Diversion to Jersey
25 June 2022
• St Helier
by Martin Whitfield • F5 SW
It wasn't long out of St Peter Port that it became obvious that we weren't going to make it to France. The wind, forecast to be light, was 15 knots on the nose and we were struggling to make 4 knots. So a quick re-route to Jersey, which was always Plan B. We managed to get a reef in the mainsail before Guernsey coastguard issued a "strong wind" warning (F6) and then sped along until the wind died just outside of St Helier. Not long before the sail came down, there was a "ping" on the deck, followed by a splash! I thought it might be the mainsail halyard shackle but no, the sail didn't come down. Lots of looking through the binoculars couldn't see anything wrong and I thought I (or a rigger if one was around on a Friday afternoon) would have to go up the mast to find what was missing. However, putting the sail back into the stack pack I discovered that one of the bolts attaching the batten car the the mast track was missing! Mystery solved and a replacement is on its way from Sanders Sails. Wet and cold lasts night but now warm with lovely sunshine and Jersey scallops on the menu for tonight.
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