from really good to "could be better"...

As you all already know we lost our steering a couple of days ago... having
limped into Dillon's bay, the day was spent by all trying to fix whatever
problems reared their ugly heads as well as doing a bunch of preventative
maintenance to stop any potential issues.

The steering was a particularly complicated issue and it took us the better
part of the day to get it sorted... which we did by removing the broken 3 or
4 inches of the steering chain and loosening the cable so it was long
enough. We have ordered a spare steering cable just in case of future
problems.

With all the hard work behind us we took up the invitation from David, the
local Village spokesman, to attend a Melanesian feast. (tarro, maniok,
chicken broth, rice as well as coconut and paw paw for dessert).

Shortly after dinner, with Moksha in ship shape, we decided it was time to
head for port Villa. David the local tribesman needed a ride and asked if he
could come with us on the 80 nautical mile passage to Port Villa. All was
looking good as we sailed off into the night by 8:00pm including our new
crew member... conditions were fairly benign right through till about 12:30
am. Gavin and Peter were on watch and hating the light winds fluctuating
between 5 and 15 knots even though we had a forecast for 20 to 25knotts.
With Richards's assistance we shock out the 2nd reef.

At around 12:30 the wind starting building fast 12, 16, 18, 22, to a steady
25 knots gusting to 28 and eventually just over 30 knots... it was easy
sailing , deep downwind with full main & no headsail and making 6-7 knots of
boat speed... all was going well. Veda and Byron were coming on watch and
conditions were deteriorating fast with a squall approaching. It was time
to reef but time was against us.

It all happened faster than you can imagine - Gavin handed over the wheel to
Veda and before he could get into the relative safety of the cabin, there
was a loud crash and the boom broke. The main back winded as a result of a
change in wind direction brought on by the squall combined with a gust of 35
knots. The boom brake held the boom in place on the port side (we had been
on a starboard tack) ....the boom broke where the main sheet joins the boom.

We were all suddenly thrown into emergency mode!!!

Richard lead the charge with a cool head as always as we set about trying to
control a thrashing 3 metre long piece of boom that was still attached to
the sail and threatening to break off the other part of the boom and
potentially damage the boat or worse - hurt one of the crew. So safety was
our first priority. We stayed out of the cockpit as much as was possible as
well as very carefully going forward to work.

We weighed up a number of options and in the end it took us 2 hours to
secure the broken end of the boom and drop the sail - the ocean decided it
wasn't in the mood to co-operate throwing all sorts of thing at us from
rough seas though too big and unpredictable gusts and rain squalls in the
middle of the night. Veda was a particular standout, steering for 2 long
hours and trying to control the boat whilst the rest of us worked on
securing the boom. Even with the main depowered as we could (by easing the
main sheet and changing our sailing direction) we were sailing at over 5.5
knots in mostly 20 to 25 knots of wind with some wild gusts to 35 knots,
rain squalls and rough seas. Through careful planning and care we were not
in any serious problems as we had a number of headsails and a trisail we
could have used a working engine and everyone was well.

By the time dawn had broken, we motored into the safe haven of Port Villa
harbour. We were all very tired but everyone was Ok. We cleaned up the boat
and all sat down at a waterfront bar and ate and drank, happy to be back on
Terra Firma!

All of the crew fly home over the next few days except Byron and Sophie.
Byron and his mates have changed their sailing plans as we have no mainsail
and will be confining themselves to places close to Port Vila.

It appears we will have a new boom within a couple of weeks back on the boat
ready to continue our sailing adventures.