Made it through the storm; I saw 1 gust at 56 kts but sustained winds at
42-47 for at least 6 hours and above 40 for 10hrs. The drogue did really well but at one point the pennant holding it on port (there's a Y in it at the end with one side made fast to the port cleat and on to the starboard cleat on the boat). The rudder must have lifted high on a wave at a time when the port pennant was not taught and fouled the line when it came back down: result I had to go out on the scoop during the storm to free the line from the rudder. I kinda tricked and it went like a charm although waves put me pretty much under water a few time.
And luckily it didn't do it after that. That drogue is probably pulling at more than a thousand pounds when it checks the boat because the decceleration it creates on the front face of the wave is quite spectacular. You feel the boat starting to move on the wave and then deccelerate as the drogue applies the brakes.
Eh ask Evan to write me about his ham rig. When are you taking your ham license.
Write me....


8:52 am
Poisition: 40d44m S - 97d01m W
Thanks for the forecast update sweetie!
So we haven't moved much! This am we'll retrieve the drogue and try sailing again. I hope we can do it in the 25kts of wind we're having.The waves are still pretty large. There is just enough wind (25kts) to keep them alive but the scary monsters of the storm are gone. We took some Go Pro footage of the storm but of course it looks pretty much like Mill Pond (name of the duck pond in Ship, right?) on a calm day.
Yesterday while looking through the little window in the back of the doghouse I saw that the windpilot was jerking back and forth; I had removed the vane and the oar so it wouldn't offer resistance to the boarding waves. When I checked later part of it was gone; so I don't know if a wave took it or if it just slipped sideways. We might have to use the autopilot for the last part of the trip. I haven't gone out since we had to go out to free the drogue after it fouled the remaining rudder. I feared for the rudder because that drogue can pull at thousands of pounds, so I had to get out on the scoop and free it, Epic! But since then we've been inside. Just occasionally checking through the little window.
Saw a love story??? chick flick?
When do you think you'll come to Vadivia and for how long. I think we should be there by the end of the month. Jean Claude said Valdivia is a very nice student town with lots of cafes, microbreweries etc....
What's the plan for today?
We watched another 3 episodes of Big Bang Theory. Danced to the Beatles for exercise. Made boat-made hot cocoa from scratch (ie milk and chocolate bar and capuccino foam maker; we had cans for lunch and dinner though. And I read my math book... during the storm. Mostly to say I had done it; the learning was minimal. The card game we play is a Dutch game which is actually fun (just needs the right amount of focus) although I lose steadily.