Sunday 2 June Probably my first mistake..

..was not to repeat the question about the location of the mouse three times.

Have you retrieved the mouse? Yes. You confirm the mouse is clear? Yes. OK I'll furl the headsail.

We began our passage to Orpheus island in light airs from directly behind; a perfect angle for our twin headsail rig which allows us to raise a second headsail on the same foil as the main head sail and to pole each one out to make us into a giant white kite flying ahead of the wind. For the first couple of hours we made steady progress but we weren't going far today and had time in hand. Then the wind veered and we couldn't sail downwind and go in the right direction. We chose to lower the second headsail, known to Amel owners as a 'ballooner', which involves a series of moves which we've done many, many times before.

In sequence; to unlock the catch at the top of the ballooner and release it to drop back on deck and into it's sail locker we raise a special shaped plastic, a 'mouse' on a spare halyard up a third groove in the forestay which releases the catch. I sit at the foot of the sail and control it's descent, David folds it into the sail locker. Then we retrieve the mouse by pulling it down on it's attached halyard from the top of the forestay. Then you can furl the main head sail. If you omit to retrieve the mouse and it's halyard and furl the sail with the powerful electric motor it's a disaster.

Have you retrieved the mouse? Yes. The wind had shifted once again while we were lowering the ballooner and now the head sail was 'backed', or on the wrong side for the wind and straining the sheets and rigging. The sail got furled with the mouse and halyard still at the top. In ten shorts seconds we created ourselves 6 hours of repairs as the halyard to the mouse and the halyard for the headsail tangled and snapped, snarling the sail and which without prompt action would have slumped the sail around the foot of the forestay. A tight sail tie kept it in place until we reached the moorings on Orpheus island and could start making repairs.

Our key problem was that we had broken the both the halyards which go to the top of the mast. The two halyards we'd need to hoist David to the top to repair them. But we do have the halyard which hoists the mainsail. With the plan fixed we quickly got to work flaking the mainsail on to the boom and securing it, using this line to lift David to the top of the mast where he could hang on and throw himself across to the forestay to disentangle the two snapped halyards from inside the furled headsail. Sounding complicated? It was. Next job was to rethread the snapped halyards back through the mast. They broke at the top so by feeding weighted fishing line down the inside of the mast I could take that line and attach the halyard and David could pull it up to the top. Sounds simple but when the fishing line snagged or the line being pulled up snagged on something unseen it was frustrating. An hour before sunset we finally had the halyards, albeit 1m shorter than they were at the beginning of the day, feeding in through the mast head.

The wind was increasing in strength, not to bad, but worrying the headsail held precariously by sail ties. It had to be brought back to the deck too, unfurled and dropped and secured so the wind didn't send it on to Cairns ahead of the boat. Our last task before the sun set was to refit the main sail; with in mast furling if the sail isn't furled around the mandrill we hear metal clanking against metal all through the night. Keeping under control big pieces of fabric designed to catch the wind takes care. David hauled it up and my job was to feed the bolt rope into its slot and controlling the sail still on the boom. Quite quickly we had the sail hoisted, secured and furled into the mast (with electric motors to do the work the easiest job of the afternoon).

The light was fading as we finished what we could do today. Tomorrow we'll hope the wind stays light as forecast to enable us to put the headsail back on.