Our position @ 1335 UTC 3 27.S 36 59.W
We were sailing along yesterday and suddenly we had one of our many squalls. After that squall we noticed that our batten from the mainsail was falling out. Being afraid that we would lose it or it would tear the sail , we took the mainsail down to fix it. With all the wind and squalls it was impossible to keep the sail still enough to work on it. The wind was fluky with gusts and then nothing. So we abandoned the idea of using the main and tried to sail only with the jib. Well, that didn't work very well and we really wanted to sail wing and wing. So we decided to motor until things calmed down to fix the sail. It got dark and Bill just decided to wait until morning to fix it and continue sailing along. So in the end we motored all night until we could fix the sail.
That tacked on quite a few hours on our engine time for the rally. Hope that doesn't come back to haunt us. Earlier in the day we tried to fix it too and then Bill discovered the engine coolant was leaking out so we had to stop and attempt to repair the engine. So we were bouncing around with Bill in the engine room trying to fix the leak and then later with the sail. It was not a good end to a squally day. Up until the batten incident we were feeling pretty good and gaining some good ground on the boats who were in the lead.
So this is a new day and we are sailing along with the jib and mail wing and wing. We hope to make up for our lost ground. I ended up waking Bill and Matt up at 6 am since we had good wind. My idea was to get an earlier start on our sail and stop the motoring. They were a little grumpy but later were happy to see some good boat speed with the good winds. I did give them both an extra nap for all their efforts. We can surely tell that we are coming closer to the equator. It is hotter than ever! No a/c so we can conserve some fuel since this is a long leg and we may need it. We are in a bit of a rush since my sister , Maryann, is coming to visit us in Grenada. We are all excited to see her. I am especially excited because I will be living it up in a hotel with her.
We hope to get some pampering with pool and spa. We may even get in some snorkeling and shopping. A firm bed, a stationary shower , and not bumping into the walls sounds like heaven to me. So until then we will plug along toward our goal of Grenada.
I have heard some of the fleet have been catching some fish. That sounds delicious but I will just be happy with some good wind.
Rosemary, Bill, and Matt