This report was sent to me via NightFlight's SSB radio- Interesting report! 11.06.05 -David
As of Sunday, November 6, we are finishing the middle of the second leg of the Baja Haha. We are still about 40 miles offshore as I write this and should make the remote anchorage of Santa Maria just before sunset. We had a good day sailing yesterday with 15-25 knot winds on our starboard quarter. Unfortunately, I was standing watch about 10:00 pm when the autopilot unaccountably stopped autopiloting. There was no visible light or outside references and I was half asleep so we rounded up, then jibed, until I sleepily finally figured out what was going on. Since we were spinning, the instruments were spinning and I had no outside references. When it happens again, I'll know to focus on steering a straight course until a plan of action emerges. I tried to steer, figure out the instruments, and handle the sail. Wrong! It was a bit like IFR but I eventually steadied us out and managed to steer a course that allowed us to bring in the sail and diagnose the problem. |
