Author: mtashby

Current Position: 33 01.433’S 27 53.843’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 0; COG: N/A; TWS: 9; TWD: 133; Current Speed, 0.2 kt; Current Direction, 180 Distance to Waypoint (East London): At Anchor; Total Miles Sailed: 15914 nm; Engine Hours: 321; Estimate Fuel: 58+10+50;
Comments: It is 5:30, I am 72 nm from South London, and I am 7 nm offshore. I am flying the Yankee and storm staysail in a dead run. The main is lashed, in part because it would not be very productive, but also because it needs some repairs. The wind js 10, driving the boat speed 2.5, but I have a 3.5 kt current that is giving a SOG a little over 6. Between now and noon, the wind is supposed to build to the mid-20s and the current to 4.5. I expect to anchor at East London before sunset at 18:42. After my tea, I am going to try to sort out the anchor chain, which I expect to be a mess as it has not been used since Rodrigues. There are a couple of rain showers SE of me, but I expect them to pass S of me. I notice the first of the ARC cruisers will arrive in Richards Bay today (I got out just in time) and the last of the 5.80 racers will arrive in Durban today/tomorrow. It is 6:00 and I have passed the deep water of the sea cliffs and once again entered the shallows … currently 430’ (130m). I should see the current pick up from the present value of 2.9. Also, as expected, it has started warming up and the wind is back in the double digits. The chain was not as tangled as I expected it to be. By 9:00 I was still only averaging 5.3 in 8-10 wind and 3.7 current. At noon, right on cue, the wind showed up and the SOG jumped from 5 to 8 kt with 30 nm to go (30/8=4h). Now that the wind was strong enough to keep the sails filled, I changed course for the waypoint. It is 14:00, I am averaging 7.3, and I have 17 nm to go, so I expect to drop the sails about (16/7.3=2.2h) 16:15, giving me plenty of time to motor into the harbor and anchor before dark. I have decided to drop the sails two nm upstream from the harbor entrance should I have any difficulties furling the Yankee or dropping the staysail. It is 15:00 and I am less than 10 nm from the mouth of the Buffalo River. There are showers ahead, so it looks like it will be a wet one. The current is starting to drop off as I get closer to shore. I am 2 nm from shore and 5 nm from dropping the sails (about 16:00) and the current is 2.2. Waves are breaching the cockpit. The rain showers are reducing the visibility at the coast to zero and I cannot spot any features except the white beacon. I will need to use Navionics to find my way in … an “instrument landing.” Everything went according to plan. Sails were down 2 nm out, I had 2 kt current all the way to the opening of the river. There was still quite a bit if wind at the anchorage. I dropped anchor downstream from the moorings about 17:00. I was met by Mark, a Frenchman, who rowed over from his catamaran, the only other boat at anchor. I was messaged by Major Tom, who was moored at a “walk on.” After a bite to eat and a beer, I fell asleep early and woke up after sunrise (5:01) at about 5:25. I had awaken only once during the night, when I heard the river water flowing by the hull. I checked Anchor Watch and the boat had stayed within a 25’ radius all night.

