28th & 29th May Update from Rory

Just spoke to a very tired & emotional Rory. Yesterday was tough going, Force 6, SW 20-25 knots bang on the nose. Poor Harry (the windvane!!) has a tough time keeping course going to windward, so lots of hand steering, Very wet & tough day for all on board.
So much so, that Rory hoved to at about 1am and slept all night. (He has now realised that this is a necessity, in order to get some rest, when sailing constantly to windward, not just for the boat, but also for him )
Really struggling with moral to then get out of warm, snuggly sleeping bag, into cold, damp clothing, and back on deck...,.......to face it all over again.

Weather had eased today, so fixed the beams. The washer had cracked and broken, so the beams were moving more than Rory wanted them to. Cut up some wood board and replaced them, so beams are now secure again.
He will continue to head south, as there is a big low pressure coming in from the west. Cookie & Harry are back under self-steering again, so Rory is about to cook some supper and get some more deserved rest.

Rory's Spot Latitude:46.17891 Longitude:-18.02704 GPS location Date/Time:05/29/2010 13:11:57 BST

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=46.17891,-18.02704&ll=46.17891,-18.02704&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

http://www.oceanracetrack.com/raceplayer/raceplayer.aspx?event=34