It was a slow day today. Very little wind – but we managed to keep sailing all day. Except that is, for one minor detour when I spotted one of those really big ball fenders floating out there in the wild blue yonder. It was about a quarter mile off our port side, so we decided to check it out. We turned the engine on…

I started turning left – and then suddnly realized that that would put us in a gybe – duh! So we brought in the mainsheet and set the main amidships and started to furl the code zero as we turned.

The code zero got all tied up and wouldn’t come in – so we pressed on with a half in-half out sail and headed for the fender.

As we approached we could see it was from a fishing boat – with a long length of floating line attached. I approached slowly slightly downwind of it and then turned into the wind and alongside – but not close enough – Laurie couldn’t grab it.

Shit! We’ve still got the fishing gear trolling behind – and now the line is lying right over the floating line attached to the fender… I speed up to get the line away from the fender and motor upwind. The code zero now decides to unfurl itself so our attention changes to that and after a little, we manage to get it furled (helps when you let the sheet go dumb-ass!

Attention turns to our fishing line, but in the melee it has now managed to get itself wrapped around the keel, the prop or the rudder – or all three for all I know. We pull in the lure and sure enough the line goes taut and I have to cut it to freee up both the rod and the lure – leaving a length of fishing line somewhere down on our underbelly.

I turned the boat around and this time our approach is better and we bring aboard the fender – a beautiful big pink one, and about 30 feet of horrible stinking line, full of barnacles and little crabs! We can’t leave it floating around the ocean waiting for some unsuspecting sailboat to run into it at night and foul their prop – so we ift it aboard too and bag it. We now have a big smelly line in the cockpit locker, a large pink fender adorns our stern and our fishing line is somewhat shorter than it used to be!!

This evening we’re ghosting along at about 4 knots in 7 knots of wind. Dead downwind using 3 headsails – the code zero on port, genoa poled out on starboard and our storm sail lashed amidships to attempt to stop the rolling. The storm sail isn’t doing what it’s supposed to! 🙁

Cheers!

The wind turned light on us last night  but we were able to keep sailing – albeit slightly south of our intended course. Although the course deviation was really minor, we’re in a location that if we stray too far, we end up with the wrong weather – either no wind or too much. Actually right now it’s either wind or no wind…

So this morning we decided to gybe over and regain some lost latitude (turn left, head north!), which meant sailing wing on wing, dead downwind with genoa one side, main the other. Very doable, but a little anxious as accidental gybes can happen quite easily if the helm isn’t kept in great control. But the wind kept dropping and we felt we didn’t have enough sail up – so we set up a sail arrangement I’ve been wanting to try out for years!

We took down the main altogether. The genoa was poled out to port and then we raised the code zero, with it’s sheet held out to starboard with a block placed on the end of the main boom which we’d swung as far out to starboard as we could. 2 large ‘pole out’ headsails kept our course at true dead downwind (NE) and we managed to make 5 – 6 knots in just 8 to 10 knots of true wind. It was very cool!

We made enough northing by the end of the day that we were able to fall off and raise the main again and we’ve been flying ever since; due east (our desired course) at between 7.5 and 8.5 knots.

According to our weather forecaster, we should be able to maintain these winds for another day or so – but then it’s likely to fall very calm and we’ll probably motor for a day or so…

So far we’ve managed to keep our use of the engine to an absolute minimum – less than 10% of the time… Excellent!

It’s a beautiful clear evening, with a nearly full moon giving us excellent light throughout the night. Life is good aboard Toodle-oo! – though we could really use some decent movies to watch!!!

With 1385 miles done and with 1300 rhum-line miles to go, we figured we were about half way – and is the custom aboard Toodle-oo! (and many other sailboats), we enjoyed cocktails in the cockpit at sunset on our 9th day at sea!

All well aboard – though we’ve been rock and rolling on a downwind sail for too long now.We’re both tired and crabby! We did screw up the sail for a while with a failed attempt to fly the spinnaker, in order to reduce the amount of rolling we were experiencing – but fortunately, the wind dropped and changed direction just enough to allow us to fly a poled out genoa and reefed main instead – and get a comfortable ride finally… We’re now headed due east with the wind across the beam! 🙂

Cheers!

We’ve had plenty of wind today – 20 knots – from pretty much behind us and sailing with main and poled out genoa. Trouble with this is that the boat rolls from side to side – which is going to make sleeping tonight quite a challenge! Rather that though than find the boat full of water!

I keep putting 2 fishing lines out – but so far all I’m catching is seaweed!

All good aboard – looks like more of the same for tomorrow…

Cheers!

All’s well today. Water leak traced to a rusted out hose clamp – every time the engine ran, water poured into the bilge.

Sailed all day with spinnaker in light wind. Unfortunately running the engine again tonight, but wind expected soon.

Update: Wind filled in – we’re sailing again!!

Nothing like a bit of drama to cocentrate the mind…

10:00pm:

I’d just taken over watch and made myself a cup of coffee. All seems fine – other than we had no wind and were now motoring. I remembered we’d forgotten to do a bilge check yesterday – something rather new for Toodle-oo! since ur bilge is normally very dry – but our bilge pump has decided to act up a bit. The switch seems to be in the ‘On’ position permanently – so it’s pumping a very dry bilge. We’ve therefore adopted a manual arrangement – but that means regular bilge inspections to see if the pump needs to be turned on.

