[password]seabird14
[position] 00 49.8 S 028 13.9 W
[heading] 318T
[speed] 3.8kts
[weather] 7kts ENE, seas 1m NE, cc 40%, 1014 mb, 88F
[status] DAY 15 2047 nm to Barbados. Stbd beam reach sgl rf main and jib, 3.8kts at 318T. After motor sailing for 20 hours starting yesterday afternoon, 8-10 kts of wind filled in this morning so we decided to shut the main down in order to give her a rest and check the oil/etc. Unfortunately, upon restart, the transmission was stuffed, clutch is gone. No go forward, which equals no go, and not fixable until we can next haul out. So, here we are in the doldrums, about 60nm south of the equator, with little to no wind. But we are a sailboat, we have been through worse, and we will eke our way through this. Light air sailing requires us to deploy our Code zero sail again. We have been working on the deck for an hour or so trying to deploy the Code zero sail, but the equatorial heat and sun being what it is, we have had to take a break for some lunch and shade. We have a bit of a problem with the Code zero. When last furled up a week or so ago, it did not get furled tightly enough and so the top half of the sail came unfurled in a squall at night, hourglassed, and generally mucked up the whole self furling system. Basically, the top of the sail is partly deployed and furled one way, whereas the bottom is furled up the opposite, and tightly. At the time Harl managed to single-handedly drop the sail and get it all on deck without any complications, and when the sun rose on that day we felt victorious just to get the whole mess of a sail back in the bag and stowed below in the locker, to be sorted out while next peacefully at anchor. Except now we need that sail, with winds to be between 2-8kts for the next few days. So it is back up top to work it all out. On the positive note, our slower progression toward the northern hemisphere means Harl has the potential to pass by the St Peter and St Paul rocks during the daylight hours, a famous navigational landmark used by sailors of old, and often talked about in the fabulous Aubrey Maturin book series.
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