14/03/2009 - Bad luck with the mast Craig. Good to see someone is keeping an eye on you in those offshore winds thou (I know you specialise in those long distances but 9000 km to next landfall is quite a way!)

Well yesterday up here was a bit iffy a Island Bay so I made the call not to go out but I took the kids to the beach/park anyway. Was very shifty but half an hour later it came in (right on low tide too) at 15-18knots! .Oh well next time...

Looks like it will go easterly up here so I will see if I can get out Sunday.

Cheers

Chris

Glad you're OK Craig, I recommend you read this page, I've used this technique once and it works well 

Thanks for that reference Nebbian, that would have worked well!  The top section was still in good shape and would have held up fine.  I actually shoved the top section in the footstraps so I didn't loose it.  I never thought to flip it upside down and back in the bottom.

I now have a theory about why the joint cracked.  I have a 7.8 sail that takes a 510 mast and about 15 cm extension.  A while ago I broke the 510 mast, so to use that sail while I was waiting to find another 510 mast, I was using a 430 mast with a 60 cm extender, and about 35 cm of bottom extension.  This meant that that the joint on the 430 mast was quite high up the 7.8 sail, causing the joint to be under more bending pressure than it normally would be.  I suspect that this caused a lot more fatigue at the joint, which eventually gave out.  I also checked the actual wind speed at the time I was sailing, and it was gusting to 35 knots, which also was putting a bit of pressure on the sail!

Anyone else think this is plausible?  Does anyone else use these extenders?

dang!, last thing you need Craig. Please it all worked out well. I got picked up by the Sumner life boat (quite a few years ago). The $$ donation I sent was appreciated. Good onya for doing that.