| Boat |
Date |
Time |
Notes |
| Dogbark |
06/24/06 |
0950 |
Its an overcast foggy morning here at Corinthian Yacht Club and the forecast
is for pretty light southerlies to start. A far cry from two years ago!
Visibility should probably improve somewhat later today but the bridge was
shrouded in fog all day yesterday. Skip Allan gave a great weather outlook/synopsis
yesterday to all competitors. His theory simplified was get west as fast
as you can even if north of the great circle. When was the last time that
was the goal? It looks like that will be easier said than accomplished.
I only wish he was sailing with us this year. We had a nice dinner at the
club with a special Beetle birthday cake for Rob. I am afraid it is the
last quality meal for me for a while. Maybe the fishing will be good? Various
challenges put forth amongst the fleet. Thanks to all the competitors, support
staff, yadda yadda but I must single out Lucie Mewes who has done an outstanding
job getting this years race off and out to sea. She has set a high bar for
those to follow, Thanks Lucie!!! I will try and write again tonight hopefully
not still watching the lights of the bay. Al. |
| Nereida |
06/24/06 |
1800 |
Lovely sunny start - but very little wind! I managed to drift over start
line at back of fleet and then proceeded to tack slowly towards fogbound
Golden Gate - wind came in fits and starts, but more close in to Peninsula
Pt, off Belvedere.
Didn't want to get too far out into Bay because of foul strong flood tide
- so took a long time getting no distance at all.
Several boats with photographers/wellwishers came by - lots of good wishes
and friendly faces.
Slowly the breeze filled in again, and made excellent speed on approach
to, and transit through, Golden Gate (6.5-7.3 kn) despite having had to
reef right down (2 reefs in main and genoa).
Fog kindly decided to lift as got close to GG Bridge and stayed that way
- so no problem there. Just as well, because my PC chargers aren't working,
so it's back to paper charts and pencil+Breton plotter.
Has been difficult to decide what course to steer for best - SW wind now
& light SW winds are forecast for next few days. High pressure area
is way north of usual position (off Vancouver Island) - so having to try
to get west over next few days, in hope of making southing later in passage.
Wind died right down as passed across the 'Potato Patch' (ebb tide + little
wind + HW made that a safe option) so I'm now ambling along, headed NW at
all of 3-4 kn max! Murky sky, long low swell, lots of penguin guillemots
and the occasional group of dolphins.
Just offered a cup of tea to another racer as we got close! Two others in
sight further out. All feels very relaxed, not like a race at all, quite
unlike the excitement of the approach to the Golden Gate.
Just downloaded some weatherfaxes, so must go & do some 'HW' and then
sort out food well before it gets dark - didn't get the chance to cook anything
as I usually try to do before a long passage like this.
Jeanne |
| Dogbark |
06/24/06 |
2230 |
Nice day to start a sail to Hawaii. Good westerly breeze in the bay once
we got clear of Racoon Strait Out the Gate no problems and then the wind
gradually lightened up as forecast. All afternoon and early evening SSW
winds from 1- 8 knots. Makes for slow going in not the right direction.
Early good performances by Eyrie and Sail la Vie who were leading the fleet
boat for boat for a time. Hesperus put on a good show as well. I saw a couple
of whales, probably humpbacks right next to Dogbark. They were very loud
with the light winds. It is quite dark tonight with a very low cloud/fog
deck. It will probably be a long night with the variable winds constantly
adjusting sails. All in all a much more pleasant start than last trip. Al. |
| Tiger Beetle |
06/24/06 |
2300 |
It's a fine evening out here, a bit of a seriously windy start once we
cleared the relative calm of Raccoon Strait - the exit from the Gate resulted
in Harrier destroying one of his older jibs, and Seabird experienced a close
encounter with the Gate's north tower abuttment while dealing with a jib
sheet problem, resulting in Lou's firing up the motor and getting away from
the rocks. Afterwards he returned to Corinthian Yacht Club and has re-started
the race.
Now the entire fleet is dispersed across the Gulf of the Farallones, moving
along in fits and spurts as the wind fills and dies. During the evening
roll call my breeze jumped up to 10 knots and Beetle took off to the west;
now, half an hour later, I'm poking along in 5 knots of wind. One the plus
side, this is a far more enjoyable way to start the TransPac than I had
in the 2004 race - that race had 30+ knots out here and it was amazing wet,
flying water and spray and I spent two days huddled down below. Right now
I'm abeam the Pt. Reyes light house, gliding along in a minor swell, boat
is doing well as am I. The northern shipping lane is astern, we're sailing
on port tack aiming west to get out to the northwesterly breeze that is
rumored to exist out beyond the coastal trough.
Many thanks to the Corinthian Yacht Club for hosting the race start, to
Ben and Lucie for making the race happen, and to everyone else involved
in the fleet. For me, it's thanks to Tatia that I have all this wonderful
food on board (probably enough to get to Japan, if need be, I think I overstocked
a little but we could be out here for a while given the light-air wind forecasts).
