A Stormy Passage Part 1 42:50.48N 22:50.49W
Ellatrout3
Wed 6 Jun 2012 11:00
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Hello, we are nearly there; as I write 22.30hrs
Thursday we are 87 miles from Praia de Vitoria Harbour entrance, but are
unlikely to get there any time soon as we are heading due west at the
moment. The problem is sailing against the wind which coming straight out
of Terciera against us. Do you realise that we have been sailing against
the wind since the start. That means for 11 days we have been living in a
box that is always tilted at 20 degrees while moving violently in all
directions, you can only ever have half a cup of tea, you cannot eat off a plate
and the only safe place is in bed. Where have the warm soft winds of the
Azores high gone?
I had all this in mind on Tuesday with a forecast
of heavy weather. The big genoa (large foresail on the front) which
carried me all the way to America, I knew was very poor at sailing against the
wind when rolled around the forestay to make it smaller. I have a small No.3 jib
but have never changed them at sea before.Getting the big one down was not the
problem it was getting the other one up. Normally one person pulls the
sail up in the cockpit while another feeds the sail into the bolt rope slot on
the foredeck. If I couldn't do it I would have to sail the rest of
the way on main alone! Oh! and it was blowing force 5 (22kts) at the
time. Big decission. Risk it for a biscuit.
Once I let go the
sheet the big genoa was like a wild thing cracking like thunder. I managed
to wrestle it down with half of it acting as a sea anchor until I got
stuffed down the fore hatch with most of the sea still inside it. That was
the easy bit, it took half an hour. The small jib has three 4 foot batons in its
leech (back edge of the sail) And I had packed it most carefully in
anticipation of such an event. Unfortunately while attaching the three
corners of the sail the wind started to drag it out of the bag messing up my
preparations. I used my life line to tie it down while I got some sail
ties. Don't panic I was wearing two at the time!! Running backwards and
forwards between cockpit and fore deck failed miserably as did relying on the
sail feeder designed to do the job. In the end I had to rig a snatch block
(pulley block you can attach anywhere) to bend the halyard (rope for pulling up
the sail) from the base of the mast back to the fore deck. Then with my
feet braced I hauled a foot, fed a foot, hauled a foot, fed a foot until it got
to the top. The last two yards took all my strength. I then
had to get the halyard fed back to the cockpit and tied off. When I got
there the sail had slid down a yard, the hardest bit! I started the job at
1030 and when I finally got up it was 12.30 and in that time she had drifted 6
miles north. Was it worth all the effort; find out in part
2?
Got to stop now
she is demanding attention.
Roger/Dad/Poppa
Ps Position
relates to where I was at the time.
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