Fw: Sadko update 16 June 1200

Sadko
Martin Lamport
Sat 16 Jun 2012 16:49
Position 35deg42'N, 43deg24'W.
 
This is our fifth day of running down the south west trades under spinnaker.  Life on board has taken on a regular routine.  I get up around 6AM and after a cuppa Hugo, Paul and I hoist the spinnaker before breakfast while Lou steers. 
 
This is always entertaining, as I could swear the brute spends all night in the fore peak dreaming up some new way to foul up and frustrate our efforts at a smooth deployment.  Each trick is countered with a mitigation strategy, like tying the corners together so they cannot tangle in the bag, but the sail always seems to have a new one up its snuffer.  To add to our woes, one of the poles has been breaking free of its top fitting on the mast car and threatening to crash to the deck, braining any unfortunate who happens to be in the way.   Turned out a little locking screw was missing and I had to manufacture one, which seems to have cured it.
 
But the effort is worth it as it gives us an extra knot of speed and we are now really blasting off the miles towards Flores.  ETA next Wednesday if this weather holds.  We keep the sail up all day and put it away at night to run under main alone, which seems to give the easiest steering, though like most boats Sadko hates running dead down wind.
 
Nothing much else noteworthy has occured.  We see the occasional ship and exchange greetings by radio, but a sailing boat on the opposite course did not respon to our VHF  calls the other day.  Bit stand-offish of them if you ask me!
Signing off
Martin