Introduction
This adventure began with a back-slap in a bar in the spring of 2011. I ran into a sailing friend Harry Krum at the Channel Islands Yacht Club (CIYC) bar. I congratulated Harry for his impressive first place finish in the recent Newport to Ensenada race aboard a sailboat named Second Chance. Harry beamed with pride and introduced me to Phil, the boat’s new owner. When they mentioned that Second Chance was a 1979 Swan 44, my eyes lit up.
I explained why: back in 1981 I met my wife LeeAnne on a blind date aboard a Catalina 38. LeeAnne and I hit it off and, being active sailors, we dreamed of owning our own boat someday. That year, a Swan 44 was the queen of the Long Beach boat show. As we toured the Swan we instantly fell in love it and dreamed of cruising the oceans on her. Flush with the confidence of the young, and perhaps thinking I needed a little push to propose, LeeAnne promised that if we got married she would buy me a Swan 44 on my 44th birthday. I actually believed her since, as a recent college graduate, I was just starting my career and she made considerably more money than I did…and 44 seemed an awfully long way away. Life, mortgages, kids, and career shifts sidetracked some of our youthful dreams, and when my 44th birthday rolled around, she took one look at the bank account – and bought me a tie. Although age 44 has receded into the misty past, and we now own a fine Islander Freeport 36 sloop, I never stopped yearning for the dream boat of my youth.
After hearing my story, Phil gave me a tour of Second Chance. Her graceful lines, teak decks, robust racing rigging, and rich oiled-teak interior brought back great memories, and a familiar yearning to sail such a splendid vessel.
Back at the CIYC bar Harry told me that they were entering Second Chance in the Transpac 2011 race from LA to Honolulu in July. I mentioned that I’d love to join his crew if he needed an extra hand, although I never thought that he’d actually ask me. I was surprised, and a little intimidated, when in late June Harry told me that he might be short a crew member for the Transpac and asked if I was still interested. I quickly cleared my calendar. After joining the Second Chance crew for a couple of local races to familiarize myself with the boat and meet the crew, Harry offered me a crew position at the mast.
The Second Chance crew consisted of the following nine people: Phil Sauer - Owner (lives in Hawai’i); Harry Krum - Captain; Randy Alcorn - Watch Captain, Cook, and Commodore at Anacapa Yacht Club; Curt Ingram - Watch Captain and in charge of water maker; Mary Howard - Curt’s wife and trimmer; Tom Andrews - Medical officer, rigger, and bowman (lives in New York); Ed Atwell - friend of Curt’s, trimmer, Communications Officer (lives in Reno); Graham Paine - main trimmer; Charlie Clark - Mastman, blogger.
So as it turned out, this Transpac adventure was my Second Chance to realize an old dream of sailing the seas aboard a Swan 44. And as it also turned out, this would not be the last time that Second Chance’s name was prophetic.
[The following text was compiled from my notes taken during the race and messages sent to LeeAnne via SailMail using the single side band radio.]
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Saturday 02 Jul 2011
Saturday 02 Jul 2011
Saturday morning my daughter Julia drove me down to Shoreline Village in Long Beach where Second Chance had a temporary berth. I figured that I would use the afternoon to meet the other crew members and help provision the boat. We arrived around noon and parked next to the Long beach Aquarium. On the walk over to the docks we came across an Alfa Romeo car show hosted by a local Alfa Romeo Owners club. I considered this to be a good omen since Alfa Romeos are my favorite marque and they’re not that common. Seeing some of the models that I previously owned (e.g. ‘74 Spider, ‘73 GTV, ‘87 Milano Verde) and those that I lusted for brought back fond memories and put me in a great mood.
We had lunch at the Yard House which was right down from where Second Chance was docked. After lunch I gave Julia a tour of Second Chance, introduced her to the crew members present, and said our goodbyes. I asked Harry how I could best help and he suggested that I work with Ed, a ham radio operator, to figure out how to make the single side band (SSB) radio and new computer work so that we could send our daily position reports and get weather reports. Harry figured that since I work with computers (I’m a systems analyst at a biopharmaceutical company), I could figure out how to make the SSB work. Harry’s a real optimist!
Although I had never even seen a SSB radio before and had no idea how they worked, I gladly accepted the challenge. Fortunately, Ed came well prepared with full manuals for the SSB radio, modem, antenna, SailMail and weather report service, etc. I requested some time to review the manuals before tackling the project.
After reading the manual, I had a pretty good idea as to how the equipment was supposed to work. Ed described the symptoms and showed me what was and was not working. He also found the phone number of a support tech at the SailMail service in San Diego. The support tech was a real godsend! He was familiar with our equipment (Icom IC-M700 Pro SSB, PACTOR PTC-IIe modem, AT-130 tuner), walked us through some of the basics, helped diagnose the issues, and suggested a couple of common root causes and fixes.
Our other challenge was that the original computer that came with the boat was old, had a dead battery, and didn’t work well. Consequently, Ed wanted to connect a newer PC with larger screen for displaying the weather reports. I suggested we first try to get the equipment to work with the old computer and then replace it with the new PC once we confirmed that it worked. So that’s what we did.
Ed and I worked on the equipment until 10:00 PM only taking a brief break to attend the Aloha Class send off party for some appetizers and drinks. We went to Phil’s hotel room to download device drivers for the com port adapter. Although we got the equipment to work, we had a very weak signal. The SailMail support tech suggested we check the antenna ground strap for corrosion and replace the pig tail connector behind the radio. We had to disassemble several beautiful wood panels above the nav station to get behind the radio to access the connector. Although he never said anything, I suspect that this made Phil a bit nervous since he really didn’t know us and we really didn’t know what we were doing. We eventually got behind the radio and confirmed that the connector was indeed faulty by wiggling it when using the radio and noticing a change in the signal strength. Since it was late and we were tired, we decided to call it a night and replace the connector tomorrow.
Saturday morning my daughter Julia drove me down to Shoreline Village in Long Beach where Second Chance had a temporary berth. I figured that I would use the afternoon to meet the other crew members and help provision the boat. We arrived around noon and parked next to the Long beach Aquarium. On the walk over to the docks we came across an Alfa Romeo car show hosted by a local Alfa Romeo Owners club. I considered this to be a good omen since Alfa Romeos are my favorite marque and they’re not that common. Seeing some of the models that I previously owned (e.g. ‘74 Spider, ‘73 GTV, ‘87 Milano Verde) and those that I lusted for brought back fond memories and put me in a great mood.
We had lunch at the Yard House which was right down from where Second Chance was docked. After lunch I gave Julia a tour of Second Chance, introduced her to the crew members present, and said our goodbyes. I asked Harry how I could best help and he suggested that I work with Ed, a ham radio operator, to figure out how to make the single side band (SSB) radio and new computer work so that we could send our daily position reports and get weather reports. Harry figured that since I work with computers (I’m a systems analyst at a biopharmaceutical company), I could figure out how to make the SSB work. Harry’s a real optimist!
Although I had never even seen a SSB radio before and had no idea how they worked, I gladly accepted the challenge. Fortunately, Ed came well prepared with full manuals for the SSB radio, modem, antenna, SailMail and weather report service, etc. I requested some time to review the manuals before tackling the project.
After reading the manual, I had a pretty good idea as to how the equipment was supposed to work. Ed described the symptoms and showed me what was and was not working. He also found the phone number of a support tech at the SailMail service in San Diego. The support tech was a real godsend! He was familiar with our equipment (Icom IC-M700 Pro SSB, PACTOR PTC-IIe modem, AT-130 tuner), walked us through some of the basics, helped diagnose the issues, and suggested a couple of common root causes and fixes.
Our other challenge was that the original computer that came with the boat was old, had a dead battery, and didn’t work well. Consequently, Ed wanted to connect a newer PC with larger screen for displaying the weather reports. I suggested we first try to get the equipment to work with the old computer and then replace it with the new PC once we confirmed that it worked. So that’s what we did.
Ed and I worked on the equipment until 10:00 PM only taking a brief break to attend the Aloha Class send off party for some appetizers and drinks. We went to Phil’s hotel room to download device drivers for the com port adapter. Although we got the equipment to work, we had a very weak signal. The SailMail support tech suggested we check the antenna ground strap for corrosion and replace the pig tail connector behind the radio. We had to disassemble several beautiful wood panels above the nav station to get behind the radio to access the connector. Although he never said anything, I suspect that this made Phil a bit nervous since he really didn’t know us and we really didn’t know what we were doing. We eventually got behind the radio and confirmed that the connector was indeed faulty by wiggling it when using the radio and noticing a change in the signal strength. Since it was late and we were tired, we decided to call it a night and replace the connector tomorrow.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Sunday 03 Jul 2011
Sunday 03 Jul 2011
I joined Phil, Curt, and Mary at the required Safety at Sea (SAS) seminar hosted by Shoreline Yacht Club while Ed continued to work on the SSB radio. The SAS class was led by Chuck Hawley from West Marine. He’s the guy that does most of the West Advisor videos on the West Marine web site. He’s a wealth of information and had a very entertaining presentation style. The most memorable things I learned from the seminar were: 1. Use pressure rather than a tourniquet to stop heavy bleeding; 2. Most boating fatalities are from small power boats, 3. Most drowning victims were not wearing life vests, 4. A very small percentage of boating accidents and fatalities involve sailboats. The class made me feel more confident and ready to cross the Pacific.
Back on Second Chance, Ed checked and cleaned the antenna ground strap, replaced the faulty pig tail connector with crimped butt connectors, tested and got the equipment to work with a stronger signal. We replaced the wood panels, tested the SailMail service, and retrieved the weather reports as GRIdded Binary files called GRIBs. We then got the new computer to work with the new driver software that we downloaded from Phil’s hotel room the previous night. Feeling a real sense of accomplishment, we joined the crew for dinner at Outback and celebrated our success!
I joined Phil, Curt, and Mary at the required Safety at Sea (SAS) seminar hosted by Shoreline Yacht Club while Ed continued to work on the SSB radio. The SAS class was led by Chuck Hawley from West Marine. He’s the guy that does most of the West Advisor videos on the West Marine web site. He’s a wealth of information and had a very entertaining presentation style. The most memorable things I learned from the seminar were: 1. Use pressure rather than a tourniquet to stop heavy bleeding; 2. Most boating fatalities are from small power boats, 3. Most drowning victims were not wearing life vests, 4. A very small percentage of boating accidents and fatalities involve sailboats. The class made me feel more confident and ready to cross the Pacific.
Back on Second Chance, Ed checked and cleaned the antenna ground strap, replaced the faulty pig tail connector with crimped butt connectors, tested and got the equipment to work with a stronger signal. We replaced the wood panels, tested the SailMail service, and retrieved the weather reports as GRIdded Binary files called GRIBs. We then got the new computer to work with the new driver software that we downloaded from Phil’s hotel room the previous night. Feeling a real sense of accomplishment, we joined the crew for dinner at Outback and celebrated our success!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Monday 04 Jul 2011
Monday 04 Jul 2011
We returned to the Shoreline Yacht Club for their traditional pancake breakfast. After breakfast, we left the dock at 10:30 AM to make the 1:00 PM start off San Pedro. As we left the dock, the officials announced our boat name, class, and crew. A cannon was fired and friends and family cheered us on as we headed past the fire boat spraying streams of water. We then continued into the channel towards the staring line.
The race started right at 1:00 PM. We thought that our class was supposed to start at 1:05; however, Harry noticed that other boats in our class started with the first class. We then noticed that our class flag was indeed up. Consequently, we quickly trimmed the sails and altered our course for the starting line at the end of the pack. None of us were too upset since it’s a long race and we were really not that far behind. We headed straight for the West end of Catalina Island and trimmed the sails for maximum speed.
We didn’t quite clear the West end and had to tack once. Most of the other boats in the fleet headed North towards San Nicolas Island, presumably to hit the trade winds sooner. We had good wind for most of the day and sailed at 6-7 knots on a close reach with the main and No 1 Genoa heading West.
