Trials and tribulations

Emma Westmacott describes how to survive with a broken forestay on a Volvo Ocean 60

Well all that I can say is I am really glad that doing the Sydney-Hobart is not compulsory to becoming Australian... not a race I have wanted to do often. But yes this one has lived up to all reputations - we were fooled into believing that the sun was shining and a lovely sunny start from Sydney. Not more than six hours later we certainly were getting a taste of what to come, sail change after sail change, gear moving side to side, tacking, manoeuvring around with everything else with squalls coming out of nowhere.
There were waves like the ones we were surfing down on the way into Sydney, waves like none of us wanted to be attacking from the other way. Waves that yet again caused discomfort to the crew in aches and bruises and seasickness.

We have hit two 'things' in the water. The first was a tap compared to the last. I was driving, and then thump, and the wheel was ripped out of my hand pulling my thumb backwards on the spokes. As it spun around, I grabbed it to straighten up, while Bridget [Suckling] looked behind from the grinders to see a shark floating belly up in a pool of red. Poor thing, how he could not have heard us as we were crashing up wind over huge sea faces. Abby [Abigail Seager] quickly shot down to check the foils with the endoscope. We were so lucky now that I hear what has happened to SEB, that nothing appeared to be wrong.

These were reminders all the time of what we are doing and where we are. Then the next watch we were up, with Melissa [Purdy] driving, all happy as the sea had abated and we had put up the full main, changed to the no2 jib, pushing along at 12 knots, with the sun setting and bang.... the luff of the headsail went loose. The forestay had broken.

The immediate response is to save the rig and dial dead downwind, then atttached the halyards forward to stabilise any wobbles. Our next concern was to slow the boat down - we were doing 11 knots to New Zealand and we didn't want to go there - not yet at least. So we put three reefs in the main.

We ascertained that the rod strop at the base of the Tuff Luff foil had broken, not uncommon when you think of the upwind work the boat had done, the stress on the rod at these terminal fittings is huge; however the mast comes out at every stop over and everything is carefully examined.

We lashed the forestay down with a line to a winch, had a fractional halyard locked off and also back to a winch, plus a spare jib halyard attached to the deck forwards. We tried the no 4 jib with three reefs in the main, but the sag in the head sail was ridiculous. There was too much load in the sea conditions and 15-18 knots of breeze at 60 degree TWA [true wind angle].

So we had to go to the storm jib. It was not pretty, and our 4-6 knots of boat speed was even uglier. Our decision was based on the weather forecast, and not wanting to retire, although we wonder why now, when we find that Tyco gets a point for doing the last leg on a ship - the same number of points we got for the first leg.

The breeze is forecast to stay northwest, a little headed today and back tonight. We have to be in by lunch time as it starts to pick up tomorrow afternoon and there will be a rough beat up the Derwent [river to Hobart], in which case we will probably have to consider pulling out. Eden was an option, closer and a better starting wind angle, but continuing the leg after that would have been hugely disappointing being so far behind, and besides I would miss my sister's wedding on the 12th of January!

Anyway two hours after all this the breeze dropped and veered and some 12 hours later now we have a code 0 up and full main, doing 12 knots on course. The rules as we read so far are we cannot have any outside assistance north of Tasman Island, so we have to pick parts up out here, as we did off Eclipse Island on leg 2, or finish, restart and only then pick up parts. Ideally we should like to drop the forestay and check the upper heads too on the rods, so we shall see how the plot unfurls as clarifications to the rules come through...

The morale is good because right now we are not hindered, we are sailing exactly as we would if nothing had broken, powered up with the main and [Code] zero, whic acts as its own forestay. If the breeze picks up our only options are to bear away more or put up the j4 or storm jib...

No thanks, so fingers crossed..