mini storm problems with fish :)

Heerenxvii
Tue 7 Dec 2010 08:49
14:57n 48:45w

The inevitable thing has happened. We are not number 1 anymore I was informed earlier today. This is directly related to the problems we have with tuning the PARASAILOR. For what ever reason, we cannot get the boat to speed up anymore, despite there being 16 - 20 knots of wind. We should be doing 9knots with that wind, but cannot get faster than a modest 7.5. The boat accelerates every 5 or seconds quickly, but then equally fast slows down, like a jojo, raniging from 6 to 9 knots. Maybe we caught a whale on the keel, or maybe we forgot how to optimise flying it, but it is very frustrating and disappointing. We can only email and I again ask for help on fine tuning the PARASAILOR, as we cannot browse the web.... If you do come across something, ensure it is text only, and please forward to heerenxvii {CHANGE TO AT} me {DOT} com If we cannot fix our trimming issue I am sure we will be overtaken by the majority of yachts in these last 800 Miles...

Further in reverse order :) E caught a similar fish as the last 2 we ate, followed by a tuna. Obviously he was frustrated by Sinterklaas, and decided to double his score.Both fishes were cooked deliciously for diner, and before that we had raw fresh tuna on toast!!!

It is now 5.15am and we just ended up in a squall, got out, then continued, and then we were hit by another and another. That last one got the PARASAILOR to twist (while there was 26 knots) and turn, and we had to get E and H out of bed to help get the PARASAILOR down, which was not easy at all. After a small hour struggling in the streaming rain the sail came finally down. So, we may have destroyed the PARASAILOR, or maybe it is just only entangled, but it certainly did not look good. We are now waiting for the sun to come up so we can assess the damage.