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Crazy Horse - Nov 10,2014



Here we are at the under 200 mile mark. These last couple hundred miles have been very frustrating-as far as the wind. Wind is constantly on our nose-prescisely where we want to go! Southeast southeast! No matter what we do- put up sails, sail to the east, sail to the west, take sails down, no progress is made. One hour we made 2 miles. So finally we have decided to motor sail with one reef in the mainsail. We feel like we are clawing our way uphill to the finish line.We have had lots of squalls the past 2 days. 

A blanket of darkness comes upon us like the millennium falcon and the rains come barreling down. But don't get me wrong I am not complaining. There are still many great sunsets, cloud sculptures, and fish to see flying by. We are already talking about going to the places we love. Trellis Bay, an nice shower at Nanny Cay and a nights sleep without having to get up for a watch. We are also hoping to see friends we have made on our previous trips. Some of the restaurants have the greatest roti dish, and the fish is just wonderful. Of course there is the obligatory painkiller drink to partake in. 

Over the last week we have had our usual challenges of breakdowns or terrors. Shortly after we started, Bill discovered water in the engine compartment he has worked so feverously to keep clean and water free. He discovered that the rudder seal that we had replaced was leaking. As Matt and I looked from the cockpit there was a steady stream of seawater coming through the seal. We just looked at each other and tried to stay calm. Bill got his tools and proceeded to calmly tighten all the bolts while Matt hand steered so Bill could get to all the bolts and nuts. It seems as though he fixed the leak. 

Shortly after that we smelled burning rubber , heard a horrendous squeal, and smoke was coming out of the engine room. Again, stay calm Rosemary. Turn off the engine. Well, this time Bill went down into the engine room with said crew watching again and proceeded to cut the rubber fan belt to our utter amazement and smiled handed to us! "Don't you even need that thing?" I screamed- calmly, of course. It was to another refrigeration system that ran off the engine that we no longer use- phew! But the bad part to this is now we no longer have the emergency bilge pump connected if we have a serious leak-Oh great- again calmly. Then yesterday as we were sailing along the the soft shackle connected to the traveller that holds the mainsail in place just busted-bam! Another repair to stop and take care of in the middle of a rain squall.

Now we are rolling along and I am about to take a nap. Hopefully this will just be another boring day on the water with progress made toward the finish line.

Rosemary


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