Rollercoaster of emotions

Hello All,
 
What a rollercoaster of emotions yesterday on board BTP as I watched the drama unfold near Cape Horn with the capsize and rescue of Jean Le Cam. Feeling worried sick at first, and then as news progressively got better, ending with the rescue by Vincent, it became a punch the air moment of relief and happiness for Jean to be safe on PRB, and off his flooded, upturned craft.
 
Great work by so many people, but it was another competitor who was ready at the crucial moment to pick up Jean, and Vincent did a great job with no engine. It is such a shame that he has damaged his outrigger in the process, though I am sure Vincent feels that it is a very small price to pay. The outrigger is a highly loaded and crucial piece of the rigging, so it is going to be challenging to fix with the materials most of us have on board. I really hope that he can get up and running, and  finish the course. At least he has another experienced guy on board now to go through the repair options!
 
On board BTP it is a ‘bricolage’ day, which is French for DIY, as the weather is quite mild. It’s the last quiet day till the Horn and the first since the south of Australia. Yesterday the pilot ram tripped out in a squall, so I was in the process of checking the steering system and changing over rams when I heard some noises in the port rudder area. On a good look around I found a small crack in the transom, so I am now doing a mini version of the big repairs to the fwd longitudinals, and cutting floorboards, carbon plate, getting bolts, sikaflex and epoxy ready to secure the area of the transom.
 
The damage was probably caused by the loads on the rudders in the wipe out from the pilot before it tripped out, probably more than a crew would ever impose. A crew would have also have eased the mainsheet sooner. I was asleep below, and felt the boat heel over, and went up in my thermals to ease the mainsheet and take the helm before the boat went head to wind, so I was a few seconds later, and totally soaked as well. It’s a shame to have damage, and the boat has survived many other wipe outs before. Even after the repair, it will be another area of concern till the finish. It’s a typical problem with a new boat, they normally have little areas that need reinforcement. Boats seem to go through a cycle where they get better and better as the little problems are discovered and rectified, before old age creeps in and then they start breaking again. Some people call it the bathtub principle, a steep slope of improvement, then a flat line where everything works, and then another steep curve of regression. Its just that out here on the Vendee I am doing the new boat reinforcements on the go!
 
Another job is to work on the pilot rams, as the new one I put in yesterday does not work, and seems to have upset one of the pilot brains, so will have to troubleshoot that. The ram on the opposite side is working so ok for now, but would like to have original set up working as that has the more advanced pilot brain.  More sail repairs to do, and I would like to go up the mast to check the taping on the lower shrouds from some earlier chafe. Otherwise will do this in any calmer conditions after Cape Horn.
 
Looks like from this final ice gate, now 220 miles away, there will be strong breezes all the way to the Horn, so will be making good speeds, and hopefully I can concentrate fully on sailing safely and fast, with my major job list ticked off. This light air is frustrating as Sam and Marc are getting away rapidly in different winds, though I am in the same breeze and at similar speeds to Dee and Arnaud behind me, but at least the light airs are better for the repairs.
 
Ok, better get back to the jigsawing..The epoxy is being gently heated in the engine compartment, ready to apply soon..
 
Brian