Jolie Brise Latest Update:

Bruised & battered and bound for Belfast, Less than 300 miles to go

Days 17 & 18:  4/08/09 - 05/08/09

On Tuesday we were finally hit by  gale force 8 winds, which led to massive 50-60 foot waves, making steering and life on board very difficult. Fortunately, because we were going downwind, we were able to surf down many of the waves. At around 1 o'clock we were hit by an enormous freak wave causing us to spin into a crash gybe. The boom swung into the backstay causing the top mast to break off. It was all hands on deck to try to recover the damage. The top mast was eventually brought down on deck. It was quite spectacular to witness, but we were assured by Toby that this used to happen in the past - in fact they used to race with a spare topmast on board.  Down below we tidied the mess caused and most of the crew retired to their bunks. On further inspection, we have discovered a large crack in the bow sprit, causing us to be very cautious so as not to ruin further cruises on the boat this summer.  

Unfortunately this was not the end of the day's excitement. The waves continued to build and helming became very strenuous. A series of huge waves hit the boat, resulting in people flying about down below, life-jackets inflating on deck and, most importantly, an end to supper. We then completely lowered the main sail and, after a brief heave too, we continued sailing on the storm jib alone. To brighten the mood, three pilot whales swam past us. Throughout the night the wind died down until this morning when we re-hoisted the main on its second reef. There is now quite an upbeat mood on board as the worst of the weather is over, the sun is out and there is less than 300 miles to go until the finish line.  On board we are now enjoying some luxuries such as washing up in hot fresh water and making preparations for when we get ashore in Ireland