.

Joel sees two Portuguese Man O' War jelly fish float by at 6:55 PM. He points them out to me, but I can't find them.

Bradley from Alpheratz hosts the 7:00 PM net.

From 7:00 PM to 7:58 PM I type one log.

The sun sets at 8:10 PM into clouds on the horizon. No green flash tonight. But we celebrate the sunset with our favorite coffee liquor, anyway.

At 9:09 PM the wind is 11/13 knots and we're sailing at 5.3 knots thru the water and 5.6 knots over the land. At 10:30 PM the wind is 15/16 knots and we're sailing at 5.8 knots thru the water and 6.3 knots over the land.

At 11:41 PM the wind is 11/12 knots and we're sailing at 4.6 knots thru the water and 5.2 knots over the land. This is the lowest wind speed I've had during my watch all night.

I turn the generator off at 11:45 PM (after 5 hours); put the hydro generator back into the water; and then wake Joel for his 12:00 AM to 3:00 AM watch.

Brian Fox



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