Current Position: 32 17.489’S 29 04.142’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 6.0; COG: 261; TWS: 9; TWD: 55; Current Speed, 3.6 kt; Current Direction, 260 Distance to Waypoint (East London, 262): 72; Total Miles Sailed: 15839 nm; Engine Hours: 318; Estimate Fuel: 58+13+50;
Comments: it is 5:25, half a hour after sunrise. The seas are still complex as the wind shifted only 12h ago, and the boat is rolling and fishtailing in the confusion. Nonetheless, I am enjoying my tea in the cockpit. It feels cold for the first time in eight months. I am still barefoot, but gave a jacket on. I’m doing 7.5 kt in 16 kt wind and 2.7 kt current in a deep broad reach, almost a run, with 80% of the Yankee, the storm staysail, and a double-reefed main. The obtuse AWA is causing the foresails to slat. Since tge wind is supposed to continue to build and back from 90 to 50, after my tea, I am going to drop and Kash the mainsail and try to run with the foresails. I dropped the main at 6:00. The topmost baton pocket is badly torn. If I raise the main again I will remove the baton. As I suspected, the boat is running much more smoothly without the main up. The speed was 7.3 with the main and 7.0 without it. However, when the wind shifts later I will be able to run with the foresails only. Furthermore, since the sails are no longer slatting, I can ease the sheets and get a better sail shape. In doing that I was able to achieve 7.6 kt speed. I am in a pack of cargo ships … almost too many to keep track of, but like a rock in the middle of a stream, they change course and go around me. Everyone is going the same direction … S, because it would be insane to fight the current. At 6:30, I have one ship off my port and another off my starboard. I took an hour nap … still catching up on sleep. At 7:30 my average speed since 6:00 has improved to 7.7. Based on the forecasts, my average speed should increase. Sunset will be about 18:40 tomorrow. Given there is usable light for an hour after that, I have 36 h to cover the 250 nm, so I need to average 250/36=6.9 kt. This seems very likely. Given East London is supposed to be easy to enter in all weather conditions and at night, it seems likely I will arrive tomorrow evening. I have already planned to anchor rather than try to negotiate the fore and aft moorings. Since the anchor chain has not been sorted out since Rodrigues, I imagine it will be quite an effort to untangle it. It is 8:00, the sky is clearing up, and I am averaging 8.1 kt. It is 11:00, I am averaging 8.2, and the sky is almost cloudless and bright. The seas have cleaned up a bit and I am in a bear run with following seas. Does not get better than this. The boat speed has fallen to 7.9 by 15:00, primarily due to lesser current. I believe I am too far offshore 23 nm). I adjusted my course to bring the boat to shallower waters, but there is a sea wall along this stretch of coastline with a steep drop off close to shore. It is 16:30 … the wind is blowing 25-30 and the current is 2.5. The boat speed is 5.5-6 and the SOG 8-8.5. I am 180 nm from East London and 20 nm from the coastline, which I can just make out. At 17:30 I tacked to the starboard. I believe if I get 5 nm closer to shore I will pick up another kn current. There are costal storms to the W and a squall to the S. Everything upwind looks okay. I am going to stay on the starboard tack for about 20 nm (2.5h, 20:30), then tack back to the port for the rest of the night. It is sunset (18:40) and I am 162 nm from the entrance of the harbor. I will need to sail 162/24=6.75 kt avg. to make it there by dusk tomorrow. If I maintain the average I have the past 24h, I will be there in 162/8=21h, about 15:30. At 19:00 I changed course to go around a cargo ship that was clearly adrift, not under propulsion, but drifting with the current. It was perpendicular to the current, so the AIS was confusing as it was pointed 90 degrees from the direction it was traveling. As I head towards shore I picked up speed due to increased current. At 20:00 I was clear of the drifting freighter, 12 nm from shore, and in a 4.4 kt current. The SOG was nearly 10 kt. I had gained 2 kt by moving closer to shore. I didn’t actually tack back to port. The wind direction had backed enough that I can probably stay on the starboard tack overnight. I believe the changing current direction will address changed in the coastline. It looks like I have about 75 nm before I may need to change course away from the coast. Just 10 nm off a rugged coast and traveling 9.8 kt, I cannot afford to sleep very long. It is 1:30 and the wind speed has fallen to 20, the current fallen to 3.9, and the SOG fallen to 8.5. I am in a dead run and the ride is the most comfortable it has been so far with 98 nm to go. I need to average 98/16=6.1 kt to arrive in time to anchor before dark. I am still 11 nm from the coast, but it has begun to bulge out and without some help from the current wrapping around I will need to tack. At 3:30 the wind was down to 12 from 40 and the current 3.7, reducing the SOG to 7.1 kt with 80 nm to go. It looks like it will be unnecessary to tack. By 4:00 the wind was 8 and the current 3.6 giving a SOG of 5.9. PW predicted the decreased wind. After sunrise it should pick up again building to over 20 by noon. The current should increase to 4.5 as well. It is a pretty pink sunrise, but behind some rain showers to the S.

