Monday April 26, good morning wind! With the code sail up we’re cruising 7knots in an 12.5knots of breeze. When the wind shifted we took her down, only to have the halyard break, again for the fourth time! The sail had been laying on the deck, and halyard attached just before raising. The halyard was in good condition. Last time we took it down we noticed the code sails halyard’s outer rope cover was stripped off only the core remaining, when we raised it, the sail was on the spinnaker halyard. Something always happens when this sail is up, the high maintenance NorthSails code sail. The sail is great when up but the Harken furling mechanism is still not right! It may just get turned into an expensive awning!
Just as my watch had ended and I was getting ready for bed, the wind picked up with rain. There were several squalls throughout the night, with gusts in the low to mid 20’s. Needless to say I didn’t sleep very well. Dan got a workout constantly adjusting the sails, but he likes to do that!
*Iridium Go Notes*
A Good Start to the Week
Mon 26/Apr 22:26 GMT-11
17º 44.186 S 166º 29.576 W
Course: 279° true, 5.5 kts
Indeed, early Monday morning the wind began to blow from the northeast and has been a steady breeze for over 18 hours now. Maybe we’ll get to Fiji after all!
Our buddy boat s/v Ocean Sapphire, a 46’ catamaran really flies in these conditions (a little behind beam reaching with 10-13 knots of wind, calm seas), and they are out of sight ahead of us. Eventually we’ll catch-up.
Because of the full moon, the overcast sky is soo bright you’d think we’re in Alaska.
Sailing Trance 