'Spindrift of Jersey,' and 'Handling Breakages at Sea, Part II'

Spindrift of Jersey enact a steering repair at sea. Photo courtesy Chris Austin, Spindrift.

In the night, the pin connecting the steering chain to the steering cables came loose and was lost in the engine compartment. 20-knots of breeze was blowing from astern, both headsails were poled out and there was a fair bit of sea following them astern.

“You’re suddenly thinking, ‘this is an unusual feeling under full sail, at night,” Chris the skipper mentioned. “I said, ‘oh dear, how unfortunate,’” he joked.

'Cruinneag III' and Handling Breakages at Sea, from ARC 2011

Cruineag 3, a classic wooden ketch built in Scotland in the 1930s. (Photo courtesy of cruinneag.com)

Check out a new, two-part feature on the ARC website that I posted this afternoon about handling breakages at sea. I particularly enjoyed Cruinneag III's attitude on the whole thing. An excerpt from today's story:

Karen allowed that they view most of the sophisticated equipment onboard as luxuries, and as such, do not rely on it. Their autopilot is a hydraulic unit connected by a bespoke ram to the rudder. Were it to fail, Karen felt confident they could do without.

“We know how to balance the boat without the autopilot,” Karen said. “Nick is very good at fixing things as well. But if it failed beyond repair, we had enough crew to hand-steer. More than likely we could have balanced the sail plan and coaxed her sail herself.”

Sub-three-hour marathon (...or trying to get on the Grinder Board). Day 6.

Rodney Bay to another beach.

Hot again. Not like yesterday (I ran after 5pm, so it was mostly in the shade with a low sun). We first went to Pigeon Island with Clare and Alain and ate lunch at Jambe de Bois before hiking to the top of the island. I drank a big bottle of coconut water that I shared (a little) with the others. We took photos. Guys on the beach where I ran to told me to be careful and run with a friend because 'there are bad people in the forest.'

Stats: 5.3 miles / 46:30 / 8:46 m.p.min / 1:54 off the pace.

Pigeon Island

Här kommer ett par bilder från eftermiddagen på Pigeon Island, eftermiddagen började med lunch på Jambe de Bois och sedan klättrade vi upp till toppen med den magnifika utsikten.. 

Ikväll är det partyparty i marinan, ska bli riktigt kul!

Kram på er alla!

Luciamorgon

I St. Lucia på Lucia..

Just nu sitter jag och myser framför luciamorgon, stämningen kommer sakta men säkert krypande men jag saknar lussebullar o pepparkakor. På måndag kommer jag hem till Sverige igen och då ska jag försöka ta igen alla missade decembermysdagar. Hoppas ni laddat upp med pepparkakor och glögg! :)

Idag är det St. Lucias nationaldag och jag ska fira dagen med att vara ledig och bestiga Pigeon Island, en lagom ansträngande aktivitet i denna hetta. Först ska jag dock sova ett par timmar, har nu sista nattpasset mellan 02-08 och kommer nog behöva ett par timmars sömn när jag är klar. 

Veckan här nere kommer nu gå fort, de flesta båtar har nu kommit in, ikväll laddar vi inför GM festen här i marinan och på torsdag är det maskerad med tema Thriller. Nick har jobbat i en "Hunted Forest" i USA och har alla tricks man kan tänka sig för att få till en utmärkt Thriller-outfit.. :) På lördag är det prisutdelning och redan på söndag flyger vi hem, veckan rusar fram som sagt!

Vi ses snart, kram på er alla!

Sub-three-hour marathon (...or trying to get on the Grinder Board). Day 5.

Hilly beach out-and-back, St. Lucia

It is not a good idea to go running at 12:30 on the afternoon on a tropical island. Even worse an idea to attempt this one night after about 15 havana cocktails and half a pound of salt pork. I was slightly dehydrated, to say they least. Nonethelesss, I ran. I would do it again.

I listened to music this time round, which I do not often do when I run with Mia. We chat instead. The Arcade Fire came on first, then a song by the Australian band Evermore. It made me think about music in a way I have not before. The Arcade Fire - the song was 'Haiti' (I just put it on now, again) - gave me a cool feeling. Despite the incredible heat. Colors can be warm and cool (red and blue), but I never thought of music that way. Evermore was warm. The song ('For One Day') had a decidedly warmer feel to it, particularly following 'Haiti.'

Music (or sound, I suppose), like fragrances, for me is more closely related to memory than any other sense. The amount of pleasure I derive from any particular song has more to do with where I was when I first heard that song (or, rather, where I was when the song became recognizable to me, when I got used to it). Music is connected to mood.

I first heard Evermore when I lived in Brisbane, Australia (maybe that's why it feels 'warm' to me?). I got to know that album there ('Dreams'), and listened to it often. I listened to it in New Zealand as well, when I met Mia. I recall one particular time taking a nap in our hostel in Taupo and listening to it as I went to sleep.

Another album (also called 'Dreams') by The Whitest Boy Alive I can only listen to in Sweden. I first got used to it there and it gives me such good memories of living in Stockholm that I do not let myself listen to it anywhere else for fear of ruining that. Likewise, another of their albums I have ('Rules') I first started listening to at home in PA, running on the new trail with Oatie. It will forever remind me of that one instance; that memory is inexorably linked to that album. Peter Bjorn and John's 'Writers Block' is perhaps the only album that I can listen to anywhere, and without recalling anything significant (though it does bring back memories of the concert in Pittsburgh with Nate and Ryan). It is my all-time favorite album though, and I have listened to it so often so as to perhaps have erased any specific memories abotut it.

Stats: 4.2 miles / 37:50 / 9:00 m.p.min. / 2:08 off the pace.

Getting better, only slightly.