Two-hundred miles south of Jamaica and heading right for it (14.26 north, 76.50 west). Yesterday was another nasty one! The coast of Columbia is notorious for wild weather, and it didn’t disappoint. It was blowing a solid 30 knots and the seas were 15 feet (the waves in the Caribbean are different than the Pacific ... underneath the white foamy top is a turquoise pool of clear water). Woodwind plunged down the waves and lurched back up, knocking us and any loose bits around. It was like riding bumper cars.

We had to pump every half hour because the hatch caulking was knocked loose. The boat was working so hard we started getting hairline cracks in the deck, which means water in the bunk and everywhere else. Our fastest jib ripped out, a jib block broke (after 50,000 miles), then I heard Bruce say, “Oh, no! Check this out!” The mizzen was making a strange squeaking noise, and the epoxy boot on deck was cracking as if a baby dinosaur was about to hatch out of it. The mast was moving with each wave smack and the sail wasn’t even up.

Down below we discovered the problem. The fuel jugs in the back cabin had put pressure on the mast and somehow the key that holds the mast in place had come loose and was missing. We could see the Australian dime (for good luck, a coin is always placed under a mast; both of our coins have great stories and we didn’t want to loose this one). So … sails down, engine off and back to work.

We spent an hour emptying the back cabin and setting up a line from the top of the mizzen to the bow to act as a back stay. We had to start the generator so we could drill a new hole in the bottom of the mast, then used brute force (and a big piece of lead) to move the mast into place. Since everything was out, we spent another 30 minutes transferring fuel into the tank and another 30 putting everything carefully away … whew!

Today, conditions are Caribbean casual. The seas are normal for the area and the wind is a steady 15 to 20.

Jan