L'Eau Commotion Westabout

4:00pm Thursday 25th January 2018 ( UTC-4 ) A rather difficult night was had with winds varying in strength and direction and adverse currents ( or tidal streams ) adding to the navigation problems. Of course I am learning to sail using headsail alone and this has resulted in a few problems. I usually reef down on the angle of heel but with only the headsail out the wind was stronger than expected and some difficulty was had roller furling the jib. I have the furling line on a winch but I don't want to overstress the roller mechanism. Having not much else to occupy my mind I rethought the support being given by the main hoist. I used one of the recirculating ball mainsail sliders to allow the block to track up the back of the mast and a loop of 12mm double braid was attached between the block and the deck. By adjusting the length of the loop when winched up tight the loop neatly assumes the correct angle and position of the lower stay so I now have triple redundancy for the damaged 10mm SS stay. With this extra confide nce in the rig I have hoisted the storm jib which I feel will serve well in predicted winds up to 35 knots. You may be able to pick this block at the spreaders. This was all done while completely becalmed from noon. For many hours I had the delightful company of two pairs of canoodling Wandering Albatross. They are a big bird when swimming close alongside. --------------050103030307090308050905--