Fifth day at sea – First repairs

Dear Readers,

Yesterday evening I was sitting with his laptop in the madly rolling
Cabin, give me a little new entertainment on my MP3 player for
to play the night watch (jaahaa, Maverick since a lot has happened
;-)), Egi than me gloomily called on deck: "We have a
Problem – just look!". I had quickly pulled over the oilskin trousers
and jumped on deck – and indeed: The major was torn, an
second Reffreihe. Shit happens, because we still have good 1.700
Nautical miles to go before. While we can not put it in the third reef, but
If we should meet again on weak winds, We were pretty
handicapped with the broken sail. "Anyway, since we can always
nothing change …", we thought and left us only from 3/4
Yankee rolled out through the night. With nevertheless still 6 Knots.
Granted, We were in front of the sail plan übertakelt a little way
with an average of 7,5 Knots, im Surf oft bis 9, even clear
12 Knots. Was just so fun, But we should really
not to speed, but durability sail.

Yesterday I had the "long night". Or the "short", when the
Sleep expects. When I this morning to 8 climbed into the bunk made himself
Egi dran, the line for the third reef to pull the sail and the United
mend. Was probably quite well. Yesterday had found Egi
"Mist, I like black and green Dyneema yarn, but none in
Segelfarbe!". Seems, as should also the worst part of the plan
been his. Looks like it stitched and taped while not pretty, but
should hold on to the Azores. What is better at 16 Knoten Wind
and up to 3 Meters aft wave of easy not to make. No sooner had
the sail repairs completed, Egi called me back from the bunk: "We
do not have a problem!". I had the noise klängelnde
from the stern ago wondered …

A view up: Der Random (the "antenna") Radars des war
torn and dangling from the backstay over the cockpit. Now you have to
to say, that the radar on the typical American and Gavdos
was driven rather strange: A stainless steel tube thinning, the
was mounted parallel to the backstay and maintained by selbiges, contributed
approximately 3 Meters above the halbhardanisch suspended and fairly
Random heavy, of course, rocked back and forth in each wave
was. By torsional forces, the pipe had by the rotary movements
simply worked more thin and was now broken. A
Murder spectacle, to get the whole thing from the top down. At least with the
described above sea conditions. We have finally, at the
Cardanic gelöst, need to cut the cable and now do without radar.
Damage, because sometimes it was very convenient. Now it is in the
Vorschiffskoje and takes a rest from all the rocking.

We see again: All, which is available on board to technology, shall
eventually break down. Just curious, that with me on the journey
Maverick on the first leg to the Canaries also after about 400
Miles is only torn the large and then run down the radar.
Tze….!

Despite the reduced sail area we made good progress: One-hour period of 138
Miles. More 1690 Miles to the Azores. The position is 40 Grad
22,1' N, 065 18.3 degrees' In

Until tomorrow!

Your John