[ed: an update to the “knockdown” report]
Wednesday, 19 January 2005 5:03 PM
Severe knockdown, huge hollow wave that caught us both on deck. Berri must have rolled through about 140 deg and pitched bow down about 60. Mast in the water and only visible damage is mangled windex. Most other boats would have kept rolling. but we flipped immediately upright. i was sitting by the shrouds tied to the boat and pete shouted and i looked up into the wave – translucent bright blue and just starting to break – more or less through the lower spreaders. I grabbed the shrouds with both arms and was overboard in white water and lines and other bits of string hanging on to the shrouds still tethered, and came down with a bang on a stanchion as the boat came upright.
Pete was in the partially inverted cockpit hanging on under the tiller – we’d just set the storm jib again after three days of nasties 40 -60 in squalls, steady 40 in between, with waves building all the time. we must have caught the last of the really big ones. Boat a it of a mess inside but all cleaned up now and we’re only going to Dunedin cos it’s the sensible thing to do given my rather sore ribcage. if it’s only a big bruise, as i now suspect, we’ll spend a couple of days modifying a few things and restocking to let it heal then we’ll set off again. Knockdowns are relatively common and this one would probably not have given us any trouble except for that stanchion. cant win em all.