Description

Hotwire Enterprises is John and Libbie. We were in Trinidad when I said to Libbie, “I’ve got an idea”. A phrase that always causes concern. I suggested we sail back to the USA and sell the KISS wind generator. Trying to get back in time for the Annapolis show, we were hit by a strong tropical wave(we hid out in Jamaica). Then (in another tropical wave) 20 miles off Ft. Myers, our mast nearly came down when the stainless fitting at the top broke. The engine had died about an hour earlier, and I was below trying to get it going when I heard what sounded like a shotgun blast above. The main sail was ripped apart when the mast sprang forward and the boom was lying on deck with the sail in the water.We had been almost four years in the Caribbean with no major problems. I was able to more or less secure the mast by moving baby stays aft. While doing so, the boat was rolling so much that the side deck and tangs would go under water, and I would have to stand up and wait for the boat to roll the other way.