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Log 01/09/06 - 02/09/06

31/08/06
Today brought us light winds and we decided it was time to fly our two asymmetrical spinnakers one from each mast. After all hands on deck working together to get them up and flying we are unable to sail our desired course as they don’t perform well down wind. We got the mizzen spinnaker down first then the forward spinnaker all with relatively little fuss. Just as we are packing away the forward spinnaker the radar bleeper falls from the mizzen mast and bounces off the deck into the water (the boatyard did not refit it properly). Man over board drill is now in action! Engine is engaged and refuses to rev. We notice one of our genoa sheets is under the boat, caught around the prop! We have to sail to our man over board under main and mizzen and staysail in 6kns and a 2m swell. Our ‘man’ is retrieved from the beam of the boat as we sail very slowly downwind passed ‘him’. All sails down for the serious job of freeing the prop. Fortunately Celtic Spirit carries a diving compressor and in no time our fittest crew was in a suit with weights, tethered and put into the water. After all this we were under way again with some 400 miles to go to complete this leg of our onward voyage south as far as we can go.

Log 30/08/09
Log 29/08/06