Hello World!
Well... fun and games here, and we are still battling gale force winds on our little race extension detour around St Kilda.
What looked to be like a great smooth passage from New York to Derry~Londonderry has become a slightly dreaded roller coaster ride. Two days ago we parted the outer core of our mainsheet, and during this repair the winds picked up to storm force, so we set the Trisail to stabilise the boat. The Trisail is a small orange sail that can be hoisted on a separate track on the mast and is held in place with the heavyweight kite sheets.
Repairs took longer than expected so we were severely slowed down. Only later in the day were we able to re-hoist the mainsail and make better progress. We kept a conservative sail plan to keep both crew and ship safely in one piece during our endeavour around the north.
We are currently on the return from St Kilda and hope to make it on time to be able to dock in Derry~Londonderry tonight.
TTYL Patrick, James and the wet crew of Kevin.