Final JV Update for the Day…I Think: But well worth the extra verbiage, because Dave Scully, Cheyenne’s boat captain, tells the dramatic story of Cheyenne’s faulty headstay, and how the crew managed to fix it 1000 miles from port, while surfing the Southern Ocean at 20-plus knots. Here’s an excerpt, but if you are into gutsy sailing, read the whole thing on Yachting World’s website:

“The situation started at 23.30 the night before last, when Ado woke me to help with the gybe. I got to the bow to find the headstay flopping like a washing line, the rig supported by the luff tension of the solent. Bit of a shocker. There were a couple of logical explanations, none of which made sense. Justin leaped into the rigging and stabilised the situation by lashing a couple of strong lines to the partners. Then we waited for daybreak.

It seemed incredible to me that the stay had broken. It is new 40mm steel wire, and had not been subjected to extraordinary stress. Equally incredible was the idea that the swage fitting had pulled out. The most likely, though not obvious solution, was that something had gone wrong inside the furling unit. To access this, we had to unroll the sail.

Not an easy job, with a big catenary (sag) in the stay, and the boat pitching as it pursued a 20kt course eastward. Damian was up the rig at the partners, Justin and I were at the tack fitting, and the rest of the crew were on sheets and furling lines. We unrolled it a turn, then another. Justin turned to me and said: “I think this is going to work!” Just then there was an almighty crash, and the sail, still mostly wrapped around the carbon fibre headfoil, fell into the netting.

I looked around, counting the survivors. Miraculously, everyone was still standing. The sail, trailing the wire forestay, was flailing around, half on the tramp, half in the air. It was obvious that our worst fears were confirmed. The forestay had broken, and we were out of the running.”

Go to Yachting World’s site to read about the repair. And, yes, it did involve some f*cking big wrenches…



Headstay Down!: “Boo-hoo-hoo. I just can’t stand to look at this mess….”

(Photo: Nick Leggatt)

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