Position: Bayona, Spain. 42 07N, 08 51W. We set off from La Coruna expecting
a force 6 from the SW/SE and we found a force 7, gusting force 8 after Cabo
Finisterre and we were down to a deep reefed yankee, second reef in the main
and a reefed mizzen. Sea Spray was sailing along well doing between 5 and 7
knots but gear failure is plaguing us again. Both halves of the stack pack
came undone at different times due to chafe, the first reef pennant came
undone (bad knots?), the new tricolour light failed, the rudder angle
indicator failed but most significantly, she is leaking like a sieve. All
but one of the hatches are leaking and after twenty hours of the decks being
awash, half the atlantic was in the boat. So, we are going to dry out and
move to a drier location to dismantle the hatches and make them watertight.
Despite the challenging sailing, the crew did well to sail the boat in a
force 7 even if on reflection we were slightly over canvassed.
