6th March 2002
...I unfurled the jib and was soon racing away at 6 knots. I was really on my way at last. The euphoria lasted till late afternoon when I realized that the wind was really picking up and the swells were uncomfortably looming. I battled to reduce the roller furling jib to more manageable proportions and tried to get the Navik to work. I hadn't really used it before and conditions were becoming a bit rough. Speedwell is so easy to steer that I managed to get her to stay on course with the Navik connected, but unbeknown to me, not really in working order. By now the weather had deteriorated badly with the wind gusting to gale force at times and the seas regularly swamping the cockpit. I went below to try to find my oilskins but as I hadn't expected to need them I had to give up. Sinbad was looking quite terrified in the forepeak. The motion was violent. Water was swirling up through the floorboards as the bilges were flooded. I needed to pump out every 20 minutes to keep things under control. By now I was soaking wet as every time I stuck my head out to look around I was struck by nearly solid water. The Navik seemed to be all over the place but we were heading roughly downwind with the swells so I decided to just let the boat do it's own thing. By now I had managed to roll away all but a tiny scrap of foresail. So I lay down on my sodden bunk and let the sea do it's worst. Every few minutes she'd be thrown violently on her side and water would cascade down on me. Lowest point was probably when I had to use my bucket (heads) and while struggling to get it outside to empty it the whole lot emptied itself nearly in my face. That was the only time I suddenly got seasick. Resolved then and there to only use a bucket with a lid in future. Managed to get a few hours sleep by just shutting everything out and cuddling Sinbad next to me.
Next morning the weather was still much the same but daylight made it easier to cope. I could see that the Navik was falling apart and had to find a way to fix it. I used a few plastic cable ties to reattach the vane to the control rod and eventually managed to re-connect the paddle. The direction adjusting screw had also sprung adrift so I rigged up some bits of string to fix it in position. It was impossible to use my Primus cooker as the motion was far too aggressive for the makeshift gimbal arrangement. Dinner the night before had been a few sucks from my opened condensed milk tin. After a few days I was rapidly losing weight.
