Day 5 SXM to Gib
Noon Position 27deg 40N 45deg 13W
Course -60 Degrees Speed -11 Knots Day’s Run -236 Miles
Weather – Partly cloudy with waves from behind
Wind – 19 knots from 200 degrees
The wind started to fill in yesterday afternoon and we put the mainsail back up and with the genoa and mizzen we crept back in to double figures on our speed over the ground. Then after dinner the topping lift on the mizzen broke. This rope holds the weight of the mizzen boom up. Normally the sail would do this but we had just taken the sail down. Luckily we have a safety strop on it which prevented it from dropping to deck. Now we have the tricky job of mousing a new one through the purchase system inside the boom.
We threw back one skipjack tuna yesterday before I had the chance to tell the guys it is great smoked and that we have a smoker on board. Next time. We also turned the engine off for 10 minutes to check the oil. We were sailing at 2.5 knots which meant it would have taken us 35 days to reach Gibraltar. We managed to keep the mainsail up all night keeping the boat steady giving everyone a good night’s sleep.
Today we have been motor sailing at up to 11 knots with wind from behind. It is nice to have some breeze again.
JC