Today, the team sent a man up the mast to begin the replacement of the worn mainsail halyard (the line that pulls the mainsail into position).
We bought the new halyard in Coconut Grove, and we’ve been waiting to have some time at a dock and a crew to do the work. We brought down the bitter end of the old halyard and tied on the bitter end of the new halyard. Then, on the ground we sewed the bitter end of the old halyard to the leading end of the new halyard. The old halyard will pull the new halyard over the sheave at the top of the mast and down the inside of the mast and out the hole where the halyard exits to the clutch and the winch. (And if you don’t understand, that’s OK).
It’s pretty windy here still, but we’ll get that last bit of work done today, I think. I’ll go up the mast again and nurse the sewn junction through the sheave.
You must understand that a pulley at the mainsail offers 2:1 mechanical advantage to the hoister of the main sail. That’s why the bitter end is a the top of the mast. Whew! Now that helped didn’t it?
On the Water 