And it's off into the night, reaching along at 60 AWA, no. 1 and full main,
auto driving. Good night.
rob |
| Tiger Beetle |
06/25/06 |
0900 |
An interesting evening offshore for our first night out, lots of calm
spots in the light south-westerly to northerly variable breeze, resulting
in more than a few occasions to do complete circles in the water while trying
to figure out what had happened to that 4 knots of wind that was blowing
so nicely 20 minutes previously. In the middle of all this my autopilot
decided to try and shake the steering system apart, or was it the steering
system trying to rattle the autopilot? I misdiagnosed the problem and went
after the quadrant cables (now tightened, lubed and greased), the chain
drive sprockets and bearings (likewise lubed and greased) - and it looked
ok, until early this morning when the steering system started to shudder
again. So out comes the flashlight and a quick crawl aft to see what else
could be going on. A few minutes spent aft scratching the head didn't reveal
anything obvious, and at this point the wind died away to a flat calm. So
I went topsides to deal with the sails and not too far away a whale spouted;
I couldn't see the whale in the inky blackness, but the noise they make
when exhaling is remarkeably loud and very distinctive - not much out here
makes that kind of noise.
It was at this point I decided I was tired of beating up the no. 1 against
the rig in the calm, so I rolled up the headsail and centered the helm with
the autopilot - and the problem started again! And I figured it out - the
autopilot, when centered, starts to push the drive ram in and out rapidly,
as if the pilot can't figure out where center is. Now what? It was calm,
therefore a great time to attempt autopilot surgery - first thing to remove
and see what happens is the rate gyro, and voila! Now we have an autopilot
again. Beetle is once again a happy boat as we head offshore.
Enjoy the day!
rob |
| Dogbark |
06/25/06 |
1015 |
Breeze was up and down with various directions from south to west over
night. I was doing donuts regularly from 0400-0600. Have changed to the
large genoa which is royal pain to tack with the double furler. One tack
is fine but thirty tacks too much. Night was pretty cold and damp with still
some morning fog. Full fleece get up. Fleet is all fine with a few minor
repairs of equipment going on. Still trying to get as much westing as possible
to get to the northerlies. Boats are still tightly packed but most are past
the shipping channels. Was visited by a lot of fluttering little birds last
night. It was so dark that I never could get a good look. Lou made the calculation
that he had more than 4800 hours to go at his current rate at some point
last night. Yikes! Al. |
| Alchera |
06/25/06 |
1200 |
And another SSS TransPac begins, and here I am doing it again. Totally
botched the start when the wind died just as I was turning back towards
the start line, and as a result just barely made it over the line before
the next division started. This was followed by struggling to get into the
wind past Angle Island, and then hanging on for dear life under full main
against 25 knots out through the gate. I was too lazy to reef, because I
knew just outside the gate the wind would go light, which is what it did.
Dogbark and Tiger Beetle decided to go sightseeing over by Stinson beach
and ran out of wind, so I was able to catch up, along with the rest of the
fleet. From that point on it's been really light air sailing. I looked at
my track for last night, it consists of a bunch of really wavy lines connected
by little knots where the wind died completely and Alchera went in circles
for awhile. At one point I just furled the jib, turned off the autopilot,
and got some sleep.
There have been a lot of whale sightings by the fleet this year. I had one
pop up right behind the boat and give me a good scare. Lots of little black
porpoises too. So during those times when there is enough wind to move along,
it's pretty nice out here. A big difference from the last transpac 2 years
ago when a gale blew right from the start for several days, and several
boats dropped out. Then again, no wind can be just as frustrating as too
much wind, but at least you don't fear for your life.
I've had a couple of systems fail on me which I've been trying to fix. For
some reason my email/Iridium link has decided to stop working. I can't figure
out if it's the computer or the service or a combination of both, but it's
put a real kink in my ability to download weather gribs. Fortunately I've
still got Sailmail. Then the radar decided to stop working just as nightfall
came in the Gulf of the Farallons when I was trying to cross the shipping
channels. Great - worked just fine coming up all the way from La Paz a month
ago, and now it decides to conk out. I was able to determine that it was
the display rather than the transmitter, so I replaced it with the spare
repeater screen I had mounted in the quarterberth. Lou on Seabird has had
his share of problems - a jibsheet foul right at the base of the north golden
gate tower that forced him to turn on his engine and go back and restart,
then the generator stopped working, and then the engine stopped pumping
cooling water!
A big part of this race has to do with coping with such failures and figuring
out how to fix them as much as it is about the sailing.
Mark |
| Tiger Beetle |
06/25/06 |
2100 |
Today was a good turning point for the faster boats in the fleet - we
have sailed clear of the low pressure trough on the coast and out in the
prevailing northwesterly breeze coming down from the Pacific High. Alchera,
Tiger Beetle and Foolish Muse were all sharing the same bit of ocean, in
fact Andy sailed right up to Beetle - amazing how well a light boat will
accelerate in super-light air as compared to a 21,000 pound lead mine. Dog
Bark lead the charge and is sailing well.
