Reading: The Constant Rabbit (Jasper Fforde) & An Unsung Hero (Michael Smith)
Weather: NE 2-4 – variable. Clear for most of the day ….
Thought for the day: Thinking can be over-rated ….
Evening meal: Roast pork, roast potatoes and brussels
Course: 185-195oC before gybe and then around 260oC after
Distance covered: At 1200 we had done 3,381 miles
Wildlife headcount: A few small birds …..
We passed the islands during the night without even seeing them, so that was that little bit of excitement done! We then carried on until midday and at the watch change gybe-hoh …. Actually more gyyyyyybbbbbeee-hooooooh as nothing happens that fast on board. This is for good reasons – just the weight of wood alone coming across the boat in a gybe is enough to floor a herd of elephants, so everything is done sequentially, carefully and precisely. First the mainsheet is sheeted right in along with the staysail and both are pinned with the preventers. The new jib sheet is prepared across to the new winch. Then the running backstays are prepared and the Tommy Hunter (a kind of running forestay for the mizzen). The mizzen though is not sheeted in or there would not be enough steerage. Then once everyone is ready, round we go – slowly ….. I was on the helm for this one and, although everything is very slow, it is still quite nerve-racking. Once the main and mizzen are across everything is reset with the priority being the running backstays. Gradually all the sails are reset and preventers re-rigged. After the gybe we were making about 260oC – a perfect course to take us across towards Rio for the next few days.
The only slight downer of the day is that the charging point on the satphone has broken so we are out of touch a little as we head across past Rio, but we have a weather report and all the information we need, so are not exactly flying blind! Once we get to Isla Grande we hope to get the phone fixed or an alternative set up.
