The big bang!
Rhiann Marie - Round the World
Stewart Graham
Fri 4 Dec 2009 06:57
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I left you a couple of nights ago, being gutted at
having to use the engine. Well it was not for long. When I got up to do
the midnight watch - straight up with the sails. In the morning once the full
crew were up we got the spinaker up again, and with perseverance and fortitude
(but not the spinakert all the time) we have sailed since. The time is now 0300
4th of December and we are at position 16:50.299N 060:57.28W less than 50 miles
from Antigua. We should be able to finish in just under 18 days - but for now
lets count on nothing.
The morning after we parked in the Atlantic and
went for a swim in the deep end - (it was over 5000 metres deep! - my swim
and dive the week before had only been in 4000metres but now I am allowed to
swim with the adults ) we got our
spinaker back up and the wind powers that be, gave us about 18knots ENE ( we are
grateful for any small crumb of favourable wind!) but we were able to get down
to between 150 and 160 degrees deep and just for a short while, we were,
for only the second time in our whole passage, able to lay Antigua. The
most dangerous event on the trip then occurred as there was a mad scramble for
the calculators to recalculate possible ETA's. ( I really dont know why we
bother the eta continually recalculates and is right there in front of us on all
3 chart plotters!) Moral soared once the sums had been done and talk of rum
punches, and barbeque back ribs was getting out of control. Fun was being
had at the helm dodging or picking up the squalls but then with Craig at the
helm and wind building over 20 knots, us running at 160 degrees and speed
at about 10 knots the rounding up and dramatic increase in apparent wind lesson
was taught. It was a gust of about 25 knots that preceded the bang. I
think our great big black and white spinaker is about 25m in the luff,
maybe 12m in the foot and say 18m in the leech - anyway you get the
picture, it is no hankerchief. Angus moved into overdrive, clearly this (or
something similar in the fish farming business........) had happened to him many
times! There was a quick debate about laying the boat to leeward or windward and
of course for those of you who have done this before will know it is leeward. I
would have thought windward but just as well the solid Sheltie was aboard.
Spinaker recovered and into the locker in double quick time and up with the rest
of the canvas and course altered by about 30 degrees and back to our
gybe-athon................... Anyway we have all in hand and the spinaker will
be making a comeback shortly. For those at our sailmakers I want to say the the
25mm polyester webbing attaching the head of the sail to the head of the snuffer
tune is not strong enough - or could this be a stroke of genius to prevent
speed freaks like me from blowing up the whole spinaker? I'm not sure but we
just need a new strap and some stitching to get our beauty up
again.
Wear and tear is starting to take its toll now on
rigging etc and I sense a little bit on some of the crew. Some of this wear and
tear is to be expected but some is down to bad rigging, fittings and or leads so
we have an apointment with a rigger in Antigua. Not so much for the runing
rigging but more for some of the standing rigging. I dont think I mentioned it
but we have been running for the last 4 days with our forestay bottom pinion
held in be the smallest amount of one side of a split pin which it seems to me
was never bent over in th efirst place. We are unable to drift the pin in or out
at the moment so we just run checks on it every watch.
I'm sure there was something else I was going to
mention but right now I am heading into three squalls and I better get to the
helm.
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