L'Eau Commotion Westabout

At around 6am Brisbane time whilst still lying to the sea anchor and of course still pitch black a fairly loud crash then slide bang slide bang. First thoughts were the solid glass saucepan lid had come adrift in the galley so grudgingly out of the cozy bunk - its 10 degrees in the cabin - to stow it away. Not the problem. A quick look around from Meerkat Mansion I spotted the sliding banging culprit. Breaking rules I scrambled out on to the side deck and retrieved this swage fitting. Although all standing and running rigging still seemed to be intact I have reached the unverified conclusion that it can only be from the connection of the inner forestay at the mast and the furled staysail is being held up by its halyard. Still drowsy the dreaded thought of a return to Melbourne or Sydney crossed my mind but then this more realistic plan started to form - disconnect the furling mechanism, lower the furled sail, retrieve it and replace the larger jib for the heavy weather still to be expected. After all the rig was designed without this inner forestay and as it is all new and oversized should do a sterling job. Also on the bright side there will now be room on the foredeck for a dinghy for future gentle cruising once this trip is completed. As it's now getting light it's time for the work to start. --------------010902020805040309060704--