L'Eau Commotion Westabout

It is now 3:30am Wednesday 16th August and still hove to. From just before lunch yesterday to dusk Tuesday the wind was around 38 knots from the West with occasional brief respite but seemingly more often severe squalls of 40+ knots with heavy hail. Not the weather to be on deck but the small amount of headsail showing had to be reduced further. The wheel which had been lashed just a few degrees to Port was wrestled to downhill and off with a rush! Fortunately the auto pilot could handle the 8 or 9 knots with surges to 13 knots straight downwind and it was relatively simple to ease a sheet here, take up some slack there, and present an even smaller area of headsail. Back to lashed tiller with the beam wind, no more rounding up and relatively comfortable with no knockdowns greater than 80 degrees ( as measured by the noodle soup on the galley wall.) Although forward movement seems insubstantial we are making about 3 knots slightly into the wind so the drift at 90 degrees to the wind is somewhat less than a knot, equivalent to the drogue setting, a lot less trouble and much more comfortable. The forecast is for another day of this 30 knots so another day of bunk bashing with heroics, and soup, on the back burner.