More catch ~ up Jeff's Log ~ Tuesday, July 29th 2008

Tuesday July 29, 2008 Halfway to Kodiak

We have been under engine power for the last 30 hours. The breeze died and has not returned yet. Yesterday, we had some excitement when the d-4 mast support rod parted while the sails were down. The boat got hit by a wave that bounced her a bit, and there was a pop that is a familiar sound to all of us. I was at the base of the mast doing halyard snap shackle maintenance at the time, so the resounding pop was right above my head. I put my gear away, and then we had a little brainstorming session to decide the best course of action. Scott of course was Mr. Negative, saying “how are you going to repair that?” and under his breath saying “yea right” with sarcastic tones. We showed him!!! I rooted around in the sail locker and found some spectra line that was used to keep spinnaker sheets off the boom while racing that was the size we needed. Neil went up the mast to remove the broken pieces and brought the threaded adjuster down with him. We drilled a hole through the adjuster, and I found a shackle that was the proper shape in the “closet of doom” (the hanging locker in my cabin has been turned into spare parts and equipment storage) and we attached that to the adjusting sleeve. Neil tapered the line so that he could easily feed it through the inner bushing on the mast. A stop knot at the top, a bowline at the bottom around the shackle, and Walla! We had an adjustable spectra d-4. Now if the breeze ever comes back, we will be able to sail with no worries.

We have seen a few whale spouts, and one came within a couple of boat lengths going the opposite direction. I could see the water rushing over his large grey body. That was pretty cool. Albatrosses are a pretty common sight, and their low soaring over the waves is fun to watch. Yesterday we happened upon one lone seal. When I spotted him, he was floating on his back with his flippers in the air. I did not know what it was, so I put the autopilot on stand-by and turned the boat so that we could get a closer look. We were all surprised when it was a seal. It was as curious about us as we were of it, and we looked at each other for a few seconds before he dove out of sight. We are seeing dolphins a lot too. Here, they are colored like Killer whales. They are black on top and white underneath, which continues partway up their sides. They are smaller and much quicker moving than the dolphins I see at home. They do not just hang in the bow wave, they dart about and jump with a great sense of excitement. I tried to get pictures, but they do not stay in the same relative spot long enough. I keep getting picture of water instead.