Current Position: 29 54.183’S 31 36.992’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 8.0; COG: 233; TWS: 18; TWD: 82; Current Speed, 2.8 kt; Current Direction, 250 Distance to Waypoint (East London, 246): 266; Total Miles Sailed: 15645 nm; Engine Hours: 318; Estimate Fuel: 58+13+50;
Comments: it started to rain at 18:20. The last of the daylight was fading, but nothing looks threatening. The wind speed and direction was variable. Furthermore, it is supposed to change direction almost 180 degrees overnight. For that reason I decided to use the TillerPilot. The wind speed has dropped to single digits and I am only doing 4.5 kt, but I know that will change as the wind and current speeds pick up. I see Paradise Falls, which I have not seen since the Cocos, is about a day away from Richards Bay. It is 19:30 and I am tired. There does not seem to be any traffic in my way. I may be crossing a shipping lane in about 12 nm. The boat is moving away from the coastline. I will try to sleep for 1h. It is 21:20 and a cargo ship will come within 1 nm in about 1h. At 23:00 the current had increased to 2.4 and the wind 14 from 105 driving a SOG of 7. Bibi of Cork, one of the 5.80 racers, contacted me a little after midnight by VHF. We are 5 nm from one another and on a collision course. I had been dosing and got up to navigate around him. The boat is doing close to 8 kt in 14 kt wind and 3.1 kt current. I radioed Bibi of Cork at 00:45 and told him I was giving way, then adjusted my course 30 degrees to pass 0.5 nm behind him. I passed 3 nm in front of the 5.80 racer Little Wren (Adam) about 3:09. Sunrise was 4:55, and at the same time a large cargo ship came up behind me and passed 1 nm to my starboard. It is partly cloudy and no evidence of rain. I downloaded a new GRIB and nothing has changed. I will have wind from the NE until the early morning hours Tuesday. The prediction is I will arrive midnight Sunday night, having picked up 5h overnight. I am about to pass Durban. I am a go for East London.

Current Position: 28 54.500’S 32 04.988’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 6.5; COG: 220; TWS: 15; TWD: 85; Current Speed, 1.2 kt; Current Direction, 240 Distance to Waypoint (East London, 246): 327; Total Miles Sailed: 15583 nm; Engine Hours: 318; Estimate Fuel: 58+13+50;
Comments: The main items on my punch list on Friday (besides returning the car and getting my flight plan stamped) is getting a very long hot shower and ordering a full peri-peri chicken dinner with veggie sides to go. I went to sleep at 20:30. I woke up at 3:30 and could not get back to sleep. I downloaded the latest GRIB. No changes … southerlies starting this evening until Tuesday morning. High tide will be 16:22, so the sand bars will not be a problem for my planned departure at 16:00. It started to rain at 5:45. I returned the rental car at 7:30 and Eric the taxi driver picked me up. We went to immigration, customs, and the water police, and finally back to the marina. By 9:00 I was finished and eating breakfast while I waited for the paperwork to be processed by the marina. By 10:00 I was back at the boat, readying the interior. By 11:15 the boat was prepped inside and out. I am going to run with the same sail configuration as I came in on, so the storm staysail was hanked on the inner stay and lashed to the deck. I slept for an hour, waking up just before 13:00 and about that time it started raining again. I got a shower before returning the marina keys. I picked up a full chicken dinner to go at the restaurant, which should take care of the next couple of days. I was back at the boat by 15:00 and the wind speed is almost zero (1-4 kt and still from SSW). By 16:30 the wind had started to rotate to the E, still 3-6 kt, and I readied the boat to leave. I tossed off the lines about 16:30. By 17:00 I was approaching the breakwater, the fenders and lines were stowed, and I had permission from Port Control to leave the harbor. Major Tom, also headed for East London, is about 4.5 nm ahead of me. By 17:44 I am in a 1 kt SW current and motoring almost 7 kt at 2100 rpm with the storm staysail up. The depth is 60’. Once I am past the mooring field of cargo ships, I will shut off the engine and assess the wind. I count 15 ships anchored offshore. By 18:30 I had cleared the last ship and had the main hoisted