La Contenta - Day 17: Hey ho and up she rises

Day 17: Hey ho and up she rises (What do we do with the drunken sailor?)

 

This is beginning to sound monotonous but we are having another day becalmed at sea.  The wind is but a whisper and our boat speed is registering 0 once again.  We have a glimmer of hope on the horizon as an email in this morning says we could have done nothing to avoid this area of zero wind and that we should be on the move again this evening.  Ewen has managed to get his homeward flights rearranged to give him a buffer zone of an extra five days and he looks as though a weight has been lifted from his shoulders.

 

When the wind is absent its very hot here.  There are patches of shade provided by the bimini and the sails, but as the boat pirouettes in response to the swell and wind this constantly changes making it almost impossible to find an area consistently out of the sun.  We are getting through huge amounts of drinking water and are grateful for our working water maker.  To cool off its great to sit on the steps on the stern of the boat and dangle legs into the water.  Its reminiscent of the simple pleasures of childhood.  The water plays between your toes as you look straight down into the deep blue of the ocean.  And of course there’s always the chance for a refreshing dip.

 

This afternoon when the heat was starting to go out of the sun and the boat speed was still zero we decided that it was swim o’clock.  When we went to lower the main sail we noticed that a portion of the main halyard had lost the outer coating around the dyneema.  It had literally been stripped back over a portion of a meter or so.  This was totally unexpected.  We can only think that with all of the rocking and rolling the jammer on the mast had clamped it and created the chaffing as we used the winch.  It needed to be replaced.  There was a rapid change of plan and lead by Captain Dave we all worked together.  It was a huge relief when we saw the new halyard being hoisted and rise up the mast.  Hey ho – all in a days work.

 

By the time the main was back up there was the hint of some wind.  Eager to maximise any wind, we set the sails and headed (vey slowly) towards the setting sun.  Rum o’clock.  What do we do with the drunken sailor?