Climbing the mast…
Tuesday afternoon
Marty called me and here’s how it went.
Marty; ‘Hey baby, I need you to go up the mast.’
Me; ‘Why?’
Marty; ‘I was replacing the topping lift (a line that run up inside the mast, and then out to the end of the boom and back again) the new line is a little too short. I need you to feed it back down the mast.’
Me; ‘Sure no-problems. (Why we use this expression I don’t know, because how do you know there will be no problems). When?’
Marty; ‘Tomorrow morning, first thing before the wind gets up.’
So that was the plan.
Wednesday morning 5.30 am.
Me; ‘Hey Baby, (who is still lying in bed) am I going up the mast this morning?’
Marty makes a sound that resembles a moan rolls over and says, ‘Not today, I don’t feel up to it.’
I was surprisingly disappointed. It appears that I was really looking forward to it. I thought I was nervous and a little concerned. It appears that I was more excited than anything else. There is nothing I can do but wait another day. You don’t want the man on the winch and the break line not feeling up to it when you are 23 meters above the waterline.
Wednesday, I ran into friends on the main street at Manly, we stopped for a seriously good coffee at Le Bistro. I love those happy unplanned moments. I asked Bruce if he would give us a hand on Thursday.
Thursday morning 5.40am
I notice the text from Bruce. He is early and I go to marina security gate to let him in.
We get back to the boat and Marty is getting the bosun’s chair and lines ready.
We are using the:
- Mainsail halyard – the line used to hoist the main sail up and down.
- Bosun’s chair – the canvas seat connected to the mainsail halyard
- Electronic winch – to hoist me up
- Spinnaker halyard – the line used as my brake line in case the main line fails. Bruce will be operating this.
The crew:
- Marty on the electronic winch
- Bruce on the brake line
- And yours truly on the outdoor elevator
I set up the Facebook Live.
Meanwhile Marty ties a bowline knot in the mainsail halyard securing the Bosun’s chair which I then climb into. I also hook the halyard cleat onto the Bosun’s chair D ring.
I adjust the waistband. I tighten it to stop me slipping forward. I realised I did not do this last time. This is the second time I have gone up the mast. The first time was a couple of months ago. Our friend Dan had gone up to do some electrical work at the top of the mast and when he came down, he suggested I go up. He said something along the lines of, ‘You may as well do it now, it (the water) will never be flatter than it is now.’ He was right the water was as flat as glass and there was no wind. It was perfect. And so, I cautiously went up. That day I thought I would only go to the first spreader, however it seemed OK.
I decided to go up further after navigating my way over the spreader. I was at the second spreader and pushed back to step over it and cautiously continued my way up to the top of the mast.
This time there was a light wind, 5-8 knots. We were in a marina and sheltered. Additionally, the boat weighs 20 tonnes and does not rock (or roll) excessively due to her weight below the water line.
We attach the safety line. We wrap the spinnaker halyard around the manual winch at the base of the mast. Oops wrong way. Do it again. We check the clutch cleats. These allow the lines to travel one way, but lock if we slip… Another safety measure.
And so it is time for the bounce test. I swing out…
Marty says; ‘It’s a bounce test not a swing.’
Me; ‘I know.’
I swing back in and do my bounce test. We do this to make sure nothing breaks.
It all looks good. I kick off and swing back. I love swings.
The bounce test entails taking your feet of the ground and bouncing to check;
- that the lines take the weight and support you
- your knots are holding, and
- if anything breaks you are no more than knee high to the deck.
I notice the line is twisted around the mast. We fix that.
Bounce test 2.
I go back on to the top of the deck and bounce.
Bruce has the break line ready.
Marty; ‘Alright, ready to go up?’
Me; ‘Yep.’
Marty returns to the cockpit to operate the electronic winch. I come back into the mast.
I am half winched up and I am stepping up on to safety railing and then across on to the boom.
We stop. Now to settle in and hug that mast. Lightly, not heavily. I wiggle my arse in the seat and make sure I am sitting back in the seat.
