[password]seabird14
[position] 34 58.7 S 019 58.0 E
[heading] 292T
[speed] 8.4
[weather] 10-12 E, 1m swell E, 1017 mb, 20%cc
[status] 89 nm to Simon's Town, SA. Motorsailing 8.4kts at 275T, dbl reefed main. Well perhaps it was a bit naive (or optimistic?) that we could make this final 400 nm passage without any drama ... At 1315 yesterday afternoon, we gybed our main and snapped the main halyard. The halyard and block got wrapped up toward the top of the mast, with the sail only one third of the way down, making dropping the sail all the way down impossible. So it was up the mast 2 separate times to cut it loose and re-reave the spare main halyard. All of this while in 25-30kts of wind, 3-4m seas, pitching and rolling as we motored during this repair to keep the sail from flogging all over the deck. We had to issue a "PAN PAN" on the radio since we were approaching an offshore oil platform, in the the middle of the shipping lanes, and had limited maneuverability. Three hours after it snapped we could only hoist the main sail with a second reef as we were unable to get the halyard fragments unwrapped from the top of the mast, around the running backs, the top of the sail and the spreader. We got back under sail on course moving away from the oil platform and shipping traffic, as evening approached and the red sky to the west greeted us. At this point Harley pondered out loud, "does 'red sky at night' actually mean the opposite in the southern hemisphere?" ... We re-grouped, had some hot beverages and showers, nursed various mild contusions, and resumed our night watches. Just when all was calm and going well, we were in for another adrenaline rush when, at 0115 this morning, we hit a whale. Seriously, we can't make this stuff up! Rushing topsides, we inspected everything and cautiously concluded that Kailani did not suffer any damage (no word from the whale...). The wind went very light early this morning, so after daylight, breakfast and coffee, and after much cautious contemplation, we decided it was best to motor for a few hours to get around Cape Aghulas before nightfall, when the wind should fill in enough that we can make way DDW with only a dbl reefed main. We are reluctant at this point to rig a poled out headsail, suspicious a bit of what may come our way. We hope to make it in tonight by midnight local.
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