Jan 12
Last night at approx. 7pm we heard a loud bang (never a good sign!) and discovered that the vang had let go. The fitting where the vang attaches to the boom has broken. We will have to get that fixed in Panama but it isn't really having a huge impact on our sailing. We've got the main sheet and an extra tie down to help keep the boom from swinging about too much. So far not a real problem.
Another item we have to address in Panama is the whisker pole fitting on the mast - it doesn't fit our pole. So - we'll hopefully be able to buy or have one shipped while in Panama but no whisker pole for this leg.
Lee has been fishing for 2 days now - had a bite and reeled it in a bit but lost it yesterday. This morning he had another on the line and we furled the genoa and tried to land it but it managed to snap the line so no fish and out a lure too. He's now more determined then ever to land a fish.
The sailing has been beautiful, but the waves have been much bigger for the past 24 hours or so. It is a neat feeling when samsara "catches" a wave and we surf for a few seconds, it only lasts 5 or 10 seconds but our speed jumps to 11 or as high as 13 knots. Unfortunately we can't hold it longer - she's just too big and heavy to surf really well. And we've had a few boarding waves so everything in the cockpit gets soaked - luckily the scuppers drain the water very quickly.
We are now 425 miles from the finish of this leg.
Looking forward to sleeping in a nonrolling bed and going to the beach!
Pauline