After a great start, the night was no walk in the park. The wind was quite strong with high speeds in a choppy sea and the boat crashing into the waves. We did well, until a series of minor technical issues that made me lose a lot of time…
A block ripped off, a sail stacked on deck was ejected out of its bag and almost fell overboard, the front sail started ripping, the same sail ungrooved… Quite a lot of trouble after only 24 hours of racing! As a result, it was impossible to catch any sleep, especially being so close to the other boats! It’s really absorbing, being 24/7 on adjustments!
But it’s okay, everything has been repaired, except the sail that I can’t sew up without removing it from its stay. This is going to be a tricky move as I’ll have to climb up the mast!
I’m not giving up, keeping spirits high and heading for the ridge that won’t be easy to pass. I’ll need to find the way out quickly and catch the down winds to the Arctic.
But for now, I must change the sail to preserve the one that’s already damaged, now that the wind is dropping.
Photo © Guillaume Fischer