with two reefs. That helped with the rocking. Unfortunately, I could see that the first baron pocket is torn. I sewed the second, but did not notice the first, I will have to fix it when I get to East London.the wind seemed to be picking up as I motorsailed and it started to back to the E. The SOG was not 7.5 as the current increased from 0.9 to 1.1 kt. PW says I am supposed to have 10 kt from the E by 22:00, but it looks like it is early. I turned the engine off at 18:30. There was 14 kt wind from 80 with a 1.2 kt current. I am doing 6.8 kt with half the Yankee, the storm staysail, and a double-reefed main. I am on my way. I have added current speed and direction to the data.

Current Position: 28 47.476’S 32 04.958’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 0; COG: N/A; TWS: ?; TWD: ?; Distance to Waypoint (Richards Bay): in a slip at ZYC; Total Miles Sailed: 15574 nm; Engine Hours: 314; Estimate Fuel: 60+15+50;
Comments: I woke up at 4:30. Not enough sleep. Will need to catch up before I leave Saturday. Stacey’s dog sitter flaked out and she has no other options for her “special needs” dog, so she won’t be joining me in Cape Town. That means I am not in any particular schedule. My plan is to push through to the South Atlantic as quickly as the weather will allow me. For now, that appears to be the 330 nm to East London on Saturday. Durban will be the only port to bail if the weather forecast changes. I am leaving early Saturday, which means I will need to make the call Saturday evening. Once committed, there will be no turning back. After that, it will be Port Elizabeth and then the south coast to Cape Town. I have a punch list of mostly minor repairs. I started out this morning by cutting out bad sections of rope and whipping ends to make shorter serviceable lines. I then “fixed” the line to raise the watervane. Thi will be the third “fix”. I tied double braid to it and it wore out in one short passage. I made a Dyneema pendant and attached it directly to the hole at the bottom of the blade and in chaffed through in half a passage. This time I have put a shackle through the hole and tied Dyneema-cored double-braid to it. Fingers crossed. All of my hats have mildew stains on them, so I soaked them in bleach water, which worked surprisingly well. One of the fiberglass support rods for the sailpack had poked through the end, even though I had reinforced it with leather. I managed to sew the hole shut with the Speedy Stitcher. Not sure how long it will last. I also sewed one of the baton pockets on the mainsail. It was one of the pockets I sewed with the Sailrite machine in Tahiti. This time I used whipping cord and the Speedy Stitcher. Unfortunately, I broke the needle. I thought I had a spare but cannot find it. It is 8:15 and it started to rain right when I finished up. The only other sewing project I have are the patches on the mainsail reefing grommets in the middle of the sail. They will be hard to get to. I need a heavy duty curved needle. It is 10:30 and I just checked the weather forecast. The wind is arriving earlier than expected, by tomorrow evening. I have changed my plans and will depart about 16:00 tomorrow. Most of my chores are done. I just filed an electronic flight plan for East London and I have filled in the physical paperwork for Richard’s Bay. After I drop the car off at 7:30 tomorrow, I am being picked up by Eric the taxi driver who will take me around to the three offices to get the paperwork stamped. It was a long day of washing, organizing, making repairs, and visiting the bank. I went to the bank twice today (total of 4h) and still don’t have access to my account. The last request was a utility bill from my residence. This after 12h this week sitting in an office telling them I don’t live in a house anymore. I gave up, collected my passports (they wanted my expired ones), my boat papers (that they requested), etc. Looks like they’re going to keep my 10,000 Rand. I stopped by the grocery store one last time (have enough fresh food to make it to Cape Town). It is 19:00 and I just checked the forecast. Nothing has changed, except the window seems even wider (to Tuesday afternoon rather than morning). My punch list is complete except for returning the rental car and getting the stamps in my flight plan, both of which will be done in the morning.

