Hi all....Dave reporting with 701 miles to go on July 4th at 6pm.....sadly no fireworks display for us....Maybe just some shooting stars if we are lucky :) Happy 4th July to all in the USA!!!!!
We are at 07 degrees 31 minutes south and 127 degrees 08 minutes west. Winds have ranged mainly between 13 to 18 knots. Sea state...same....confused following seas.....quite amazing so far out in deep 13000 feet ocean!!!! We still have the spinnaker up and are averaging about 7 to 8 knots. We did 176 miles in the last 24 hour period.
Last night at 9pm I heard a loud BANG as the final original spinnaker halyard block separated from the mast. Luckily all the load was immediately transferred to the temporary spinnaker block I had lashed around the mast just below the original block a few days earlier. It was a bit nerve racking having it break just as things got dark. After checking everything with flashlights and binoculars we had a comfort level it should be ok through the night so pressed on. Adrian took over watch at 9pm and worked till 12 midnight and then Garrick worked from midnight to 6am without waking me for my watch. Such good friends..... they took it upon themselves to do the entire nightshift and let Guds and I sleep through!!! I had no idea and woke up at 4am ....came on deck to be met by Garrick saying he "had it" and for me to go rest. Thanks guys!!!!!
All went well and we adjusted the halyard position every 2 hours so as not to risk any chafe. We will take the spinnaker down shortly to do a close inspection before going into nightshift tonight.
Yesterday we had an awesome treat with tons of dolphins swimming all around us for at least 30 minutes.....jumping, playing and observing....was so special!!!!
We also caught a Mahi Mahi and a few other big somethings that got away!!!! So last night was a fish mix ala Garrick.....very delicious!
Today as I walked into the salon I was greeted by a big seabird sitting on the floor (pic attached) ..... it looks like a youngster and has been with us all day resting under the table. We had to barricade the salon entrance as it wanted to go back inside ;) Not sure if it intends to spend the night....We are probably the first humans it has seen as with webbed feet I think it lives on the ocean full time.
Anyway that's about all our news for now....just dipped under the 700 mile mark at 699 miles to go!!!
Huge thanks to everyone for their news e-mail, blog comments and we'll wishes.....they mean so much to us and keep us going with something to look forward to!!!!
All the best from the Cool Runnings crew!!!
Sent from Iridium Mail & Web.
My comment has to be on the LOUD BANG - my god I know how that feels! Despite all that you did to prepare for it. It always scares you to death. You have made great progress and look very close to making landfall again - sure you will sleep very soundly when you get into port. Not sure if you replaced the main halyard block and runner yet? I met someone recently who was having a new Lagoon built and I flagged this with him. Safe sailing, looks like you have some nice island hopping to do for the foreseeable :)
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