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When things go wrong. Broken Rigging in the Gulf Stream - 450 NM from Florida to MoreHead City, NC
July 8, 2026 · 18 min · 2K views · Gulf Stream
What this video covers
While sailing a 420-nautical-mile passage from Florida toward Morehead City, North Carolina, Vlad experienced a failure of the mainsail clew attachment point. The metal ring connecting the clew to the boom broke under load, forcing him to consider diverting to Charleston for repairs. Instead, he performed a temporary field repair using a soft shackle and a secondary line to secure the boom, allowing him to continue his course. The soft shackle failed after three hours, requiring a second, reinforced repair using a repositioned car to reduce the angle of pull and additional safety lines. He maintained speeds of 8.5 to 10.5 knots while crossing the Gulf Stream before the wind died, necessitating 15 hours of motoring to reach Beaufort Inlet. Upon arrival at Portside Marina in Morehead City, he replaced the broken component with a new Harken part, which required drilling out the threads in the workshop to complete the installation.
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