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.