Yesterday afternoon we started into some more serious rainstorms. Lightning in the distance flashed at a rate approaching once a second for several hours. The wind picked up, blowing toward the lightning storm. At a quarter to two in the morning, at the changeover between Sal's watch and Tane's, we had the only the main up and were hit with a torrential rainstorm and winds gusting to 35. In the process of using the motor to reef the mainsail (to bring the boat into the wind), one of the jib sheets was washed overboard and around the propeller. The motor was stopped quickly, but since then the weather has been too bad for us to dive to remove the line. We cut the line where it went over the side and have been able to use the jib. The engine can be run out of gear, but we won't know if we have damage to the propeller or shaft until it calms enough to dive underneath the boat.

We have been running with double reefed main all day, using the jib when the wind drops. All through the night and day, we have been experiencing rainstorms and wind changes. We've been making 5-6 knots all day, but after a rainstorm that we have just experienced, there is almost no wind. We're aiming for the atoll of Raroia. The plan is to sail into the lee of the atoll, then work on the propeller. Of course, if there's no wind (we have 58 miles to go), we can work on the propeller out at sea if the seas calm enough. Torrential rains have found some new and very annoying leaks.

We're keeping our fingers crossed that there's no damage to the propeller or shaft, and that all we need to do is remove the rope that is wound around them.