Day 9 (part 1); Oh what a night
I believe I signed out of our blog last night after a good sing song.
Morale was high on board and we went to bed with the boat moving gently forward
and feeling contenta. By the last watch of the night i was awoken with a
series of odd loud noises. On a boat you become used to the regular noises
and zone them out. Anything unusual stands out a mile. Skipper Dave
went up to investigate. The wind had become very variable and our main and
boom were flogging erratically. We have in boom furling and our boom is
very heavy amplifying any small uncontrolled movement of the boom. Its a
frightening situation as the power of the boom to destabilise the boat and cause
problems with the rigging becomes very apparent. As Dave and Ewen watched
the mast was bending in response to the pressure it was under. Between
them they worked to take the main in and settle the boat under headsail
only. This done they both stayed up for a cup of tea and saw in the dawn
and the new day. As the daylight increased Ewen noticed that a portion of
stitching at the base of the genoa had become unstitched leaving the tape
binding the base of the sail loose and flapping. Sail repairs and a full
rigging inspection were needed.....Oh what a
night!