Race 2 - Day 2
Crew Diary - Race 2, Day 2
17 September

Night Saling with the Code 2

With a wonderful 16 knots of northeasterly wind at our beam, we finally managed to raise a spinnaker (kite). We had been trying to do so for many hours and we were constantly thwarted. Initially, we had to clear four spinnaker halyards that had become wedged under the bracket holding the running backstay to the mast. Despite many attempts, we finally concluded that someone would have to go up the mast to release these. After that was done, we attempted to launch the Code 1 only to discover that it had been packed away twisted and would not fly. Having retrieved this we raised the Code 2 only to have the tack blow almost immediately due to a recurring soft shackle problem.

Having again retrieved this sail and repacked it, not easy for a sail considerably more than the length of the yacht taking a team of two to three people an hour, we finally launched this kite at around 2pm. Speed and morale immediately increased and soon we were back on track.

As the sky darkened and night fell it became increasingly difficult to find a clear target to aim at whilst helming the boat which became very challenging. It was like driving a car on the edge of control where any slight movement of the waves, the wind or the helm would throw the boat off its knife edge and would take some skill to recover. As the warm night cleared and the sea calmed we continued to make good progress towards the mark.