4 days of hell & 24 hours of even worse!

It feels like an out of control train careering down the tracks or a scary theme park ride that doesn’t end. It has pushed me further than any previous passage, in fact anything in my entire life. I hit bottom, total exhaustion after a never ending battle with the elements left me unable to think rationally & leaving me petrified for our safety.
This has been the roughest passage to date for both of us, one neither of us wish to repeat. We fought confused seas, east south east (ESE) winds of 40 knots; 2 swells, one wind generated from the east & the other a southern ground swell; 5 meter breaking waves that crashed down upon us engulfing the boat. It was harsh conditions that ripped our mainsail & cut through our furler line, very bad news in such bad weathers as we were unable to properly reef or put away the sail. Wearing all our foul weather gear; thermals, waterproofs, boots & most importantly our PFD’s (life vests & harness); we attempted to complete our watches whilst clipped in to stop the breaking waves from taking us overboard. The waves hurtled themselves at the boat, filling the cockpit with salt water, ripping items from the deck & throwing the boat from port to starboard & back again. To top it all off there was no moon during the passage leaving it the blackest of nights & visibility a big zero. Unable to see which direction waves are coming from & when the next big one is going to cover you in freezing salt water is highly disconcerting.
The jugs of diesel strapped along both sides of the boat were broken free with the power of the waves. Bobby climbed forward & we attempted to rescue as many jugs as possible. Not an easy job as mountainous wave’s crash over the boat.
As conditions worsened Bobby deemed it too dangerous to be outside. We were drained, fatigued & I will happily admit I was frightened. We put our faith in the autopilot, shut the companionway & attempted to rest. No chance of being able to sleep, eating was a definite no go & drinking was also a mission with most of it being spilt down my front. As I lay on the bed scared & crying I attempted to recall essential items to take for the life raft just in case.
It wasn’t to be the end of the testing times. With battery power low we needed to run the generator. She wasn’t impressed with our conditions & did not want to run. With power crucially required for the auto pilot, mast lights & GPS, I sat on the floor sliding from side to side, squeezing the fuel ball encouraging it to run. I sat there for an hour with frightened tears running down my cheeks whilst Bobby hopelessly tried to get some rest. It was team work & I knew the importance of letting him rest in order for him to think clearly.
We decided to make an unscheduled stop on a tiny island called Palmerston to escape the weather & rest. As daylight arrived, Bobby returned to the cockpit. Conditions were still terrible but at least we could see what we were battling against. It was another 10 hours of combating the elements until we approached Palmerston.
Unable to furl the headsail was going to cause problems as we came into the anchorage. We radioed ahead & spoke to boats at the anchorage. As we approached, a local boat brought 2 sailors out to Barraveigh. They climbed onboard & immediately set to work on the headsail. It was a relief to have someone else take over. They brought us in safely & got the anchor set securely. Left alone we sat on deck still wearing all our gear, hugging each other with happiness. We were safe & stationary – I can’t even attempt to tell you how that felt. Cheese & crackers washed down with a glass of wine to celebrate our safe arrival was followed by a deep well needed sleep.
Casualties: ripped main sail, broken furler line, ripped biminy (canvas roof over the cockpit), 2 diesel jugs now lying on the bottom of the ocean (we were lucky we didn’t loose them all). The list could have been a lot worse & we are lucky the problems are all fixable.
We made it!!! Barraveigh is a tough old girl who we have up most faith in.