Current Position: 28 47.476’S 32 04.958’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 0; COG: N/A; TWS: ?; TWD: ?; Distance to Waypoint (Richards Bay): in a slip at ZYC; Total Miles Sailed: 15574 nm; Engine Hours: 314; Estimate Fuel: 60+15+50;
Comments: Tomorrow after the winds are going to settle down. That will be a good time to raise the mainsail and measure for the reefing line. In the morning I will fabricate the pendants that I will use to secure the reefing points to the boom. My Makita drill burned out yesterday, so I will be searching for a replacement. I was told Bolt Centre had good prices and it is near the Standard Bank, which I need to revisit. I woke up at 5:00, right at sunrise. It blew hard all night but is the wind is relatively light now, but gusting periodically. It is grey and cloudy, typical weather after a southern front. There was a 7’ tide last night. I was told by my neighbor that several of the boats were grounded and heeled over. The mast of one of the sailboats was practically tangled in the rigging of their neighbor. After my tea, I started my day by organizing and cleaning the cabin, which was an absolute disaster after getting into almost every storage locker for parts and tools. I made quite a bit of progress organizing the cabin, then did two loads of laundry (including the small pillows, which were filthy), the ran errands (hardware store, bank and grocery stores). I have practically given up trying to get into my SA bank account. I spent another hour in the bank and got nowhere. When I got back to the boat, the wind was billowing 12 and gusting 18. The leech of the sail was pointed directly into the wind and I quickly raised it to measure the second reading line. It is 12’ when fully cinched and about 41’ when the sail is fully deployed. I should get 60’ of rope (18m). I made two soft shackles out of Dyneema that were covered with Kevlar tubing (firehose) and attached them to the two grommets of the first and second reefing points. I replaced the second reefing line with 65’ of 8mm (an extra 20’ or so) should I need to cut some off later. I am now going to make a short piece of 10mm double braid that will be looped around the boom and clipped into the soft shackle. After relaxing the reefing line, I shouldn’t have a chafing problem anymore. I noticed when I was taking the mainsail down that one of the baton pockets that I resewed in Tahiti is in need of a minor repair. I will stitch it by hand tomorrow. I was invited to a celebration at the ZYC at 19:00 and was presented a bottle of champagne, something they do every Wednesday for all visitors.

Current Position: 28 47.476’S 32 04.958’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 0; COG: N/A; TWS: ?; TWD: ?; Distance to Waypoint (Richards Bay): in a slip at ZYC; Total Miles Sailed: 15574 nm; Engine Hours: 314; Estimate Fuel: 60+15+50;
Comments: I woke at 5:00 this morning, a few minutes after sunrise at 4:56. I transferred 45 gal diesel from the Jerry cans to the main tank. I believe there is at least 60 gal in the tank now. I was on my way to the office to ask where I could get fuel when I spotted a truck and trailer with a carboy of diesel. I asked if he delivered and he said he could fill my Jerry cans right then. His helpers even fetched the Jerry cans and carried the filled ones back to the boat. 45 gal (120 l) was $245 ($5.40 gal). The local price was $4.77/ gal, so I paid an extra $28, which was worth not having to haul the Jerry cans to the rental car, drive somewhere to fill them, then haul them back to the boat. I washed the boat down (first time since leaving Mexico) and filled all the water tanks. It is 9:30 and I messaged Andries earlier this morning about the parts he is welding, but have not heard back, so I will move in to the next project, the reefing lines. I just realized I cannot work on the reefing lines while the boom is detached from the mast. Before I could find another project, Andries called about 10:00 and asked if he could use a 10 mm nut instead of the 5/16”, because the latter was too thin to weld. He says he’ll have it finished in a half hour or so. I still have hopes of finishing the boom today. It is nearly 2:00. I worked 4h to shape the nut brackets to line up the nuts exactly where they need to go. At one point I broke the weld and it had to be rewelded. When I finally hit both nuts aligned, I drilled and tapped the brackets to secure them in place with screws to the end piece of the boom. I cut 10 mm bolts to size. The fix looks bulletproof. It did not take too long to reattach the boom. I have learned tricks along the way to align the heavy pieces. The boom is fixed! It is almost 15:00 and I am beat. It was unusually hot today, in the 90s … not good weather for heavy labor. Tomorrow (Wednesday) I will focus on fixing the reefing lines and will start my “flight plan” (as the OSASA calls it) to Durban. It looks like a departure at noon on Friday or Saturday works.

