Goodbye New England, goodbye main sail

By Sailor Keddy -
We actually left Block Island on Thursday evening. The seas had calmed and the wind had shifted into a favorable direction so, just after sunset, we left. Montauk light was soon abaft as well and the stars were the only lights we could see on that moonless Thursday night. Jon and I took hourly shifts at the helm and Carla kept us company and awake. And Mountain Dew, lots of Mountain Dew. And cigarettes. Massive amounts of tobacco. Bursting out into a caffeine and nicotine induced version of the Gilligans Island theme song at 3 am is something that will not be repeated, sorry if you missed it.

Just after sunrise, the winds shifted. They were starting to blow hard out of the west, and we were quickly beating into a 25 knot headwind. Sailing close hauled in those kinds of conditions makes for the most strain you can put on a boat, from the crew to the rigging to the sails. And sure enough, right around 5 pm, the mainsail burst. I got it all down as quickly as possible and we started motoring towards Fire Island inlet, the closest harbor, about 15 miles to our southwest. Normally, I try and avoid coming into an anchorage at night, but this was an exception. However, the amount of shoals and lack of lit buoys landed us in about 4 ft of water around 10 pm, and I draw 5 and a half feet. A call to a tow company got us off and we asked to be brought to a marina, which is where I write this from. We took out and reinforced the spare main, which happens to be the original sail from 1971. We'll see how long this one lasts but, right now, it's our only option.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Comments

gboase said…
Sounds like you're having a good share of trouble with sails! First the jib and now the main. Hope the rest of the trip goes better for you.
October 14, 2010 at 1:24 PM
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