Good winds but confused seas
Anastasia
Phil May and Andrea Twigg
Sat 10 Mar 2012 06:42
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8:11.1S 106:30.5W 1129 miles
covered
We have had good winds all day, but confused seas
that have been throwing Anastasia about a bit. This has been causing the
spinnaker to collapse sometimes and then re-inflate with a crash as the load
suddenly comes back on the lines. It only happens about once an hour when
we get hit by a rogue wave, but it always sounds bad. We are cruising at
around 10 miles an hour, which is equivalent to running both engines flat
out, at 220 horsepower. That means that each of the three spinnaker lines
is supplying power equivalent to that of a small car. Big forces are
involved, especially when the line goes slack and tightens again.
Andrea had a scare when she was wiping down an
instrument console near one of the lines, and the line went slack and
caught on her neck. She just had time to push it off before it tightened
again, but it was a scary moment and not nice thinking what could have
happened. We now have a no-go zone anywhere within reach of the
line.
Anyway, everyone is OK and Andrea cheered up after
a glass of wine with dinner, which was moussaka with broccoli and a tomato
and papaya salsa followed by cheesecake made from home-made yoghurt.
Nothing frozen, all made from scratch. I am constantly amazed that she can
produce any kind of meal in these conditions, never mind such gourmet
creations.
We had another sobering moment at the evening radio
net rollcall because one boat, Samsara, has developed a crack in the rudder
stock. Samsara is carrying a couple with their two young daughters
(Samantha and Sarah). The problem is a serious one because in these
conditions the rudder is under huge loads, trying to keep a 20 ton boat going in
a straight line when the waves want otherwise. If the crack develops to
the point where the rudder is being wrenched back and forth by each wave then it
is in danger of being ripped off, leaving a large hole in the bottom
of the boat, with no option but to abandon ship. Lee on Samsara is
attempting to shore up the crack with fiberglass. Let's hope he can fix it
enough to make it safe. The good news is that Samsara is in the middle of
the fleet and only about 50 miles from one of the boats following, so help
is a few hours away if they need it. It is a serious but fortunately not
life threatening situation.
But it does all make me stop and think about our
own condition and how we are totally dependent on Anastasia holding together to
get us the rest of the way. As I typed that last sentence she turned on
some floor lights that will not turn on by the switch, but that she
turns on every few days, seemingly at random. Is that her way of telling me not to worry?
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