We had ham sandwiches for lunch and chicken soup for dinner. Everyone stayed on deck for the entire day and up to about 9:00 PM. We saw some Rizzo’s Dolphins, common dolphins, and sea lions.
I had my first watch at 2:00 AM with Randy and Phil. We had three different watch crews with three hour shifts. This gave us three hours on watch and six hours off. While on shift, each crew member spent one hour at the helm, one hour trimming the main, and one hour trimming the headsail. Rotating stations like this helped prevent fatigue and boredom, kept us alert, and gave everyone a chance to steer the boat.
We returned to the Shoreline Yacht Club for their traditional pancake breakfast. After breakfast, we left the dock at 10:30 AM to make the 1:00 PM start off San Pedro. As we left the dock, the officials announced our boat name, class, and crew. A cannon was fired and friends and family cheered us on as we headed past the fire boat spraying streams of water. We then continued into the channel towards the staring line.
The race started right at 1:00 PM. We thought that our class was supposed to start at 1:05; however, Harry noticed that other boats in our class started with the first class. We then noticed that our class flag was indeed up. Consequently, we quickly trimmed the sails and altered our course for the starting line at the end of the pack. None of us were too upset since it’s a long race and we were really not that far behind. We headed straight for the West end of Catalina Island and trimmed the sails for maximum speed.
We didn’t quite clear the West end and had to tack once. Most of the other boats in the fleet headed North towards San Nicolas Island, presumably to hit the trade winds sooner. We had good wind for most of the day and sailed at 6-7 knots on a close reach with the main and No 1 Genoa heading West.
We had ham sandwiches for lunch and chicken soup for dinner. Everyone stayed on deck for the entire day and up to about 9:00 PM. We saw some Rizzo’s Dolphins, common dolphins, and sea lions.
I had my first watch at 2:00 AM with Randy and Phil. We had three different watch crews with three hour shifts. This gave us three hours on watch and six hours off. While on shift, each crew member spent one hour at the helm, one hour trimming the main, and one hour trimming the headsail. Rotating stations like this helped prevent fatigue and boredom, kept us alert, and gave everyone a chance to steer the boat.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Tuesday 05 Jul 2011
Tuesday 05 Jul 2011
0600 PDT Position: 33 12 N, 119 08 W
At some point we decided to follow the fleet North towards San Nicolas Island. By morning we had very light winds, with swells building to over 4 feet, and overcast skies past 10:00 AM. The daily position reports showed us in 6th place.
The water maker was not yet working and the generator would only run for a few minutes before shutting down. Curt used an identical water maker while cruising in Mexico and was confident that he would get it working soon. Several of us were kind of nervous since we didn’t have enough water in our tanks to last the entire trip without the watermaker. We decided to run the diesel engine in neutral for a few hours to change the batteries until we could diagnose and repair the generator.
The light winds continued through the afternoon with the boat traveling at 4-6 knots. Randy, Phil, and I had the 1:00-4:00 PM shift. We tacked off of San Nicholas Island and headed West again towards the rhumb line. We all had taken sea sickness medication and nobody exhibited any symptoms of sea sickness.
We had a very difficult night with light and variable winds. We tacked numerous times trying to make progress towards the trade winds. The light and variable winds were rough on the well worn and heavily patched No. 1 Genoa. The sail shredded and was patched the week before the race. The sailmaker gave it a 50/50 chance of lasting us for the 2-4 days it would take to reach the trades.
Our navigation lights developed a short and would not remain lit. During his pre-race inspection, Tom noticed some poorly taped wires off the bow pulpit and kicked himself for not suggesting that we make a proper repair before we left the docks. He taped some battery powered lights to the bow and stern pulpits.
Randy made a tasty dinner of Beef Stroganoff which everyone thoroughly enjoyed.
0600 PDT Position: 33 12 N, 119 08 W
At some point we decided to follow the fleet North towards San Nicolas Island. By morning we had very light winds, with swells building to over 4 feet, and overcast skies past 10:00 AM. The daily position reports showed us in 6th place.
The water maker was not yet working and the generator would only run for a few minutes before shutting down. Curt used an identical water maker while cruising in Mexico and was confident that he would get it working soon. Several of us were kind of nervous since we didn’t have enough water in our tanks to last the entire trip without the watermaker. We decided to run the diesel engine in neutral for a few hours to change the batteries until we could diagnose and repair the generator.
The light winds continued through the afternoon with the boat traveling at 4-6 knots. Randy, Phil, and I had the 1:00-4:00 PM shift. We tacked off of San Nicholas Island and headed West again towards the rhumb line. We all had taken sea sickness medication and nobody exhibited any symptoms of sea sickness.
We had a very difficult night with light and variable winds. We tacked numerous times trying to make progress towards the trade winds. The light and variable winds were rough on the well worn and heavily patched No. 1 Genoa. The sail shredded and was patched the week before the race. The sailmaker gave it a 50/50 chance of lasting us for the 2-4 days it would take to reach the trades.
Our navigation lights developed a short and would not remain lit. During his pre-race inspection, Tom noticed some poorly taped wires off the bow pulpit and kicked himself for not suggesting that we make a proper repair before we left the docks. He taped some battery powered lights to the bow and stern pulpits.
Randy made a tasty dinner of Beef Stroganoff which everyone thoroughly enjoyed.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Wednesday 06 Jul 2011
Wednesday 06 Jul 2011
0600 PDT Position: 33.01 N, 120.14 W
In the morning we still had light and variable winds. We did not make much progress overnight. We tacked several times and had trouble maintaining a steady course of 240 degrees. The daily position report showed us in last place.
I ate an apple, some dried fruit and nuts for breakfast and a turkey and cheese sandwich with banana for lunch. We saw some blue whales. A baby whale came very close to our bow and another surfaced at a distance.
Tom fixed the short in our nav lights while Harry worked on the generator. At first he thought he fixed it by removing the dirty air filter and adding oil. Unfortunately, this did not fix the problem and the generator would shut down after running for just a few minutes.
Meanwhile, Curt and Ed continued to work on the water maker. They used various techniques to clean the filters and membranes; however, it still would not produce potable fresh water. Our water tanks were down to 50 gallons so we really needed to get the water maker working soon or we’d have to abort the race. I was getting concerned since during the SAS class, Chuck Hawley said that every race has a boat or two that must abort due to malfunctioning water makers.
Ed got an updated weather report in the morning so we were able to determine where the trade winds were (300 miles west). By afternoon, we were able to head just above our rhumb line in an effort to hit the trades a bit sooner and then swing down to Hawai’i at a hotter angle.
Tom patched a hole that ripped open on the foot of the No 1 jib where it chafed against a roller furling line block. We all hoped the No 1 jib would hold out long enough for us to reach the trade winds where we could launch a spinnaker.
Later in the afternoon we were able to adjust our heading to 240 degrees and sail at 6-7 knots with 10-15 knot winds. We took down the thrashed No 1 job and replaced it with the smaller and heavier No 2 jib.
Randy made another great dinner of chicken Tomatio and rice. By the way, all of our meals were served in stainless steel dog bowls since they’re indestructible, stay put with their rubber ringed bottoms, and are easy to clean. Eating out of a dog bowl never tasted so good!
I had the 10:00 PM shift with Randy and Graham, my new watch crew member. Phil joined Harry’s watch crew along with Tom.
0600 PDT Position: 33.01 N, 120.14 W
In the morning we still had light and variable winds. We did not make much progress overnight. We tacked several times and had trouble maintaining a steady course of 240 degrees. The daily position report showed us in last place.
I ate an apple, some dried fruit and nuts for breakfast and a turkey and cheese sandwich with banana for lunch. We saw some blue whales. A baby whale came very close to our bow and another surfaced at a distance.
Tom fixed the short in our nav lights while Harry worked on the generator. At first he thought he fixed it by removing the dirty air filter and adding oil. Unfortunately, this did not fix the problem and the generator would shut down after running for just a few minutes.
Meanwhile, Curt and Ed continued to work on the water maker. They used various techniques to clean the filters and membranes; however, it still would not produce potable fresh water. Our water tanks were down to 50 gallons so we really needed to get the water maker working soon or we’d have to abort the race. I was getting concerned since during the SAS class, Chuck Hawley said that every race has a boat or two that must abort due to malfunctioning water makers.
Ed got an updated weather report in the morning so we were able to determine where the trade winds were (300 miles west). By afternoon, we were able to head just above our rhumb line in an effort to hit the trades a bit sooner and then swing down to Hawai’i at a hotter angle.
Tom patched a hole that ripped open on the foot of the No 1 jib where it chafed against a roller furling line block. We all hoped the No 1 jib would hold out long enough for us to reach the trade winds where we could launch a spinnaker.
Later in the afternoon we were able to adjust our heading to 240 degrees and sail at 6-7 knots with 10-15 knot winds. We took down the thrashed No 1 job and replaced it with the smaller and heavier No 2 jib.
Randy made another great dinner of chicken Tomatio and rice. By the way, all of our meals were served in stainless steel dog bowls since they’re indestructible, stay put with their rubber ringed bottoms, and are easy to clean. Eating out of a dog bowl never tasted so good!
I had the 10:00 PM shift with Randy and Graham, my new watch crew member. Phil joined Harry’s watch crew along with Tom.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Thursday 07 Jul 2011
Thursday 07 Jul 2011
0600 PDT Position:: 31 58 N, 122 07 W
After a not so great start, we started making good progress now sailing on the rhumb line to Hawai’i. The rest of the fleet continued sailing North, to hit the trade winds sooner or on a hotter angle to the finish. We're sailing at 5.5-7.3 kts while trying to stay close to the rhumb line.
We got increasingly worried about the water maker not working since we don’t think we’d have enough water in our tanks to complete the race. The water maker was getting air in the system which caused it to fail. Curt had been working on it since before the race but it was still unable to produce fresh water. Although I’ve never seen a water maker before, I do like diagnosing mechanical things and offered to help during my watch break. Curt walked me through the basic components and describe how they worked. He then showed me the symptom (air in the intake hoses) and described what he had done. We then decided to locate the source of the air leak by removing components one at a time starting from the intake line to the compressor and moving upstream to the thru-hull valve. The source of the air leak turned out to be from a faulty valve in front of the pre-filter. The faulty valve was for purging the system which we wouldn’t need for the trip. We bypassed the pre-filter and the faulty valve and had to cannibalize some fittings to make the plumbing work. It seemed to do the trick because the water maker produced fresh water for several hours and filled our tanks!
Randy is taking great care of us with the food. He made a meal of rice and beans and it tasted great! Unfortunately, the diesel generator is still not working and we have to run the diesel engine for several hours each day to keep the batteries sufficiently charged.
Randy, Graham, and I had the 7:00-10:00 PM watch and sailed 5.5-7.5 knots on a heading of between 240-270 degrees.
0600 PDT Position:: 31 58 N, 122 07 W
After a not so great start, we started making good progress now sailing on the rhumb line to Hawai’i. The rest of the fleet continued sailing North, to hit the trade winds sooner or on a hotter angle to the finish. We're sailing at 5.5-7.3 kts while trying to stay close to the rhumb line.
We got increasingly worried about the water maker not working since we don’t think we’d have enough water in our tanks to complete the race. The water maker was getting air in the system which caused it to fail. Curt had been working on it since before the race but it was still unable to produce fresh water. Although I’ve never seen a water maker before, I do like diagnosing mechanical things and offered to help during my watch break. Curt walked me through the basic components and describe how they worked. He then showed me the symptom (air in the intake hoses) and described what he had done. We then decided to locate the source of the air leak by removing components one at a time starting from the intake line to the compressor and moving upstream to the thru-hull valve. The source of the air leak turned out to be from a faulty valve in front of the pre-filter. The faulty valve was for purging the system which we wouldn’t need for the trip. We bypassed the pre-filter and the faulty valve and had to cannibalize some fittings to make the plumbing work. It seemed to do the trick because the water maker produced fresh water for several hours and filled our tanks!
