Departure from Canet

October 11, 2016: Preparing for a 6:00pm departure, unfortunately we have an issue with the steaming light  and Nico informs us that he has a spot on his skin that his dad (a Dr., which Nico has sent pictures to ) has advised him to have looked at in an emergency room. So Nico heads off in a cab while we go to work on the steaming light problem. I feel like Nico's problem has bought me a little time. Pete grinds me up the mast in a climbing harness which I brought for just such an occasion. The bulb is a marine LED bulb with a base that looks like a car tail light bulb. The wiring looks solid and this is a new fixture so assume it's a bulb problem. Pete searched the boat for a replacement and sends two up via a bag attached to the starboard flag halyard. Try both bulbs but no joy. I come back down and trace the wiring but that proves to be very difficult. I decide to go back up the mask with a multitester I brought along. Back up the mast to test the wiring; 12v on one bulb & ground on the other. Why isn't this working?? Back down the mast as I'm perplexed. Eventually discover this type of bulb requires 12v on both bulb contacts and ground on the base. Nico arrives back at the boat after a frustrating experience at the hospital with his wallet €950 lighter (correction: I misheard Nico when he was retelling this story. The medical cost was reasonable; I believe less than 100€. His taxi ride however was 50€ each way and the hospital was all of 15 minutes away. As a point of reference, my 6 hour BlaBlaCar from Cartagena to Barcelona was 45€) They have told him that it's a spot of eczema and provide a prescription for cream but they don't know where a pharmacy is. The hospital instructs him to call the police to determine that?? He arrives back a bit unhappy and frustrated. Meanwhile my time excuse is gone. Back up the mast to rewire the fixture. 4 trips up the mast but all is well. 

Departed Canet at 21:100. Skipper: Greg Wells Crew: Peter Preston, Carlos Nieto & Nico Sala. Severe weather is approaching so decision is made to go tonight otherwise we won't be likely to move until Thursday. Extremely calm evening in harbor but blowing 15 with lumpy seas once we clear the harbor entrance. We raise the main above the first reef point but it won't go any higher. It's stuck at that level and won't come down either. We use the second reef to forcefully pull it down. The halyard is clearly snagged on something but it's hard to tell what it's snagged on due to darkness and the pitching of the deck from the wave action. We struggle for a while to free it but eventually make the call to go back to the harbor to resolve. In the harbor I don my harness once again and Carlos grinds me to the top of the mast. The halyard is trapped behind a sheeve pin (and its cotterpin) for the starboard stay. Quickly freed it and headed back out. We clear the outer harbor at 2:30am and head south, course 140 making 6 knots under 2nd reef main & genny. Intentionally sailing conservatively as we are just getting used to the boat. Wind eventually slacks and we start motoring  at 4:51 AM on  Nico's watch as we were only making 3 1/2 kn.