Distance sailed last 3-days=403 nm.
Total miles sailed so far=2,544nm.
Day-16.
24 hr.Run: 151 nm. Pos.Lat. 34*07’N -Long.175*12’W.
Weather: Wind NW at 30-40 kts. Seas: NW 20-30 feet.
Course:100*T. Speed: 6+ kts. Cabin Temp=56* Bar: 1014mb. Up 4 mb.
The Rest of the Story.
Yes, this is day 16 NOT “sweet-16”, or anything else sweet.! Much like it seems to happen the winds are stronger and the seas higher in my area than predicted. Like many of you know you don’t sleep well and the clock slows down and you get this knotted-up feeling in your stomach.
You do this self quiz about have I done every thing I can and should have done? I had reduced sail to just a hanker chef size piece of the head sail rolled out and question if that is maybe not to much. I’m sailing on a broad reach down wind and praying the wind vane keeps me there.
Its about 2 am and suddenly we are slammed by a huge wave on the beam. Thank God I have the shower curtain protecting my bunk as quite a bit of water breeches the seal on the butterfly hatch on the cabin top. I scramble out of my bunk sliding about in my socks on a wet cabin floor. Fortunately I have all three storm boards in and take no water through the companionway
Once out in the cockpit the problem becomes real obvious why we are steering 30-degrees closer to the wind than we had been. Apparently a large breaking wave prior to this one had broken over the stern and snapped the wind paddle on the monitor wind vane and it is flapping around like a broken wing. I disengage the wind steering system and get the boat headed back down wind running with the wind and waves. Now, I turn on the below decks auto pilot and set a course that should be safe for awhile.
Once back down below I wipe things down and crawl back into my bunk.[The safest place on the boat at times like this].
Two more times rogue waves break on our beam and force us over at least 70′, not a knock down but pretty damn close. I must say there have been no ships out here during this day .Hmmm!
Hanging on awaiting arrival of lighter conditions. El Jefe’.
Day-17
24 hr.Run: 109 nm. Pos. Lat.33*52’N.-Long 173*12’W.
Weather: Winds: 25 kts dropping to about 5 kts by midnight.
Seas: 20 feet dropping down to about 8-feet overnight. Course: 109*T.
Speed: 5-kts. Cabin Temp at 7am=58*. Bar=1013 mb down 1 mb.
The Rest of the Story:
This day started out looking much more promising than the previous one as the winds were now down to 25 kts and the seas running about 20-feet. I had patched a couple of small holes in the mizzen since it was down and needed the repair. I’m still moving along nicely with just a small amount of the head sail rolled out on the furler.
It was now 1 pm and I decide to have a drink and celebrate coming through the gale just fine. I was covered up with a blanket as it seems to me like it is freezing at 56*, and sipping on my drink and reading a book on my kindle. Suddenly! I hear this strange rumbling sound coming from the bow of the boat and hear and feel the Genoa popping and pounding up forward. I jump into the cockpit to see up forward the Genoa sail rolled all the way out in 25 kts of wind and dancing around up there like some kind of “Mad Demon”. What the hell is going on I’m thinking as I slip forward staying low on the deck in the 20-foot seas that are running. It appears that the aluminum foil that holds the luff bead of the sail had failed where it went into the furler drum and let the sail go and it rolled out. This means there is no way to roll it back in.
Once back in the cockpit I try to come up with a plan to get the sail down with out dropping it in the ocean. I must say this is a real”son-of-a-bitch” job to try and accomplish on your own in these conditions.
Here’s what I do:
(1) I hoist the stay sail up front to help blanket the frolicking Genoa.
(2) I pull in the slack sheet line on the genoa while releasing the line slowly that has the tension on it. This gets the sail somewhat collapsed and behind the stay sail, finally I have all the strain on the slack sheet line and release the other one completely.
(3) I go to the mast and start lowering the sail a little bit at a time making repeated trips to the bow pulpit to tuck the sail in there keeping it from the sea. This all takes about 45-minutes and finally the sail is bagged and dragged below decks.Phew!
It appears to me that I can use the Genoa Halyard with a grapevine knot on the foil to raise it up the forestay enough to extract the broken remnants of it out of the furler drum tube, this might require cutting it out in small pieces with my Makita cutting wheel.
Then I will put a nice straight edge on the bottom of the foil and drop it back in the tube and sync it up with the clamp on top. The foil will be 6-inches shorter but I believe it will work just fine.
I should mention when the wind died down overnight I went on deck from midnight until 2-am installing three patches on main sail.
Waiting for calmer conditions to get to work on furler. EL Jefe’
Day-18.
24 hr.Run: 142 nm. Pos. Lat.34*21’N -Long.170*32’W.
Weather: Winds: 20-30+ knts. SW shifting to NW overnight. Seas:6-10 ft. Course: 054*T. Speed: 6-kts. Cabin temp: 62*. Bar: 1010 mb down 3 mb.
The Rest of the Story.
Today starts out sailing along nicely with staysail, main with one reef and mizzen ,the winds start building about 11 am and the mizzen comes down once the winds start to exceed 25 knots. The conditions are much to rough to attempt a repair on the roller furler.
There is something about standing on a plunging bow platform that will bring salt water up to your knees, while I’m holding an electrical cutting wheel plugged into a 120 volt extension cord in my hands trying to make very careful cuts so as not to nick the forestay that holds the mast up. That job must wait! It was 11 pm when winds exceeded 30 kts and I crawled clear of my bunk and went on deck to drop the reefed main all the way down. Once back below in the safety of the main cabin we were still moving along at 6-knots under stay sail alone.
The weather out here is perfectly “cold and crappy” and yes that 80* Mazatlan weather is playing hard on my patience to get there. You must realize there is no heat aboard Sailors Run and presently everything is damp or wet below decks.
Now on the brighter side I do get to have a piece of chocolate every day and a rum drink or possibly two if I want to really indulge.
Afternoons usually involve either popcorn or crackers and peanut butter. Oh yes, and I have two cookies with that first cup of coffee every day. So never a day goes buy without the Jefe’ enjoying something good.
Looking so forward to that 80-degreeeeees the Jefe’.