Randy is taking great care of us with the food. He made a meal of rice and beans and it tasted great! Unfortunately, the diesel generator is still not working and we have to run the diesel engine for several hours each day to keep the batteries sufficiently charged.
Randy, Graham, and I had the 7:00-10:00 PM watch and sailed 5.5-7.5 knots on a heading of between 240-270 degrees.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Friday 08 Jul 2011
Friday 08 Jul 2011
0600 PDT Position: 31 20 N, 124 50 W
07:13 AM We made some very good progress over the past day. The wind and seas have been building... but we're not in the trades yet. We've been hitting over 8 knots on a beam reach. We took a more SW route than the other boats because Second Chance doesn't sail as high into the wind as the other boats in light air. We hope to have gained on the fleet last night. Hopefully we'll hit the trades today so that we can launch our spinnaker.
I ate oatmeal and a pickled egg for breakfast. I've been on watch with Randy and Graham. We sailed on a beam to close reach on a course of 240-270 degrees at 6.5-8.3 kts with winds at 9-15 kts. Randy has been doing an excellent job of trimming to maximize our speed. We had 4-6 foot swells and the sky is cloudy with some mist.
Around noon we raised the spinnaker for the first time! We had to take it down after a few minutes due to the heavy seas and bad wind angle. We've been sailing with a single reefed main and 120 Genoa. The boat is behaving nicely and making good speed with this configuration.
Our main out-haul also stopped working to we used the second reef line as an out-haul to flatten the main.
Randy made another great meal of chicken and vegetable stir fry. We have plenty of food and have been enjoying the treats that Bunni, Trish, and others made.
With regards to the weather info that Dave sent, we were already past the coordinates by the time we got his e-mail. I passed on the weather info to Harry. We've been getting the GRIB weather reports daily..
The built-in diesel generator is overheating and will not run for more than a few minutes. We changed the cooling water impeller but that did not fix the problem as hoped. We think the heat exchanger (like a radiator for a car) is clogged and we will be unable to fix it at sea (it needs to be boiled or soaked in acid). The generator was inspected by a mechanic before the race and given a clean bill of health. It turned out to be a little low on oil, had a dirty air filter, was missing its zinc anode, and obviously was not tested at normal operating temperature. A trip like this requires a working generator to keep the batteries changed for running essential equipment such as the refrigeration unit, water maker, navigation lights, navigation instruments, and powerful single side band radio (SSB). We'll have to use the auxiliary engine for charging the batteries. Fortunately we have plenty of fuel.
It remained overcast all afternoon. We're all doing well... nobody has got seasick.
0600 PDT Position: 31 20 N, 124 50 W
07:13 AM We made some very good progress over the past day. The wind and seas have been building... but we're not in the trades yet. We've been hitting over 8 knots on a beam reach. We took a more SW route than the other boats because Second Chance doesn't sail as high into the wind as the other boats in light air. We hope to have gained on the fleet last night. Hopefully we'll hit the trades today so that we can launch our spinnaker.
I ate oatmeal and a pickled egg for breakfast. I've been on watch with Randy and Graham. We sailed on a beam to close reach on a course of 240-270 degrees at 6.5-8.3 kts with winds at 9-15 kts. Randy has been doing an excellent job of trimming to maximize our speed. We had 4-6 foot swells and the sky is cloudy with some mist.
Around noon we raised the spinnaker for the first time! We had to take it down after a few minutes due to the heavy seas and bad wind angle. We've been sailing with a single reefed main and 120 Genoa. The boat is behaving nicely and making good speed with this configuration.
Our main out-haul also stopped working to we used the second reef line as an out-haul to flatten the main.
Randy made another great meal of chicken and vegetable stir fry. We have plenty of food and have been enjoying the treats that Bunni, Trish, and others made.
With regards to the weather info that Dave sent, we were already past the coordinates by the time we got his e-mail. I passed on the weather info to Harry. We've been getting the GRIB weather reports daily..
The built-in diesel generator is overheating and will not run for more than a few minutes. We changed the cooling water impeller but that did not fix the problem as hoped. We think the heat exchanger (like a radiator for a car) is clogged and we will be unable to fix it at sea (it needs to be boiled or soaked in acid). The generator was inspected by a mechanic before the race and given a clean bill of health. It turned out to be a little low on oil, had a dirty air filter, was missing its zinc anode, and obviously was not tested at normal operating temperature. A trip like this requires a working generator to keep the batteries changed for running essential equipment such as the refrigeration unit, water maker, navigation lights, navigation instruments, and powerful single side band radio (SSB). We'll have to use the auxiliary engine for charging the batteries. Fortunately we have plenty of fuel.
It remained overcast all afternoon. We're all doing well... nobody has got seasick.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Saturday 09 Jul 2011
Saturday 09 Jul 2011
0600 PDT Position: 30 50 N, 128 18 W
06:45 AM
We had an exciting day yesterday! We've been sailing at 7.5-8.9 kts pretty much on the rhumb line. The sea state is getting rougher with some 12+ foot swells... but the sailing is exciting.
Last night at the end of my watch (12:25 AM), the short in the bow light caught fire above the anchor locker (where Harry was sleeping). Fortunately, the fire went out on its own just as I was heading to it with the fire extinguisher. We almost had an opportunity to make so-mores on the bow. Also, the sailboat "Traveler" was within a mile of our stern. Tom taped some emergency lights to the bow and stern. We'll do a full damage assessment today.
Our watch crews were:
We had more of the same durng the 4:7:00 PM watch. We tried to maintain a course heading of 250 degrees and averaged over 8 kts with 18-25 kts winds and 6-12 foot seas off the starboard quarter. The previous watch removed the reef so we sailed with a full main.
Harry cleared the forward head shower sump drain and traced a water leak from the waste pump out fitting on the deck. I'm concerned about the stress cracks in the inner starboard shroud toggle. With the rough seas and our starboard tack, this toggle is under a lot of strain and it could be catastrophic if it failed. Tom and I are keeping our finders crossed hoping it holds.
Randy made a great dinner of sausage and pepper sandwiches.
0600 PDT Position: 30 50 N, 128 18 W
06:45 AM
We had an exciting day yesterday! We've been sailing at 7.5-8.9 kts pretty much on the rhumb line. The sea state is getting rougher with some 12+ foot swells... but the sailing is exciting.
Last night at the end of my watch (12:25 AM), the short in the bow light caught fire above the anchor locker (where Harry was sleeping). Fortunately, the fire went out on its own just as I was heading to it with the fire extinguisher. We almost had an opportunity to make so-mores on the bow. Also, the sailboat "Traveler" was within a mile of our stern. Tom taped some emergency lights to the bow and stern. We'll do a full damage assessment today.
Our watch crews were:
- Harry (watch captain), Tom, and Phil
- Curt (watch captain), Mary, and Ed
- Randy (watch captain), Graham, and Charlie
We had more of the same durng the 4:7:00 PM watch. We tried to maintain a course heading of 250 degrees and averaged over 8 kts with 18-25 kts winds and 6-12 foot seas off the starboard quarter. The previous watch removed the reef so we sailed with a full main.
Harry cleared the forward head shower sump drain and traced a water leak from the waste pump out fitting on the deck. I'm concerned about the stress cracks in the inner starboard shroud toggle. With the rough seas and our starboard tack, this toggle is under a lot of strain and it could be catastrophic if it failed. Tom and I are keeping our finders crossed hoping it holds.
Randy made a great dinner of sausage and pepper sandwiches.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Sunday 10 Jul 2011
Sunday 10 Jul 2011
Randy, Graham, and I had the 1:00-4:00 AM watch. The sea state and winds remained the same and we sailed on a heading of 250 degrees at 7-8 kts. There was very little moonlight so we maintained our heading based on compass and wind instruments.
0600 PDT Position: 30 20 N, 131 52 W
During our 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM watch the conditions were the same. It was very overcast with little sunlight. We maintained a course of 240-260 degrees at 7-8 kts. At 12:45 we raised the .75 oz spinnaker and furled the No. 2 jib. The spinnaker allowed us to maintain our speed at a lower heading of 190-230 degrees.
Tom noticed that the jib tack was chafing against the bow pulpit at the lifeline turnbuckle. He taped a rag over the chafe point to minimize future chafing.
It's been a wet ride and we're still in our foul weather gear. We hope to see some sunshine soon.
During our 7:00-10:00 PM watch we sailed wing on wing at 240 degrees with the No. 2 jib poled out. Our speed was 6.5-8.2 kts with 1390 MN to Diamond Head at the end of our watch.
Randy, Graham, and I had the 1:00-4:00 AM watch. The sea state and winds remained the same and we sailed on a heading of 250 degrees at 7-8 kts. There was very little moonlight so we maintained our heading based on compass and wind instruments.
0600 PDT Position: 30 20 N, 131 52 W
During our 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM watch the conditions were the same. It was very overcast with little sunlight. We maintained a course of 240-260 degrees at 7-8 kts. At 12:45 we raised the .75 oz spinnaker and furled the No. 2 jib. The spinnaker allowed us to maintain our speed at a lower heading of 190-230 degrees.
Tom noticed that the jib tack was chafing against the bow pulpit at the lifeline turnbuckle. He taped a rag over the chafe point to minimize future chafing.
It's been a wet ride and we're still in our foul weather gear. We hope to see some sunshine soon.
During our 7:00-10:00 PM watch we sailed wing on wing at 240 degrees with the No. 2 jib poled out. Our speed was 6.5-8.2 kts with 1390 MN to Diamond Head at the end of our watch.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Monday 11 Jul 2011
Monday 11 Jul 2011
0600 PDT Position: 29 21 N, 134 53 W
7:40 AM
Randy, Graham, and I just finished our 04:00-07:00 AM watch. We encountered our first bit of light rain. We sailed wing on wing dead down wind all night in medium to light winds at a speed of 4-6 kts. We had 1,328 NM to go at the end of our watch.
We set the .85 oz spinnaker after our watch and it helped increase our speed to 6+ kts. The boat is more calm with the spinnaker and I might try to take my first shower of the trip. Last night Harry's watch encountered a freighter within two miles of us. We're all falling into our routine of three hours on and six hours off. We hope to hit the mid-point of the trip by tomorrow. Although Mary still has a bad cough, nobody has got seasick and we're all doing well. The fractured shroud toggle does not seem to be getting any worse and we think it will make it to the finish. Tom has been inspecting our rigging regularly and doing what he can to minimize any chafe.
6:47 PM
Today was our first day with lots of sunshine! The wind and seas have calmed down... they're not much different than our local waters. We finally got to shed our foul weather gear and sail in shorts and T-shirts. Most of us got to clean up and wear a fresh change of clothes. We've been sailing with the .75 oz spinnaker for most of the day. We're working better as a team when raising and lowering the spinnaker. It's been great sailing at mostly 5-8.6 kts downwind on the "Krumline" (as instructed by Harry Krum... more or less the rhumb line). The water maker and rigging are holding up well and we're using the diesel motor to charge the batteries. We think it may take us a little longer than we originally thought to finish the race, so we're starting to conserve our food.
Randy made a great leftover meal of spaghetti, rice, and hot sausage with Snickers bars for desert. I'm sure we're the best fed boat in the fleet. We're all feeling well with no signs of seasickness.
0600 PDT Position: 29 21 N, 134 53 W
7:40 AM
Randy, Graham, and I just finished our 04:00-07:00 AM watch. We encountered our first bit of light rain. We sailed wing on wing dead down wind all night in medium to light winds at a speed of 4-6 kts. We had 1,328 NM to go at the end of our watch.
