Hello team,
Happy Fizz Friday, wherever you are. Hope your week has been good and you are all set for the weekend. Although it sounds like some of you could well be clearing up after the floods in some parts of the UK, our thoughts are with you if that is the case.
This end some positive news; firstly, our log reading is currently 3109nm and our distance to go is standing at 2799nm, so a pretty important milestone. Secondly the weather forecast we received yesterday indicated far more favourable winds to help us to Seattle. Fingers crossed that remains so and the weather does as indicates. As we know sometimes the weather doesn’t always follow the computer modelling script.
It’s good to have positive news when we have more dynamic problem-solving opportunities to deal with. The latest is, I was awoken to be informed we had torn our mainsail. We have a 30cm vertical tear at the luff which has exposed the bolt rope and damaged the mainsail luff slider attachment. Initial indications lead us to believe it's been caused by an issue with the mainsail track, which you might remember we damaged due to a self-inflicted injury on Leg 5. Exceptionally frustrating. The tear to the sail appears to have been caused when a slider got jammed while we were shaking a reef out to go to a full main.
We now can't set the main sail below Reef 2. (So, no Reef 1 or full main) The length of time to repair is going to be significant, so now it's a balancing act of when, or if we repair at sea. It will need to go to a loft in Seattle either way. It will involve taking the main completely off and a lot of hand sewing. Unless we get wind hole for a long time, we can't afford to not to make use of the wind we have. Also, we need to full identify the cause and address that first, which is currently work in progress. The other issue is that it’s really cold now, so dexterity is going to be an issue sewing it and then refitting. However, as you can see from the Race Viewer we are still making good progress on Reef 2 and currently the Yankee 1.
Yesterday afternoon was glorious sunshine, clear, blue crisp skies. In fact, Dave thought it was so sunny he came up on deck, wearing just his boxer shorts, a t shirt and his crocs (and his life jacket as well, obviously). He was photographed sitting between two other crew who we couldn’t work out the identity of due to the layers of clothing, including buffs etc., that they were wrapped in. Thankfully it was just for a photo, as if it had been for a drawing I think we would have had a sculpture to deal with. Jilly also thought he would make use of the sunshine to dry out his damp wet weather gear, an ambitious idea, especially when Kevin missed time helming a wave and all of us on deck disappeared under a bracing wave of the green stuff!
Overnight we hit the furthest north we are going to sail in the eastern longitudes (46º 45.31’N) and we have started to head back down towards, what we are calling stage four, ‘Highway 45’, its start marked by the International Date Line, another significant milestone on Race 10, and for those undertaking a circumnavigation.
Today it’s National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day – oh how I wish we could be taking part in that. Although I would have to have the cheese melted over sliced tomatoes with a thin layer of marmite on the bread – awesome.
Oh, why did the cheese merchant fall over? Because he only had a stilt-on.
On a personal note, well played guys on that surprise email. Very unexpected, so appreciated, so much more than adequate. Those involved know, thank you.
Think that’s all for now, standing by this channel.
David, Maisie and the Bekezela crew