© Photo Richard Konkolski
© Photo Richard Konkolski
Eight hundred miles out at sea Davie suffered another problem. He wrote: "Coming on deck around midnight, the tiller was stuck way out to one side most peculiarly, and heading into the aft compartment, one glance at the tiller stock was enough, it was shearing away at the keyway, and was bending and buckling… With the pilot fired up, and an increasing headwind, I was stepping up on deck to pull in a reef, when this great knocking banging noise came from the stern, and was repeated as I crawled aft to investigate. It was sure coming from the rudder and rudder tube vicinity. Now I felt real alarm, and was back down into the aft compartment faster than a greased weasel."
"Big knockings and bangings echoed, and a quick observation of the rudder stock showed it to be moving a good three-eighths of an inch side to side. My immediate thought was the rudders breaking again, now I really felt pit of the stomach sick."
"Back on deck, I dropped the mainsail, backed the jib and hove to whilst I pondered my next move, and that is how I came to be sat here head in hand again wondering why me..."
"It was to take 10 hours, the emergency tiller arm was rigged to the rudder stock head on deck and the rudder lashed off secure. The steering arms on the rudder stock removed, and that is a job for an octopus as you cant reach both sides of the nuts and bolts at the same time. The pilot and tiller linkages disconnected allowing me to peer down into the tube…"
"To have SC fired up, some sail hoisted and pointing again towards Cape Reinga was something else - we were still in the game, even though a precious 10 hours had been lost hove to."
"And am I mad - yea sure - I have a certificate to prove it - 2 around alone races - do any of you have a certificate to prove you are sane..."
Robin Davie © Photo Marek Slodownik
Place |
Skipper |
Boat |
Latitude |
Longitude |
Dist. to go |
Speed |
Dist. to first |
Time |
1 |
Soldini |
Fila |
Auckland |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
Thierceli |
Somewhere |
Auckland |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
Autissier |
PRB |
Auckland |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
Hall |
Gartmore |
Auckland |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
Konioukhov |
Mod.Univ.Human. |
34 54S |
174 33E |
113 |
4.8 |
112.7 |
2140 |
6 |
Golding |
Team Group 4 |
Retired |
Auckland |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Place |
Skipper |
Boat |
Latitude |
Longitude |
Dist. to go |
Speed |
Dist. to first |
Time |
1 |
Mouligne |
Cray Valley |
Auckland |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
Garside |
Magellan Alpha |
Auckland |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
Van Liew |
Balance Bar |
Auckland |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
Yazykov |
Wind of Change |
Auckland |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
Saito |
Shuten-dohji II |
Auckland |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
Petersen |
No Barriers |
Auckland |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
Hunter |
Paladin II |
Auckland |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
Davie |
South Carolina |
40 06S |
161 37E |
802 |
4.6 |
802.1 |
1525 |
9 |
Stricker |
Rapscallion III |
Retired |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Copyright © Richard Konkolski
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