A couple of days ago we made water and filled both tanks to overflowing – except they didn’t (!) overflow that is. Yesterday I remembered to do the check and whoa!!! The bilge had a LOT of water in it! I guess that explains the overflow…

Back to tonight… I opened up the floor panel and was greeted with a very full bilge! – to within 4″ of the floor! How much water does an Outbound bilge hold? (I seem to keep testing this one!). I turned on the pump and went looking for the source. I checked the forward compartment where the speed and depth transducers reside – but the whole compartment was underwater so I couldn’t tell – I decided I’d better help with some manual pumping.

Ten minutes later I had cleared the bilge (actually it was now full of debris from all the various compartments that has accumulated over the last ten years!). The sensors were all sound. The water maker area was dry. Found it! Water streaming at the back of the engine – either the turbo has sprung a leak (I hope not) or the exhaust elbow has. PITA but better than the turbo option!

I’ve decided that the flow is of a rate that the pump can keep up with, but not a good thing! Still with no wind, it being dark and the engine being hot, I decided to keep the engine going for the time being, monitor (and pump) and leave resolution until the morning…

All sorts of lessons for Toodle-oo!’s crew here!!!!

Nothing much going on today – still heeled over in 20 knots of wind but seas much lower – 6-8′ so the ride is better and we’ve stopped heading west! Now it’s just north! 🙁

Tomorrow we hope to be able to turn just a little east towards the Azores. The rhumb line is only  ( ! ) 1883 miles, but the route we’re taking it’s probably going to be more like 2,300 miles from here. So far we’ve travelled 637 miles, making just 287 to the good. Average speed is now 7.75knots ( no wonder it’s wet! ).

Only major breakages thus far are the leaking mast – which will be a bugger to fix – and the bilge pump has stopped operating correctly – it works, but just doesn’t shut off, so we have to remember to operate it once in a while… Our wind generator is also acting up – or it may just not like these bouncy conditions – it keeps stopping and starting – mostly stopping – so the generator is seeing more use than is normal… Basic boat is doing very well ( touch wood ) and we’re charging along with 2 reefs in the main and the small jib out – 7.5 knots now, but I just saw 9.5!!

If the wind and seas die a little tomorrow, I’ll get the fishing pole out!

Cheers!

Better day today… Only got water down the companionway once ( ! ) – from a freak wave – otherwise pretty dry. Day 2 we made 165 miles – a little over our normal 155 but not as good as day one! (Did you catch the mathmatical error yesterday? Our average speed was 7.92 not 7.2!) Our 2 day average is 7.4 – not bad!! Currently we have 22knots of wind out of the east and the seas are down to about 8-19′ – they were 12-15′ and we’re sailing with 2 reefs in the main and the small jib, making about 7.5 knots. Unfortunately headed towards Bermuda not the Azores… Actually, our route will take us close to Bermuda before we hang a right with the wind and head for the Azores…

Yesterday while putting in the third reef, I got bounced by the boom and took a boom stand-off (one of those big pointy ladder-like things that help store the folded sail on the boom) in the chest – not pleasant. Today while winching in a sail, I could hardly do it for the pain in my chest – I must’ve bruised a rib! I’m hoping I don’t have to do many sail changes too soon!

We get pesterred by squalls from time to time – mostly at night. They show up on radar and we see if we can dodge around them. Yesterday, one came on in stealth mode and we had gusts of 45 knots – enough to concentrate the mind! So far today they’ve not been packing such a punch – but I see now another one just popped up on radar!!! 🙁

We’ve got another day (Sunday) of this brisk weather, and then it sould lighten up for a few – we’re both really looking forward to that! Our weather router, Chris Parker, who we’re in touch with on the SSB says we might get lucky with our timing… There’s a windless ridge (sounds wonderful right now!) about 3 days ahead of us that we’ll have to motor through – except he’s saying a cold front is going to compress it and allow Toodle-oo! – if we get the timing right – to arrive just as the ridge is narrowest, allowing us to continue sailing… I was kinda looking forward to a bit of easy motoring!

Anyway, all well aboard Toodle-oo! – settling into the rythm of the passage, just hoping for some less dramatic sailing!!

Now, where’s that squall gotten to???

Cheers!

It’s been a rough ride so far! Big seas and lots of wind. We’ve had to ease our course considerably to avoid being hard on the wind and the ride has improved. The boat is a mess with water all over the place – coming down the mast in gushers (so much for that fix!) and we’ve had a couple remnants of waves come down the companionway. Add to that we’re heeled over and the sink and shower won’t drain!

Both of us were queasy but it seems to be easing now – I pretty much haven’t eaten since we left! However, just sorted myself out a huge bowl of candies for the night watch so things must be on the mend!

Sailing with 3 reefs in the main and our small jib. Our first 24 hours we made 190 miles (average 7.2 knots) – but we’ve slowed a lot now so next 24 hours will probably be more like the standard 150 – 160.