Quintessence III

And I give you TS Dolly.

Dolly? WTF?

At least it appears to be losing its / her mojo by the time it/she arrives in the islands.

Red blob will be losing it's mojo over the next 24-36 hours as it moves into vertical shear and Saharan dust.

Orange blob on the other hand has some potential

I was beginning to wonder when/if a Cabo Verde spinner would develop.

Nothing official, no name, not even an invest at this point.
It’s the first blob of what will hopefully be a quiet Aug/Sept

More love from the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta.

Some sad news to report today.

While out testing our new #1 headsail, we experienced a loud bang from the forepeak.

We immediately dropped the headsail and returned to the marina.

It appears that one of the frame tubes or the stem fitting in the bow moved. It caused a crack at the hull and foredeck joint that we were planning on fixing today.

We then discovered the aluminum tube frame that goes to the bow has a weird hole on the aft end & surface corrosion about a meter further forward.

Safety of the crew and boat has always been paramount with our program, so with deep sadness I’ve withdrawn from the Antigua Racing Cup and Antigua Classic Regatta

We will take the boat up to Jolly Harbour early next week for haulout and a more in depth review of what happened and develop a plan going forward.

Power tools will be involved.

If we go forward with a repair, it will be the most complex job I’ve done on the boat.

And yes, I said if. Cost and complexity may be more than I can deal with. Time will tell. 😢

I’ll keep you posted.