When we got up to go on deck for our midnight watch we found out that Ineke's team had hoisted the spinnaker. We spent some time sailing downwind with the kite up, trimming it under the deck light, which was quite interesting. I was not able to helm that night, which was a bit disappointing. Then came the time when we needed to drop the kite, it all went quite well with no issues. We then spent a long time down below learning how to wool it.
When it was the time to end our watch we did a man over board drill at night, which came as a surprise to Ineke's team which was sleeping peacefully down below. We made it very clear that it was a drill, we did not want anyone to get a fright! It all went really well, and it was great to see how useful are the lights in the danbuoy to locate it.
We then went down below for a well earned rest. In the morning we did a lot of upwind helming and then in the afternoon we did more downwind helming, lots of gybes and lots of reefing practice. It was all working really nicely, you could tell that the team was working like clockwork and we were all learning a lot.
For lunch we had mediterranean quinoa with chorizo and cheese, a recipe from Nano and it was a great success, everyone loved it and we all agreed it was the best meal of the week. This is a recipe that we are going to do in our boat during the race for sure.
When we were resting during our afternoon break we were suddenly raised with a call of "All hands on deck!". Ineke's team had tried to hoist the spinnaker but something had gone wrong and it had all ended up in the water. Also the sheets had become tangled and were stuck under the boat. It took a lot of effort to recover the sail and the sheets but we managed to do it. Ineke said that she thought she had seen a tear in the sail but I helped Nano review it thoroughly and we could not find any damage. Ineke's team then continued with the wooling while we got a little more rest.
When we were arriving back in the bay in the Isle of Wight to anchor for the night, the wind picked up with gusts of 35 knots and it was a bit of a struggle to put in some reefs and then lower the main. Given that it was quite windy we decided to use the bigger anchor which is a monster. We needed to use a halyard to put it on deck and then drop it, I helped Nano with all the setup.
During these two days that we had been sailing continuously I did not sleep much, I don't think I slept more than 4-5 hours in total, so I was a bit knackered. My anchor watch was from 00:00 to 01:00 so I went down below for a short rest.
During these two days that we had been sailing continuously I did not sleep much, I don't think I slept more than 4-5 hours in total, so I was a bit knackered. My anchor watch was from 00:00 to 01:00 so I went down below for a short rest.
