Sunday March 19 Today for the first time in about 10 days we have another yacht visible on AIS and in range of the VHF radio. The winds have been a little lighter so our reduced sail due to protect the main from further damage is making us a little slower and Paw Paw is catching us slowly.
Jeremy, Erich and I discussed putting up the Spinnaker which would make us a little faster in these lighter wind conditions. This sail requires attention at all times by someone on the sheet line and the person on the helm in case there is a big wind shift and we end up with the spinnaker wrapped around the forestay. The decision was unanimous, leave it as it is, forget about going a little faster speed and we went back to whatever we were are doing. Call us lazy???? ok you try ..all day looking up at the top of a sail the size of a two story house with the sun shining into your eyes. For only half a knot more of extra speed. We will then see who is lazy.
We called Paw Paw on the VHF and asked if they would save us a couple of prawns from the BBQ as we will be in behind them. They said they would.
I asked Paw Paw what sail config they were using. Their Chicken Shute they said. What is a Chicken Shute? I asked. This is what they call a small Spinnaker they bought second hand for only $400. It is way smaller than the spinnaker that they would normally use. They are like me, the normal spinnaker takes too much concentration. They are good for a couple of hours racing out on the bay, but try it for 7 days and nights. Their Chicken Shute is only as wide as their catamaran, about 25 feet. So they hold the clew and the tack (the two bottom corners of the sail) down with blocks ( pulleys ) at the front of each hull. Then raise it with the normal spinnaker halyard (rope to pull it up). The sail is held firmly in place and cannot collapse. It was made of 2.5oz Dacron so can take winds up to 20 Kts. The perfect down wind sail for the stress free budget conscious sailor. I will keep an eye out for one when I get back to Australia. Thank you Paw Paw.
Jeremy had a good find today in one of the fishing boxes, a device that dives to pull the lure below the surface. This is exactly what we were trying to make a few days ago out of some flat bar aluminum. Hopefully this is the magic bit of kit we need to help us catch a fish. At present we have not caught any, except the one that Zoom caught for us when a flying fish flew through an open hatch and landed on Jeremy and Jacqui while they were sleeping.
Today I did another little repair job that has been on my to do list for about 3 years which was to glue down one end of a metal hand rail on the stairs down to the port hull.
By the time I get home do you think I will run out of things to do? . not a change this is sailing yacht sitting in salt water 24/7/365 things wear out, rust up, break, come loose . every day at least that is what is seems like. These items are not parts of the construction of the yacht but ancillary items. Pumps, electronic equipment, ropes, normal wear and tear of vessel being used. Sitting in salt water or salt laden air every day is a very harsh environment for any type of equipment.
I am a floating electrician, plumber, carpenter, diesel mechanic, petrol mechanic, seamstress, sail repairer, electronics technician. Sometimes I even get to do a little sailing. Maybe this is why I eat one and a half times the food as anyone else on board and still stay thin. However on this trip we have two great cooks and I think I am putting on weight, this is a first on any longer voyage I have made.
Tomorrow, just for the hell of it we are going to try a different sail plan. Not the spinnaker but using the Genoa and the storm sail with the main down. If this gives us the same speed as the reefed main it will be good. If not we may try the spinnaker for a while.
We watched the latest James Bond movie tonight. Always good entertainment a bit of the old bond.
I am on the 10-12pm watch tonight and sending this at this time because night is the best time for SSB communications so achieves better upload speeds.
————————————————- Do not push the “reply” button to respond to this message if that includes the text of this original message in your response. Messages are sent over a very low-speed radio link. The most concise way to reply is to send a NEW message to: ianonzoom@zoomaway.net.au If you DO use your reply button, be sure to delete the original message text and these instructions from your reply. Replies should not contain attachments and should be less than 5 kBytes (2 text pages) in length. This email was delivered by an HF private coast station in the Maritime Mobile Radio Service, operated by the SailMail Association, a non-profit association of yacht owners. For more information on this service or on the SailMail Association, please see the web site at: www.sailmail.com