We set the .85 oz spinnaker after our watch and it helped increase our speed to 6+ kts. The boat is more calm with the spinnaker and I might try to take my first shower of the trip. Last night Harry's watch encountered a freighter within two miles of us. We're all falling into our routine of three hours on and six hours off. We hope to hit the mid-point of the trip by tomorrow. Although Mary still has a bad cough, nobody has got seasick and we're all doing well. The fractured shroud toggle does not seem to be getting any worse and we think it will make it to the finish. Tom has been inspecting our rigging regularly and doing what he can to minimize any chafe.
6:47 PM
Today was our first day with lots of sunshine! The wind and seas have calmed down... they're not much different than our local waters. We finally got to shed our foul weather gear and sail in shorts and T-shirts. Most of us got to clean up and wear a fresh change of clothes. We've been sailing with the .75 oz spinnaker for most of the day. We're working better as a team when raising and lowering the spinnaker. It's been great sailing at mostly 5-8.6 kts downwind on the "Krumline" (as instructed by Harry Krum... more or less the rhumb line). The water maker and rigging are holding up well and we're using the diesel motor to charge the batteries. We think it may take us a little longer than we originally thought to finish the race, so we're starting to conserve our food.
Randy made a great leftover meal of spaghetti, rice, and hot sausage with Snickers bars for desert. I'm sure we're the best fed boat in the fleet. We're all feeling well with no signs of seasickness.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Tuesday 12 Jul 2011
Tuesday 12 Jul 2011
0600 PDT Position: 28 22 N, 137 29 W
06:00 AM
My 10:00 -1:00 watch last night was great. We sailed with the .75 oz spinnaker and followed the wind as best we could. At times we were sailing at over 8 kts. The moon gave us plenty of light. All you hear at night while sleeping is the water rushing past the hull and the rigging squeaking. As for sleeping arrangements, I'm in the starboard pilot berth using the lee cloth to keep me in, Randy is in the port pilot berth, Phil in the starboard aft cabin berth, Curt & Mary in the port aft cabin, Harry was banished to the bow bunk due to snoring, and Tom, Ed, and Graham share the port or starboard settee berths depending on shifts and availability. Got to go now.
10:17 AM We doused the .75 oz spinnaker and raised the larger .85 oz spinnaker hoping to pick up some speed in the light air. We're still "heading to the barn" on an average heading of 249 degrees. We got a hole in the .75 oz spinnaker and are patching it up. Last night we had a few sprinkles but this morning it's pretty clear and we're out of our foulies again. There are a few squalls on the horizon so it could get wet later. Although we're ahead of a few boats, it looks like we're in last place on corrected time. We hope to close the gap and improve our placing by staying on the krumline. I've got to go now so that we can get an updated GRIB off the SSB.
1:15 PM After eight days and 1,100 miles at sea we finally figured out how to make the CD player work for music on board! With multiple iPhones, Pads, smart phones, etc., we just couldn't figure out how to make the CD that Trish made for us work through the boat's sound system. I guess it wasn't much of a priority for us. Here it is on a beautiful sunny afternoon and I finally decided to make it a priority. We discussed the various possibilities with Phil and he remembered where there was a simple cable to connect the CD player with the stereo. Now we have some music and life is good. Thank you Trish! We were now able to play the well stocked music collection on Curt's iPhone. We're still sailing with the .85 oz spinnaker in light winds and calm seas. This was the bargain used sail Graham got from Minnie's in Newport Beach. It's essentially a brand new spinnaker that's working great for the light to medium winds we've been encountering. Phil and Harry patched the hole in the .75 oz spinnaker for use in super light winds. You'd never know we were in the middle of the ocean. I've rarely seen our local waters as calm as this. The water is a beautiful and clear royal blue. Unfortunately, we've seen lots of plastic trash floating by. One interesting side note is that we've seen a few flying fish and squid jump out of the water (flying squid!). In fact, Mary saw one jump across the boat right in front of her face. We've seen some albatross, and boobies (or something similar). We haven't seen any whales or dolphins in many days. One source of entertainment is Randy spilling his drinks. I don't think he's had a cup of coffee without spilling some of it. We've all learned to move to the other side of the boat when Randy drinks his coffee. 1:30 - Tom climbed the mast to inspect the rigging. Everything looked good except that the spinnaker halyard was jammed on the sheave. I need to ease the halyard a couple of inches when raising it so that it doesn’t jam. While aloft, Tom couldn't see any other boats in sight. 2:40 - The winds got lighter so we doused the .85 oz spinnaker and raised the old .5 oz spinnaker. We immediately gained another knot or two with the lighter sail. Our 4:00-7:00 PM watch was, in my opinion, the best sailing so far. We were sailing with the .5 oz spinnaker at 5-7.4 kts on a direct run to our destination. The sky was clear, the seas calm, the temperature was comfortable, the music was playing, and the steering was effortless. At 7:25 PM we hit the half way point with 1,112 miles to go! To celebrate, Randy prepared a special meal of Balinese roasted port (LeeAnne’s leftovers), mashed potatoes, and green beans with a desert of strawberry shortcake. Harry gathered some cardboard boxes and planned to send them adrift on fire as a token to the sea gods. I fell asleep before the sacrifice was launched, but heard it was good fun.
0600 PDT Position: 28 22 N, 137 29 W
06:00 AM
My 10:00 -1:00 watch last night was great. We sailed with the .75 oz spinnaker and followed the wind as best we could. At times we were sailing at over 8 kts. The moon gave us plenty of light. All you hear at night while sleeping is the water rushing past the hull and the rigging squeaking. As for sleeping arrangements, I'm in the starboard pilot berth using the lee cloth to keep me in, Randy is in the port pilot berth, Phil in the starboard aft cabin berth, Curt & Mary in the port aft cabin, Harry was banished to the bow bunk due to snoring, and Tom, Ed, and Graham share the port or starboard settee berths depending on shifts and availability. Got to go now.
10:17 AM We doused the .75 oz spinnaker and raised the larger .85 oz spinnaker hoping to pick up some speed in the light air. We're still "heading to the barn" on an average heading of 249 degrees. We got a hole in the .75 oz spinnaker and are patching it up. Last night we had a few sprinkles but this morning it's pretty clear and we're out of our foulies again. There are a few squalls on the horizon so it could get wet later. Although we're ahead of a few boats, it looks like we're in last place on corrected time. We hope to close the gap and improve our placing by staying on the krumline. I've got to go now so that we can get an updated GRIB off the SSB.
1:15 PM After eight days and 1,100 miles at sea we finally figured out how to make the CD player work for music on board! With multiple iPhones, Pads, smart phones, etc., we just couldn't figure out how to make the CD that Trish made for us work through the boat's sound system. I guess it wasn't much of a priority for us. Here it is on a beautiful sunny afternoon and I finally decided to make it a priority. We discussed the various possibilities with Phil and he remembered where there was a simple cable to connect the CD player with the stereo. Now we have some music and life is good. Thank you Trish! We were now able to play the well stocked music collection on Curt's iPhone. We're still sailing with the .85 oz spinnaker in light winds and calm seas. This was the bargain used sail Graham got from Minnie's in Newport Beach. It's essentially a brand new spinnaker that's working great for the light to medium winds we've been encountering. Phil and Harry patched the hole in the .75 oz spinnaker for use in super light winds. You'd never know we were in the middle of the ocean. I've rarely seen our local waters as calm as this. The water is a beautiful and clear royal blue. Unfortunately, we've seen lots of plastic trash floating by. One interesting side note is that we've seen a few flying fish and squid jump out of the water (flying squid!). In fact, Mary saw one jump across the boat right in front of her face. We've seen some albatross, and boobies (or something similar). We haven't seen any whales or dolphins in many days. One source of entertainment is Randy spilling his drinks. I don't think he's had a cup of coffee without spilling some of it. We've all learned to move to the other side of the boat when Randy drinks his coffee. 1:30 - Tom climbed the mast to inspect the rigging. Everything looked good except that the spinnaker halyard was jammed on the sheave. I need to ease the halyard a couple of inches when raising it so that it doesn’t jam. While aloft, Tom couldn't see any other boats in sight. 2:40 - The winds got lighter so we doused the .85 oz spinnaker and raised the old .5 oz spinnaker. We immediately gained another knot or two with the lighter sail. Our 4:00-7:00 PM watch was, in my opinion, the best sailing so far. We were sailing with the .5 oz spinnaker at 5-7.4 kts on a direct run to our destination. The sky was clear, the seas calm, the temperature was comfortable, the music was playing, and the steering was effortless. At 7:25 PM we hit the half way point with 1,112 miles to go! To celebrate, Randy prepared a special meal of Balinese roasted port (LeeAnne’s leftovers), mashed potatoes, and green beans with a desert of strawberry shortcake. Harry gathered some cardboard boxes and planned to send them adrift on fire as a token to the sea gods. I fell asleep before the sacrifice was launched, but heard it was good fun.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Wednesday 13 Jul 2011
Wednesday 13 Jul 2011
0600 PDT Position: 27 52 N, 140 06 W
09:15 AM
Last night we had some very good conditions with warm steady winds and relatively calm seas. One problem is that the three watches are not on the same page in terms of our strategy. Randy, Graham, and I have been trying to sail as fast as we can on the rhumb line to Diamond Head. Doing so means that we have to sacrifice some speed for better velocity made good (VMG) and constantly adjust the sails. Randy is a great sail trimmer so this works well for us. One of the other watches seems to be heading much higher up to maximize the boat speed and minimize the sail trimming. And the other watch seems to be splitting the difference. Up to now it hasn't been too much of a problem since the long distance to our destination allows for much adjustment. Unfortunately, now that we're getting closer to our destination, deviating from a course requires more adjustment for the other watches and we can only head so far down wind before we'll have to jibe. For example, the rhumb line has been 248-249 degrees for most of the trip but now it's 234 degrees. Unless Hawaii moved South overnight, we sailed much higher than planned. This inconsistent approach has probably hurt our overall progress. It will be interesting to see our course on the YellowBrick transponder map. We'll need to have a team meeting today to get us on the same page. One of the fast boats with a huge red asym spinnaker just past us [turned out to be the Disney boat, Pyewacket].
~11:00 AM
The big race boat with the red spinnaker quickly overtook us and dropped below the horizon jibing as needed to maximize their speed. It's amazing how fast those race sleds can go in relatively light wind. According to the daily position report we moved up to 5th place ahead of Hassle and Traveler based on corrected time. This morning we pulled another GRIB (weather forecast) and got agreement on our strategy based on the forecast. We think we have a good chance of gaining on the other boats based on our interpretation of the GRIB. We'll maximize our VMG for the next few days and probably need to jibe as we approach Hawaii. The seas have increased slightly and we had good wind up to about 12:30 PM. Randy, Graham, and I made 19 nm towards our the finish during our 10:00-1:00 PM watch. At 1:00 PM we only had 1001 nm to go! It's getting considerably warmer and we need to drink more fluids. Yesterday we ran out of beer so now we're just drinking water from the water maker (sometimes cut with Gatoraide powder). 3:41 PM We still don't have real navigation lights (just a couple of flashlights taped to the pulpits) so we need to keep a close lookout at night. We had a crew meeting, gained agreement on our strategy, and seem to be following it well. The "trades" are not as consistent or as strong as I expected them to be. I don't know if this typical or not. An hour ago we hit some very light air... but it looks like the others in our fleet have it as bad, if not worse. We're now at 989 nm from the barn and traveling west at 5.5 kts. It's a long race and a lot can change in the remaining days. 10:00 PM
We encountered lots of light air in the afternoon. Curt, Mary, and Ed were poking along listening to Ed's cowboy music and enjoying the warm weather. We changed the music to Tom's Rolling Stones and Jazz mix during my 7:00 PM watch and the winds almost immediately picked up a couple of knots. We continued sailing the .5 oz spinnaker towards the West at 6.5-7.5 kts and made 16 nm progress towards Diamond Head during our watch (now only 955 miles away). We had an amazing sail into the sunset with an almost full moon over our shoulders. The sky above was clear but there were clouds all around us for an amazing sunset. We had a great dinner of chicken vegetable stir fry with rice.
