This was a mixed day on Urge. The update that we were in second boat for boat was very welcome news and cheered everyone up to get through another very wet day.
Around 11AM we decided to shift from our reaching spinnaker to the largest one (Code 2) even though the conditions were not perfect for it- too much wind and a wicked sea state. However, we knew that we were going to get massacred on time as we now needed to move north and back up to the rhumb line. The launch went fine and we flew it for about four hours when we launched down the backside of a square wave. Understand that during the day we had mowed over many waves, but the square wave was different and I have only seen one before. . . essentially, this type of wave has no back to it- it is almost vertical. Urge plunged down what is essentially two to three stories and popped back up fine, but the Code 2 was shredded when the boat came back up. Bummer, but we did pick up a few miles with it (albeit expensive ones). We have one more Code 2 but decided the conditions really did not warrant it and went back to the reaching spinnaker. Cost us about 20 minutes time.
Soggy nuts. . . the saga is really quite sad. All the food bags stored on the port side were ruined by bilge water, even though they were double bagged. We managed to save three meals and are then on unlimited supplies of jerky, soggy nuts, and about a billion Snicker bars. . We wont starve, but I think a nutritionist might frown.
So by 1700 we were really hauling the mail and in the middle of the Pacific quite literally: 1000 miles or so to Hawaii and the same back to San Francisco. . . when the boat quivers and the rudder begins to vibrate. Ah crap- we hit something. However, after a few seconds we started moving again, but much slower (10 knts- down from 15). Brian and the crew put the boat into reverse using the sails (not easy in high winds) and up floated a large green net. . . darn, a fishing net was wrapped around our keel. I got the boat hook and Mike and I pulled up yard after yard of net then dumped it on the deck . . . aha, we finally got to the end of it, turned around and spun off again. Thankfully no one had to go swimming to untangle it. Total time lost: appx 10 mins.
Everyone is safe, but a bit wet and starting to really want to get to Hawaii. Uhm, the boat smells bad. Really bad.
The next few days will be very interesting indeed. . . a local low pressure area has set in around south Hawaii and we must decide whether to punch through it or head further north to get around it.
(Sent Tuesday, July 13, 2010 11:11 PM)
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