We have managed to flatten out our zigs and zags and have perhaps two more jibes to go before we are at Cocos. We have 268miles to go. This is surely the most wind we have seen since going to the San Blas. It has blown a consistent 20-30kts for the last 6 days. We feel like we should be making better time but we have this wind behind us with the waves knocking us around which slows us down. So I guess we are doing pretty well considering all that. I hope Bill and Matt dig out that staysail from the sail locker today to see if that helps with our speed. Bill has been reluctant to put that up since it is in the sail locker under all the other "faster" sails. You know the ones I spoke of, A sails, Code 0 ,etc. Well, I promised you that story of Jim's. He has given his persmission to share it with you. You will remember this is the story that he recounted to me after I was gripping about losing our Code 0 into the ocean. I got no sympathy from him you will see. He only admonished me for gripping about our beloved captain.
Here it is by James Geddes,Capt of the S/V Ocean Jasper:
"You know what they say about sailing - hours of monotony interspersed with moments of sheer terror. Today was representative of the later as we started the morning on my watch with a nice 18-20 knots breeze moving nicely and eating up the miles with just our 5a Asail flying.
Around dawn, the wind died, moved left and started to build. We had sailed the 5a sail - nicked named Red October --all night -- during my morning watch we did 36 miles. But it was hard to hold the boat with the autopilot -so Bob tried to hand steer -but the boat broached - - after that we got things under control - hand steering for an hour each and then switching. On my second hour I got her up to 16.7 knots off a wave, but the seas were building and becoming more confused. We were seeing gusts in the high 20s and I knew it was only a matter of time before the big red spinnaker (Red October) would have to come down. We were talking about how to get it down -when the boat started a death spiral broach and I said let's get this sail down now.
Well that is when all the fun started, I went forward to try and snuff the spinnaker -but the pressure was too much. We released the sheet but could not get the sail down as it took off to leeward. Bob came forward to help with the retrieval line, but the force on the retrieval lined pulled us both to the rail -and almost overboard. Maggie steered the boat down while we dragged the retrieval line back on the boat -but the sail still wanted to take off -so I asked Bob to drop the halyard -but as soon as he went to do that the boat rounded up -the sail took off and so did I --towards the leeward rail. Just as I was about to go over I let go - (Mama did not raise a fool -well maybe!).
So the snuffer went back up -now we have a full sail - attached only by the tack and the halyard and no sheet. The sail is flogging big time and then rips -this of course is a brand new 2.2 oz sail, used less than 24 hours, that is in pieces. So we grab the sheet that is whipping around like a crazy person -and secure it back on the winch -cut the tack line with a knife and start grinding in the sheet. By this time the whole bottom of the sail is in tatters but the sheet is attached to a ribbon of the sail that is still attached to the main body of the fabric. Thank god for electric winches -but even it had trouble with the load that it was trying to pull in. Finally, we got the sail along side the boat and then step by step pulled it aboard -released the sheet, blew the halyard and open the forward hatch and stuffed the mess into the hatch and closed it. Bagged and tagged -albeit not quite in the same shape as when we first set it yesterday afternoon! Oh how time flies when you are having fun on the Indian Ocean.
Anyway, other than a few bruised egos and some bloody hands and knees -every one is safe, the sail is put away and we celebrated our adventure with a round of beers. "
-Jim Geddes, Captain,
S/V Ocean Jasper
So that is the story from the Indian Ocean and could be happening anywhere there are sailors and our crazy go- fast sails. One of our friends from the Caribbean 1500 who owned Nana Maria called the spinnaker "The bag of Terror". So yes, someone asked if people name sails-you betcha.
Rosemary, Bill and Matt