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Webster - Worse things happen at sea



Tuesday 10th June 2014 Position 37 48'N 19 17'W 507 DTD

Last night we settled in for a hopefully comfortable ride with the spinnaker up to make up the average speed necessary to get to Lagos in good time for Igor to make his flight home on Sunday. The wind started to build but we decided to stick with it hitting 10 knots at times and never really dropping below 8 knots, we were really eating up the miles and putting some in the bank ahead of the forthcoming light patch due Wednesday. We were probably too reliant on the auto pilot however and around 0500 in the pre dawn light we broached heavily in a gust.

I was in the forepeak cabin as Neal came in to say we needed to get the spinnaker down, rather stating the obvious. I struggled to get into my track suit bottoms managing to do a complete backwards roll at one point at the crazy angle of heel. We were effectively hove to with the spinnaker flapping and the boat pinned down. Twenty minutes later we eventually managed to haul the thing down under the boom and into the saloon having started the engine to bear away and blanket the wild kite with the main sail. Unfortunately the spinnaker pole end fitting broke and the pole was flying around the foredeck but we managed to retrieve it and stow it away, plus rescue all the bits. Phew, a different if not a good start to the day, otherwise known as a 'heart starter'. We had achieved what we had set out to do as our noon day run was 167 miles which was not too bad as we need to do no less than 120 miles per day, but at what cost? No one was hurt and no damage to the boat but with a prospect of no ability to pole out the jib deep downwind or set the spinnaker other than as a cruising chute where the boat is fast.

It was raining and overcast as the day broke properly but at least there was a decent breeze. We reefed the main in one squall cloud but it did not gust too much. Everything is damp below decks.

We were responsible for the SSB radio net as net controllers today which was fun, albeit that it really eats the battery as so much is on transmit. Everyone in the vicinity is experiencing very similar weather conditions to us whether north or south of our position.

Neal has been very quietly planning how we can use what we have left of the mast track for the spinnaker pole and the remnants of the pole fittings. He and Igor have been filing away at a broken connector and by mid afternoon having hoisted Neal half way up the mast we had a working pole again, if only for booming out the jib if not for the spinnaker. Hurray, Good Job!

I made a potato hash for dinner in the pressure cooker, very good too if I say so myself. The pressure cooker is a brilliant bit of kit on the boat and can't understand why not more use is made of one on boats, or at home for that matter. I cooked a chicken paella the other day in it which was good also, but that was probably because I had used half a bottle of white wine in it which the guys appreciated, as we are a dry boat at sea.

Quote of the evening, Dave to Neal: 'I'm going on watch' to which Neal responded 'I thought you were going to bed, but same difference'. I think it is time to change watch teams don't you? Maybe tomorrow.

Looks like the wind is dropping as predicted and we plod east as best we can.

Hi Ho!

Charlie


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