We spend a lot of time under sail with a reef tucked into the main – it helps to reduce the heeling force in strong winds. And, a bit counter intuitively, it also helps in light winds as the reduced mass of the sail helps to minimize flogging in the waves.
All of this sailing with a reef puts a lot of strain on the reef point, and the result is that we’ve started to tear the sail. When we first noticed the 5” long rip, we worried that the many miles in the sun had deteriorated the sailcloth – not a great thought with another 3500 miles to go until we arrive some place with a sailmaker.
But it turns out that the cloth is sound, and after lowering the entire sail to the deck Angie was able to sew on a double sided patch using some sailcloth, waxed sailmakers twine, and a lot of patience for hand stitching. Now, it’s probably stronger than it was when new!
In related news, the last 24 hours has been a mix of slow motoring combined with slow sailing when the wind comes up enough for us to make progress downwind. We probably have enough fuel to motor faster, but we’re in no hurry and the fuel we don’t burn now is diesel we won’t have to ferry out to the boat in Easter Island.
Fingers crossed for better wind tomorrow…
Day Ten: 121nm
19 23.3S 103 33.0W
