Time: 06/01/2008 1200 UTC
Lat: 39 deg 11' N
Lon: 39 deg 02' W
Heading: 108 M
Speed: 6.5 kt
Wind: W 10-15 kt
Seas: 1-3 ft
Weather: Sunny, 70 deg F.
The ribs were amazing, as was our last bottle of wine. We did a booze inventory – definitely won't have any to declare to Azores customs. 15 cans of beer and a half bottle of rum. We probably have another 5 days ahead of us. I don't want to sound like an alcoholic, but that's not a lot of beer for five days of beautifully fair and sunny weather.
We've been eating fresh produce the whole way as well, and that's about to run out. We have several pounds of potatoes and onions, half a clove of garlic, one mango, two tomatoes, a half dozen limes, two oranges, six apples, one green pepper a head of lettuce and four jalapenos. If Hugo's reading this, he's thinking mango salsa. A fitting end to our choicest produce – I'll see to it.
We have a year's supply of dehydrated vegetables, which for whatever reason isn't moving as fast as the fresh stuff. We're down to our last pound of coffee, but have plenty of meats, cheeses, eggs and tortillas. We're not going to starve, but we've grown accustomed to a certain level of haute cuisine, and I believe we're about to be recalibrated. Without drink.
Last night, I'd been on watch a couple of hours when I notice the wind clock suddenly from the southwest to the west. The spinnaker, which we'd debated taking down for the night but opted to capitalize on the speed it offered, swung suddenly against the forestay and collapsed. I yanked the sheet as fast as I could move across the cockpit, but I was too late. It had hourglassed around the forestay, and I could do nothing but watch as it wrapped once, again, again, again, until it was a snarled flogging mess. I tried changing course, running downwind, taking it up, jibing, but could only add wraps, not remove them. I woke my father, and we repeated these techniques unsuccessfully. The manner in which it wrapped shaped the top hourglass like a turbine blade, insistent on orbiting the forestay in one direction only. My father steered while I went on the foredeck to loose the tack.
I was able to unravel the bottom wraps, but the sail was too much to gather to manage the top. We tried tacking and jibing 360's, and the third jibe roused Kelly. With Kelly and my father on the foredeck and me at the wheel, we managed to blanket the chute with the mainsail and muscle it around the forestay. The next thing I know, it is unraveled and my father has doused the chute. We decided to unfurl the genoa rather than try our luck with the spinnaker again. The end of my shift, I went to bed exhausted while my father and Kelly stayed up to greet the morning.
By noon, we had the chute out again. The day has been perfect. Warm, sunny, breezy – great daysailing weather. We spoke with our weather forecaster (thanks, Mom), who warned us of light air the next day or two. We're within motoring range at this point, but we'd still like to sail the whole way to "prove our mettle." So, we may languish without progress for a day or two. However, we'll have Robyn and my mom meeting us in Horta on Sunday. Our stubbornness will see compromise if it comes down to it. And let's be honest - 15 beers? How long are we really going to last?
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