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Free Spirit - Log 11: 21 May 2015



Today started extremely badly - and got worse!  Yesterday we sailed the Parasailor (spinnaker) downwind all day and made very good progress.  The thing about the Parasailor is that it is quite tricky and the helmsman really does need to be able to see it.  So, we made a deciion not to fly it during the hours of darkness and it was duly taken down at dusk to be replaced with white sails, main and genoa.  Similar winds to yesterday were forecast for today and I got up at first light ( 0530 hrs) to assist Blue Watch (Ian and Richie) to reset it in anticipation of another fine day's sailing.  Like many other spinnakers it is encased in a tube of ligh cloth called a "snuffer".  You haul it up the mast inside the snuffer which is then withdrawn upwards off it by pulling a rope called the 'snuffing line' . 

 All was going perfectly to plan with half the sail released from the snuffer when, suddenly, a small tear appeared in the middle of the sail.  Within seconds the small tear became a big tear and then the whole sail split across.  We recovered the shreds that were left in the hope that some sort of repair may be possible but for this Atlantic crossing it's "good bye Parasailor".  We lost a previous Parasailor under similar circumstances in the early stages of our East to West crossing in 2013 - sickening!  What happened this time was that one of two small hooks attached to the bottom end of the snuffer had snagged the sail on the way up. 

And then -  we noticed a small tear in the foot of the main sail, which became noticeably bigger as the day progressed. It demands urgent attention as we have concern that this could escalate into another major disaster. However, it has had to wait a while we dealt with even more demanding matters - toilets.  Having had many previous episodes of malfunctioning of the sanitation system aboard Free Spirit I am very familiar with its anatomy, physiology and pathologies. Usually the source of trouble is the macerator pump which chomps up the contents of the holding tank and discharges the product into the sea. A new macerator pump had been fitted recently and we had gone to a lot of trouble to protect it. Human waste only is allowed down the toilets. Paper is collected in small brown paper bags that are fed to the fishes. Despite these measures there wa a fault with the new pump but the main cause of breakdown this time was a blockage. The holding tank vwas overflowing from the air vent together with the horrendous odour of its fetid contents. It took over 8 hours up to our elbows in sh1t, and major surgery, to locate and eradicate the problem in the bowels. We do now have functioning toilets again but the carbon air filter is no longer effect and there remains and a faint odour of faeces persists.

That done it was getting dark. No time to fix the torn main sail, which was furled away for the night to protect it and we are now running down the wind - not altogether inappropriately - on the genoa alone at a respectable 6 knots. Tomorrow we will get the main down to repair the damage as best we can. 
Log author Peter
 
Bad day...we don't like that!  After the demise of poor Mr Parasailor, who snuffed it as he flew out of his hat....so bad...so sad....we really don't like that,  Peter spent the whole day in the bowels of the boat tring to fix the yet again defunct sewage system.  He found the "new" macerator pump broken and fixed it with a part from the old one which he had wisely kept for spares. I have to say here that I think the whole boating scene is a multimillion "cottage" industry....everthing is expensive, special marine, but often not fit for purpose... I could go on..

Anyway, with help from Ian especially, at the end of the day, the system had been flushed through, put back together again and was working. Richard put on the music - 'Always look on the  bright side of life' - which seemed appropriate for those who know the words - life's a piece of ...you know what comes next!

The treat of the day was showers all round for everyone.  We all sat down together for dinner as the sun was setting.  Avocados with Balsamic Vinaigrette, followed by BBQ (sort of) Pork chops with courgette couscous, then apple custard crumble.
Log author Carole

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