No s**t, this really happened. About two weeks ago. After nearly a month of cruising, it was time to head home. We were in Hot Springs Cove on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, about 200 miles from our home on Orcas Island. Our first leg was to take us to Ucluelet about 50 miles southeast of Hot Springs Cove. The North Pacific High, normally well established by this time of year with blue skies and strong northwest winds had been moving in and out. The Environment Canada marine weather forecast called for a low pressure system moving in with light southeasterly winds, building to 15-20 knots by late afternoon and to gale force by the following day. We had an inside, protected route available to us for the first half of the trip, but it added nine miles to an already long day. So we opted for the outside route on the Pacific, knowing we had two bail out options to come back inside if conditions deteriorated. We started out at 0700 in light winds and seas and passed our first bail out option at Russell Channel about ten miles in, shrugging our shoulders, and saying "why not continue? This is a piece of cake." By the time we reached our second bail out option at Templar Channel, marked by the Lennard Island lighthouse, winds and seas were beginning to build. It was blowing about 15 knots true on our nose and seas were getting a little messy. Wind waves were from the southeast. The swell was from the southwest. The result was a washing machine effect. Despite some pounding, Wanderlust was handling this ok. The marina at Tofino on the inside of Templar Channel isn't great and is overcrowded. We figured if we went in we'd have to raft up which we didn't want to do with the gale forecast. So we pressed on for Ucluelet, about another 20 miles with nowhere to go in between. The entrance to Ucluelet is between two reefs and is about a quarter of a mile wide. About an hour after leaving behind our second bail out option, with winds in the high teens and short period squared off waves pounding us quite a bit, we were motorsailing with a single reef in the main mostly for stability, but also for whatever power it could provide. We got a jolt when the rpms on Wanderlust's normally extremely reliable engine took a nose dive, and then came back up. This happened a couple more times. My blood pressure moved inversely to the rpms. Our speed against the headwinds and chop was dropping, and I made the decision that we would drop off the wind a bit, unfurl the genoa, and beat our way upwind to Ucluelet. Wanderlust has a tall rig at 59 feet, and I decided to first put a second reef in the main as apparent wind would be in the low to mid 20's. I dropped the main to the second reef point, secured the reef line, and was winching the halyard back up when I heard this horrible ripping sound. The main had an eight-foot rip in it, just above the second reef point. What would you do? Gary Wyngarden S/V Wanderlust h37.5
