SailBlog

The next front of the same storm

Boom brainstorming

Today was a glorious day, warm, and busy.. Around noon, the blue skies gave way to the frontal clouds and increasing winds. I woke refreshed with a long list of things to do and got right to them ... as the day went on, emails passed brainstorming solutions for the boom repair or sailing without the boom... but as the winds started to build, an urgency took over...I need to be ready for another long full 24 -36 hours of wind and huge swells,...the potential for a knockdown is much greater tomorrow..

I am exhausted, sore, and but not at all negative... I am a bit concerned about the second front of this huge low going through tonight and tomorrow... The winds aren't suppose to be so high, but the swell from the 'mother storm' are going to make it up this way at this point and they are packing 30ft + swells...and though they will have a large period so will be gradual seas, the wind waves will be dancing on top breaking and there is always the wave like last night...when the wind waves and swell manage to create a much larger wave than the rest... I am more aware of it after last night...but i have been knocked down my many of these rogue waves...like the 'big sets of waves ' that surfers are always waiting for. So it was surprising that the boom would have broken...

I am regrettting, at this moment, having touched the broken boom yesterday, as it would be easy to have secured it broken as it was, on the deck..but now I have it all splinted and so it is in the way and a potential for more damage if a similar situation occured..We would manage down below fine, but the boom can damage my dodger and break more. I have prevented it and lowered it as far as I can while I can still work the winches in the cockpit. I am hoping for the best...

Actually, I think that is a good idea..I am going to go out and take off the splint and lower the boom to the deck... I have to redo the splint anyway for the real fix. I won't be using the mainsail tonight for sure.,.

So I went out and started to dismantle the spliint I had begun and went to lower the boom to the deck.. and realized at that moment that it would not work...the boom was not on the deck after it broke..it was suspended and hanging...The boom won't fit in that space on the deck..it is too long...So i had to reassemble the splint, realign the boom and resecure it in place..it is secure where it is and prevented from both sides, to port and to starboard, before and after the break and the end. But truly, if a wave really hit is hard, I don't know how well it will do. It will be a nervous night...I will need to really go to meditation and see what peace there is there...I have always sensed that we would be fine and we are, though certainly, challenges are always presenting themselves.

The day was filled witih my initating some brainstorming with all the other creatve engineers I know...super salty veteran sailors and men who are builders, not just sailors... I am too tired to go through the potential...there will be plenty of time for that as I am able to get down to fixing it. i touched base with my children, given the blog might have been a bit unsettling.. know they will feel more comfortable after hearing my voice, confident and doing fine.

Tonight, I need to rest. I have been working on deck and taking care of details all day, trying to organize the cabin so that nothing can fly around and hurt me... I have a few nice scratches on my face which means that sharp things were flying around at me... so I have created a safer environment for tonights gale. Yet, tonight's gale is actually going to blow hardest from the SW..not the NW as the past few gales. I am far enough north and west to avoid the frontal boundary at its peak 30-35kt winds like all day yesterday. I will be catching up with the top edge of the actual low center this time... Hoping to avoid the long term SW winds at 30-35kts or better as i continue to head farther north...I am at 40*30'S...and according to the Grib file forecast I get via GMN, I am already north of those winds, and should only see 25kts gusting higher..but we will see...

The seastate is the concern even though the seas will be rolling, not breaking according to the forecast... but again. That was the situation last night too.

It is amazing to be warm... to be ingenuitive and working with my hands all day, fixing things, creating solutions, trying things to see if they work... working with the boom, I set up ways to move the boom from all directions so that I could get it to line up as best I could to secure it. All the time, moving and designing...creating as i go...it has been great to collaborate with the other sailors I know and get new ideas...they will all come in handy as I keep moving through the process of fixing the boom or managing the situation...each perspective adds a tool and information to my resources as I am working away...

This is why I love to sail. This is what I came to sea to do. And now that it is warm, I can do it freely, moving in and out of the boat seemlessly...it is wonderful. I am going to need to stay as far north as needed to remain in warm until I have to descend to Cape Horn.

I am off to rest, and stretch..With all the motion and work...that I do without thinking about it... I seem to be tightening up as the night arrives. I am hoping for another good nights rest..it was glorious last night with the perfect winds and nice rolly sea...IS sails quite nicely on just the jib...as long as there is 15+ kts of wind, we actually do make progress. And tonight the jib Queen once more as she handles the storm. I did adjust the steering vane, Anam Cara, and she seems to be working much better.

I have tidied the deck and must now, stretch, breath, take my Ibuprofen, and hope that I feel better, not worse in the morning. Right now, I am going to have to rely on faith... Tonight the winds are still from the NW and just building, the real swells will develop tomorrow as the SW winds start to blow and continue to for over a day... so tonight, hopefully i will rest.

Keepin On Sailin On Caring... As the winds escalate once more tonight, the seas rushing up all around us, I am going to meditate on peaceful seas, sunshine, and warmth, appreciating the glory of the passion and hugeness of the ocean storm, trusting the Sea, my friend, will hold me in her palm as the ocean tumults around me... " The awakened imagination desists from domestication. it returns us to our native wildnes, to the natural and seamless fluency of our own nature. Other worlds come into view and we are invited to risk new and original ways of dwelling in the world" John O'Donohue, Divine beauty p. 156

Fairest of Winds and the Love of the Ocean Only Gratitude Donna

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