The Flying Lentil The log of Festina Lente, Sigma 38

Well , that was a quick Atlantic voyage!  The short story is that we are now back at anchor in Bermuda. The longer version is that after the blow on the way  here , we noticed a new noise from the steering pedestal. I disconnected it from the system and could not reproduce it so assumed it was transmitted noise from the draglink which has a bit of slop.

Well it is still there and MAY be from a pedestal bearing. With a heavy heart we turned round 50 miles out and laboriously beat back dead upwind  to do a more thorough check.  75 miles through the water later we are  somewhat tired  and dispirited ,and I feel a bit foolish that I was not more thorough the first time, but will address the issue in the morning. Trying to trace noises in a system of metal linkages is a nightmare. Doing so whilst beating into 20 knots  of open Atlantic  was difficult  but surprisingly comfortable , which proves if nothing else that we certainly have our sea legs! Before we left Hamble  we had the pedestal bearings renewed , re-fixed  both rudder post bearings  and provided  we can reassure ourselves that the pedestal system  is safe we should be ok.

One recurring theme on this trip have been the stories of  obstructive and aggressive  customs officials . In contrast , the guys here were lovely. They met us on the dock , moored us up , commiserated, waved all entrance fees, gave us a list of telephone numbers of folk who might help , handed us back our original documents and said “Welcome back to Bermuda , lets just pretend you never left”