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Windleblo - Day Ten



They say events come in threes. Today was no exception.

We were cruising along on a broad reach with 10 to 12 knot winds filling our gennaker. The wind veered further east, pushing our point of sail ever deeper. Perhaps we weren't paying enough attention, but the next thing we knew the gennaker was wrapped around the forestay. Event number one was upon us. Suddenly, all hands were needed on deck to recover the sail. Everyone responded well, but none-the-less the sheets and the tack line got away from us and we were forced to turn the boat into the wind to bring them back within reach. Several stressful minutes ensued but eventually we got the sail to the deck, through the hatch, and into the V-berth.

We next decided to rig the dual head sails so the easterly wind could pull us due west towards St. Lucia. We had just about got the whisker pole rigged when the pin on the uphaul shackle popped open, dropping the pole. Event number two had occurred. Quick reactions kept the pole out of the water, but the uphaul line found its way out of reach up the mast. A trip aloft was necessary to retrieve it. John quickly donned the climbing harness and started up the mast. The roll magnified the sway as he ascended, but he reached the misbehaving line in short order and brought it down.

To make matters more interesting, as he descended we heard the shrill zing of the fishing reel. This could only mean a fish was on the hook. John and Coach bolted to the aft deck and worked the fish to the boat. It was a medium sized Dorado and would make a great starter to share for dinner.

When it was all over, we held a debrief. We castigated ourselves because not everyone donned their life vest immediately upon coming on deck in response to the wrapped sail. Rushing forward to assess the situation was our first reaction. It took a minute before the vests were passed from the cockpit to those who needed them. We had had a knife on deck at the start of the voyage, but somehow it got moved below. The sail wrap made us realize we needed to put the knife back in case lines needed to be cut away in an emergency. We recognized that of all our sail plans, the gennaker takes the most attention. It is not a "set and forget" sail and should not be flown deeper than 150 degrees off the wind. We pledged to keep to these rules the next time we use it.

Later, we were in the cockpit as dinner was to begin when the third event occurred. A flopping jib sheet knocked the Coach's shorts from the pegs that held them out to dry on the port lifeline. From his reaction, it was clear these were not just any shorts. Just like in practice, we snapped into a man overboard drill. The MOB button was pushed on the Furuno, the genoa was furled, the jib was sheeted in, and the motor turned on. In no time, we were turned into the wind to drive the boat back as Coach kept his eyes on his favorite shorts. They hadn't had time to sink more than an inch or two before he retrieved them with the boat hook. Chalk up another one for the finest crew in the ARC.

Joules used the occasion of our 2,000th mile since Gibraltar to offer a delicious bottle of red Canarian wine as an accompaniment to our pasta dinner. We toasted our progress and looked ahead to a slower pace of events, and perhaps a bit more wind, in the days ahead.

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