Shredding the Jib and Heaving To in a Gale

09/07/02

    Yesterday was not a good day, and today is no great shakes either.  Later on the wind swung around, and it was necessary for us to set the whisker pole and go on a run.  This was okay for a while, but the wind continued to back and I had an unplanned gybe while trying to get the boat on course.  This is not a real big deal when we have the preventer and the pole rigged.  It’s just a pain in the ass to bring the boat around and reset the wind vane.  As the wind continued to back we decided to gybe the boat and run on port tack instead.  At this point we had decided to see a movie, as the boat motion was reasonable, but during the movie the boat gybed three times and we gave up on the movie and decided to roll in the jib for the night to make our position less precarious.  Miraculously, within a minute after we rolled in the jib the wind started really wailing.  It would have destroyed the jib had it been out.  We went below and the wind moderated a bit.  We then decided to put out minimum jib and just do the best we could on a reach through the night.  At this point it was 2230, and I laid down for a little bit before my watch started at 2400.  When I awoke, the boat was crashing all over the place.  As I rose from my bunk, Eric said “You’d better put your gear on.  We’ve got to do something out there.  I’ll get David up, too.  Don’t forget your harness.”  We decided to put the third reef in the main, set the staysail, and heave to.  The jib shredded as we were rolling it in.  I was having a hell of a time raising the main (after the reef) and raising the staysail.  There is a tremendous amount of pressure on these sails, even when we’re heading into the wind.  I felt so weak as I struggled with the winch handle, simultaneously struggling to keep my footing and stay upright on the pitching deck.  I was not able to get the staysail all the way up without loosening the outhaul, which was very stubborn.  Once I got the outhaul loosened and the sail up, there was nothing I could do to tighten the outhaul up again.  It just wouldn’t budge.  Not being able to tighten the outhaul severely reduced the effectiveness of our heaving to, but we were able to get the boat pointed into the wind so we could leave it for the night.  Through the night, the boat bobbed and crashed over the sizable seas that had built up, as the wind stayed around 30 knots most of the night.  As soon as the sun came up, we all got our gear on again and went up to figure out what to do.  Overnight, the plywood wind paddle that sits on top of Victor had snapped right off, with just the nub attached to the mechanism.  There were tatters flapping from the jib.  This sail would not be usable again until it gets fixed in Cape Town.  At this point the wind was blowing 35-40 knots, sometimes approaching 45 knots.

    We had a spare wind vane paddle which we affixed to Victor, then we gybed the boat around to starboard tack and went on a reach.  That leaves us where we are now, rolling with big seas, carrying the least amount of sail that we can, and making 6.5 knots.  The sky is clear but the wind has been blowing a gale.

    This is a situation that I knew was going to happen sooner or later on this trip.  That didn’t prevent me from asking the question “What the heck am I doing here?”  when it happened.  I am frankly relieved somewhat that we got a little heavy weather experience before embarking on our next leg, which is practically guaranteed to have worse conditions than this, though we will be outfitted with more appropriate canvas then.  As I am writing, a wave crashed over the boat that sent spray over the entire rear of the boat, reaching several feet higher than the top of the radar mast.  It looks like its going to be a wild ride into Cape Town.