South Pacific: Triple Wrapped, Pt. 2

Atoll Karoraina - Triple Wrapped

Save The Sail

It was still more than 3 hours until daybreak. I had to do something to reduce the genoa sail to keep it from flogging and damaging itself or other equipment. I really needed that sail to get me to Australia. There I could take it down and have the UK sailmaker make any repairs or reinforcements needed.

But first I needed to get somewhere calm to be able to work on getting three different wraps undone.

On the plotting chart I had put three waypoint marks near small atolls and islands that were near my route. I wanted to know exactly how close they would be when I passed them following my route from Nuku Hiva to Suwarrow and then Samoa. The waypoint marks would remind me to be careful when I got close. I really did not want to hit one while asleep in the middle of the night.

I was very near a small atoll, Karoraina, which was only 4 or 5 hours away if I change course slightly to the northwest. The wind was from the ESE and a heading slightly more west by only 10 degrees would put me near the southeastern point of this small atoll ringed with dangerous reefs.

I had hoped to find some calm seas on the lee side of the atoll and, if the land or trees were high enough, even find some protection from the wind. There could also be a place to temporally anchor to be able to work on the 3 wraps in calm conditions. Possibly even a short sleep or just a rest before moving on, alone to Samoa, still more than a week away.

I headed for the SE end of the island atoll and hoped for steady winds. I didn't get them.

As daybreak neared, I could see a line of squalls behind me. They were big and nasty looking with plenty of strong winds and pelting rain.

The trade winds were 18 - 20 knots steady from the ESE. The problem with a squall is, as it nears the boat, it develops its own winds from the sucking up of the higher pressure surface winds up into the clouds and the lower pressure above. This is a circular pattern around the base of the cloud and the winds are strong. If the rain filled squall cloud passes straight over the boat from behind, the wind is from behind you. However, if the squall passes you along your southern side, the winds increase from that southerly direction.

That was the case with the three large cloud formations I could see behind me in the distance. Because I had turned the boat slightly northwest to change my course more westerly towards the Karoraina Atoll, the squall cloud formations would pass over me but slightly to the south.

When the first squall hit, it had winds of 28 knots directly from the south. In order to try to keep heading straight downwind to keep the genoa sail from flogging, I had to change my course more northerly. This kept the wind pressure on the sail at a minimum and also kept most of the sail behind the lee of my staysail. When the squall past after a few minutes, the winds subsided back to 18 knots and again from ESE.

But I had gotten off course and was headed now directly towards the east shore of the atoll. I had to back my course more southerly in order to compensate for the push to the north under the squall.

If the next 2 squalls came from the same direction, I would be pushed into the reefs surrounding the atoll. I needed to try to keep the boat headed as downwind as possible in order to reduce the flogging of the sail, but I also had to keep slightly south of the atoll in order to pass it safely to get to its lee side and some protection.

The next 2 squalls behind me would tell me, when they got near, if they intended to do me harm or leave me in peace headed for the southern point of Karoraina.

The second squall was exactly behind me. When it arrived with 28 knots of wind, it was only slightly south of me and I only had to correct to the north by about 5 degrees. But the wind and rain lasted much longer than the first, so I came a few miles off course again, headed for the eastern shore of the atoll. This was getting dangerous!

If I wanted to save the sail, I had to keep the bow of the boat headed directly downwind. If I turned even 10 degrees into the wind, the sail would go into an uncontrollable frenzy and whip and flog itself to death. But the reefs of this atoll would tear the boat to pieces and I would be stuck on an uninhabited atoll in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean a thousand miles from the nearest inhabited island and off of all shipping lanes. Daniel Defoe already wrote the novel "Robinson Crusoe" and there wasn't a market for a similar book. Let's stay off the reef!

If the third squall passed me to the south, I would have to turn into its winds and destroy my beloved genoa sail and possibly damage my entire rigging. But it was better than going aground on a lee shore of rocks and reefs.

I raced the squall to the South East corner of Atoll Karoraina, in slow motion. Right: 'Racing the Squall'

End of Part 2.

Mike Harker