Well, I must be nearing the trade winds as the wind has clocked around to the NNE and gotten a bit steadier. I was having trouble keeping the sails full and maintaining a course of 240 degrees so I decided to try sailing dead down wind, DDW, at a course of about 210 degrees. This will put me just about on my intermediate waypoint of 05 N, 125 W (about 900 miles away). This is the point often recommended for crossing the ITCZ and the equator. Once I get to the ITCZ, wherever it is, I will head due south and try to get through it as fast as possible.
One of the shackles on the main sheet came free today and so I scrambled to get the pin back in and get the sheet back in place. Apparently the wire holding the shackle had broken and the pin backed out. Luckily, I didn't lose the pin - I found it on the deck. After getting it all back together I used a new piece of wire to mouse it.
I decided to try going wing and wing DDW and the motion of the boat is much better as the swell is more on the stern quarter. Actually, I am now running wing and wing and wing. The mizzen is out to port, the main out to starboard (both with preventers) and the genoa is poled out to port. HAL seems to be holding the course pretty well but I worry about an accidental jibe in the middle of the night. The other issue I have been dealing with is chafe. The lazy jib sheet was rubbing against the staysail stay and was nearly worn through. Luckily, I have many spare sheets and I put another one on and made sure it wasn't chafing.
I also serviced one of the winches today as it got dirty from all our recent teak sanding and wasn't grinding well. After taking it apart and cleaning it with diesel fuel it now works great again.
Made 110 miles yesterday and on about the same pace today so progress has improved somewhat. This should continue to improve as the trades fill in. I've gone over 600 miles and counting! This makes this officially my longest passage, the previous longest was from the Bahamas to North Carolina with Chris on Faro almost exactly one year ago.
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3 comments:
Hey Dave, checking in on your blog often. Do you have some zip ties? Helpful if you can use them with shackles where a pin may drop in the night and be lost overboard. My ears were alert to any little sound like a pin drop on deck, as I'm sure yours are too! Oops that's right, no internet, sending this thought through telepathy! Fair winds.
where are you now
that was from kristi briggs
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