Santa Claus brought some wind

Hi,
only 577NM to go from now on. Tonight we brought the Parasailor down for a while since dark clouds were all over the radar screen. Up to seven at the same time around us. Once the first few have passed you and only rained a few drops you tend to loose respect for squalls. So we try to be as safe as possible but this will cost us speed. Since we have the little one on board we should try to be on the safe side always (and of course try to be fast).
The wind is often changing directions and the waves coming from two different angles also move the boat around therefore we often have to adjust the sail.

The weather forecast from the ARC Rally office predicts wind with up to 27 knots but also some gusts around 30-40. While 27 is just on the edge what i would accept for the Parasailor 30 and especially 40 is way to much especially in these waves. Wave heigths are predicted to be 3.5m and we already stared to surf again. The problem is not the surfing but when the boat then brakes the tension on the rig is immense. I already use the topping lift halyard (had changed it against a Dyneema 12mm) to support the stays and the mast.

So lets see how it goes today and also lets see what Santa Claus is bringing and if he shows up at night ;-)