Day 4 - 25knot NW winds, damage

16 Feb, 07 - 20:27    
27.5559N,17.1706W
The NW winds came thru last night as advertised. The wind died
down last night around 12.00 am, sea flat as calm and then
accelerated again to 25-30 knots NW. I had to go on deck twice
last night, to make sure that the oars were secured.
Pitch black out there, but judging by the drop of the boat in
between waves, I'm guessing the swell was 5-6ft. The waves
kept slamming over the hatch last night. Around 6.00 am, I
heard a huge crash but too dark to investigate.
At daylight, I dived under the boat to check the rudder in the morning only to find that the force of the wave ripped the rudder off the locking pins that holds the rudder in place. The rudder is freely swinging, held only by the tiller lines.
I've let the boat drift with the NW winds all day, while I
have been trying to find a solution to keep the rudder in
place. Unsuccessfully tried securing it in place with rope and an extra tiller lines on each side.
The winds have changed again and the sea anchor is out.
Will have to keep trying to fix the rudder, and its difficult hanging out of the rear hatch in the swell. If all else fails, I will have to row back to a nearby bay fix it there in calmer waters.
Have not eaten or slept much. Need to get this fixed and start rowing south. Will post an update tomorrow.
Tired and stressed
B