All yachts made a good start in St Lucia crossing the line at 1210pm rather than 1200pm as a non-ARC yacht went aground in the entrance channel to the Marina blocking three World ARC yachts trying to get out!
We all enjoyed very good conditions for the first afternoon, but three yachts had to return to port with various minor mechanical and electronic problems.
The conditions remained very good into the second day where all yachts achieved good distances in the first 24 hours. We made a credible 188 miles, just short of the magical 200 miles a day!
At 1900, just as we were enjoying a pre-dinner drink, disaster struck!
With a dull thud sound that is now getting all too familiar on Asolare, I watched the 100sq m Gennaker descend rapidly into the sea at the side of the yacht!
“ALL HANDS ON DECK”. Being a well trained crew they came rapidly up on deck having donned life jackets and harnesses and quickly furled the main and the mizzen sails and proceeded to haul the trailing Gennaker back over the rail.
“Asolare” is an Amel 54 with a solid stainless steel upper guard rail and this makes this procedure very much easier that most yachts that are fitted with an upper guard wire. The Gennaker was quickly back on board undamaged and stowed safely in the sail locker.
The problem was a broken halyard, see photo, that was the same halyard, with the same sail, that failed during our ARC 2007 Atlantic crossing, dumping our Gennaker then unceremoniously into the sea.
The halyard was made from new Deema 14mm rope purchased in Las Palmas at Euro10.45 per meter so it should have been well up to the task! It is now relegated to a 40 meter hand ship’s line to use in the Panama Canal and then will be discarded!
24 hours is a long time on a yacht in challenging conditions – (35 knot squall fronts right now) so keep reading! Sailing is great fun punctuated with short periods of panic and feverous activity!
Peter Turner
Capt., and with three great cooks at 45 deg, chief bottle washer!
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