Saturday 12th March
Awelina of Sweden
James Collier
Sat 12 Mar 2016 18:40
The wind drew slightly more northerly at the same time we turned in towards the coast a bit so we had to gybe this morning. Just as the main was hauled in and I was about to let it out on the port side (first time on stbd tack since Cornwall!) there was an almighty bang and the boom flew out, bringing up against the shrouds and the battens bending horribly: a stainless steel piece in the main-sheet block had parted where it attaches to the traveller. It seems like a poor design as there can only ever have been very little metal but it was a nasty surprise nonetheless. Fortunately no one was in the way.
We can't effect a complete repair as it's a riveted assembly but I have lashed it together with 4 mm dynema cord: I can't break this however hard I pull (BS 300kg at least), and I've put it round 4 times, ie making 8 thicknesses so that should be more than enough for the force I can exert with a 6:1 purchase. So hopefully this repair will last a while. It's up now and working so far. Just as well it happened well offshore in fairly gentle conditions rather than in a gale off a lee-shore!
Otherwise we carry on making reasonable progress and hope to make Vittoria tomorrow morning (a bit under 100 miles to go). We have the offshore oil-fields to negotiate first, and this afternoon we have been dodging fishing vessels and their very long (5 km) nets. Lots of shipping around as well with cargo ships travelling in either direction between Rio and either the Med or the English channel interspersed by the odd tanker going to Houston. These are also dodging the fishermen and the oil platforms so it's not entirely relaxing.