Goosed and not even Christmas Yet

Desiderata Sailing Log
Stuart Armstrong and Julia Neustein
Wed 28 Nov 2012 17:24
24:01.1N 22:38.2W
 
Having not set off in the best weather from Tenerife (waves in the wrong direction and rain) we made really great speeds in the right direction, all be it bumpy and not the most comfortable of sails. The crew have been saved from the worst of the weather by Julia and her ability to get rained on every watch.
 
36 hours into our journey the wind finally turned and we were able to set the sails goose wing fashion. To the non-sailors reading this, it means the sails are set one to each side of the boat.  The other bit of the goose on the boat (where the boom joins the mast is called a goose neck) spewed out its bolt, but was not totally out by the time it was discovered. Captain Stuart and his ability to keep calm under pressure came up with a solution to secure the boom over night, and then in the cold light if day, fixed it using great team effort. We now have a working main sail again.
 
We are also having fresh Dorada for tea tonight, courtesy of Freddie ‘monkey boy’ Hardley, who whilst the goose neck was getting fixed, had to land it.