Nicks Bit
Just finished the 4am to 8am shift which has been a blast. The hourly average speed has ranged between 8.1 and 7.0 Knts since midnight with winds ranging between 16 and 22 knts up the chuff. There is a small swell of about 1m and only a slight sea so we are creaming along with single reefed barn doors (see earlier explanation) open .
Its a bit overcast this morning but expect this will soon burn off. The weather is warm so that even at 4am it was Tee shirt and shorts.
I did my daily rig check just as I came off watch. So far I think that we have had very little damage from chafe as we have everything pulled down quite hard to minimise movement. This morning I found that the split pin that keeps the forestay cotter pin in place had closed up and was in danger of dropping out. This holds the mast up so split pin was given a good talking to and now has its legs well apart. The only other key issue we found a few days ago was the the spinnaker boom track was starting to pull away from the mast due to pressure of holding one of the barn doors open. We have reinforced this with two lashings pulled bar tight on a winch and a webbing ratchet strap also bar tight. So far this temporary repair appears to be working.
With only a mere 462 miles to go,(and getting less by the minute) the end is in sight and we have started talking as though the job is done. Quite funny given that until this year none of us had done anything near this kind of mileage. But the old adage “many a slip between cup and lip” should be kept in mind and we should not start to count our chickens until the eggs have hatched otherwise we may find that pride comes before a fall!
Talking of cups and slipping, we have a plastic coated apron for the cook to wear while cooking to project them from hot spills which are all too easy on a rocking boat. All good when worn but the other day whilst carrying a cup holder with 4 cups of hot tea a spill occurred whilst not worn. A nasty scald could have been the result had ice not been swiftly applied. Fortunately no permanent damage done and still sufficient ice left for the Pimms and G&T’s. Yes (for all you smart arses) we do use anti spill cups when its rough but tea only tastes good when in a china cup is used so we use these whenever practical.
And.. Talking of a rocking boat, have you heard the argument about wether Dire Straits or the Rolling Stones are the best band. Has to be the Rolling Stones in my view but apparently there are some who do not agree. They need educating clearly. Q music………..
Skippers bit
It’s hot, damn hot !!!
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