Eventful Finish 52:29.6N 05:36.8W

Ellatrout3
Tue 21 Jun 2016 17:53
After passing Coningbeg the wind gradually faded as I ran towards the SE corner of Ireland and Tusker Rock. Here there are strong tidal streams and traffic separation lanes so you can't just sit there, go to bed and wait for the wind so I had to motor, which is what i started to do.  Problem was , with no auto pilot, you remember it broke in the strong winds earlier, the only way I could motor round the corner was to sit there and steer until the the wind came back. I started to do one hour stints but at the same time tried to rig up some steering device with rope and a bungy. I started hand steering just before midnight when the last wisper of wind died and did 3 one hour turns helming. When I went to start the fourth, the engine which was tickig over suddenly stopped dead. I new the signs, rope in the proppellor! I got the torch and checked all round but could not see a problem. I gingerly tried it again, it would tick over but stopped immediately I tried to engage gear.  After an hour messing about in the dark a slight breeze drifted in to my relief because we were sat next to a traffic separation area and unable to move.  We drifted about all over the place gradually creeping up on and finally rounding Tusker at 07.00 hours. I'd been on deck all night.
 
During the morning the wind slowly filled in and when we started to achieve 4 knots there was a loud vibration/banging on the bottom of the hull.  I quickly found the cause was a spinnaker sheet (rope) disappearing under the hull.  It was still cleated on but obviously during the night when I was trying to set up some sort of self steering I'd used the ropes end and not taken up all the slack in the dark. By slackening the tension I could stop the vibration and we sailed on ike that for a while but the rope was obviously moving as we sailed so I put the propellor into forward and reverse, no engine on, and it suddenly freed itself. The spinnaker sheet is ruined but the engine now works!
 
It was now lunch time and I hadn't slept for 30 hours. My worry was sleeping through the alarm so i planned an afternoon sleep when I got half way across which is away from traffic and I should wake before we reach land. I did sleep throgh the alarm and was awakened by the sound of big engines and someone shouting 'Ella Trout'.  I scrambled out of bed to a scene of wild water and a large navy fast patrol boat running alongside. On the side 'Range Patrol' While i was asleep the wind had got up and ET was very much over cavased, as they say, and I was sailing into the Aberporth live firing range and they were playing with there guns today!!!!  When I got my head swiched on, being thick with sleep, I learnt that firing would shortly start and I had to turn round and go north west.  Easier said than done, they did move away in this hugely powerful patrol boat and left me to get on with it. Fifteen lively minutes later we had two reefs in and half the jib rolled up ans were sailing surenely north; well I wasn't goning to give up my easting was I? They did call me up at 16.30 to thank me for co-operating and to say they had finished and I could sail where I liked and wish me a safe journey.
 
So the adventure isn't over until it is over but as I am just south of Bardsey Island and hope to be in before midnight this is probably my last epistle but I will send my Pwllheli position tomorrow so if anything else happens I will report it.  Thank you for following me and if I can tell you anything else about my sailing dont hesitate to make contact.
 
 
Love to everyone Poppa/Dad/Roger