Replacing a halyard at sea.

[doris]

As far as I am concerned it can be a pig of a job replacing a halyard when in harbour with someone else around to fish out the end at the bottom of the mast. How the hell do the like of Mike Golding do it down an 85 foot mast, by themselves, still racing , steering the boat with the remote. Heroes all to my mind!

 

[jimi]

I sew the new halyard end to end with the old and pull through, makes it dead easy, but presumes the old one is still in place.

 

[Mirelle]

Amazing how impressed some people are when you do that!

Indeed I even impressed Tilman (qv) by "end for ending" all Baroque's natural fibre halyards in a morning, using a kedge warp.

But since I sail a gaff cutter complete with deadeyes, lanyards and more pertinently ratlines, I can usually sort out a new halyard when the old one is no longer in place. Since I usually get the peak halyard rove wrongly when stepping the mast, it is almost an annual event!

 

[StellaGirl]

not only that he has crept back up to 2nd and is now currently just 0.3 miles behind PRB!

 

[doris]

As Wee Jimi says.<presumes the old one is still in place.> Since Mike's broke presumably he had nothing left in place. So how did he fix that?

 

[philmarks]

I once replaced one on a perfect summer's day off Chichester. I have steps on the mast, and had to climb up twice (having had to go down to get myself a bent coathanger to assist).

During the process, numerous powerboats passed at speed. We rolled a bit...... When I finished and descended, I lay down on the aft deck for 1/2 hr totally exhausted. I'm reasonably fit and athletic, but boy was it tough! I have nothing but admiration for these guys and gals who do it in extreme conditions.

 

[Bejasus]

Now in the lead, it would seem.

'After many setbacks Mike Golding takes the lead in the Vendee Globe and is travelling twice as fast as the nearest boats'