Day 103 - Sailed All Night at a Cost

I managed to keep the boat sailing all night. At 3 AM the wind was consistently just over 30 knots but I kept the boat moving even though it was taking as big a pounding as ever on this trip. Our track had been more to the north than I had expected and we had crossed Lat 45 and at 10 AM were only 2 miles short of Lat 44S30. This had been a big win because I now knew that if I had to I could sail into a 30 knot wind, as long as it was not associated with a deep depression.

However, it came at a price. We had been sailing to the weak (port) side and this morning I saw that half of the strands at the top of the jury rigged D1 lower shroud had parted. The lower section had held and the splicing with bulldog clamps had held. It was the same failure as with the original D1 shroud and lends weight to Jim's suggestion that a toggle is required at the upper end as well as the lower to eliminate metal fatigue from the constant flexing as the mast moves. Had I seen this in the middle of the night I would have hove to, but now that the worst of the wind was over I proceeded as is. During the day I would dig out the second spare D3 cap shroud that still has its upper portion intact (the bottom having gone to the inner forestay splice). There is a period of calm forecast for tomorrow morning and I'll try to go up the mast and make the change then. I checked the records and the failed jury rig D1 lasted from day 87 to day 103, 16 days which included some terrible weather. If I'm lucky the next and last splice might see me all of the way to Mar del Plata.

I've been thinking about the rigging problem and it seems to me that the mast cannot fall over as long as the upper shrouds stay intact. And the mast is such a thick heavy beast that it seems unlikely that it would fold up in the middle under the side and compression loads from being under sail with a double reefed main and a modest amount of headsail. I am also using the running backstay to give the mast support. (I hope that this isn't just wishful thinking.)

On the plus side the headsail got through it OK.

On the Pilot Chart for January we had moved into a 5 by 5 degree quadrant where the percentage of NW winds decreases and their average strength drops from Force 5 (Fresh Breeze, 17-21 kt) to Force 4 (Moderate Breeze, 11-16 kt). There would be more N and NE winds. These are statistical averages but the trend was definitely going our way.

At noon our position was 44S11, 049W07, giving us a n-n distance of 73 miles to 028T. We had moved more than one degree in latitude to the north. The wind had already lasted longer than predicted and if it held on for a few more hours, night would see us north of lat 44S. I had enjoyed splendid sailing conditions for the last several hours, with the wind at 18-20 knots and a brilliant sunny day. The damaged stay was still hanging on by its remaining wires and I had my doubts that it was doing much supporting any more, which meant that the mast was supporting itself with the help of the remaining stays. According to the laptop software we were 535 miles out of Mar del Plata.

In the late afternoon I had a close look forward and discovered that the inner forestay that I had jury rigged with a splice had broken above the first bulldog clamp and was hanging by only a few wires. That hard night's sail has taken its toll but I don't regret it. It had to be done and I knew at the time that if I lost the rig so be it. But I've got to be careful. I'll feel better after I have spliced up the D1 shroud tomorrow, but for the next few weeks I'll have to weave my way between making adequate progress and over stressing the rig. One thing that I realized a few days ago is that creeping along too slowly can ultimately cause more stress on the rig if it exposes the boat to more of those punishing gales. The interesting thing is that the rig survived those winds of last night in spite of that damage. Those upper shrouds have to hold, that's all there is to it. Normally I wouldn't worry about them but they may be under increased stress because of the lower shroud problems. Several days ago I got to the point where I stopped over worrying about it and decided to sail as prudently as I know how and let the chips fall where they may. At least I am getting closer to rescue - and rescue it would be because there would be no way to jury rig a mast and sail upwind. If it were to happen when I am closer I would try to have enough diesel dropped at the boat for me to motor in.

Just after 7 PM local time we crossed latitude 44S (Yes!) As the high moved on the winds had started to veer and I was able to set a course directly for Mar del Plata. As the wind veered I altered course and let out the mainsail and we were still headed for our objective at 4.5 knots on a broad reach. Wow! It has been great to be sailing directly to Mar del Plata instead of obliquely for the last few hours. If the wind holds out long enough we might cross longitude 50W again.

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