| Slow Going...
Slow going so far, we left last evening at 5:30pm
France time...into a stiff headwind and choppy seas. Spent the night
pounding away under staysail and double=reefed main. Several upset
stomachs aboard but no mishaps other than some irritating little leaks and the
general bashing.
Until earlier today that is, when the staysail stay
turnbuckle broke at the threads just above the lower toggle.
Apparently the lashing there for the tack of the staysail was
restricting the movement of the toggle, which caused fatigue in the
threads. So we had to bear away for a while replacing the turnbuckle by
rigging up a lashing and cinching it as tight as possible. Problem solved,
other than losing some ground.
At dusk the view of the mountains of Spain to the
south of us was spectacular. Too bad there isn't time to stop...I would
love to see more of Spain than I did last fall when I was helping Tim in his
effort to get this boat ready for the Velux 5-Oceans race.
Someday...
While in La Rochelle it was great to see some of my
friends from Les Sables (see www.oceanplanet.fr), who drove down to visit and help It would have been great to see
more of La Rochelle also...these trips most often wind up as a tour of marinas
and boatyards....;-)
This evening the wind has conked out so we are
motoring slowly westward along the Spanish coast. Tomorrow the wind should
fill in from the north and we'll be taking off as this boat should be able
to. We are all looking forward to that! Don't forget you can track
our position on our website, or here:
Time for a nap...catch ya later,
From the OceanPlanet crew, aboard the Margaret
Anna! |
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