0600 PDT Position: 27 52 N, 140 06 W
09:15 AM
Last night we had some very good conditions with warm steady winds and relatively calm seas. One problem is that the three watches are not on the same page in terms of our strategy. Randy, Graham, and I have been trying to sail as fast as we can on the rhumb line to Diamond Head. Doing so means that we have to sacrifice some speed for better velocity made good (VMG) and constantly adjust the sails. Randy is a great sail trimmer so this works well for us. One of the other watches seems to be heading much higher up to maximize the boat speed and minimize the sail trimming. And the other watch seems to be splitting the difference. Up to now it hasn't been too much of a problem since the long distance to our destination allows for much adjustment. Unfortunately, now that we're getting closer to our destination, deviating from a course requires more adjustment for the other watches and we can only head so far down wind before we'll have to jibe. For example, the rhumb line has been 248-249 degrees for most of the trip but now it's 234 degrees. Unless Hawaii moved South overnight, we sailed much higher than planned. This inconsistent approach has probably hurt our overall progress. It will be interesting to see our course on the YellowBrick transponder map. We'll need to have a team meeting today to get us on the same page. One of the fast boats with a huge red asym spinnaker just past us [turned out to be the Disney boat, Pyewacket].
~11:00 AM
The big race boat with the red spinnaker quickly overtook us and dropped below the horizon jibing as needed to maximize their speed. It's amazing how fast those race sleds can go in relatively light wind. According to the daily position report we moved up to 5th place ahead of Hassle and Traveler based on corrected time. This morning we pulled another GRIB (weather forecast) and got agreement on our strategy based on the forecast. We think we have a good chance of gaining on the other boats based on our interpretation of the GRIB. We'll maximize our VMG for the next few days and probably need to jibe as we approach Hawaii. The seas have increased slightly and we had good wind up to about 12:30 PM. Randy, Graham, and I made 19 nm towards our the finish during our 10:00-1:00 PM watch. At 1:00 PM we only had 1001 nm to go! It's getting considerably warmer and we need to drink more fluids. Yesterday we ran out of beer so now we're just drinking water from the water maker (sometimes cut with Gatoraide powder). 3:41 PM We still don't have real navigation lights (just a couple of flashlights taped to the pulpits) so we need to keep a close lookout at night. We had a crew meeting, gained agreement on our strategy, and seem to be following it well. The "trades" are not as consistent or as strong as I expected them to be. I don't know if this typical or not. An hour ago we hit some very light air... but it looks like the others in our fleet have it as bad, if not worse. We're now at 989 nm from the barn and traveling west at 5.5 kts. It's a long race and a lot can change in the remaining days. 10:00 PM
We encountered lots of light air in the afternoon. Curt, Mary, and Ed were poking along listening to Ed's cowboy music and enjoying the warm weather. We changed the music to Tom's Rolling Stones and Jazz mix during my 7:00 PM watch and the winds almost immediately picked up a couple of knots. We continued sailing the .5 oz spinnaker towards the West at 6.5-7.5 kts and made 16 nm progress towards Diamond Head during our watch (now only 955 miles away). We had an amazing sail into the sunset with an almost full moon over our shoulders. The sky above was clear but there were clouds all around us for an amazing sunset. We had a great dinner of chicken vegetable stir fry with rice.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Thursday 14 Jul 2011
Thursday 14 Jul 2011
4:00 AM
I'm just about to start my 4:00 AM watch. Curt, Mary, and Ed had a great watch with stronger wind and have been sailing in the 7.5 - 8+ knot range. We now only have 915 nm to go. There's a full moon and clear sky so the visibility is great. We should be able to make up some good time this morning and will probably raise the heavier sail when the sun rises. 0600 PDT Position: 27 48 N, 142 59 W
4:05 PM We've had a pretty crazy day. This morning we had steady winds and made very good progress. It got a bit lighter around lunchtime and we had to work hard to maximize our VMG. Curt refined his technique of heading up wind to build speed and then rounding down towards a more favorable heading while riding the swells. His surfing experience sure paid off!
During our watch in the afternoon we got hit with a couple of squalls that brought light rain and stronger wind. The first squall hit us by surprise since we were busy yaking in the previously light and boring conditions. Fortunately, the stronger winds helped us drive more south towards our destination at 8+ kts. The second squall hit us at about 3:00 and we were able to run with it for almost an hour. The wind direction fluctuated dramatically during the squalls and required constant focus to keep the spinnaker full and pulling downwind. We sailed all day with our light .5 oz spinnaker and are amazed that it's held together so well. We had 851 nm to Diamond Head at the end of our shift at 4:00. This should help us maintain or improve our position with the fleet. During our watch, Harry and Tom fixed the clogged sump drain in the forward head... so we can take showers again. Also, Tom found a bag of real coffee onboard and made a "cowboy" coffee maker by poking holes in an empty Tecate beer can. It was the first fresh brewed coffee of the trip and the crew enjoyed it. We finally figured out why we saw squid flying out of the water. Every few days Harry tosses his old soiled cotton underwear overboard. It seems that his underwear makes the squid fly out of the water within a 1/4 mile. Perhaps this could be a new form of sport fishing!
6:15 PM
The winds picked up so we just doused the .5 oz spinnaker and raised the heavier .75 oz spinnaker. It was the most exciting and difficult sail change so far due to the strong winds and seas. The boat was rocking from side to side while plowing along at over 9 kts. Tom was on the bow and I was at the mast where the rocking was most pronounced and the jib clew was slapping inches from our heads. I lost my right shoe while retrieving the spinnaker halyard. I guess I need to buy new shoes in Hawaii. Hopefully this will be our last sail change for the evening.
8:15 PM With the winds blowing over 24 kts and large confused seas we were sailing downwind at over 11 kts. As Tom went to inspect some new rips in the spinnaker, the bow plowed underwater abruptly slowing the boat which caused the old .75 oz spinnaker to shred to pieces. Harry called the crew to battle stations since some of us were resting in preparation for a rough night. We quickly unfurled the #2 jib and lowered what remained of the spinnaker. We stowed the spinnaker pole, reefed the main sail, and tacked (aka a chicken jibe) to the other board for a more southerly heading. It was a very dramatic sail change due to the rough conditions and urgency caused by the damaged sail. Tom almost went overboard during the event - fortunately he was wearing his harness and clipped in. We're now doing 7.5-8.5 kts on our new southerly course. It's a very rocky ride due to the confused seas. We'll probably stay on this heading until morning. We're eating snacks (e.g. nuts, crackers, beef jerky, candy) for dinner tonight since the ride is too rocky to use the stove. I'm going to try to get a few minutes rest before my watch starts at 10:00 PM. 10:00 PM - 1:00 AM This watch was wild! We continued on our southerly tack with reefed main and #2 jib. The winds were blowing in excess of 25 kts over our port quarter. The seas were high and confused with swells from the north and east. When the swells converged they were well above my head at the helm (which is over 10' above the water). The helmsman required constant focus to keep the boat from broaching while surfing down the larger sells. It was like white water rafting in a 44' keelboat. We were sailing between 7.5 and 9.5 kts. During our watch we got hit by multiple rain squalls. The pelting rain and dark clouds made it difficult to see. The boat was being tossed about like a toy in a pool with objects flying about. Curt got banged in the face while in his aft bunk and the others had difficulty sleeping even though they were exhausted. I would have hove to if we were not racing. Fortunately the rain was relatively warm and the boat's steering was controllable. One hour turns at the helm left us each exhausted. There was a full moon which produced and amazing full moonbow (a rainbow created by light from the moon) off our starboard quarter. This was among the most memorable sailing moments of my life.
4:00 AM
I'm just about to start my 4:00 AM watch. Curt, Mary, and Ed had a great watch with stronger wind and have been sailing in the 7.5 - 8+ knot range. We now only have 915 nm to go. There's a full moon and clear sky so the visibility is great. We should be able to make up some good time this morning and will probably raise the heavier sail when the sun rises. 0600 PDT Position: 27 48 N, 142 59 W
4:05 PM We've had a pretty crazy day. This morning we had steady winds and made very good progress. It got a bit lighter around lunchtime and we had to work hard to maximize our VMG. Curt refined his technique of heading up wind to build speed and then rounding down towards a more favorable heading while riding the swells. His surfing experience sure paid off!
During our watch in the afternoon we got hit with a couple of squalls that brought light rain and stronger wind. The first squall hit us by surprise since we were busy yaking in the previously light and boring conditions. Fortunately, the stronger winds helped us drive more south towards our destination at 8+ kts. The second squall hit us at about 3:00 and we were able to run with it for almost an hour. The wind direction fluctuated dramatically during the squalls and required constant focus to keep the spinnaker full and pulling downwind. We sailed all day with our light .5 oz spinnaker and are amazed that it's held together so well. We had 851 nm to Diamond Head at the end of our shift at 4:00. This should help us maintain or improve our position with the fleet. During our watch, Harry and Tom fixed the clogged sump drain in the forward head... so we can take showers again. Also, Tom found a bag of real coffee onboard and made a "cowboy" coffee maker by poking holes in an empty Tecate beer can. It was the first fresh brewed coffee of the trip and the crew enjoyed it. We finally figured out why we saw squid flying out of the water. Every few days Harry tosses his old soiled cotton underwear overboard. It seems that his underwear makes the squid fly out of the water within a 1/4 mile. Perhaps this could be a new form of sport fishing!
6:15 PM
The winds picked up so we just doused the .5 oz spinnaker and raised the heavier .75 oz spinnaker. It was the most exciting and difficult sail change so far due to the strong winds and seas. The boat was rocking from side to side while plowing along at over 9 kts. Tom was on the bow and I was at the mast where the rocking was most pronounced and the jib clew was slapping inches from our heads. I lost my right shoe while retrieving the spinnaker halyard. I guess I need to buy new shoes in Hawaii. Hopefully this will be our last sail change for the evening.
8:15 PM With the winds blowing over 24 kts and large confused seas we were sailing downwind at over 11 kts. As Tom went to inspect some new rips in the spinnaker, the bow plowed underwater abruptly slowing the boat which caused the old .75 oz spinnaker to shred to pieces. Harry called the crew to battle stations since some of us were resting in preparation for a rough night. We quickly unfurled the #2 jib and lowered what remained of the spinnaker. We stowed the spinnaker pole, reefed the main sail, and tacked (aka a chicken jibe) to the other board for a more southerly heading. It was a very dramatic sail change due to the rough conditions and urgency caused by the damaged sail. Tom almost went overboard during the event - fortunately he was wearing his harness and clipped in. We're now doing 7.5-8.5 kts on our new southerly course. It's a very rocky ride due to the confused seas. We'll probably stay on this heading until morning. We're eating snacks (e.g. nuts, crackers, beef jerky, candy) for dinner tonight since the ride is too rocky to use the stove. I'm going to try to get a few minutes rest before my watch starts at 10:00 PM. 10:00 PM - 1:00 AM This watch was wild! We continued on our southerly tack with reefed main and #2 jib. The winds were blowing in excess of 25 kts over our port quarter. The seas were high and confused with swells from the north and east. When the swells converged they were well above my head at the helm (which is over 10' above the water). The helmsman required constant focus to keep the boat from broaching while surfing down the larger sells. It was like white water rafting in a 44' keelboat. We were sailing between 7.5 and 9.5 kts. During our watch we got hit by multiple rain squalls. The pelting rain and dark clouds made it difficult to see. The boat was being tossed about like a toy in a pool with objects flying about. Curt got banged in the face while in his aft bunk and the others had difficulty sleeping even though they were exhausted. I would have hove to if we were not racing. Fortunately the rain was relatively warm and the boat's steering was controllable. One hour turns at the helm left us each exhausted. There was a full moon which produced and amazing full moonbow (a rainbow created by light from the moon) off our starboard quarter. This was among the most memorable sailing moments of my life.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Friday 15 Jul 2011
Friday 15 Jul 2011
0600 PDT Position: 25 43 N, 145 14 W
10:32 AM Randy, Graham, and I just finished our 7:00-10:00 morning watch. It was pretty much the same as last night with multiple rain squalls, large confused seas, winds hovering around 20-25 kts and gusting over 30. We're still sailing on a port tack heading of 210-220 degrees at 7-8 kts which is taking us closer to our destination. Diamond Head is now only 735 miles away.
