The wind is still too heavy to change the sail plan although I consider putting the #3 up at some point. We are now on a more established reach, albeit tight. I go down below to rinse up a bit and change into my day clothes, turn off the masthead lights, etc...
I certainly smell as if something is burning. I look around particularly where there are electrical parts. No smoke, I look up and I see no more light on Doomsday! I leap into the cockpit before the boat rounds up and take control of the helm. I set it for more downwind to give myself enough time to switch to NKE. The NKE switch works great and the boat continues to track.
Doomsday had been driving for 6 hours or so every night on what was probably a pretty high gain - I suspect that there was a power surge that it could not take. I stabilize the situation and adjust the gain on the NKE - the boat is fine and I can leave her to the autopilot.
The rest of my Doomed Day, I mostly drive - there is still water breaking over the deck and gusts of wind and the boat is more controlled in the wave. Plus I am still measuring power. So I get ready in the morning for a day in the cockpit as if I was doing a long day race. When I am tired I go down below and sleep a few hours, in 60 min intervals. Then I get my day food ready, dress up for the day, get some water, clean up a bit and drive again.
The night looks just like the day except that we are now absolutely established on a beam reach. The wind is too high to set up the kite but I feel like it is abating a tad. I am monitoring this in the hope of getting the #3 up to replace the #4 which has been up since I passed the Farallon a couple of days ago. Shaking one reef out is tricky. The end of the line is too thin for the sheave and gets stuck between the sheave and the boom. I have to bring the boom in and kind of hang onto it to unstuck it with my hands. Note to self: add cover for the entire length of the reefing line. This is the third time that this is happening.
I eat avocado with a lemon from my yard. Some cheese. A yogurt. An egg. A bagel with honey. An orange. Cheese crackers. An apple. Food tastes good and I feel my strength slowly coming back. My shoulder hurts a bit so I put some ice on it.
Oh and I am starting to see the damage of the windy reach...Bruises.
I put some aloe onto my burned hand and I am now wearing my gloves again during the day. I have four set of waterproof heavy gloves for the night so I can get a dry pair at the beginning of each night. They are soaked at the end. Even with this, the end of my fingers are becoming sore, trapped in salt water all night. I can't keep my hair dry and it's all sticky. My elbows, butts and knees are starting to hurt again from the salt despite my daily baby wiping. I'd certainly welcome the wind coming a bit aft at this point...a flatter and dryer rider. I know it will come.
My head is fairly empty. I still don't want to know about position reports nor do I want to know - I want to be isolated. I am carving out a reality in a place I like with a companion I trust - Elise. I want to stay there as long as I can. I feel the race slowly escape me. As I spend long hours at the helm in pretty much the same groove, I think a lot about that personal situation and it occupies my mind most of the time.
I should get weather information. I am reaching my waypoint and I should decide on where to go next. Probably south. I can now spend time below without any problem and things have gotten dryer so I can use the laptop without worrying about water killing it (I still don't know how I can use the laptop in the rough stuff with dripping clothes/hands). My body seems to have gotten used to the ocean, no matter how rough it is. I don't though - I am letting the boat continue on its path and sail with it.
The wind is lighter toward the end of the day and I decide to try a kite up. As soon as I get ready for a kite, the boat is enveloped in a white cloud and the wind increases in velocity. It starts raining. Great. Kite comes down. After this passes, I try again to get a kite up, behind the jib. A gust dissuades me. So down comes the kite and up goes the jib again. However, the wind is lighter now and I can put up the #3 and shake out one reef.
I try putting up the kite about five times that day. Each time, wind or wind and rain dissuades me.
A lot of contradictory thoughts in my mind. I text Nathan and Brian 'mind not in race'. Maybe I just need time to myself. I realize that when I said I was 'out to win' the day before departure, it might not have been so true. I was 'out there to get a REAL break'.
No incident during the night and I manage to get decent sleep.
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