Raparee's halfway day yesterday went by quietly with little time for whooping it up. Nicks home-baked olive bread was twoderful and a sight to behold.
Wind is a fluky 25 knots and we had 2 or 3 gybes as the swell knocks us around. All sails are preventered so no major dramas. David achieves a burst of 10 knots although our average is 7 or 8. By early afternoon, we have a further chain of gybes caused by the autohelm not responding. Major problem as we depend heavily on him (sic) for downwind sailing with one watchkeeper sailing. Skipper goes ino the bowels of the ship, heart in mouth. Commands in the cockpit give no response at the ram below. Panic. Handsteering for a hour or so while skipper rubs his remaining neurons together. Wheelspinning with a press of canvas in big rolling following seas is hair-raising and a better workout than any gym. Mistakes can be dangerous Skipper has feeble brainwave......perhaps the problem is due to interference when we had SSB radio on in the morning. This is common on many boats, caused by RF radiation screwing up the autohelm computer. A quick switch off and restart causes it to reset and we are saved. Phew! New Rule: only transmit when steering system is off,ie steering by hand.
Wind rises more by supper time, so Mikes halfway beef stew and canary spuds supper is by bowl in the cockpit. A 2nd reef in the main and more rolls on the genoa help a little, but we now have 2 crossing seas to contend with and a succession of squalls from astern. Speeds 7 to 9 knots but slewing all over the place.
Log extract:
"Awe inspiring sled riding down a moonlit path - big swell, loud roars, hisses, big bright foaming breakers around bow and stern. Corkscrewing into silver troughs and swells. Jupiter on top, Orion behind, and a crescent moon ahead, lighting our path. Powerful swirling images, with great silver and black shadows".
By 2000 it's blustery and gusting 30 knots and we are glad we fitted running backstays to the rig.
Early AM 1st Dec
0200 and skipper on watch. Hit by megga squall, and heavy downpour. Call the Hands and put 8 more rolls in the genoa. Off-going skipper like drowned rat. The rest of the early morning watches (Nick, then David) were equally boisterous and noisy with 30 knot gusts , and still holding 7 to 9 knot bow-slamming speeds.
Dawn breaks 0615, and below its a bit like living in a washing machine strapped to a fairground ride. Nothing stays where you put it. David and Skipper have head bumps from bulkhead battering while sleeping. Nick appears unbreakable.
Anyway tootle pip one and all as we must don frogman outfits to do deck and rig rounds.
AM Position: 16-46N; 39-05W
Mike (Buggy)
David (McAvinchey)
Nick (Moody)
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