Fri 19 Feb. We awoke to much banging, clattering and then whooping and roaring - and that was just the skipper! Yes, the spinnaker had finally made an appearance and there it was flying high, resplendent in all of its glory for about 2 hours. It’s amazing how such an idyllic picture can turn to a pile of guano in a few seconds – within 30 seconds. Yes, just 30 seconds of Blue Watch taking over, the spinnaker was wrapped around the forestay in a manner described by the skipper as the worst he has seen in his 30 years of sailing. Nothing else for it, our intrepid Doctor Nick climbed the mast and started the long and arduous process of unwrapping the ‘kite’ and it soon became apparent that the offending article was a halyard that had been inadvertently left attached to the headsail; Blue Watch were off the hook! Nick spent an hour and a half being battered at the top of the mast, but managed to escape relatively unscathed and had managed to free the top half. The bottom half was, however, wrapped tighter than Lily Allen in rehab. With half the spinnaker still flying, Jason was sent up the forestay to try to ‘snuff’ the kite – the kite ‘snuffed’ Jason at times, but he managed to tie it down and we finally managed to untangle the spinnaker after nearly 5 hours. Remarkably, there was no damage to yacht, kite or crew - the spinnaker has now been hidden from the skipper in case he thinks about flying it again!
Sat 20 Feb. Surprisingly, we lost only a few miles to the Navy yesterday and we are now about 20 miles behind with 2000 miles to go to the Horn. The sailing is fantastic with Force 5-7 winds (17-33kts) and Disco is eating up the miles in glorious sunshine today. Early this morning the skipper had a screw loose..... on one of the mainsail track sliders and spent a couple of hours with white watch trying to wrestle the sail in high winds, straddling the boom with Alex hanging off the mast to fix it back in place; he is now walking like an Argentinean Gaucho who has just delivered the cattle into town. Overall, Disco is in great shape – which is more than can be said for those participating in the dubious looking beard growing competition.
Sun 21 Feb. Again we awoke to banging and clattering, but thankfully the spinnaker was not making a re-appearance. Our resident ‘sparks’ Alex was trying to fix the instruments that supply our wind, speed and mileage data. The skipper and Alex spent most of the day pulling off every panel to try to identify where the wires ran and their persistence paid dividends when the offending loose connection was eventually found and our instruments restored. Meanwhile at the helm, Mikey B, who is looking more like Lee Marvin every day and sporting a new haircut, managed a voyage record speed of 16.2kts surfing down a wave. Doc Jo received several plaudits for the quality of her muffins and later went on to cook a delicious Thai beef and noodles; we really are eating fantastically well! With about 1800 miles to run to the Horn and with progress like the 230 miles logged yesterday, we should round the Horn somewhere around 1-2 Mar. We need to drop down to around 56 deg south which, from our present position, means a difference in latitude roughly the same as between Bristol and Edinburgh. So far, the screaming 50s have been kind to us and hopefully the good weather and winds will continue. All is well from ship and crew aboard the good yacht Disco and minds are starting to turn towards what our first run ashore will entail in Uruguay.
Shout outs:
From Jason: J, miss you lots, hope your new job is going well. Don’t let Ibbo post me away!
From Wozza: Hi back home. As ever, a big hello to the folks and Sis. Hello to Lindsey H and the NE crew, inc Trudy and Tracy, hope your all well and not causing too much havoc at VS. Hi to Jeremy, Lucy and the bambinos and a big hug to Lucy W and the family. We are still moving on at a good pace and although we have had some rough weather we all know that a beating is on the way at some point, especially as we are getting ready to head further South into the track of the Low Pressure Systems. Everybody is in good spirits knowing that we have passed the halfway mark and we are working hard to catch the Navy. Today’s thought was to set up a 24 bar when we get to Uruguay and apply the ‘system’. Worrying for me is that my beard has grey in it. No doubt a few more will be added. Missing the following: red wine, cheese, my ‘pit’ and a stable floor to stand on. Catch you all in a few days, off to my bunk for another power nap before putting on the rubber ‘banana suit’ and getting another salty rinse on deck ttfn wx
From Gonzo: Big hugs to Laura X. Much fuss to Ali, Rory, Ben & Bess. Hello to my folks and family, sorry unable to call, will call when I can. I had a brief chat with Laura a week or so ago so call her to get the SP. Hello to Nan and Rita. Hello to all the Mathews’ and Drummonds. We’re getting there steadily, making @220 nautical miles a day averaging about 10 knots/hour. We’ve been making progress east for the last couple of weeks, we now need to head south east towards the Cape and inevitably worse weather than we’ve had so far, but we have developed the skills that will allow us to deal with it. Looking forward to seeing you all again in a couple of weeks. Love to all, Ian.
From Brian: Much love, big hugs and kisses to Pauline, Oli, Mike, Chris, Emma, Mum, and the Clifford Clan. For the FSC team of Dom, Grahame and Phil, thank you for your hard work – hope the promotion, posting and recovery going as planned. I’m having a great time and the sailing is exhilarating. Looking forward to a long hot shower and shave, and of course being at home with my loved ones – honest! Yes, I’m doing the salt and pepper beard growing thing. It’s soft and fluffy at the moment but I’m not quite sure what it looks like because we have no proper mirrors on board. About 9 days to go to Cape Horn, weather good as far as we can see out for next few days. Love and miss you all xxxxx.
From Mikey B: Hi Babes, all’s well here, had a haircut at a local shop today, not sure Lee Marvin is right, more like Steptoe! On the evening watch now, pitch black, 30 knots wind, and spray all over the place. NICK/CHRIS – don’t get use to my side of the bed, you’re out of there soon! Miss you all, love you.xxx
From Jo R: Hello!! Guess what... we’re finally on a chart with land on! All going well, Dad I suppose Joint Services have told you but the PUK code you sent was not accepted and so the phone is blocked still, sorry, not sure if there is anything you can do?! Mum – no dolphins yet, the dry shampoo is great though! Winnie hope all going well, dart board case ordered yet??!! Kiran, fun on Magic Carpet? With all this water have big plans for a hot hol – Yes? Hindles – not sure if you’re reading this but getting to grips with the instruments and lots of ideas for the qualifier and beyond!! Lots of love xxx
From Alex: Hi all. Still here and getting along, things are becoming a ground hog day, but fixing the boat helps break it up! Looking forward to a good beard trim on return, don’t know how you keep them Harry and Dad. Toni miss you lots, be good to be back for hugs and squeezes. Thinking of you all xxx.
