Saturday 16 Jul 2011 - Knockdowns!

Saturday 16 Jul 2011
0600 PDT Position: 25 00 N, 147 41 W
At 8:00 PM last night we did a chicken jibe for a better heading to Diamond Head. The change was a bit hectic, but we settled on a starboard tack wing on wing with the #2 jib poled out to windward. This configuration allowed us to sail at about 240 degrees and our mark was 236. With winds in the teens gusting to over 20 and big seas, we quickly started making good time. Down below in the cabin it was a different story. Every time a confused swell hit us the wrong way or the helmsman lost focus, the sails would flail violently, the spinnaker pole would slam, and the rigging would complain. The boat moaned and groaned, things banged about, objects flew across the boat making sleep impossible. I was convinced that the rigging was going to implode. Instead of sleeping I spent the next five hours planning my escape for when the mast came crashing down. It turned out that everything was fine. I've just never been in the cabin below the rigging while sailing downwind wing on wing in rough seas. Above deck the sailing was rather smooth and we made good progress at 7.5-8.9 kts.

3:18 PM
Sorry for the lack of updates. The sea conditions were very rough yesterday making it difficult to use the computer and I felt a bit ill this morning. Yesterday we thought that we made pretty good progress. We were able to sail at 7.5-8.9 knots most of the day due to the strong winds and following seas. Although we were not sailing directly to Diamond Head, we thought that the heading was close enough to gain on the fleet. Consequently, we were disappointed to see that we fell to 6th place based on the daily position report. Last night we saw a boat pass a few miles behind us with its red spinnaker flying on a more direct course. That was probably Traveler. We felt that the seas and winds were too rough to fly the spinnaker at night and opted for the slower but more controllable wing on wing configuration. Unfortunately, the winds frequently shifted along with the squalls and they were often in a less favorable direction. This morning just after 10:00 we hoisted the large .85 oz spinnaker on a port tack and furled the jib. This allowed us to sail a little closer to the rhumb line. We sailed on a heading of 216 degrees at 6.8-7.9 kts and 542 nm to Diamond Head. There's still time for us to gain on the others and improve our standing. I started feeling nauseous just after we set the spinnaker. I haven't worn the patch for over a week and don't know why I was feeling so bad. I put on a patch, sat out my watch looking at the horizon, drank lots of water, and am now feeling better. I might have been dehydrated from all of the activity while raising the spinnaker in the rough seas barefoot. I hope I'm not getting that terrible bug that Mary's had. I should be OK by my next watch.

10:00 PM
Shortly before our 7:00 PM watch, we experienced a broach with Curt at the helm! We were flying the .85 oz spinnaker on a port tack when a squall hit us. The combination of a large swell and high winds caused the boat to round up and broach. Curt was unable to steer the boat down wind and it rolled to its side. Mary and Ed were in the cockpit and the remaining crew were down below resting or getting ready for dinner. Water poured in the bow hatch and doused Harry. Tom quickly donned his life preserver and jumped up in the cockpit to help ease the pressure on the sail and return the boat to the upright position. As the others got on the deck we were able to get the spinnaker back under control. Fortunately nobody went overboard or got hurt and Randy was able to salvage the beef Stroganoff dinner he was preparing. Since the squall past as quickly as it hit, we continued on our way only with a bit more adrenalin pumping through our veins. About an hour later while Graham was at the helm and I was trimming the spinnaker, we saw another nasty looking squall approaching. We reported it to Harry and he told us to carry on. Graham did a remarkable job keeping the boat downwind as the squall hit us. Then another combination of cyclonic wind and violent swell caused the boat to round down. I eased the spinnaker sheet as instructed in the previous incident but the sail continued to pull the boat down. We had a complete knockdown with the boom in the water. As before, Tom and others came up from the cabin to help. Harry gave the order to pull out the furled jib and douse the spinnaker. Unfortunately, the spinnaker got wrapped around the headstay and the jib furler line was knotted. Tom used his knife to cut away a line that fouled up on the bow. The spinnaker sheets and guys were trailing in the water behind us as Harry and I tried to retrieve them. I pulled one set aboard but the other set was lost. Randy freed the furling line and pulled out the jib. Tom unwrapped the spinnaker and we pulled it into the cabin. I helped Tom lower and stow the spinnaker pole, secure the halyards, guys, topping lift, etc. Again, nobody fell overboard and nobody got injured. The amazing thing is that the spinnaker did not get damaged. We let the squall pass and then raised the spinnaker again and furled the jib. Randy, Graham, and I finished our watch at 10:00 sailing at 8+ kts on a course of 215 degrees and with 500 nm to go! At 10:30 PM, the sea state was building to the point where the boat was getting difficult to control. Consequently, Harry gave the all hands call to unfurl the jib and douse the spinnaker. We unfurled the jib smoothly. Unfortunately, while lowering the spinnaker we lost hold the the sheet and had difficulty pulling it into the cockpit. The spinnaker fell in the water and got ripped on an unprotected lifeline fastener circlip while retrieving it. This was our nicest spinnaker and we hoped that it could be repaired. Harry then asked us to pole the jib out to windward in a wing on wing setup. Tom managed the bow, I managed the pole, and Curt, Mary, Graham, and Randy managed the foreguy, topping lift, and sheets. After some difficulty due to the darkness, we finally got the pole and jib setup for a nice downwind heading towards Diamond Head at a speed of 6.5-7.5 kts with 493 nm to go. Hopefully this will be the last of our excitement for today.