I tacked over and spent an hour and a half bobbing in glassy swell, waiting
and hoping that the forecast northwesterly would fill. Dog Bark called in
on radio to indicate he had the breeze twelve miles to the west - that was
heartening to know. While waiting for the wind I watched a five foot shark
swim lazily past the boat, very elegant clad in grey. And then the wind
filled and Beetle was off in pursuit of Dog Bark. And somehow Alchera manages
to remain always two miles in front. Now the three of us are still in sight
and reaching southwest, hoping to remain in band of 10-15 knot northwesterly
wind that may carry us all the way south into the trades - perhaps another
800 miles away.
Today the fleet was in fix-it mode: Seabird was able to remove and replace
the rubber raw water pump impeller on his motor, therefore Lou is happy
as he can run the freezer compressor and therefore he will have ice cream
later on. Dwight on Na Na had an autopilot failure and spent time swapping
out autopilot rams, and he's back in the race with self-steering.
And we had critters today - Nereida had three humpback whales visit the
boat for morning tea, Carroll E reports albatross, and Harrier at one point
today was travelling slowly enough that a pelican was able to land astern
and paddle up to his transom.
And now the breeze has built to 12 knots, we're loping along at 9.5 knots
on a comfortable reach. Beetle wishes everyone a fine evening.
rob |
| Nereida |
06/25/06 |
2100 |
What a frustrating time!!
Have spent all my time overnight and today tacking around as close-hauled
as I can, trying to get west - no chance - options have been close to due
S or to due N in the light wind - or NO wind, as it's been, a lot of the
time. Impossible to keep the autopilot working with 0.0 boatspeed! Moved
2.1 mls through the water in the 5 hrs up to 6am, but tide carried me in
towards shore (heard the breaking surf!) and towards Drakes Bay. Got 'embayed'
and had a lot of trouble getting out past Pt Reyes - the long peninsula
that sticks out south with an east-west upside down 'T' at its end - which
effectively forms Drakes Bay to its east. Finally managed it around noon
- but then I was forced to head even further north, rather than retrace
my path south. The wind has swung around Pt Reyes and never reached more
than 4-5 kn, except for a very short time, until near dusk. Then I suddenly
felt breeze on my face - and it increased to give good boatspeed - what
a nice change. Lasted for quite a!
time but eventually died away around 11pm. In the meantime, a strong tide
continually took me northwest of Pt Reyes - seemed to me I was never going
to escape that Point! A curious seal kept me company for quite a time as
I drifted this afternoon.
There have been quite a few ships around. The new AIS program has been worth
its weight in gold - seeing the boats and their names on the screen together
with info such as size, speed, direction, destination, etc, has been really
useful and an excellent safety feature. The skippers/crew are always courteous
and keep a good lookout for me after I've called them to warn them if our
paths look like crossing.
Soon after dawn this morning, as I was drifting in a flat, glassy sea, I
saw humpback whales near the boat for a good half hour. They were just cruising
around, coming to the surface regularly - three in all. There had already
been porpoises and lots of penguin guillemots to attract my interest as
I drifted with the current at zero boatspeed under the gloomy overcast.
With constant efforts to keep the boat moving overnight, involving constant
changing of tack as the genoa backed in the flukey wind, I got almost no
sleep and what I had was disturbed by the VHF coming alive now & then
to deal with the big ships heading in & out of San Francisco.
As usual, at 9 o'clock tonight, as this morning, we had a roll call of the
race fleet on the SSB radio and then we chatted to each other. During the
day, we keep watch on VHF69 and often call to each other to discuss problems
or big ships/tugs passing close by or simply to vent our frustrated feelings
at the lack of good wind. We'll see what tonight brings - but at least I'm
moving - and in roughly the right direction!
Jeanne |
| Seabird |
06/25/06 |
2130 |
I am still alive and in the same clothes that I left in. The start was
very ignominious and I almost had a rock under the Gold Gate bridge North
Tower named after Seabird. About 25 ft off I was in irons and started the
engine to save the boat. The jib sheets fouled. Now the cleat feet are on
and the baby stay turnbuckle is taped. My penalty was to restart at the
starting line. So back in I sailed only to have a worse bashing the second
time but with a favorable current anyway. Once out Pt Bonita the wind disappeared
and has been light and variable from west and SW. As a matter of fact 31
hours after starting I am only 46 miles out of the Gate and 20 NM past Pt
Reyes.but in the fleet. Very foggy last nite and cold even without wind.
Seas are very flat. Every one is going west to to wind reported at 200 NM
out.
I went to charge the batteries last night ant genset was not charging so
I started the main engine and it sounded funny and no water was coming out
of the exhaust. