It's about 3:30 and I'm having some trouble sleeping. My dad's in a sailing race now, the Transatlantic 2015 (I'm super proud of him!). Earlier today, I guess yesterday now, I found out that they will have to withdraw from the race due to storm damage. Three successive storms with gusts over 50kts have taken out their boom vang, traveler, and damaged the mainsail.
I've gotten the occasional message from my dad and he seems in good spirits, even making jokes. Right now they're hove-to (parked) in the middle of the Atlantic, waiting out the storm. Checking the map w/ transponders, I now see that another boat has changed course and, up until 5 minutes ago, it seemed to be on track to rendezvous with the boat my dad is crewing on (it had made a huge turn, and was only 6 nautical miles away). Now it's turned completely around and I'm not sure what to think. On the one hand, if they're not meeting up that means my dad's boat doesn't need assistance. On the other, they could just be repositioning if the wind isn't right.
I'm sure he's fine, but I can't stop watching the map. I sent him a message via GPS just checking in - hopefully I hear back soon.
EDIT: I just got word from the boat that all is well (or as well as can be) - they rode out the storm without further incident and even had bacon and eggs for breakfast. They're going to try to patch the mainsail, but have retired from the race and are heading for the Azores.