I gently wrap my legs around the mast followed by my arms. There is a track on the far side of the mast that my fingers find. It is helpful to keep me centred. Marty is behind me in the cockpit and the canvas cover is in place. He can’t see me. Next time we will roll it back. It is OK this time because Bruce has full visibility and is on the safety line.
I have to speak up to be heard.
Me; ‘Ready, Slow’
I am gradually creeping up the mast. I am restricted by the safety line.
Me; ‘Bruce, more line please’
We are settling into a rhythm and working well together. About halfway between the boom and the first spreaders I can stop hugging the mast and open my arms out to hold on to a steel ring. Another meter and I step back away from the mast and put the ring between my first and second toe. It is comfortable.
As I approach the first spreader I ask Marty to slow down. I need to step over the spreaders. Awkwardly, I step over the spreader I am back to hugging the mast with my arms and legs. I feel something on the other side of the mast. I think it is a navigation light.
Marty; ‘Let me know when you are in position.’
Me; ‘I just got to…’ And my voice fades off… (I think I do that a lot when I am thinking, concentrating).
Marty; ‘I can’t hear you…’ That is said a lot as well.
And so, I continue up the mast.
Passing the first spreader I was feeling comfortable and slightly more confident. And surprisingly not anxious or scared. Having said that I was not that keen on looking directly down. I believe my sense of safety came from having three fail safe systems in place and being operated by two people I totally trust. Besides, the rigging is brand spanking new.
As I approach the second spreader I once again stop hugging the mast and open my arms out to hold on to the steel rings (not sure why it is called a ring when it is a cable, but that is boating for you) another meter and I step back away from the mast and put the steel ring between my first and second toe. It is more like a spider man walk up an invisible wall now.
All of a sudden the sound the winch is making changes. The tone drops. It is working harder. I was surprised at how clear I was when this happened. I did not panic or go, what the… It was, yeh it makes that sound when the main sail gets to this point. Besides it is designed to handle significant wind force. My weight is nothing in comparison.
Me; ‘Stop, stop…’
Bruce To Marty; ‘Stop, stop…’
Marty; ‘I can’t hear her.’
And he stops…
Again, I push back to step over the second spreader and go back to hugging the mast. I no longer have the track on the other side to hold on to and keep me centred. It is very still, so I am not being pushed in any direction by wind or breeze.
Bruce is doing a perfect job on the safety line. Again total trust. I was looking out at the view and did not realise I was so close to the top when my shoulders got wedged under the stays.
Marty stops the winch and shouts out ‘How much further?’
Marty to Bruce; ‘I can’t hear what she says.’
He starts the winch again. I was close.
I shut out; ‘Stop… Stop… stop…’
Bruce shouts; ‘Stop.’
My body is a little squashed.
More precisely my shoulders are wedged between the mast and the stays. Marty and Bruce had to lower me down a touch so that I could de-wedge myself and then keep going about 60cm. Finally I am at the top. There are two folding foot rests about 30cm below the top of the mast. I unfold them and can place my thighs over them and so I am comfortable and creating a stable position for me to work from. My crew put the locks on. I start feeding the topping lift line down.
Marty and Bruce go the base of the mast and Marty shouts up, ‘You can start feeding the line down.’ It was already happening. They were watching and waiting to see it appear through the aperture at the base of the mast. ‘Stop,’ I hear. Marty reaches his hand in and grabs the line. Success, I continue to feed the line down the mast and Marty pulls it out. That task completed, now to lower me down.
I had to unhook my legs from the footrests and fold the footrest back up. Marty reverses the line and Bruce the locks, and I slowly start going down.
I am elated. I am enjoying the view with brief glances down. I am so, so happy. I step back over the second spreader and continue down and over the first spreader. I am on the boom. I really want to have a swing now. However, I knew Marty needed to go to work and Bruce had to get home to do the school run.
I was super happy. Twice I have done this.
Marty and I talked about me going up the mast monthly and to do it with a slight breeze next time. For sure when I need to go up one of these days, the weather won’t be perfect. We also need to practice just the two off us. Marty on the winch and the break line. He has done it before with Dan.
Ah, more adventures ahead. More fun to be had.
