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American Spirit II - Day 131; Surfing, Lost Shackle Pin, Jib Sheet Wear and Big Squall; Wednesday, May 14, 201Fi



At 3:00 AM I woke up off watch because the wind turbine was 'dumping' power so wouldn't overcharge batteries. I got up and turned it off. The hydro generator was making enough power for us anyway.

Joel did the 1:00 AM to 6:00 AM watch. I got up at 6:00 AM. Still very tired. Didn't sleep well. Will have to take a nap today to recharge. During my morning watch before breakfast we were surfing up to 10.6 knots. It's fun to do, but not after 5 minutes. Gets old fast. 10.6 knots is fast.

The sun rose above the clouds at 6:39 AM. Cloudy on the horizon, so no chance for a sunrise green flash.

At 7:46 AM I saw a sail on the horizon, port bow. Skylark of London or Circe? No AIS contact on chart plotter.

We had the net communication at 9:30 AM. Conducted by NDS Darwin. All boats in Group 2 checked in, giving their position, wind speed and direction.

Breakfast after the net consisted of scrambled eggs and an orange.

At 10:15 AM I noticed that the port jib line was chafing. To fix this we re-ran the jib sheet, bypassing the block it was in. Since we're going down wind, the jib sheet is run outside the lifelines, not inside.

Around 11:00 AM we passed between two small islands, Motu One to our north and Manuse too our south. The sort of islands in the middle of an ocean that you could hit if you didn't pay close attention. I knew they were there because I have a large chart of the South Pacific approaches to the Cook Islands on the dining room table in the main cabin. You might not catch those island by looking at the chart plotter.

In the morning we noticed that the shackle pin at the base of the jib, holding the tack down, was missing. You could see the shackle hanging in its cloth loop without the pin. We found a different shackle pin to use, but it was not the correct type. We needed a hex nut shackle pin. But what we used as a substitute should be OK until we can find the right replacement in Tonga or Fiji.

From 11:25 AM to 1:00 PM I took a nap. Got more sleep than the 5 hours I 'slept' last night.

Our noon position was 16 degrees, 3 minutes South; 154 degrees, 36 minutes West. 521.5 nautical miles to go to Suwarrow.

At 1:10 PM we jibed the main and jib. Not a complicated procedure, but one where you can't afford to make a mistake. We replaced the tri-reacher pole with the whisker pole. A better pole for going wing on wing.

Joel took a nap from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM. From 3:30 PM to 6:00 PM I wrote emails and 3 logs.

Dinner at 7:00 PM was Mahi Mahi cooked in butter in the galley oven. Had with corn and fruit cocktail for dessert.

At 8:00 PM we got hit with a squall with torrential rains and winds up to 39 knots. Bummer. Big mistake in not rolling jib up before storm hit and reefing main. Usually the rain we hit does not have a lot of wind in it. We both got soaked. 100%. Once it was over by 8:30 PM I went below, dried off, changed, and put on new cloths plus my foul weather pants and jacket. In hindsight, we should have known the rain was going to be bad if we'd turned on the radar. Like on your TV set at home, color on a radar screen is bad news.

Joel went to bed at 8:45 PM, 45 minutes late. Sorry Joel. I stood watch until 1:00 AM.

At 9:45 PM I rolled the jib out again once I was sure the high winds were gone. Our speed immediately increased from 4.5 knots to 6.5 knots. The way we have the whisker pole rigged is really cool. We can roll up the jib and still leave the pole up. Then just roll the jib out again when ready, releasing the roller furling line when doing so. Storm clouds continued to chase me during the watch, but nothing came of it.

Full moon tonight. Cool being able to see all the waves zooming by. Doing 7.5 knots as watch wore on.

While on watch I listen to music with my head phones on, or read my Kindle. Reading a book every 3 days while under sail. Joel doesn't approve of either, but we are in the middle of an ocean.

353 Days until home.

Brian Fox



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