Day 113 More weather!!!

S 18º21 W 154º50 @ 0830
I was awakened at 2 AM by the frightening sound of a line banging in the wind. Andy was on watch and had called Mark on deck to help furl the jib. (The jib is attached to a spool that can wind up the sail) We were in the middle of a squall with winds above 20 knots and gusting to 35. While trying to roll up the jib, a gust of wind had caught the sail and totally unfurled it. The jib sheets (ropes attached to the clew or back end of the sail) were flapping uncontrollably - a very dangerous situation for both man and equipment. Finally they were able to get the jib furled and out of the way.
Over the next three hours the squalls continued and the wind shifted from the North through the West and finally came from the South. At the same time, the sea built to 10 to 15 foot waves with some coming from the North and some from the South. Southern Star was rocking violently back and forth while Mark and Andy tried several tricks to smooth out the ride. Finally by 5 AM, they had taken down the mainsail and the jib and were sailing North away from the wind under only the staysail. Remember that we wanted to go South. Mark has taught us that when the weather gets bad, reduce all sail to the minimum and go with the wind. Any other course results in pounding both the boat and its passengers.
I spent some time retrieving from the floor everything that had not been securely stowed. No matter how well we think we have put things away, a good shaking will find something to dislodge.
By evening, the wind began to shift again to come from the Southeast and we were able to put the mainsail back up and resume going West. We checked in on the 7 PM radio net and found that the Liahona had seen the same squalls and wind shift and were now making their way Westward as well. They are about 90 miles ahead of us.