According to the daily position report we are in 5th place and clocked the 2nd greatest distance yesterday. The seas have grown a bit and it's still very rocky down below. Curt's face is badly cut and bruised from being thrown out of his aft cabin bunk last night (presumably by the heavy seas and not Mary). Randy is going through our provisions to ensure we have sufficient food for the rest of the trip. The watches are exhausting and we're trying to get some food and rest for what looks like will be a rough day. Everyone seems to be in good spirits and doing well. We all look forward to arriving in Hawaii early next week. 7:45 PM The skies cleared up mid-day and we had some welcome sunshine for the rest of the day. The sea state remained pretty consistent so we continued on our port tack at a rate of 7.5-8.5 kts. We now have 676 nm to go!
For lunch I made the mistake of eating my first Pop-Tart in about 45 years. I immediately felt ill and had to sit in the cockpit to avoid throwing up. At about 6:30 PM another fast boat with a red spinnaker passed our stern about 1 mile or so away. Randy made a nice warm dinner of rice and beans. It's going to be a rocky night due to the high seas but we should make some good progress by morning.
0600 PDT Position: 25 43 N, 145 14 W
10:32 AM Randy, Graham, and I just finished our 7:00-10:00 morning watch. It was pretty much the same as last night with multiple rain squalls, large confused seas, winds hovering around 20-25 kts and gusting over 30. We're still sailing on a port tack heading of 210-220 degrees at 7-8 kts which is taking us closer to our destination. Diamond Head is now only 735 miles away.
According to the daily position report we are in 5th place and clocked the 2nd greatest distance yesterday. The seas have grown a bit and it's still very rocky down below. Curt's face is badly cut and bruised from being thrown out of his aft cabin bunk last night (presumably by the heavy seas and not Mary). Randy is going through our provisions to ensure we have sufficient food for the rest of the trip. The watches are exhausting and we're trying to get some food and rest for what looks like will be a rough day. Everyone seems to be in good spirits and doing well. We all look forward to arriving in Hawaii early next week. 7:45 PM The skies cleared up mid-day and we had some welcome sunshine for the rest of the day. The sea state remained pretty consistent so we continued on our port tack at a rate of 7.5-8.5 kts. We now have 676 nm to go!
For lunch I made the mistake of eating my first Pop-Tart in about 45 years. I immediately felt ill and had to sit in the cockpit to avoid throwing up. At about 6:30 PM another fast boat with a red spinnaker passed our stern about 1 mile or so away. Randy made a nice warm dinner of rice and beans. It's going to be a rocky night due to the high seas but we should make some good progress by morning.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Saturday 16 Jul 2011 - Knockdowns!
Saturday 16 Jul 2011
0600 PDT Position: 25 00 N, 147 41 W
At 8:00 PM last night we did a chicken jibe for a better heading to Diamond Head. The change was a bit hectic, but we settled on a starboard tack wing on wing with the #2 jib poled out to windward. This configuration allowed us to sail at about 240 degrees and our mark was 236. With winds in the teens gusting to over 20 and big seas, we quickly started making good time. Down below in the cabin it was a different story. Every time a confused swell hit us the wrong way or the helmsman lost focus, the sails would flail violently, the spinnaker pole would slam, and the rigging would complain. The boat moaned and groaned, things banged about, objects flew across the boat making sleep impossible. I was convinced that the rigging was going to implode. Instead of sleeping I spent the next five hours planning my escape for when the mast came crashing down. It turned out that everything was fine. I've just never been in the cabin below the rigging while sailing downwind wing on wing in rough seas. Above deck the sailing was rather smooth and we made good progress at 7.5-8.9 kts.
3:18 PM
Sorry for the lack of updates. The sea conditions were very rough yesterday making it difficult to use the computer and I felt a bit ill this morning. Yesterday we thought that we made pretty good progress. We were able to sail at 7.5-8.9 knots most of the day due to the strong winds and following seas. Although we were not sailing directly to Diamond Head, we thought that the heading was close enough to gain on the fleet. Consequently, we were disappointed to see that we fell to 6th place based on the daily position report. Last night we saw a boat pass a few miles behind us with its red spinnaker flying on a more direct course. That was probably Traveler. We felt that the seas and winds were too rough to fly the spinnaker at night and opted for the slower but more controllable wing on wing configuration. Unfortunately, the winds frequently shifted along with the squalls and they were often in a less favorable direction. This morning just after 10:00 we hoisted the large .85 oz spinnaker on a port tack and furled the jib. This allowed us to sail a little closer to the rhumb line. We sailed on a heading of 216 degrees at 6.8-7.9 kts and 542 nm to Diamond Head. There's still time for us to gain on the others and improve our standing. I started feeling nauseous just after we set the spinnaker. I haven't worn the patch for over a week and don't know why I was feeling so bad. I put on a patch, sat out my watch looking at the horizon, drank lots of water, and am now feeling better. I might have been dehydrated from all of the activity while raising the spinnaker in the rough seas barefoot. I hope I'm not getting that terrible bug that Mary's had. I should be OK by my next watch.
10:00 PM
Shortly before our 7:00 PM watch, we experienced a broach with Curt at the helm! We were flying the .85 oz spinnaker on a port tack when a squall hit us. The combination of a large swell and high winds caused the boat to round up and broach. Curt was unable to steer the boat down wind and it rolled to its side. Mary and Ed were in the cockpit and the remaining crew were down below resting or getting ready for dinner. Water poured in the bow hatch and doused Harry. Tom quickly donned his life preserver and jumped up in the cockpit to help ease the pressure on the sail and return the boat to the upright position. As the others got on the deck we were able to get the spinnaker back under control. Fortunately nobody went overboard or got hurt and Randy was able to salvage the beef Stroganoff dinner he was preparing. Since the squall past as quickly as it hit, we continued on our way only with a bit more adrenalin pumping through our veins. About an hour later while Graham was at the helm and I was trimming the spinnaker, we saw another nasty looking squall approaching. We reported it to Harry and he told us to carry on. Graham did a remarkable job keeping the boat downwind as the squall hit us. Then another combination of cyclonic wind and violent swell caused the boat to round down. I eased the spinnaker sheet as instructed in the previous incident but the sail continued to pull the boat down. We had a complete knockdown with the boom in the water. As before, Tom and others came up from the cabin to help. Harry gave the order to pull out the furled jib and douse the spinnaker. Unfortunately, the spinnaker got wrapped around the headstay and the jib furler line was knotted. Tom used his knife to cut away a line that fouled up on the bow. The spinnaker sheets and guys were trailing in the water behind us as Harry and I tried to retrieve them. I pulled one set aboard but the other set was lost. Randy freed the furling line and pulled out the jib. Tom unwrapped the spinnaker and we pulled it into the cabin. I helped Tom lower and stow the spinnaker pole, secure the halyards, guys, topping lift, etc. Again, nobody fell overboard and nobody got injured. The amazing thing is that the spinnaker did not get damaged. We let the squall pass and then raised the spinnaker again and furled the jib. Randy, Graham, and I finished our watch at 10:00 sailing at 8+ kts on a course of 215 degrees and with 500 nm to go! At 10:30 PM, the sea state was building to the point where the boat was getting difficult to control. Consequently, Harry gave the all hands call to unfurl the jib and douse the spinnaker. We unfurled the jib smoothly. Unfortunately, while lowering the spinnaker we lost hold the the sheet and had difficulty pulling it into the cockpit. The spinnaker fell in the water and got ripped on an unprotected lifeline fastener circlip while retrieving it. This was our nicest spinnaker and we hoped that it could be repaired. Harry then asked us to pole the jib out to windward in a wing on wing setup. Tom managed the bow, I managed the pole, and Curt, Mary, Graham, and Randy managed the foreguy, topping lift, and sheets. After some difficulty due to the darkness, we finally got the pole and jib setup for a nice downwind heading towards Diamond Head at a speed of 6.5-7.5 kts with 493 nm to go. Hopefully this will be the last of our excitement for today.
0600 PDT Position: 25 00 N, 147 41 W
At 8:00 PM last night we did a chicken jibe for a better heading to Diamond Head. The change was a bit hectic, but we settled on a starboard tack wing on wing with the #2 jib poled out to windward. This configuration allowed us to sail at about 240 degrees and our mark was 236. With winds in the teens gusting to over 20 and big seas, we quickly started making good time. Down below in the cabin it was a different story. Every time a confused swell hit us the wrong way or the helmsman lost focus, the sails would flail violently, the spinnaker pole would slam, and the rigging would complain. The boat moaned and groaned, things banged about, objects flew across the boat making sleep impossible. I was convinced that the rigging was going to implode. Instead of sleeping I spent the next five hours planning my escape for when the mast came crashing down. It turned out that everything was fine. I've just never been in the cabin below the rigging while sailing downwind wing on wing in rough seas. Above deck the sailing was rather smooth and we made good progress at 7.5-8.9 kts.
3:18 PM
Sorry for the lack of updates. The sea conditions were very rough yesterday making it difficult to use the computer and I felt a bit ill this morning. Yesterday we thought that we made pretty good progress. We were able to sail at 7.5-8.9 knots most of the day due to the strong winds and following seas. Although we were not sailing directly to Diamond Head, we thought that the heading was close enough to gain on the fleet. Consequently, we were disappointed to see that we fell to 6th place based on the daily position report. Last night we saw a boat pass a few miles behind us with its red spinnaker flying on a more direct course. That was probably Traveler. We felt that the seas and winds were too rough to fly the spinnaker at night and opted for the slower but more controllable wing on wing configuration. Unfortunately, the winds frequently shifted along with the squalls and they were often in a less favorable direction. This morning just after 10:00 we hoisted the large .85 oz spinnaker on a port tack and furled the jib. This allowed us to sail a little closer to the rhumb line. We sailed on a heading of 216 degrees at 6.8-7.9 kts and 542 nm to Diamond Head. There's still time for us to gain on the others and improve our standing. I started feeling nauseous just after we set the spinnaker. I haven't worn the patch for over a week and don't know why I was feeling so bad. I put on a patch, sat out my watch looking at the horizon, drank lots of water, and am now feeling better. I might have been dehydrated from all of the activity while raising the spinnaker in the rough seas barefoot. I hope I'm not getting that terrible bug that Mary's had. I should be OK by my next watch.
