Blog Day 66
Latitude 49 15.66S
Longitude 33 04.78E
Barometer 1000
Air Temp 5c
Local Time 0352 UTC+2
LIVE TRACKER
Hi All,
Last night the storm continued to abate. I was still sailing with the third reef in the mainsail and the storm jib up for most of the night, in 30 knots of wind, but as it got closer to dawn I the winds eased to 20 knots and then 15 knots until sleep was no longer an option. I needed to get on deck and increase the sail area. The only problem with that, is that the next reef was reef two, and that line had broken the other day when the cover stripped off the core of the rope. I could have skipped the second reef and just hoisted to the first reef, but I still needed to re-lash down the friction ring that diverts the line for both the 4th reef and the 1st reef luff lines. I couldn't go to the full mainsail because the outhaul (the rope that is attached at the back of the mainsail) is also chaffed through and in need of repair. I definitely had a few hours of work ahead of me and in the meantime we were going to be going slow, but there wasn’t much I could do about that.
I had actually managed a halfway decent sleep that night so I was more than ready to get some jobs done. I wanted to get fuelled up first, so I made some porridge. Then I gathered my rigging and splicing kit before going on deck to get stuck into it. I climbed out on deck, and while it was a light wind day, as this high-pressure ridge passed over us, it was still a cold day filled with grey heavy clouds…. at least it wasn’t raining. I took stock of the decks to see if anything was amiss from the stronger winds the night before, but it all looked totally fine…..until I looked at the mainsail. The sail itself was fine, but I could see that I have managed to snap the top batten. Battens are these strips of flexible fiberglass that run horizontally along the mainsail and help to keep the shape of the sail. Climate Action Now has 5 of them running along the Dimension Polyant Mainsail, and while breaking the top batten isn't great, it wasn't doing any harm, at least at the moment.
I could also see that the topping lift, (the line that runs from the back of the boom to the top of the mast) had somehow managed to catch itself around the opposite sides top spreader overnight, and while it was there it had chafed through the outer cover causing it to break from the core. Bugger. It was high up for the repair, so I needed to get that section down to the decks to do something about it. I also needed to be able to use the topping lift to raise or lower the boom while sorting the other lines out so that became the first job. I ended up tying a small, thin but strong line through the end of the rope and using this line I was able to pull the topping lift rope right out of the mast at the same time I ran that thin cord through. This is called mousing the line.
Once that was done, I had full access to the rope. Using gloved hands, I was able to milk, (drag), the cover back into place. The two pieces didn't want to quite touch each other so I ended needing to thread over a meter long section of anti-chafe cover, that I then pulled tight over the gap in the cover that was exposing the core of the rope, before stitching and whipping the ends into place. Just to be sure, I wrapped some electrical tape around the ends to avoid any fluffing of the repair. I wasn't sure how long my calm conditions would last, so I also re-lashed on the friction ring at the base of the mast.
It turned out the Reef 2, and the out-haul ropes, needed the same treatment as the topping lift. So, I finished those repairs, and it was now just getting dark. After hours of working on deck it was finally time to hoist the rest of the sail up. I needed to winch the sail up from third reef to full main, and this was going to take me a while. I knew that the batteries were getting low, so before I started, I also set the Volvo Penta Diesel Engine on and started to charge the batteries, as well as smashing a protein shake, before going back on deck to repair the last two lines. I got the engine running well, out of gear, but when I was putting the cover back on, I managed to catch my right index finger between the boat and the cover. My finger lost that fight and was crushed. Nothing too dramatic, but boy did it hurt. I now have a lovely purple bruise below the fingernail.
I had been going all day and it was dark now, but I still needed to winch up the rest of that mainsail. I grabbed my lifejacket and went on deck. I really wasn't feeling this sail change, the exhaustion from the day was building. Slowly I was able to get the sail up, and I even unravelled the No 1 jib (the big one for lighter conditions). Finally, we were trimmed for the winds but they were now only blowing at 8 knots so it was hard to get any speed up. Just as I finished tidying up all the ropes and getting the decks shipshape again the winds finally started to veer from the SW to the NW and I was able to put in a gybe to the port tac. Finally at 11pm I was able to go below and grab some dinner, and now that we are almost at dawn I am going to try for some sleep, as there is a new storm dew tomorrow morning that I want to be ready for...
Before I go and get some rest I would like to take a moment to thank the following degree sponsor.
Thank you to:
030 East - Glass Australia P/L - Again a huge than you to David, Shelia, Claire and Renee Weatherly for your continued and strong support.
Goodnight all.
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