At around 7PM (6.5 days since start) we passed the halfway point to our destination. This is a good milestone. This is also when things started to not go so well. Ready below
We had a good run all night but then the wind started to build up in the early morning, so we decided to bring the spinnaker down. That was not easy. Karine and I had to fight the wind on the foredeck. We setup the spinnaker pole (no spinnaker) on the genoa to go wing on wing. Soon after, we noticed that a block had fallen from the mast. This is the block that allow the topping lift line to exit the mast. The line was immediately broken.
As the wind was still building up, we decided to remove the spinnaker pole (which by now at no topping lift). That was another adventure. At this point we are not sure what is out best option for sailing downwind. We will decide tomorrow.
The day also brought some other issues related to charging the batteries. The generator is erratic, and the alternator mounted on the main engine would not charge. We are currently looking at these issues. Right now, we are getting some success with the main engine.