From Campbell Field – navigator aboard Sunergy and Friends

Hello all,

At approximately 1500 UTC today our gooseneck broke again, which is of
course very disappointing. There is no way that we can sail the boat to
South Africa on temporary repairs like this.

So, we are en route to Madeira, where we will be able to effect a
permanent repair. We estimate that it will take us around 26 to 30 hours
to get there, and about six hours to repair the damage. We are still in a
yacht race and we want to turn around our repair as soon as possible and
get back out on the track.

Life on board is still OK, everyone is in good spirits despite these
setbacks. We are still trucking along with surfs up to 20 knots, with just
a trysail and a No 3 up! Mind you it is blowing 35 knots …

Our first freeze dried meal appeared earlier today and was devoured with
great passion. I personally struggled a little with mine as I am spending
long periods downstairs staring at the navigation PCs, reviewing weather
etc, and there is a distinct aroma of diesel etc. So, not long after it
went down, up it all came again, much to the amusement of the rest of the
crew. I’m not amused as I was bloody hungry, and now I am again even more
so!

We can see on the yacht tracking on our Expedition Software that Pirates
and movistar are heading for the coast. We sincerely hope that all is well
on both boats and that they are able to repair soon.

That’s all for now folks, signing off from the Nav station to hopefully
get some fresh air and feel a little better!

Cheers,

Campbell Field – navigator.