Current Position: 28 47.476’S 32 04.958’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 0; COG: N/A; TWS: ?; TWD: ?; Distance to Waypoint (Richards Bay): in a slip at ZYC; Total Miles Sailed: 15574 nm; Engine Hours: 314; Estimate Fuel: 11 +13+50;
Comments: I woke up at 4:30. There is little wind right now, but it is supposed to build in a few hours, so as soon as it is light I will launch the dinghy and repair the windvane. I started work on the windvane and I realized what the problem was. The bolt on the starboard side has a hole drilled through it and is seized with wire so it cannot come off. At some point that bolt in the port side must have gone missing. I replaced the bolt with a lock washer and Loctite 404, but I did not feel comfortable with that and have arranged for a 5/16” bolt to have a hole drilled through it. In the meantime, I worded on the primary winches. I injected insecticide into the bore holes, greased and reassembled the starboard winch. I then disassembled the port winch, then greased and reassembled it. I applied silicon sealant to the bow running lights. At 9:30 I went to pick up the rental car, then went to Standard Bank to try to regain access to my account there. After 2h they still were uncertain what paperwork was necessary and they asked me to come back. I went shopping, then returned to find the bolt for the windvane was drilled, so I could finish fixing the windvane and get the dinghy back on the boat. My last chore in a very busy day was to transfer diesel from the Jerry cans to the main tank. The gauge says there is 15/60 gal in the main tank. I guesstimated 11 gal from the hours of use. I know the gauge is not very accurate. I added 25 gal of fuel and it is now reading 45 gal. My best guess is I need to add another 20 gal to top it off. I believe the 60 gal mark on the tank is pretty accurate. I’ll add the rest of the fuel tomorrow. In addition, I intend to work on the reefing line problem until the part is welded for the boom, then I will work on that until the boom is fixed. I am not going anywhere until the boom is fixed.

