Not Good

Not Good

There was a bang unlike the usual bangs. Unusual is always a cause for concern. Glancing out the salon hatch I saw the Yankee no longer drawing but hanging slack in the furling foils. Not good. Not good at all.

I knew the halyard had parted as soon as I saw the loose folds in the sail. The halyard is 3/16 7×19 wire spliced to a rope tail. I chose wire specifically to avoid just this.,When I left, the shackle, NicroPress fitting and wire were in near perfect condition. What I had been guarding against had come to pass.

Breaking Standing Orders 564-23-B and 397&-8, I scrambled to the bow wearing only my inside clothes and shoes as opposed to working my way carefully in my foul weather gear. The former so I don’t fall overboard and the latter to keep at least some clothes dry. Breaking rules meant to keep you on the boat and dry is not good.

The rules went by the wayside as the jib was being pulled under the boat by bits turning into bunches as the sail fell out of the foils and over the side. Under the boat is not good.

Reeving a new halyard means a trip to the top of the mast. Definitely not good.

It took a couple of hours and a change of clothes to get the jib onboard, folded, bagged, and into a sail locker. By that time I figured my best option was Chatham Island some 600 miles Northeast and on my track anyway. Chatham would have the shelter I would need to get to the mast top and, more importantly, back down. Between me and Chatham? Northerly gales. Also not so good.

I guess you  can’t sail around the world without breaking something or running into a gale or ten.

Follow my tracks in real-time:
https://bit.ly/svseaburban