Now we know what the Sturmfock is, and when to use it!
The promised wind arrived with a vengance, and with it torrential rain. It built up through yesterday afternoon, and soon it was blowing at 30 knots from the SE, just off the port beam. We had taken two reefs in the Mainsail, and rolled away a bit of the Genoa - the Mizzen was long since folded tidily along its boom and out of the way. The wind was freshening further, and at 5pm it was time to reduce sail again. We have had trouble with our furling Genoa before, and as we were furling it once more, it split horizontally. We furled it completely as quickly as possible, and have had no time since (nor the conditions, come to that) to examine it further. So there we were, in half a gale, and no foresail, and no inclination to strip off the torn Genoa and replace it with the even older spare. And Elizabeth reached the right conclusion straight away - we needed the storm jib. Well, as it happens, we have two of these. One is a pukka orange one, made for Cleone in 2005 by Saturn Sails. The other resides in a bag labelled Strumfock. It's bigger (thank goodness) than the made-to-measure orange job, and it's hardly ever been used - until now. Since 5.30 or so, together with a triple reefed mainsail, it has been driving us across the increasingly difficult swells in 30 to 35 knots of wind at about 7 knots. It's been an exhilarating time!
More to follow - must get lunch for the crew. This won't be easy either Cleone is bobbing about all over the place.
All well with us, and best wishes to everyone..
James, Elizabeth and Will
Yacht Cleone