Two nights before leaving Hawaii, we of Uniquely Singapore got together for one last crew dinner at BubbaGump’s, a restaurant based on the theme of the movie, “Forrest Gump.” Paraphrasing one of the film’s best known quotes suits sailing quite nicely:
“Sailing is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re gonna get.”
On this last voyage, there were many times where I’d spend just 30 minutes of my midnight to 4:00 a.m. watch taking my turn on the helm, then leisurely enjoy the remaining three and half hours doing nothing else but gazing at the spectacular stars we regularly have out at sea. At the close of the watch at 4:00 a.m., dry and pleasantly sleepy, I’d crawl into my bunk for a few hours sleep.
On one morning following two consecutive nights of star gazing, however, as I finished my breakfast before going on watch at 8:00 a.m., I heard Mark say to Graham, “We need to hank on the Yankee 3.” In other words, start the process of replacing the Yankee 2 with the Yankee 3.
For those of you not familiar with the sail plan of our Dubois 68’s or sailing in general, I’ll further translate. What Mark really meant was, “I want everyone on deck to get totally soaked and exhausted.”
The Yankee 3 is our smallest of three headsails. When it’s needed, it’s because there’s too much wind for Yankee 2, the middle sized headsail. To drop the Yankee 2, we’ll need to pull it down and into the boat. Since it’s being overpowered by too much wind, however, it’s trying very hard to billow up and away from the boat.
Because of the high winds and the extra heeling of the boat caused by the current excess of sail, conditions at the bow were angled, slippery, and under a constant barrage of spray. The spray could either pour on you like a thunderstorm, with waves slapping the bow and arcing up and then down on you. The spray can also be like a collection of fire hoses aimed at your ankles, with walls of water knocking you off your feet and sending you skidding down the deck until your safety harness jerks you to a stop.
With so much water flying about on the bow during headsail changes, it’s not uncommon for one or two lifejackets to auto-inflate, as with Xinmei here.
Our current record for a headsail change is three auto-inflates. We hope to achieve a 4-popper before we get to Liverpool.
While I took my last sip of coffee that morning, Graham acknowledged Mark’s words, ate the last bite of his toast, and turned to climb the companion way up to the cockpit. I followed Graham but grabbed my camera first. In the few moments when my hands weren’t either full of snapping sail or clinging white-knuckled to some part of the boat, I was able to get a few shots of what it’s like to drop a Yankee 2, showing the both the wet and the work of it all.
