Rigging

The amount of wires and ropes that are needed to hold 2 masts up and to control up to 5 sails at one time are a handful to say the least. One of the biggest items on the ‘List’ is to pull maintenance and do a visual check on all of this “stuff” on a regular basis. Today after we had sailed 20 miles in high winds I dropped the anchor behind an island and started in on the Mizzen Mast. It needed to be adjusted so that the main mast boom would clear the forward mizzen shrouds (the wires on both sides). After adjusting the mast I retightened the standing rigging and was giving the wires a final pull when a turnbuckle snapped! The mast didn’t fall but all I could think of was “what would have happened if we had the sail up and loaded with wind”? The turnbuckle broke right thru the threaded part. At the site of the fracture you could see a weak spot where the bronze had begun to fail.