It wouldn't be offshore sailing if something major didn't break or malfunction.
Tuesday - Noon, May 29
Position Update
34
00.0 North by 075 30.8 West
We are just crossing the 34 N parallel and about 60 miles to the ESE of Morehead City (MFF) & Beaufort, North
Carolina (one of our stopping off points on the way south). We have been doing a fair amount of motor sailing today because the wind is directly astern and with the medium seas it makes it hard to avoid gybing when the boat rolls from side-to-side. This morning's watch experienced a couple of crash gybes - one of which was foreceful enought to knock the main sheet traveller about eight inches off center, rendering the mainsail completely unusable (using it owuld have just ripped the whole traveller off the deck).
It turned into a fine moring project (after coffee and oatmeal of course).
We took the main hatch apart and got to the backside of the nuts and bolts that keep the traveller secured to the deck. We then had to put together
some makeshift tools to access the mounting hardware, but once we got the nuts loosened we were able to move the traveller back, straighten out some bolts and re-attach everything. So now it is a good as new and as soon as
the wind moves to either side, we'll put the main back up. For now we are motor-sailing with the jib, and getting a little lift from the favorable GS current. If all goes as planned we will pass Cape Hatteras in about ten
hours (approx midnight) and arrive Cape May approximately 24 hours later. There is some weather expected, so we'll keep an eye on that to see if it puts a wrench in our current plans.
Everyone is doing well .. the hot
air and rolly seas have a couple of crew members under the weather, but
everyone who needs it is getting plenty of rest and staying hydrated. The
seas are much calmer today and we are running the engine, so for the first
time on this trip we are using the autopilot to do some of the driving -
which lets everyone rest and relax a little more. All in all, we're having a
great time, and other that the main sheet traveler mess and subsequent
repair its been a pretty uneventful, restful day.
Sail on !
We are just crossing the 34 N parallel and about 60 miles to the ESE of Morehead City (MFF) & Beaufort, North
Carolina (one of our stopping off points on the way south). We have been doing a fair amount of motor sailing today because the wind is directly astern and with the medium seas it makes it hard to avoid gybing when the boat rolls from side-to-side. This morning's watch experienced a couple of crash gybes - one of which was foreceful enought to knock the main sheet traveller about eight inches off center, rendering the mainsail completely unusable (using it owuld have just ripped the whole traveller off the deck).
It turned into a fine moring project (after coffee and oatmeal of course).
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