Luck is a Pendulum

Luck has turned in our favor. We've had several days of favorable wind. We made good progress to the north yesterday. Now we're clocking with the wind to gain more easting as the low pressure systems north of us pass through. Those (scary big) systems have so far been far enough away for us to be removed from discomfort while close enough to provide favorable wind. We've been consulting with the weather guys to be sure that they are seeing what we see. Observations are agreeing with predictions, so that's another point of confidence. As the wind continues to turn, our plan is to continue turning to the east until tomorrow and then head back northeast for several days. That should get us where we want to go without getting too close to the low pressure system that has already turned the corner and is making its way north.

As all pendulums do, the luck pendulum took a swing back again yesterday morning when the mainsail furling gears jammed. An hour or two of fighting with it left us with substantially diminished capability. The mainsail is in a third reef position for the duration of the passage. That will be fine for the majority of conditions we face. When the time comes to furl the sail in all the way, we can muscle it in. We hope.

The mainsail provides sail area in downwind conditions. It provides stability and balance in upwind conditions. We'll just have to live with less of both. Sailing (as in life) is all about making do with less than you want.

On a medical note, I tried to cut the end of my finger off yesterday. Thankfully the nail limited the depth of the laceration, so it looks worse than it is. If I can keep it clean and dry it should heal up quickly.

It was one of those cases of series interruptions. Stowing hoses interrupted whatever else I was working on. Cutting off the hose barb on the end of the hose interrupted the stowing. Laceration, cleaning, and bandaging the finger interrupted that. Then while applying iodine, the boat lurched and sent me flying across the bathroom. I didn't have far to fly, but I crashed into the wall and spread iodine all over the white walls, counter top and sink. Suddenly the project became about preventing the iodine from staining everything the color of rust. To heck with the finger.

So there I was, finger bleeding into a paper towel, furiously scrubbing the bathroom. Eventually the damage was contained, the finger bandaged and hoses stowed. I climbed up on deck into the sunshine to enjoy the sailing and ponder: what was it I was working on before being sidetracked by those hoses?