From Bubi onboard Acciona in the Vendee…
Hi There!!
I finally went up the mast today, just before it got dark, with the main sail and fractional spinnaker up. The truth is that I was almost at the limit of my strength as there was quite a big swell, but I finally made it up to the first reef and was able to check the nylon part of the main sail track which had simply come unstuck from the track. There was nothing wrong with the rail and none of the screws had come out as I had imagined. It was simply a faulty part; the one I had already changed in the Canary Islands.
Yesterday when I lowered the main sail the nylon part that goes inside the track and makes the friction when it goes up the rail was missing, so the aluminum from the track was rubbing against the aluminum from the rail. The nylon piece that was in the track didn’t fit very well with the part I had changed in the Canaries, so I had to make something up and change the one that was there for the one I had already changed.
I had to cut a pin with the radial saw and invent something that I hope will last.
I would ideally now have been a lot further south but with this setback I had to come up a little higher to find better weather, so I am now sailing with lighter winds whilst everyone in front of me is full-on with 17 and 18 knots. This situation is frustrating but at least I am going in the right direction and will once again be able to sail faster.
