Power of One

Damage in the bow

Watertight compartment damage

Damage in the bow section

Finally crawling into bed after a long day. Ian and Luke Porter, the composites expert from the UK, have been immense. The damage to the main bulkhead has been fixed and there’s a brief list of things still to be done early tomorrow, not least of which my routing after I download the latest weather files. Hopefully I’ll be up and sailing by 10 am. Will catch up again via satellite comms tomorrow. The race is still pretty wide open.

Done a weather routing and looks light most of the way with a first leg to NW. Bit disappointing but may open opportunities to catch up.

Unfortunately bit of a setback, Luke found the main frame in the watertight bulkhead in the bow is also cracked right through, including the core. He was able to move it around by hand. The damage is worse than the other one but nowhere near as structurally critical.

We have sent pics to the boat designer but Luke, Paul and Ian believe a temporary patch repair will be fine until we can do a proper repair in USA or Caribbean - cutting out and replacing the core. Luke is on the repair already and I should be able to finally set sail in a few hours. Resin won’t have cured but winds are light for next day or so to give it a chance to. Next comms by satellite I hope 😉.

Aiming for a 1pm departure, Spanish time.

I still haven’t slept but tucked into a delicious fish  meal, Spanish style, complete with a glass of wine. Ah, it is nice to be ashore.

 I still haven’t slept, despite being chronically sleep deprived after a night of frustrations and sleeplessness. But next agenda item is to pick up car, not available because of siesta hours, haha, and then sleep before picking up Ian and boatbuilder from airport at 11.20 tonight. The boatbuilder is a real pro, having worked on America’s Cup boats and knows boat designs well which gives me great comfort.

 The crack in the bulkhead is ugly (pics to follow) and it's amazing it can be repaired to the same level of structural integrity as new within 24 hours. The boatbuilder leaves tomorrow afternoon, job done. He will also check for any other structural or possible delaminations so when I leave on Sunday I can do so with confidence. As a side note, I got in just in time this morning, having to put in 9 tedious tacks in the last 5 miles, as the next front came through a couple of hours later. I haven’t checked locally but in the UK it is “klapping” it at 50-60 knots. I was pretty chilled in 45 knots upwind, but 50-60 knots would have stirred quite a bit of anxiety.

 We have a long to do list, one of which was the masthead unit for the autopilot, but I discovered the problem midday today the wind vane had simply been blown off, or pounded off, or both. So a new one arrives tonight which will hopefully restore my main AP which is the bomb. It worked so well in those high winds beating upwind I’m hoping it will be as effective in the downwind part of the race. Oh, how I can’t wait for that!

 The other big issue, unrelated to performance or safety, is the diesel leak. It’s bad. Basically the whole area from behind the navigation station is awash with water and diesel. It’s in everything, my bags, my blanket and my boots which have tracked it all over the cockpit. So below and on deck are super slick, increasing the chances of falls and injuries. Not to mention the smell which has exacerbated my seasickness challenge. On that score, thanks Trevor (Donald) for Valoid suppository advice. It’s the bomb, no pun intended 😊. 

 But still the first few days in those high seas were a struggle. Lethargy and slow movement and thinking are big symptoms, so it was a surprise to find myself working through such an august fleet of pros. Maybe that’s the secret - don’t try too hard, just make sure you go in the right direction, the strategy element which I love. Nevertheless, sorting the diesel leak out is critical. Anyway lots of work of work ahead before Sunday departure, if weather forecasts continue.

 Before signing off I’m a little overwhelmed and surprised by the interest in and support you have all shown in this adventure. Thank you so much, it means more than you would know.
Love, thanks and best wishes to you all.
Donald.