LORD'S PRAYER LOG, Part 05:
January 31, 2000 (continued)
0130 Came about onto starboard tack after exchanging emails through Pinoak - another long evolution - and retired for the night.
0613 Sunrise.
0730 Started engine to charge batteries and give the boat a little boost of speed going to weather. Forward progress against the wind has amounted to little more than 25 NM IN the last 12 hours.
0930 after charging the batteries I fiddle with the arrangement of the sails to see if I can get any better forward speed. Wind strength is about 18 kts and with the dual jib close hauled on the port side and the main full up, she is pressed down and seems a little overpowered. Furthermore, the wind vane is
having a hard time keeping the bow from rounding into the wind. The sails need to be shortened and better balanced. I try a single reef in the main and that seems to help. It is even better when I carry a little luff in the mainsail. I am now seeing about 4.5 kts of forward speed. I try hoisting the staysail jib to see if a double slotted airfoil will improve the situation. I get about another half kt.
1200 The wind increases to about 20-21 kts. I put a second reef in the main and continue to carry a luff.
1330 The boat is doing consistently less than 6 kts so I stream the slow speed spinner (it is rated for 6kts & below) to generate some amps.
1530 The wind is now gusting to 25. I take several turns on the Harken roller furler to reef in the dual jib some.
1545 A wave breaks into the cockpit and comes down through the companionway soaking the galley and stove. I clean up the water and install the companion slides with the big piece of Plexiglas on top so I can see aft. I will climb out over top of those boards whenever I go on deck now and keep the slide closed over top to keep the water out of the cabin. On deck heavy foul weather gear,
boots, an inflatable harness and a tether are the required outfit. In the cabin it all comes off to avoid getting everything wet and because it rapidly becomes too warm with it on. With the boat bouncing around one does not just slip in and out of the gear easily. It is necessary to constantly hang on, and that makes the task of suiting up rather interesting; one just never knows when the next rogue wave will slam the boat around.
1600 the spinner appears to be turning rather fitfully and I guess correctly that it has picked up some weed; it is barely producing an amp. I tie a special plastic cone around the torque line and push it back along the line and into the water. The water catches it and carries it all the way to the spinner,
whereupon it enshrouds the prop on the spinner and it stops it from turning. With the torque line no longer turning, I haul it in. and find that the spinner has snagged a bunch of Sargasso weed. I stow the spinner, plastic cone, torque line and generator in the cockpit locker.
1630 I catch the smell of propane while out in the cockpit. I check the propane locker to see if there is a smell of propane in there and there is. I turn off the propane at the bottle so as to not lose whatever is left in it. I will not cook tonight. In the morning the wind should be veered into the SW, which will put it on the starboard beam and that will make for an easier ride. The boat is bouncing around too much right now to fool with bailing out the propane locker to investigate this new discovery..
1658 Sunset.
1830 Position: 30-02N 065-32W. The boat has "made good" a meager 60 NM, while clawing her way to weather over the last 24 hours. This kind of experience really puts some meaning into the expression when a fellow wishes someone "fair winds and following seas".
 END OF LORD'S PRAYER LOG, Part 05

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