Jeanne Socrates; Randall Reeves; Jokes of the Day
Jeanne Socrates Is Out of Africa
About two weeks ago (on February 4), we got an email from Jeanne Socrates. “Officially now in the Eastern Hemisphere! Soon to be in Indian Ocean — hoping to round Cape Agulhas (and, by default, Cape of Good Hope) in just over a week’s time.”
Well, here’s a screenshot from today of Socrates’ tracker:
“All we need now is for the mainsail repair to be completed, so we can make better speed . . . All in good time!”
In mid-January, Socrates was hunkered down as a low passed over. She woke up early in the morning while “rocking around in swell. Wind howling in rigging,” she wrote on her blog. A few hours later, Socrates looked on deck to find her “mainsail fluttering in one place — a length along the leech edge has torn and separated from the body of the sail between the top two battens. Will need stitching back into place with reinforcing as soon as possible. Not sure when, since will need to remove the entire sail from the mast to do the work down below; not simple or easy when at sea . . . not good news.”
In the meantime, Socrates has rigged a trysail.
The repairs have been slow going. “Looked at the Gorilla tape used in the repair; it’s not 100% stuck well where the leech material is thick and buckled slightly, so definitely needs reinforcing and covering with the sail material I have — it’s the practicalities of doing what I feel I need to do that has become a big challenge if I’m to have the use of the mainsail again.”
Good luck, Jeanne.
In Other West Coast Circumnavigator News
Meanwhile, after suffering light winds at the bottom of New Zealand, Randall Reeves has finally punched through, and is back in the Pacific Ocean. On a February 13 blog post, Reeves estimated that he had 39 days until re-rounding Cape Horn.
Reeves has also been doing some sail repairs of his own on his #2 headsail.
“Sewing is not something I take to, but with the help of The Speedy [Stitcher] Sewing Awl, a mother-in-law gift from ages ago, progress is being made,” Reeves wrote on his blog. “This is the most intimate contact I’ve had with this sail since installing it on the bow in 2017 . . . everything on it is finely and ruggedly constructed in the extreme. I’m eager to get it flying again.”
Some Really, Really Bad Sailing Jokes
What do you call the fastest sailboat in the world? Usain Boat.
What detergent do sailors use? Tide.
What does a drunk sailboat do? Get Wrecked.
How do you make a yacht look younger? Boat-Tox. (These jokes came via www.jokes4us.com.)