Furler fix.
Rhiann Marie - Round the World
Stewart Graham
Wed 21 Sep 2011 20:24
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Wednesday 21st September 1934 UTC 2034
BST
15:55.318S 005:43.439W
Yesterday evening about 1700 I met up with a couple
of very helpful St Helenians underneath some high cliffs on the dark grey
volcanic leeward side of the island. I had contacted them through St Helena
radio and arranged to meet them on my arrival at the anchorage
area.
Just as promised they were there and we anchored up
under a high cliff, where just a couple of weeks before a yacht which broke free
from a mooring was smashed to pieces on the rocks just as the owner was ashore
at customs clearing out.
I had everything prepared ready to drop the sail
and within half an hour we got the sail down successfully and secured along the
side deck. I then anchored up in the rolly anchorage and made arrangements to
see one of them today to help with the repair job to the furling
gear.
As I have now done this job at least three times I
hoped it would go well and that from the spare parts I had aboard I would be
able to remake and improvise a repair until the permanent solution is fitted on
my return to Europe. Until I got everything disassembled there was no way of
knowing exactly what would confront me and the nagging concern about not being
able to repair the system lingered on.....
However like a military exercise the job was worked
through today and a workable solutionfound and improvised and so it is 24 hours
after arriving in Jamestown St Helena I am sitting aboard with the full repair
done and am ready to sail on.
Except, that now having come this far and seen a
little bit of the town today I feel I must stay a few days at least. This is a
place that I am unlikely ever to see again. So tomorrow I will catch up on a few
more odd jobs and explore the quaint little town a little further. On Friday one
of the guys who helped me aboard today is going to take me for a tour of the
island and I will probably leave on Saturday or Sunday and aim for the Canary
islands. All that is weather forecast dependent and I have not checked that
today so i will study all options tomorrow and make my final
decisions.
Sleep last night in the very rolly anchorage could
niether be fended off nor maintained! I could not stay awake for too long in the
evening but could not stay asleep too long either and having been conditioned to
the cat nap broken sleeping on the passage so far I was up and about several
times through the night. I think tonight with the furling system
repaired I will get some more rest.
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