Wed 10/5/12 – Silver Linings…. – 34:13.3N 57:48.8W

Watergaw
Alan Hannah/ Alison Taylor
Wed 9 May 2012 23:41

Delighted to report that all crew reported present and correct today, no longer smitten by the “mal de mer”, appetites fully restored and energy bank charged. The wind was good, we shook out the reefs and picked up the pace. Breakfast was devoured by all, and everything in the little world that we inhabit looked tickety boo.

 

As we know from past experience, this is when we are most vulnerable! No sooner had I gone below for a kip to recover from the night watch with the others tweaking the sails, when I heard the engine go on. Ali came below to tell me that the main sail had ripped near the head, and had to come down, We had made a small repair at that point before we left Bermuda, where some of the double stitching had started to loosen, but it had ripped apart under over enthusiastic halyard tautening (electric winches are not all good!).

 

Given that our sailing thus far has been on the wind, and our forecast for the immediate future looks similar, being without a mainsail looked to be seriously embarrassing. We have plenty of downwind options, and have 2 spare genoas in our lockers, but no alternative to a main sail for upwind work. Getting to the Azores would be much slower and harder.

 

After a good look at the problem, and a round table discussion about the best approach, we set to. The problem is near the top, but to get access to that, you have to remove all the lower sail cars and effectively detach the main from the boom. Not easy as the boat rolls and jumps, much more difficult if we did not have lazyjacks and a stakapak to contain the beast rather than it flopping all over the deck in the middle of the Atlantic!

 

We have motored since, as the wind kindly dropped to less than 10 knots and the big seas flattened to assist us. Reinforcing and stitching the sail (Ali thanking her sewing teacher, despite her dubious feeling about her) and splicing a new luff tape together (thank the gods for dyneema) has taken most of the day, and we still have a bit of patching to finish tomorrow, before raising her again.

 

From deep despair (you know my glass is always half empty), however, we have come to be very optimistic that our repair looks sound and will work, even if we won’t be the prettiest boat arriving in Horta!

 

Moreover, the crew are cheery, so much so that they insisted on a “happy hour” that is still going on 2 hours later! The dolphins came on cue to give us a lift. The boat is motoring so we are less busy, and upright. Dinner will not arrive sideways, and we will have a glass of something to wash it down. Every cloud….

 

Plenty more to tell you, but it will have to wait,

 

a bientot

 

Watergaw