Torn sail
11/21/2010 12:00 by Thorsten Böhnke
The last two days were marked by the sudden tearing of our gennaker and a visit by rough-toothed dolphins.
Our position is 12°42’N, 31°23’W, with winds of 12 knots from the northeast. Our course is 210° with a speed of 5.5 knots.
Yesterday morning our gennaker, the 140 m2 sail, tore suddenly without warning.
The torn genakker is out of service. It goes into its bag before we can lower it.
Hence we are now sailing only under the drifter - a light foresail that is considerably smaller with its 80 m2, but allows us to sail closer to the wind.
This afternoon a pod of rough-toothed dolphins accompanied us briefly. These playful and friendly marine mammals stayed with us for approximately 10 minutes, trying to have some fun in the bow wave of the Ulysses.
A group of rough-toothed dolphins. Photo: © Greg Schnorr/www.cascadiaresearch.org
Things are always interesting on board. We’re excited to see how the journey will continue.