TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG TWO DAY 5 QFB: received 19.11.08 0653 GMT
Had a very tough 24 hours, whatever we have done went wrong. It was like fixing a fuse, which didn’t want to click on.
The Black boat sailed right passed us last night. We changed sails, but still slow, reefed main in /out several times, still slow and, worse of all, we ripped the main, not too badly, but we had to wait until daylight to fix it.
We sent Daryl Wislang/NZL up the mast with a halyard and two security lines, and he fixed it as though the sail was lying on the flat floor. Now, all of sudden, the boat is going again, very, very strange.
I don’t know how many times we checked the keel to see if there was something on it, but couldn’t see anything. Another mishap is that Laurent Pages/FRA) is out of the watch. He got smashed into the wheel protection and has hurt his shoulder. He was clipped on, but not in the right spot, he was washed back the length of his safety line, and he had enough pace to do the damage. He can move his arm, so that is at least a good thing. Keeping him in bed is the best we can do right now. We will check him once he is up again.
So, we are all in a bit of a moody feeling, as all the other boats sail faster and we have to make sure we hang in there. A tough day in the life of Volvo sailor.
Cheers,
Bouwe Bekking - skipper