The barometer had dropped 10 millibars in the 24 hours prior to the blow, but had remained steady since at 1021 (probably reading 10millibars too high given weather reports) and indeed at the time of writing - 1500 on 21/8) is still there. I now wonder if we had sailed right into the middle of a low. The conditions preceding the 'switch off' seemed to tally pretty with that scenario.
What little wind followed, was from the South West and to make any progress at all, we would need to shake out the reefs and rig the pole so that we could goosewing the genoa. I wasn't looking forward to the prospect with the boat rolling and pitching violently, but if we were to make any progress at all, it had to be done.
Agustin and I set too and left Mick to his well earned rest in 'Bonny the washing machine'. He had already complained that the rinse cycle was stuck on 'On' with large quantities of the Atlantic Ocean finding its way through the poorly fitting forehatch onto his bed! (In return for a small surcharge, I therefore temporarily relocated him to my bunk - the pilot berth).
First job was to furl the currently useless and flogging genoa and to then shake out the reefs in the main. That all went as smoothly as possible given the conditions. Next - rig the pole. Things rather went downhill from this point. It didn't help that one second the foredeck was on top of a mini mountain and the next it was burried in a trough with heavy water streaming across it, but I can't blame the ensuing fiasco entirely on the conditions. Simple stupidity was the main cause. I managed to run both guys (the ropes that attach to the end of the pole) through the wrong way AND through the wrong leads on multiple occasions. Poor Agustin must have wondered what sort of idiot he had hitched a ride with! Could an OCC qualifying passage really be worth putting up with this clown 🤡!
Finally, after half a dozen attempts I got it right and I heeved all three or so metres of the wildly swinging pole into position without knocking myself out. Then it was a simple matter to set the Genoa and we were off - at the giddy pace of 1 to 2 knots - with the sails flapping and slamming with every roll (about every second). But at least we were now moving and in roughly the right direction.
The one remaining problem was steering the boat. The combination of very light winds and sunstantial and confused swell was just too much for the Hydrovane and so I steered by hand for the next couple of hours before handing over to Mick. I suggested he could make use of the autohelm if he preferred.
When I re-emerged a few hours later, the sky had cleared and it was sufficiently pleasant to hang our wet gear out to dry (not that clothing soaked in salt water will ever dry). The wind had not changed though, we were still creeping along at 1-2 knots. Somewhat tantalisingly, the Lizard was now (at 1645 BST), only 261 nautical miles off, or at this speed, a mere four and a half days😂!
Time for lunch! Mick was still asleep and so Agustin and I started without him...
He soon surfaced however and over sandwiches, we all marvelled at the strange weather of the previous night.
What next? We should be able to pick up the BBC shipping forecast on Long Wave at 1755. Hopefully, that will give grounds for optimism!
Well, according to the forecast we should have a South Westerly wind of force 3-5. We still have aboutfor force 1-2, barely enough to give us stearage way and not enough for the Hydrovane to operate [It may well now need stripping down and a full service. It's not as responsive as it was and I spotted one component that is damaged and needs replacing.
With the Hydrovane out of action we either have to hand steer or use the Autohelm. The latter uses electricity and our domestic batteries are running low due to lack of sun and wind. We are therefore running the engine for a while to give them a boost. However, that's not working for some reason which we have yet to ascertain, so we now need to economise on our use of electricity! Everything not absolutely necessary was turned off and first to go was the fridge. We may have to throw our last packet of beef burgers away!
Overnight the wind died further and so at 0140 with a about 280 miles to go to the Lizard we resorted to the engine. However, by the time I was back on Watch at 0400 the breeze had returned with sufficient strength to sail once more. Both the mainsail and the pole were set to starboard now and so I stowed the pole and prepared the guys for its use on the port side should it be needed there and then set sail and turned the engine off. We are now (0700) heading for the Lizard at 4 knots with 218 miles to go!
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