Day 8 - Chafe & Change
Sulana's Voyage
Alan and Sue Brook
Sun 28 Nov 2010 20:13
which now leaves us approx.. 1,800 miles to the finish, so we are slowly
getting there...
Yesterday was the day when chafe and change occurred.
Today is the day when we started to get wet and heel over!
Firstly, yesterday afternoon, we got the predicted windshift and were thus
headed towards the North by the new Southerly breeze. This meant dropping
the spinnaker and going to headsail, staysail and mainsail. It has proven a
fast rig and we have been averaging 8 knots ever since! Apparently we have
moved up 23 places overnight and now lie approx. 40th in fleet!
When dropping the spinnaker we found a good patch of chafe on the weather
guy, which had been in constant use over the past 12 hours of shy reaching
conditions. This has necessitated significant use of Matthew, Drum and Kay's
best leather hide for our anti-chafe measures. Thank heavens we obtained
half a cow's worth before departing West Mersea, in Essex, our home port!
Fortunately our spinnaker sheet snapshackles are holding up better this
time, since we had the clew rings changed for old-fashioned round rings.
With only just a little filing around the hinges, to remove the build-up of
swarf, they are ready to go again.
We wrapped a layer of sticky-back kevlar sailcloth around the guy before
re-stitching leather back onto it. It will be quite a while before we have
to test it again, though, we suspect.
The second change to the Sulana setup was that, for the first time since the
start, 8 days ago, we have finally had to relent and reset our big
sprayhood! Imagine - a whole week in the North Atlantic sailing without a sprayhood
up..
What bliss that has been.
Ah well, 'tis nobbut a fairy tale now, as we crunch our way windward towards
the next awaited windshift. We will not know it is really rough, though,
until Ben has finally shifted to sleeping aft!
OK - we give up! It must be officially rough now, as he has just crashed out
on the leeward saloon settee! We did wonder why he chose to take the
forepeak when given an open choice......
Photos will have to wait a day or two until it is drier!