HEAVY WEATHER & OTHER CHALLENGES
I had a few handicaps on the way south, even before the mainsail was damaged.
I was due to collect a new genoa in San 1 Francisco and my intention was to raise the asymmetric instead. In Neah Bay, I found it impossible to place the demountable bowsprit in position because the bow roller metal had moved slightly. So I had no big headsail to use on the way south, just the small staysail.
I should have rigged a preventer earlier but, 2 with the boom sheeted well out and by making occasional course adjustments to keep the following wind to port, I thought all was fine.
I didn’t appreciate how rough the seas would become overnight. The rough motion that caught the boom and swung it over and back was very unexpected. A slight crease in the boom meant a replacement was needed.
If using wind-steering, the need to make a slight 3 adjustment to the autopilot’s heading after each wind shift (to keep the following wind off to port on a run) would have been unnecessary since windsteering automatically follows the wind as it shifts.
The engine oil alarm had been a concern. The 4 Yanmar dealer later told me always to raise and lower the dipstick 2-3 times to release the pressure that builds up in the dipstick tube, allowing the engine oil to rise in the tube to its correct level and thus avoiding the misleading ‘clean dipstick scenario’ that confused me. Replacing the oil sensor switch after landfall corrected the faulty alarm.
A cracked engine gasket and replacement boom were just some of a long list of fixes that Nereida needed to make her seaworthy again.
Soon, I’ll be heading down to Mexico and I’m looking forward to reaching somewhere warm – the weather here, especially overnight, has been surprisingly cold during my stay, with not much warmth in the Californian sun, despite a lot of glorious blue skies.