Hanging in there..
Rhiann Marie - Round the World
Stewart Graham
Sat 28 May 2011 07:20
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Saturday 28th May 2011 1200 local time 0700
UTC
10:30.859S 067:08.941E
Morning All
It has been a lumpy bumpy boiterous rock and roll
215 miles in the last 24 hours. Most of the time we were well reefed down as we
are carrying some "injuries" (boat and skipper). Currently we have a force six
just behind the beam. Ten or twenty degrees further aft would work normally for
us but at the moment the seas are large and confused. But hey - nobody said it
would be easy - well actually I did say to Trish earlier this week it would
be no problem .............
Whatever was said did the trick and she is hanging
in there. There have been no tears and there is only eight hundred pleasant
miles and four days (hopefully) of the south Indian Ocean to go.
I would write you a long philosophical blog as I
can feel one coming on but at the moment it is a question of hanging on so I
will keep it short.
Today's drama came about half an hour ago when the
davit lifting strap "D" ring snapped and the dingy was half hanging on one davit
and threatening to let go. A quick jury rig and a good old fashioned two half
hitches in the lifting strap allowed the situation to be recovered. It will
be a bloomin' miracle if that RIB arrives home with us!
The trick with keeping RIBs or big dingies on
davits is to lift the dingy on the lifting straps hard up then tighten the belly
straps as tight as they can before easing off the lifting straps so they and the
lifting motor are not carrying the weight. We then add an addtional two ratchet
straps pulling in to the centre of the dingy cockpit floor. Keeping the tension
on everything however requires the dingy sponsons (tubes) to remain under
pressure keeping shape and the belly straps tight. However we are heading south
(in the southern hemisphere remember) and it is getting colder by the day. Last
night I was clad in my thermals all night. That means the pressure in the tubes
as the air temperature falls is decreasing and therefor they are soft, and
therfor the dingy (all half ton of it) starts to slop around and .....
well you and I both know the rest.
Got to sign off now. Looking out from the nav
station some of these seas are very
large.............
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