Current Position: 28 47.476’S 32 04.958’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 0; COG: N/A; TWS: ?; TWD: ?; Distance to Waypoint (Richards Bay): in a slip at ZYC; Total Miles Sailed: 15574 nm; Engine Hours: 314; Estimate Fuel: 11 +13+50;
Comments: I got up at 5:30 again. As expected, the wind has shifted to the S and that has brought rain. I met with Andries (the head person in the work yard) at 8:00. He gave me material for the boom repair and is letting me use his shop. He will also weld the nuts on the SS plate I am using to fix the boom. I finished making the pieces to be welded. I believe Andries is in Durban tomorrow, so I assume it will be welded Tuesday. My guess is this problem will be solved by Wednesday. In the meantime, it is pouring down rain, so not a good day to work topside. I changed the engine oil and fuel filters, and change the fuel polishing filter. The Racor polishing filter was at its limit. I believe it is impregnated with a compound that absorbs traces of water via chemabsorption, and when saturated, the filter acts as if it is clogged (back pressure increases). The filter looked clean but the back pressure was high. the engine fuel filter showed signs of corrosion, suggesting traces of salt water may still be getting through. However, I note these filters seems be of pretty low quality. I have been thinking about the next stage and whether it is necessary to stop in Durban. Des recommends I do … 80 km and perhaps 18h away, it shaves that much off the passage to East London, reducing the 3+d that would be required to reach there from here. We have not been seeing the 3-4 days of good weather needed to make the direct passage. Accordingly, when I am finished with my work and there is a weather window, I will leave Richards Bay about noon for an overnight passage and arrival in Durban the next morning. The critical items on my punch list are: fix end of boom, treat the wood beneath the winch for the wood borer and reassemble the winch, repair windvane, replace the second reefing line and find permanent solution to reefing lines, seal running lights with caulking, fill water tank, fill fuel tank, provision, and create a flight plan. The flight plan is required in South Africa and it involves getting stamps from the ZYC, Immigration, Customs, and Border Control. This is apparently a while morning effort that involves taking a taxi around to the various offices. Also, if you don’t leave right away, you may have to start the process all over.

Current Position: 28 47.476’S 32 04.958’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 0; COG: N/A; TWS: ?; TWD: ?; Distance to Waypoint (Richards Bay): in a slip at ZYC; Total Miles Sailed: 15574 nm; Engine Hours: 314; Estimate Fuel: 11 +13+50;
Comments: I woke up at 5:30, a half jour after sunrise. In a continuation of electrical problems, the solenoid on the propane regulator has stopped working. I have been fearing/anticipating this because they don’t last forever in a marine environment and I do not have a spare. I suspect it is not a coincidence that I squeezed myself in the propane locker yesterday and suddenly the solenoid stopped working. However, I have examined the wiring and do not see a problem. Before removing the solenoid to try to find a replacement, I am going to cut the wires an confirm I have current. I will also test the resistance of the coil. I had good voltage and continuity, so cut out the defective union and installed new ones (I had to extend the wire). Fixed! I can have my morning tea … then will get started on my other electrical problems, the bow running lights. I cut the splice I made yesterday and did what I should have done before making it the first time, make sure I had voltage, which I did, which meant I broke the splice while pulling through the deck yesterday. This time I spliced the wire above deck but applied the heat shrink tubing in the chain locker so the wire bundle was not too thick to pull through the hole in the deck. Success. Pulling a new short wire for the port side was not challenging. I bought a small tube of silicon sealant. I finished the wiring, had to replace the bulb on the port side, then everything worked. I suspended the boom and mainsail with slings and removed the end plate for the boom. I am studying it to figure out how I am going to secure it once and for all. It is 15:30 and I just woke up from a 2h nap. I figured out how to secure the end cap of the boom and am setting out to manufacture the pieces. I have contacted a local contractor who says he can make the pieces. Interesting … the end piece is not symmetrical. It looks like the bolts were just eyeballed, or perhaps there it was not correctly measured. In any case, the two pieces will be different sizes. I feel I can complete my other tasks, at least the most important ones, in the next 3-4d, depending on how long it will take to find the materials. The only essential things that need to be done in addition to the boom is: 1) repair the windvane, 2) service the engine, and 3) replace the second reefing line and find a permanent solution to the chaffing problem. The first two can be done in half a day. The third requires me to find the materials. There is a chandelier at ZYC, but the prices are a bit steep. My vision for the reefing issue is to use a Dyneema soft shackle that is permanently attached to each reefing point and to have a permanently attached pendant at the two reefing points that I can just snap in after drawing in the reefing line. I can then relax the reefing line so it does not chafe. This is basically what I do for the tack of the mainsail when I reef. I can reinforce the soft shackle with a piece of firehose (like I did for the Dyneema pendant for the tack of the storm staysail).