Half a parasailor
Gudrun V
Axel Busch
Sun 9 Sep 2012 22:21
I wake up from a brief light nap. Something is wrong with the parasailor. I hear a swish-swish sound that shouldn't be there. A quick look at the watch: 1am. I stick my head out of the companionway, turn around and have a look. It's dark and I can't see anything. Flashlight!. Ah ... interesting, so that is what half a parasailor looks like. At first I see only the wing and the top part, but then I notice the rest of the sail dragging in the water. Well, so much for a boring night.
The wind isn't too strong, but the waves are funny and the boat rolls a lot. Thinking of Liz in Auckland I don the life vest, click myself in and walk forward. Up close I see that the fabric is torn all the way down along both sides, right next to the belt. I wonder how you fix sth like that. Probably sewing? Well, not on the boat. I'm glad that I ordered that gennaker in Panama, I had a suspicion that the Parasailor wouldn't last me all the way to NZ. Not because it's a bad sail, but because it's pretty much the only sail I'm flying, and we had some rough nights between Europe and here.
I take down the Parasailor and put it into the bag. I'm surprised that it isn't blowing like crazy or raining. Usually stuff brakes always in the worst possible weather. I decide that's a good sign and start humming. Shouldn't I be worried? I guess not, I've plenty of sails with me, and it can probably be fixed. I unfurl the Genoa and we're going again. Sailing with the genoa will be a little slower, but a lot more rolly. Well, can't be helped now.
The rain comes in the morning. Heavy. But too late, hehe, nothing I have to do outside. So I sit inside and read and smile. The waves feel funny again. I take a look, and see them coming form the east as well as from the south. Some are 3m tall. They roll over and under each other and it looks quite spectacular, but not threatening. The boat bounces along like a rubber duck. I wonder what I'll have for lunch. Cooking could be a challenge. Feels like stew-in-the-pressure-cooker weather.