Sunday morning. A time for lie-ins, bacon and eggs,
coffee and the morning papers. For some, a chance to recover from last night's
excesses and for others, the time to get stuck into a long run, or a wholesome
walk in the park. Traditionally, the Day of Rest was even observed at
sea - the crew were obliged to don their best uniforms and, after a brief
Sunday service, were given the rest of the day off...
This, however, was not the case on Free Spirit this
Sunday morning. Michael and I, having come off watch at 0400, were shaken awake
by the Skipper at 0630 and hauled on deck.Overnight, the rod that supports the
in-mast furling mainsail had fractured at its base, meaning that the sail could
not be reefed or extended without it jamming. With increasing winds and seas, we
managed to bring the mainsail down and lash it to the deck. The Skipper and Ian
bravely spent the rest of the day picking apart the broken pieces and starting
the major job of repairing the system. Its important that this job is done as,
without the rod firmly bolted onto the furling mechanism, we'll be
unable to use the sail. With 1200 miles to go, we definitely need
it!
Despite this setback, Free Spirit continues to make
progress. We've settled into a comfortable (if, at times,
disturbed) routine of watches, meals and sleep, and our decision to
head north of the rhumb line appears to have paid off. We've yet
to experience light winds for anything more than a couple of hours, and
we're making good speed towards the Azores. We're now heading slightly south as
winds of up to 26kts have picked up from the northeast, pushing us back towards
the rhumb line and, hopefully, some gentler weather. A bit of calm over the
next few days will also enable us to repair the furling system properly, as
wielding a drill whilst suspended over a rocking boat with waves crashing over
the deck isn't exactly ideal.
This afternoon a
school of around ten dolphins arrived to play off the bows and, later in the day
we saw a whale breeching fifty yards off the starboard beam.We've not seen much
wildlife since we left Bermuda, and the sight of dolphins ducking
underneath the bows and whales slamming into the crests of waves near
the boat cheered us all up. It was a welcome respite from what
had proved to be a challenging day.
One final note. I wanted to say something about the
accusations made against me in the previous blog. I've been advised by
my lawyer, Mr Michael Fay QC, not to give too much information on this topic as
its the subject of an ongoing investigation, but I feel that it's only right to
point out that the sign pinned up on the fridge said that Anyone Caught
Taking the Captain's Chocolate Will be Keel-Hauled and not Anyone
Taking the Captain's Chocolate Will be Keel-Hauled. This is a distinction
that, I think, will both demonstrate my innocence and save me from being dragged
from bow to stern across Free Spirit's barnacled bottom...
Authored by Louis