Day 42 – Water Leak - Rescue on Standby

11 Apr, 07 – 14.30    
17.0741N,35.2914W
24 hr progress: 20.4 Nautical Miles
Distance rowed to date: 1452 Nautical Miles
Distance left to Antigua: 1505 Nautical Miles ( 2784 km) (1 NM = 1.85 km)
Conditions: Wave height – 6-7ft, Winds – 15 knots E
Bearing: 120 degrees.

Had an awful night. The stern is lighter after I removed the contents of the three watertight compartments. As a result the waves kept lifting the stern up and dashing it back down against the water. The boat remained beam on to the sea, with the port quarter taking the most beating. The boat is getting tossed about from wave to wave more than usual without any weight at the back.
The water was back again in the compartments this morning. More in the compartment on the port side. Indicated by the sogginess of the dry paper I placed yesterday. About a liter of water is back. I will wait for 24 hrs more to see if it increases and by how much.
The shift in weight has made the boat a bit more unstable. She tends to pivot around the center, without the weight at the stern to keep her steady. I am trying to figure out what is the best way to compensate for it. A drogue at the back? The bottles of ballast water unfortunately do not fit into the stern compartments.
Need to find the source of the leak as yet.
Will post here shortly,
B
Request:
PL DO NOT MESSAGE OR CALL ME ON THE SATELLITE PHONE AS I HAVE LIMITED SPACE. THE LINE IS BEING KEPT OPEN FOR EMERGENCY USE. Instead pls direct messages thru the messags section on the website.
(EXCEPTIONS: Erden, Tatiana, Tiny, Hicks, Leven, Larsson, Kalisinski, Haglnd, Ambani)