Blog 10th December
Nightsong
Thu 10 Dec 2009 22:20
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Dear Blog
Final blog for this trip - well nobody really needs
to know about the boozeups here! We crossed the finishing line at 2 mins after
midnight - desperately trying to avoid another yacht which has carried its
spinnaker to the end and after rounding Pigeon Island had managed to get it
stuck in both the prop and the rudder - so couldn't start the engine or steer. A
voyage of about 2700 miles from start to finish via the daily point to points
sailed but 2880 miles logged. Not so fast as some since we have no real downwind
sail - and of course our periods of sailing with just jib or just main while we
repaied one or the other must have cost us a day! Lots of fun was had and the
breakages meant that I never opened my book once - we were so busy. Comparing
notes everybody had large numbers of breakages except 1 yacht which carried twin
jibs for the entire time - so far we were the only yacht that I have heard of
which put someone up the mast 3 times!
 Hopefully soon we will have more scenes like this
(at Isla Ons in Galicia - a bit like the Caribbean). Meanwhile the mainsail has
gone for repair - we will do the small gennaker and stac pac ourselves, the jib
furling Furlex is next, the bowthruster pin needs doing, another trip up
the mast (at least in port) etc etc. But one break I have hidden from the
blog for fear of worrying loved ones is really the most serious - 4 stanchion
bases have broken from the deck - 1 in the first 3 days and the other 3 in the
last 3 days. Very serious and I have spoken to the MD of Southerly to express my
concern. They swear that they fitted 10mm bolts but we have photographic proof
they were only 8mm - suffered brittle fatigue fracture. There goes Xmas day for
me - sphsp! Funnily enough all the things that gave me problems over the last
year, the Duogen water generator (the real star of this trip), Watermaker,
computer/comms have worked perfectly - it's UV failure of sails, broken and
faulty shackles and this fault that have caused us headaches.
Had a few rum punches last night - and plenty more
to come until John and Tony B leave us Sunday
AJB 10/11/09
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