10:00 PM
Shortly before our 7:00 PM watch, we experienced a broach with Curt at the helm! We were flying the .85 oz spinnaker on a port tack when a squall hit us. The combination of a large swell and high winds caused the boat to round up and broach. Curt was unable to steer the boat down wind and it rolled to its side. Mary and Ed were in the cockpit and the remaining crew were down below resting or getting ready for dinner. Water poured in the bow hatch and doused Harry. Tom quickly donned his life preserver and jumped up in the cockpit to help ease the pressure on the sail and return the boat to the upright position. As the others got on the deck we were able to get the spinnaker back under control. Fortunately nobody went overboard or got hurt and Randy was able to salvage the beef Stroganoff dinner he was preparing. Since the squall past as quickly as it hit, we continued on our way only with a bit more adrenalin pumping through our veins. About an hour later while Graham was at the helm and I was trimming the spinnaker, we saw another nasty looking squall approaching. We reported it to Harry and he told us to carry on. Graham did a remarkable job keeping the boat downwind as the squall hit us. Then another combination of cyclonic wind and violent swell caused the boat to round down. I eased the spinnaker sheet as instructed in the previous incident but the sail continued to pull the boat down. We had a complete knockdown with the boom in the water. As before, Tom and others came up from the cabin to help. Harry gave the order to pull out the furled jib and douse the spinnaker. Unfortunately, the spinnaker got wrapped around the headstay and the jib furler line was knotted. Tom used his knife to cut away a line that fouled up on the bow. The spinnaker sheets and guys were trailing in the water behind us as Harry and I tried to retrieve them. I pulled one set aboard but the other set was lost. Randy freed the furling line and pulled out the jib. Tom unwrapped the spinnaker and we pulled it into the cabin. I helped Tom lower and stow the spinnaker pole, secure the halyards, guys, topping lift, etc. Again, nobody fell overboard and nobody got injured. The amazing thing is that the spinnaker did not get damaged. We let the squall pass and then raised the spinnaker again and furled the jib. Randy, Graham, and I finished our watch at 10:00 sailing at 8+ kts on a course of 215 degrees and with 500 nm to go! At 10:30 PM, the sea state was building to the point where the boat was getting difficult to control. Consequently, Harry gave the all hands call to unfurl the jib and douse the spinnaker. We unfurled the jib smoothly. Unfortunately, while lowering the spinnaker we lost hold the the sheet and had difficulty pulling it into the cockpit. The spinnaker fell in the water and got ripped on an unprotected lifeline fastener circlip while retrieving it. This was our nicest spinnaker and we hoped that it could be repaired. Harry then asked us to pole the jib out to windward in a wing on wing setup. Tom managed the bow, I managed the pole, and Curt, Mary, Graham, and Randy managed the foreguy, topping lift, and sheets. After some difficulty due to the darkness, we finally got the pole and jib setup for a nice downwind heading towards Diamond Head at a speed of 6.5-7.5 kts with 493 nm to go. Hopefully this will be the last of our excitement for today.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Sunday 17 Jul 2011
Sunday 17 Jul 2011
0600 PDT Position: 23 24 N, 150 11 W
Randy, Graham, and I just finished our 4:00-7:00 AM watch. We got hit by another rain squall with winds gusting over 30 kts. The wing on wing configuration handled the conditions well. It takes a Zen like focus to keep the boat in the optimal groove to stay on course and minimize the rolling. It usually takes the helmsman 10 minutes or so to settle into the groove. We finished our watch with a direct course to Diamond Head traveling at 7.5-8.5 kts with winds of 15-20 kts and 435 nm to go. There's a bright moon and the skies behind us seem relatively clear. As for the boat systems, the water maker is working well and we're charging the batteries for a couple of hours each day. We're able to transmit these e-mails via our single side band radio by connecting with stations in Friday Harbor, WA, San Luis Obisbo, CA, Watsonville, CA, or Hawaii. Connecting to a station is kind of a trial and error process helped a bit by the propagation tables. We haven't been able to fix the short in the navigation lights so we're using flashlights taped to the bow and stern along with the masthead light. We don't see any other boats but expect to start seeing some as we converge on Diamond Head. We'll inspect the ripped .85 oz spinnaker today to see if it can be repaired for use. We may be able to continue sailing wing on wing or use the light .5 oz spinnaker if the winds lighten up.
4:00 pm Randy, Graham, and I just finished our 1:00-4:00 PM shift. It's pretty much the same as before in that we're on a port tack wing on wing with the #2 jib poled out to windward. We're on a heading very close to Diamond Head traveling at 6.5-8.5 kts with 373 miles to go. The wind has been blowing strong at 15-30 kts all day. The seas have increased and are still very confused since they’re coming from two different directions. We all seem to be adapting well to the rocky ride. We hit a strong rain squall earlier this morning during Curt's watch. We furled the jib and reefed the main in preparation of the squall. The warm rain was refreshing for the crew working on the sail change. We went back to full sail after the squall passed. Randy is taking a look at the ripped .85 oz spinnaker to see if we can repair it. We're all trying to estimate when we'll arrive at Diamond Head.
0600 PDT Position: 23 24 N, 150 11 W
Randy, Graham, and I just finished our 4:00-7:00 AM watch. We got hit by another rain squall with winds gusting over 30 kts. The wing on wing configuration handled the conditions well. It takes a Zen like focus to keep the boat in the optimal groove to stay on course and minimize the rolling. It usually takes the helmsman 10 minutes or so to settle into the groove. We finished our watch with a direct course to Diamond Head traveling at 7.5-8.5 kts with winds of 15-20 kts and 435 nm to go. There's a bright moon and the skies behind us seem relatively clear. As for the boat systems, the water maker is working well and we're charging the batteries for a couple of hours each day. We're able to transmit these e-mails via our single side band radio by connecting with stations in Friday Harbor, WA, San Luis Obisbo, CA, Watsonville, CA, or Hawaii. Connecting to a station is kind of a trial and error process helped a bit by the propagation tables. We haven't been able to fix the short in the navigation lights so we're using flashlights taped to the bow and stern along with the masthead light. We don't see any other boats but expect to start seeing some as we converge on Diamond Head. We'll inspect the ripped .85 oz spinnaker today to see if it can be repaired for use. We may be able to continue sailing wing on wing or use the light .5 oz spinnaker if the winds lighten up.
4:00 pm Randy, Graham, and I just finished our 1:00-4:00 PM shift. It's pretty much the same as before in that we're on a port tack wing on wing with the #2 jib poled out to windward. We're on a heading very close to Diamond Head traveling at 6.5-8.5 kts with 373 miles to go. The wind has been blowing strong at 15-30 kts all day. The seas have increased and are still very confused since they’re coming from two different directions. We all seem to be adapting well to the rocky ride. We hit a strong rain squall earlier this morning during Curt's watch. We furled the jib and reefed the main in preparation of the squall. The warm rain was refreshing for the crew working on the sail change. We went back to full sail after the squall passed. Randy is taking a look at the ripped .85 oz spinnaker to see if we can repair it. We're all trying to estimate when we'll arrive at Diamond Head.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Monday 18 Jul 2011
Monday 18 Jul 2011
0600 PDT Position is: 22 02 N, 153 02 W
10:00 AM
Randy, Graham, and I just finished our 7:00-10:00 AM watch with 240 nm to go. We've been sailing using the same wing on wing configuration all night. We're still on a port tack at a heading of 220-240 degrees depending on the wind shifts. We've been sailing at 7-8 kts with winds in the 15-25 kt range. We're a little off course at the moment; however, we expect a favorable wind shift as we get closer to Hawaii. It looks like we have some more squalls bearing down on us so we're preparing to reduce sail. Although the seas are still rough and confused and throw the boat around, some of us really like sailing in thee conditions. Constant focus is required at the helm to prevent the sails from flogging badly (which places stress on the rigging) and pitching her about when the swells hit her beam. We still have some good moonlight to help identify the larger swells before they break on us. If we time the swells just right we can surf down them to gain speed and have some fun. Randy really likes surfing this 44' long board. This morning we had both a bright moon and saw the sun rise. It really looks beautiful with the clouds glowing in various colors. Other than some flying fish and sea birds, we haven't seen much in the way of marine life. We still have sufficient food, water, and fuel to finish the race. We're all very much looking forward to arriving in Hawaii... hopefully by tomorrow evening.
2:30 PM
As for our course to Diamond Head... over the past several days the wind direction has caused us to fall below our destination by 10-30 degrees depending on shifts. Also, the swells are hitting us from a couple of directions which cause us to drift off course. And finally, some of the crew focus more on maximizing speed or comfort (less rocking) over maintaining a sharp heading. For example, on my watch, Graham and I tend to sail as close to our waypoint bearing as possible which can reduce our speed yet Randy likes surfing the swells to maximize speed (which can increase our distance to the waypoint). Another watch tends to steer fast but more erratically due to heavy conversations. And finally, the high winds and conflicting seas make it very difficult for anyone to steer an straight line. Consequently, sailing a direct course usually means trying your best average out at the desired heading with 10+ degree swings on both sides. At 2:30 PM we are 212 nm from Diamond Head traveling at 7-8 kts in 15-25 kts winds and 4-12 foot swells. Our GPS says we have 28 hours to go... but most of us think we'll arrive tomorrow evening. We decided to jibe for a more favorable tack during my 6:00 PM turn at the helm. The jibe went smoothly and we were able to sail on a very direct heading while maintaining 7-8.5 kt boat speed. We initially kept the jib poled out to the leeward side. After a few minutes we decided to pole the jib out to windward since it was being bl
anketed by the main sail. The pole switch also went smoothly since we are doing a better job of communicating and working as a team. At 7:30 PM we have 174 nm and 21 hours to Diamond Head. Randy is making what smells like a great meal of spaghetti and meatballs. We've been having difficulty getting good connections to the various SailMail stations via the single side band radio. We tried all of the stations that had favorable readings on the propagation tables but were only able to get a weak connection to the station in Corpus Christi, TX. We only received a portion of the e-mails before the weak signal got disconnected. Hopefully we'll have better luck with the SSB tonight or tomorrow. Some of the crew have been using our sat phone for communications since getting a strong connection to a SSB station has been difficult. Tom has been invaluable to the team as a bowman (the most technical and risky job on the boat) and rigger. He's identified and repaired or jury rigged numerous lines that chafed due to the constant movement of the boat. Tom is an expert rock climber, experienced sailor, and theatrical rigger. He's also our chief medical officer and the most safety conscious person on the boat. Tom wins my vote for the MVP crew member.
0600 PDT Position is: 22 02 N, 153 02 W
10:00 AM
Randy, Graham, and I just finished our 7:00-10:00 AM watch with 240 nm to go. We've been sailing using the same wing on wing configuration all night. We're still on a port tack at a heading of 220-240 degrees depending on the wind shifts. We've been sailing at 7-8 kts with winds in the 15-25 kt range. We're a little off course at the moment; however, we expect a favorable wind shift as we get closer to Hawaii. It looks like we have some more squalls bearing down on us so we're preparing to reduce sail. Although the seas are still rough and confused and throw the boat around, some of us really like sailing in thee conditions. Constant focus is required at the helm to prevent the sails from flogging badly (which places stress on the rigging) and pitching her about when the swells hit her beam. We still have some good moonlight to help identify the larger swells before they break on us. If we time the swells just right we can surf down them to gain speed and have some fun. Randy really likes surfing this 44' long board. This morning we had both a bright moon and saw the sun rise. It really looks beautiful with the clouds glowing in various colors. Other than some flying fish and sea birds, we haven't seen much in the way of marine life. We still have sufficient food, water, and fuel to finish the race. We're all very much looking forward to arriving in Hawaii... hopefully by tomorrow evening.
2:30 PM
As for our course to Diamond Head... over the past several days the wind direction has caused us to fall below our destination by 10-30 degrees depending on shifts. Also, the swells are hitting us from a couple of directions which cause us to drift off course. And finally, some of the crew focus more on maximizing speed or comfort (less rocking) over maintaining a sharp heading. For example, on my watch, Graham and I tend to sail as close to our waypoint bearing as possible which can reduce our speed yet Randy likes surfing the swells to maximize speed (which can increase our distance to the waypoint). Another watch tends to steer fast but more erratically due to heavy conversations. And finally, the high winds and conflicting seas make it very difficult for anyone to steer an straight line. Consequently, sailing a direct course usually means trying your best average out at the desired heading with 10+ degree swings on both sides. At 2:30 PM we are 212 nm from Diamond Head traveling at 7-8 kts in 15-25 kts winds and 4-12 foot swells. Our GPS says we have 28 hours to go... but most of us think we'll arrive tomorrow evening. We decided to jibe for a more favorable tack during my 6:00 PM turn at the helm. The jibe went smoothly and we were able to sail on a very direct heading while maintaining 7-8.5 kt boat speed. We initially kept the jib poled out to the leeward side. After a few minutes we decided to pole the jib out to windward since it was being bl
anketed by the main sail. The pole switch also went smoothly since we are doing a better job of communicating and working as a team. At 7:30 PM we have 174 nm and 21 hours to Diamond Head. Randy is making what smells like a great meal of spaghetti and meatballs. We've been having difficulty getting good connections to the various SailMail stations via the single side band radio. We tried all of the stations that had favorable readings on the propagation tables but were only able to get a weak connection to the station in Corpus Christi, TX. We only received a portion of the e-mails before the weak signal got disconnected. Hopefully we'll have better luck with the SSB tonight or tomorrow. Some of the crew have been using our sat phone for communications since getting a strong connection to a SSB station has been difficult. Tom has been invaluable to the team as a bowman (the most technical and risky job on the boat) and rigger. He's identified and repaired or jury rigged numerous lines that chafed due to the constant movement of the boat. Tom is an expert rock climber, experienced sailor, and theatrical rigger. He's also our chief medical officer and the most safety conscious person on the boat. Tom wins my vote for the MVP crew member.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Tuesday 19 Jul 2011 - The Rescue Finish!
