We had a perfect day going today, sailing from Bequia to Carriacou (16t knots on a beam reach making 8.5 knots) until a squall popped up. I broke a block trying to reef the main. And then our windless pooped out after trying to set three times. Luckily there were
mooring balls nearby!
Note to self, do not underestimate the
power of an
electric winch! I don't know how it happened but the reefing line got in between the block and the outside part that was suppose to keep it in the bock. Now I get to buy a new block and at least 150' of line. I learned to only use the manual
winch when reefing today!
For the windless, I'm not sure what I learned -- we recently replaced the galvanized chain with stainless chain. The stainless seems more slippery and would occasionally slip in the
gypsy, but it did not seem to be a major problem -- more analysis is required.
But we are moored in paradise, what better place to solve problems.