Fishtales Magazine: A Sailfish Point Publication - Magazine - Page 12
Gail: A technology glitch was de昀椀nitely the low point. At one point on Day 18, both
of Jason’s trackers stopped reporting. The trackers send a satellite message every 5
minutes with position and speed of the yacht. During the entire 29 days I checked
the website frequently. If the boat was going quickly I would be concerned, however,
when the boat seemed to be going slowly I was also worried. In other words I was
in constant red alert. But the low point was when I awoke to the tracker page not
being updated. Of course I have spent many miles at sea and know trackers can
have issues. But the second tracker was also out. Who should I call? What do I
say? Instead of going into full panic mode I sent Jason a satellite text message. He
usually responds quickly but today the lag was long and excruciating. Finally he
replied. “Hello”. Boy I was relieved and my heart could start beating again. I told
him the status of the trackers. He went to investigate and replied that a button
might have been accidentally pressed. I was exhausted but relieved. No need for
a co昀昀ee today. This crisis really woke me up.
Heather: I understand that after 21 days you stopped in the British Virgin Islands
to make a repair to the boom. Explain this decision.
Jason: Decisions about balancing risk on a boat are easy for me. Take the less
risky path. The boat has a connection that holds the boom to the mast called a
gooseneck. Mine had started to unscrew. I sent a text message to the builder
of the boat for advice on how to repair this important connection. At 昀椀rst I was
able to repair it but it became unscrewed again the next day. The second time
my repair technique failed and I used line to lash the parts together. At the same
time, I decided to reduce from two sails to just a headsail to avoid stressing the
gooseneck more. I tried a more permanent repair to the gooseneck but the
sea state was not conducive. I actually lost a wrench in the repair process. That
was a wake up call to not make my situation worse. So, I decided to change my
destination to a traditional arrival port for transatlantic sailors, Soper’s Hole of the
British Virgin Islands. I was brie昀氀y disappointed that I would not travel directly
to Sail昀椀sh Point but I knew this was the correct decision. During the end of my
third week at sea I had lost patience for freeze dried food and was excited to
have a closer landfall. Fixing the gooseneck problem in a calm marina took fewer
than two hours but at sea the boom could have become detached. Now I better
understand this atypical gooseneck arrangement which is knowledge I hope to
never need.
HT: Gail, as head of Cyclops shore support how did you respond to Jason’s issue
at sea.
Gail: Jason discovered the problem while I was asleep. He diagnosed the speci昀椀c
part that he might need to repair the gooseneck. After I woke, I sent a note to the
European supplier to arrange payment and shipping details. I brought the part in
my carry-on luggage when I 昀氀ew to the BVI. Airport security asked if I was carrying
a dumbbell because it looked like one on the baggage scanner. No, I told the TSA
