Piccolo the wind instrument in tune again!

Piccolo
Andrew Yates
Sun 7 Dec 2008 17:20
Piccolo, the wind instrument, in tune again!
After an uneventful night the breeze picked up again after allowing us to finish our Sunday morning bacon and egg breakfast sarnies. This was godsend as during that period we went through the process of nearly setting up every kite on the boat, from the light to medium to heavy.
We finally decided on the heaviest kite with the wind on the beam and heavy rain giving us a much needed first warm shower in days (that Skipper had no say in).  Having hoisted this kite, over the next half hour the wind steadily picked up and moved aft. We found ourselves running  heavily downwind. Immediately after setting a record speed for this kite the inevitable happened - a round up of immense proportions, laying the boat flat in the water and sending the off watch crew below into a fine imitation of flying fish. The most spectacular was Paul who rose to the ceiling, flew across the cabin clearing the galley taps in his headlong rush to save the snacks as he finally landed upsidedown in his watchmate's crotch as Chris crouched on the floor by the cooker asking, "Is this a squall?"
After some profanities from the foredeck the kite was snuffed and stored with only a 3 ft tear to the clew.  It was replaced with a poled out heady and a reef in the hope that this would calm and steady the boat. But with building swells and bigger gusts this was not to be the case. Sustained gusts of 30 knots plus made for an  interesting ride as Piccolo whistled westwards. 

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