Peacekeeper - End of Passage Report

The journey to BVI was completed at 0439 on 16 November as we crossed the finish line at Scrub Island. Three days have elapsed since our arrival and with an internet connection now it's time to reflect on the 11 day passage.

Peacekeeper and it's double handing crew experienced conditions at sea that challenged our resolve physically and mentally. What was said some time ago by a friend - your boat will be able to withstand much more than its crew - was certainly true. The heavy weather was something never before experienced but has now given a certain confidence in handling adverse conditions.

We faced our first challenge when the genoa double wrapped around the forestay and the sheets became knotted. It took over 24 hours to get the sail down below. Without this sail the going would be rather slow so Russ suggested repairing the destroyed clew. After some creative thinking and ingenuity we came to a solution. Cut out the bad portion (about 10-15%) and drill/stitch bolt ropes at the foot and leech brining them together to form the attachment point for the sheets. It worked!

In total we faced the loss of the deck mounted halyard block (sheave shattered), lost the first reef in the main, and the windex and life bouy ring blew off. The important takeaway in this trip is to reef early. A difficult decision to take when trying to maximize boat speed and especially so for an Island Packet that just gets going at 20 knots.