VMG2OMG
Rhiann Marie - Round the World
Stewart Graham
Thu 1 Jul 2010 02:23
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Wednesday 30th June 16009 local time 0209
UTC
16:00.97S 153:30.68W
We were flying along on a steady force six and I
decided to check our rigging. First I pulled off the jib forestay gaitor and all
was well. Then i pulled off the genoa forestay gaiter and - oh my god - the
clevis pin had sheared off the split pin holding it in and "crept" almost all
the way out of the forestay fixing.
We were flying, and had up more lines, stays and
poles than Billy Smarts trapeze artists could shake a stick at! So carefully,
but quickly, I got each bit of sail away and jury rigged some Dyneema lines to
hold the foestay fork in place should the pin go all together. That was a couple
of hours ago and it is still holding. Should it go now that the foresails are
down it certainly won't be catastrophic, but the weight of the genoa furler
on the base of the forestay would cause an awful lot of damage. We are over a
hundred miles from anywhere and I intend to continue at the moment the six
hundred miles to Suwarrow. That however will be under engine and mainsail as we
are currently too far downwind to fly the jib usefully.
DAMN!
Double damn because on at least three occassions I
noted my concerns about these clevis pins "creeping" to the boat builder who
assured me that the rigging specialists said it was OK. I should have known to
trust my own instincts and insist on a better fitiing.
This was a close thing but nevertheless highlights
the value of regular rig checks especially when on
passage.
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