I managed to get the motor down - the trusty little new Yamaha 5 Hp. It started ok and revved up - but battled to get traction off the back of the boat as we pitched about in the large chop. And then suddenly it died. DAM! Started it again. It ran a few more seconds then died. @#$%^&*!!!! I was sure it was was to do with the fuel supply from the external fuel tank - the line is always hard to prime - and I had neglected to fill the header tank on the motor itself. And this was clearly not the time to do it! I would have had to decant from the external tank, and pour into a container of sorts, and then pour into the motor over the stern in these wild conditions.
So I gave up on the motor and raised the #2 again, sheeting it in as it in as hard as I could. Even as I did this the boat rolled heavily under a vicious blast of wind - somewhere in the high 40s I reckon, and I was forced to let it fly and get back to windward quickly. I asked Fiona to get below - pass me a harness - and stay down. I clipped on and sheeted the sail in again. We tried to beat out to sea to get some searoom - South towards Kommetjie. . .
What a ride! The chop was running at 1.5m now. Wind was averaging 40 gusting upper 40s. I was over canvassed with just the #2. As we lifted up each swell - so the wind would lay us down again. But we were in fact making some progress to weather under jib alone - later review of GPS tracklog showed a tru angle of about 55deg (i.e. we seemed to tack through 110deg). So it was going to be a long hard slog to get back, and I wished I had a #3 or less up. Luckily this boat sails quite well under jib alone.
At this stage I thought to radio the committee boat. Told them I was no longer racing, had broken gooseneck, no motor, and was slogging it back under jib alone - but under control and in no immediate danger. Had to use the indoor set - stretching the mike out to the cockpit - as the mobile wouldn't reach. Gavin - our race officer who officiates from his boat Dolphin - a large converted fishing boat- was having some fun himself under Chapmanspeak as the wind kept catching him abeam. With the sea running - we couldn't see each other. Gavin relayed our situation to Cape Town Radio and the N.S.R.I. and asked them to standby - as the conditions were still deteriorating. Meanwhile - Chris Sutton (skipper of the Farr-40 Farraway) - had enquired about us and set off to see if they could help. Farraway eventually appeared with a fully reefed main, no jib, and about 6 crew on the weather rail. Even they had a torrid time of it. Not much they could do but they could at least see us and report we were making progress.
Meanwhile I kept slogging along in Quest, beating as best I could under jb alone. Each wave came over the bow, launching spray into the wind and blasting my face in the gale. Luckily it wasn't too cold - and as I was clipped in and by now getting into a routine with this - I did have a moment to reflect there was a slight element of fun in this. I didn't think we would capsize with just the jib. Except Fiona was in the cabin and I had to find a way to get her home safely eventually.
The next challenge came when I had to take her about - as we had insufficient space to clear the headland under the Sentinel. On first attempt she stalled in irons - under pressure from the strong wind and chop. So I bore off again to pick up speed and tried again with more pressure on the tiller. She made it. And off we we went again. There were times I thought the sail would burst under the wind gusts. I did think I could have gybed her right around if she had failed to come about second time.
It was an hour or so later we made it back into the bay, where conditions were far better, and we sailed into the harbour without incident. Even managed to get the motor going again briefly to get into the mooring.
Lessons learnt:
- Outboard motor is completely useless in these conditions - even if it stayed running
- This boat can be sailed fairly safely in very strong winds under suitable headsail alone
- Low freeboard seemed like an important element in this experience, as the windage on the hull was obviously a major factor at times
- I felt a lot better with the harness on
- Nice to have a good, well installed and tested VHF main set
- Mental note to keep the outboard's header tank full in future
I have several times since then had experiences in strong winds but nothing quite like that day. However, each time I have been reassured that I know can manage under headsail alone, and its not so scary when you know what the boat can do . . .
