Race 9 - Day 28
Crew Diary - Race 9 Day 28: Qingdao to Seattle
20 April

Jerome Greenhalgh
Jerome Greenhalgh
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This is the most tired I have felt so far on my Clipper Race adventure.

Our mast track broke in two places during the storm we experienced and two sections were pulled out of the mast, meaning the sail was not held to the mast in two places. This forced us to drop the main sail and wait for the storm to pass. The anticipation of going up the mast and repairing the damage built up in my mind for a couple of days. I was not looking forward to it as I knew that it would be a tough repair given that the boat would be rocking and pitching in the waves.

Nikki and I agreed on how we wanted to fill the gaps with new track, of which we have a length ready to be cut down for such eventualities. We set about raiding our tool boxes and spares boxes for everything I needed to carry out the work at about 8 am (Day 22, 12 Feb) and I was up the mast at about 10 am. The sea state was still moderate with about 1-2 meter waves pushing the boat about so it was a massive challenge positioning myself such that I was able to work. I felt confident that I could carry out the work despite being thrown about quite a lot, I made sure I was as securely fastened to the mast as possible and then got started. I was starting at the upper section that needed repairing. The first step was to cut the piece that was still on the mast so that we had a clean join that would allow the sliders in the main sail to go up and down. Nikki had cut a piece of material already and so my next task was to get the part to fit in the gap, this took me about 2 hours and in hindsight we should have measured the gap and tailored a piece to it afterwards. After that I came down and Nikki drilled some clearance holes in the piece of track so that we could screw it to the mast. The pressure was on to get the repair done in time as we were not moving as fast as we could have been with a full main sail flying and we were trying the make sure we were staying with the weather. We decided that I would then go back up again after having had a quick bite to eat and measure the other gap in the track so that Nikki could prepare the replacement whilst I attached the top part. Going up again was not easy as the harness was painful and I knew that I would be up there for a long time. I also had experience in what the conditions were like so I knew what I was in for. A further couple of hours of struggling and I had some of the holes drilled ready to have screws put in but the progress was really slow. Getting thrown around by the movement of the boat and having to be very careful with the tools I was using meant that I was spending very little time doing the actual repair so after speaking to Nikki we decided that having a second person up the mast would be useful and make things go faster. Simon came up quite quickly and he immediately made a difference as I could concentrate on what I was doing and he could pass me what I needed. By this time the wind and waves were starting to get up and, we were told afterwards, the boat was surfing at 19 knots at one point.

At about 19:00 we had successfully completed the upper repair and came down to check that the second section of track fit the gap. Unfortunately it was about 5mm too big so we sent it down to be re-cut and busied ourselves with preparing the ends of the existing track ready for the new section. After the section had been re-cut we were happy with everything and so came down for some dinner and to drill the holes in the track. By this time it was dark but we wanted to try and get the repair done so that we could get up to full speed again. By this point I had been up the mast for about 9 hours and was getting pretty tired. I felt happy that we had completed the first part of the repair but also a little bit annoyed that it had taken so long and that we still had so much to do but I was determined to get it done. After a quick dinner of scrambled eggs and beans on toast, Simon and I went back up the mast to try and drill the five holes in the mast and attach the track. It seemed that the sea state had gotten worse and with it being dark our ability to see the movement of the boat was restricted, meaning that bracing ourselves was even harder. After two hours of struggling and almost breaking the drill bit several times, I made the really difficult call to stop work and get some rest as well as to hopefully let the sea state calm a little before renewing our efforts in the morning. Making the call and telling Nikki was a really hard thing to do as I knew how much she wanted us to get the repair done so we could go sailing again but the risk of breaking the drill bit or something else going wrong that would cause us to not be able to complete the repair at all was on my mind. Simon agreed with my reasoning, he had also been up for a long time. Nevertheless when we got back onto the deck we were disappointed. I was disappointed as I felt I had let the team and Nikki down as we had been aiming to get the main back up by the end of the day and we couldn't deliver. Nikki came to ask me what the thinking was and after explaining it we shared a hug. We all put ourselves under a lot of pressure to deliver and in this instance we couldn't but I was determined to get it done so we agreed to go back up at first light which gave me about six hours to get some rest.

Fortunately when I woke up at 5 AM it felt calmer but I was feeling pretty tired, however I was determined to get the job done by the time the next watch came on duty. That is to say within the next three hours. Given that we had quite a lot of experience with what tools I needed, we packed the tool bag a bit lighter and made sure everything was accessible. We decided not to wake Simon as his energy and drive would be needed once the sail was back up and I was confident that I could drill the remaining holes and screw in the six remaining screws in on my own. As I was hoisted up the mast I could feel all my muscles straining and the harness digging into to the same familiar and sore spots on my legs but the job was going to get done and I had been promised a nice long rest afterwards. I managed to get the lower piece of track secured quite quickly and I was very proud because the night before, I had drilled one hole completely and started 2 and it didn't look like any of them would align but when all was done, the new piece lined up beautifully and the main sail sliders ran through without getting caught on anything. I then had to quickly go back up and add one more screw into the first piece of track just to make sure that it did not get ripped out, the holes were already drilled so it was a question of screwing in the screw. Just as the other watch were coming up on deck for watch handover, I finished and I interrupted them with my arms outstretched and received a big cheer. After that, it was action stations all around as we needed to drop our storm sail (a very small sail used in big storms when the main is too big) that we had been flying instead of the main sail tidy everything up and get the main sail hoisted all the way up. I was dropped down and went to have a quick word with Simon who understandably would have liked to have gone up with me to help finish the job but he understood why he had not been woken, his contribution was enormous enough as he had helped lay the foundations for getting it all done quickly. I then went to have breakfast with my watch who sang me happy birthday as I came down the companion way steps. I felt elated that the repair was done and that the main could go up. I was still nervous that it would get caught somewhere and that I would have to go back up to free it somehow but just as I was finishing my third bowl of porridge, the main reached the top without a hiccup. I slept very well after that.

A big mention to all those that helmed whilst I was up the mast, although it was not easy they did a great job in not throwing me around too much. A special mention also goes to Lizzie who let me sleep instead of helping her with the lunch preparations. We teamed up again for dinner after I was rested, but that is another story!