Up the mast

Great excitement on Day 5, with mast shenanigans…

Hi Everyone,

Well we were going fine and Charlie and I were on watch commenting on how much fun this was when suddenly the genoa ended up in the water – pitch dark.   All hands on deck and we dragged the sail back on board, The Selden swivel shackle had failed (!!!!!!!!!). We waited until light and discussed a plan. The furler head was up the mast and we needed to get a line on it to haul it down.   First volunteer was Charlie who made a valiant effort.   Second volunteer was Paul who went for a mash and grab.   Third time lucky was Julian who with a different technique was a hero and got a line connected.  Charlie Paul and Julian are true heroes and I am lucky to have them on board.  This was a major task with 15 knots of wind and rolling seas.  Then we were able to pull the furler head down and haul the genoa back up and get underway.

Then the batteries got hot and would not accept the generator charge so we had to take the lids off and allow fresh air circulation.  We now have fully charged batteries!

 So we are all tired and will have early dinners! SP

Julian will now update you on gastro issues:

Well we had all kinds of plans today from baking fresh bread to catching enormous fish, but all seemed to go out of the window sometime slightly before the sun got up!

We ending up having bacon and beans in a sandwich for breakfast and little more than cheese and biscuits for lunch.  For slightly lucky but equally unnecessary reasons as detailed above, I have found myself with an evening off, so am looking forward to what will no doubt be a fantastic supper! from my fellow comrades.

 Despite this brief but equally challenging interlude, we will be back with a full culinary report as from tomorrow! and more news on our fishing tales and overdue successes! JK

What a hero Julian is turning out to be, cooking gastronomic delights on board and scaling masts!  One question though….were they Heinz Beans?!

ARC Race progress can be seen at Fleet Viewer

Visit GN Espace to see the galley equipment Julian is using to cook up his bacon and bean sandwiches!

Image: “There’s bean a murder!” courtesy of robbophoto’s Photostream