Tuesday 19 Jul 2011
0600 PDT Position: 21 16 N, 156 01 W
6:30 AM Hawaii Time We're sailing in front of some of the Hawaiian islands now at 7-8 kts with 15-25 kt winds. We're 66 miles from the finish. The seas are still pretty rough which makes steering a straight course and resting down below difficult. We should arrive in Diamond Head later this afternoon. We're looking forward to having a complete dinner on shore, drinking some beer, and a good night of sleep. I lost my video camera somewhere on the boat after the second day or so. I've been taking a lot of still photos.
[At this point LeeAnne stopped receiving any updates, and the Second Chance icon on the Transpac tracking map stopped moving at 2.1 nm from the finish. It stayed there for over an hour, then suddenly showed them finished. Next LeeAnne received a call from Charlie on shore, stating, surprisingly casually, that they were delayed to the finish because they had to “rescue a kayaker.”]
19 Jul 2011 - 0244 PDT 100 Mile position: 21 18 N, 156 01 W
ETA at Diamond Head 1600 (HST)
[Posted after Charlie returned from Hawai’i]
This last leg was a wonderful experience! Our spirits soared when we first sighted Diamond Head in the distance. We were flying down the Molokai Channel at 7-8+ kts wing on wing with warm 15-25 kt winds and 6-8’seas. This was down wind sailing at its best. The crew took turns surfing Second Chance down the swells in these exhilarating conditions. As we approached Diamond Head, the crew freshened up and donned their team shirts. Although we knew we were finishing in the back of the pack, we were proud of our progress and wanted to finish in style.
The finish line was described as a red buoy ¾ mile off the coast from the Diamond Head lighthouse. We did not have a GPS coordinate for the finish line and had to find it visually. The entire crew scanned the horizon for the red finish buoy. We finally spotted the red buoy and headed towards it. As we got closer, someone noticed what looked like another red buoy that appeared to be more like ¾ mile off the lighthouse. We altered our course for the new buoy.
As we got closer, we realized that what we thought was the new red finish line buoy was actually a kayaker wearing a red shirt. As we began altering our course for the original and correct buoy, Randy, a kayaker himself, noticed that the kayaker appeared to be in trouble. He said that the kayaker didn’t have a paddle and was clinging to his kayak from the water without a lifevest. Hearing this, Harry instructed us to alter course for the kayaker to see if he indeed needed help. As we approached the kayaker he waved to us confirming that he needed help. Harry call the crew to “battle stations” and instructed us to prepare for a rescue. Fortunately, we practiced man overboard drills before the race and everyone knew what to do.
We were bearing down on the kayaker at high speed still sailing wing on wing. As we passed the kayaker, we pulled the pin on the Man Overboard Module and launched it within a few feet of him. Knowing that the kayaker now had a life preserver and marker, we proceeded to drop the sails while monitoring his position. Tom and I sprang to the deck to drop the spinnaker pole in preparation of furling the jib. One of the crew members called the Coast Guard and informed them of our rescue plans. Several of the crew members kept sight of the kayaker and pointed towards him for the helmsman. With the jib furled, we started the engine, turned into the wind, and lowered the main. Meanwhile, we traveled a great distance downwind and briefly lost visual contact of the kayaker due to the high seas and distance. With the wind and seas blasting our faces, we soon relocated the lost kayaker and pointed to his position for the helmsman.
I heard someone say that we were heading to a different kayaker since the victim had a white kayak and this one appeared to have a yellow kayak. It turned out that the yellow “kayak” was actually the inflatable MOM pole being blown horizontal by the heavy winds! The white kayak blew past us tumbling across the whitecaps like a tumbleweed blowing across a field during the Santa Ana winds.
As we got closer to the kayaker we slowed the boat, threw him the Lifesling and throw line, instructed him how to use it, and pulled him to the boat. The victim was a big guy and he looked rather exhausted. We knew it would be a challenge lifting him aboard. Harry called for a halyard and some extra hands to help lift him. We fastened the halyard to his Lifesling and someone started grinding it in while three of us pulled him aboard.
Once on deck, the victim appeared very weak and almost fell backwards into the water. We guided him to the safety of the cockpit and then down into the cabin. The first words he spoke were something like “I’m really sorry I screwed up your race.” It tuned out that his name was Guy Wilding and he’s a coach for the Olympic Kayak team. Guy was on a routine training run when his paddle hit what he thinks was the back of a sea turtle. This caused Guy to loose his paddle and get knocked out of the kayak. It was one of those long and narrow racing kayaks and he was unable to get back in without a paddle. Guy was drifting in the Molokai Channel for over four hours. He had symptoms of mild hypothermia and overexposure. I hate to think of what would have happened to him if we hadn’t mistaken him for the red finish buoy. It’s a good thing he was wearing red since I doubt we would have noticed that he was in trouble if he was wearing any other color. It turned out that we gave Guy his Second Chance.
While Guy was recuperating in the cabin, we informed the Coast Guard of the successful rescue, informed the Transpac race committee, retrieved and stowed the rescue gear, and then re-set the sails to finish the race.
We finished the race in the afternoon at 14 days and 2 hours. An escort boat took us into the marina and we pulled up to an end tie at the Waikiki Yacht Club for what felt like a hero’s welcome. Guy’s wife and daughter along with our Hawai’i hosts, friends and family of crew members, and the local news crews were at the dock to greet us with Mai Tai’s, lei’s, and lots of hugs. What a grand way to finish a race!
Sail-World article – first media account of rescue: http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?Nid=86168&refre=y&ntid=0&rid=4
Hawai’i TV news report of rescue (with video): http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/Paddler-saved-after-chance-encounter-with/px0AABPOd0O92vgq8qD7hw.cspx
A Youtube video of Harry talking to Guy Wilding (rescued kayaker) minutes after the rescue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjJGP0BK97A
Ventura County Star article: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/jul/21/locals-give-distressed-kayaker-second-chance-in/
19 Jul 2011 - 0244 PDT 100 Mile position: 21 18 N, 156 01 W
ETA at Diamond Head 1600 (HST)
[Posted after Charlie returned from Hawai’i]
This last leg was a wonderful experience! Our spirits soared when we first sighted Diamond Head in the distance. We were flying down the Molokai Channel at 7-8+ kts wing on wing with warm 15-25 kt winds and 6-8’seas. This was down wind sailing at its best. The crew took turns surfing Second Chance down the swells in these exhilarating conditions. As we approached Diamond Head, the crew freshened up and donned their team shirts. Although we knew we were finishing in the back of the pack, we were proud of our progress and wanted to finish in style.
The finish line was described as a red buoy ¾ mile off the coast from the Diamond Head lighthouse. We did not have a GPS coordinate for the finish line and had to find it visually. The entire crew scanned the horizon for the red finish buoy. We finally spotted the red buoy and headed towards it. As we got closer, someone noticed what looked like another red buoy that appeared to be more like ¾ mile off the lighthouse. We altered our course for the new buoy.
As we got closer, we realized that what we thought was the new red finish line buoy was actually a kayaker wearing a red shirt. As we began altering our course for the original and correct buoy, Randy, a kayaker himself, noticed that the kayaker appeared to be in trouble. He said that the kayaker didn’t have a paddle and was clinging to his kayak from the water without a lifevest. Hearing this, Harry instructed us to alter course for the kayaker to see if he indeed needed help. As we approached the kayaker he waved to us confirming that he needed help. Harry call the crew to “battle stations” and instructed us to prepare for a rescue. Fortunately, we practiced man overboard drills before the race and everyone knew what to do.
We were bearing down on the kayaker at high speed still sailing wing on wing. As we passed the kayaker, we pulled the pin on the Man Overboard Module and launched it within a few feet of him. Knowing that the kayaker now had a life preserver and marker, we proceeded to drop the sails while monitoring his position. Tom and I sprang to the deck to drop the spinnaker pole in preparation of furling the jib. One of the crew members called the Coast Guard and informed them of our rescue plans. Several of the crew members kept sight of the kayaker and pointed towards him for the helmsman. With the jib furled, we started the engine, turned into the wind, and lowered the main. Meanwhile, we traveled a great distance downwind and briefly lost visual contact of the kayaker due to the high seas and distance. With the wind and seas blasting our faces, we soon relocated the lost kayaker and pointed to his position for the helmsman.
I heard someone say that we were heading to a different kayaker since the victim had a white kayak and this one appeared to have a yellow kayak. It turned out that the yellow “kayak” was actually the inflatable MOM pole being blown horizontal by the heavy winds! The white kayak blew past us tumbling across the whitecaps like a tumbleweed blowing across a field during the Santa Ana winds.
As we got closer to the kayaker we slowed the boat, threw him the Lifesling and throw line, instructed him how to use it, and pulled him to the boat. The victim was a big guy and he looked rather exhausted. We knew it would be a challenge lifting him aboard. Harry called for a halyard and some extra hands to help lift him. We fastened the halyard to his Lifesling and someone started grinding it in while three of us pulled him aboard.
Once on deck, the victim appeared very weak and almost fell backwards into the water. We guided him to the safety of the cockpit and then down into the cabin. The first words he spoke were something like “I’m really sorry I screwed up your race.” It tuned out that his name was Guy Wilding and he’s a coach for the Olympic Kayak team. Guy was on a routine training run when his paddle hit what he thinks was the back of a sea turtle. This caused Guy to loose his paddle and get knocked out of the kayak. It was one of those long and narrow racing kayaks and he was unable to get back in without a paddle. Guy was drifting in the Molokai Channel for over four hours. He had symptoms of mild hypothermia and overexposure. I hate to think of what would have happened to him if we hadn’t mistaken him for the red finish buoy. It’s a good thing he was wearing red since I doubt we would have noticed that he was in trouble if he was wearing any other color. It turned out that we gave Guy his Second Chance.
While Guy was recuperating in the cabin, we informed the Coast Guard of the successful rescue, informed the Transpac race committee, retrieved and stowed the rescue gear, and then re-set the sails to finish the race.
We finished the race in the afternoon at 14 days and 2 hours. An escort boat took us into the marina and we pulled up to an end tie at the Waikiki Yacht Club for what felt like a hero’s welcome. Guy’s wife and daughter along with our Hawai’i hosts, friends and family of crew members, and the local news crews were at the dock to greet us with Mai Tai’s, lei’s, and lots of hugs. What a grand way to finish a race!
Sail-World article – first media account of rescue: http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?Nid=86168&refre=y&ntid=0&rid=4
Hawai’i TV news report of rescue (with video): http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/Paddler-saved-after-chance-encounter-with/px0AABPOd0O92vgq8qD7hw.cspx
A Youtube video of Harry talking to Guy Wilding (rescued kayaker) minutes after the rescue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjJGP0BK97A
Ventura County Star article: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/jul/21/locals-give-distressed-kayaker-second-chance-in/
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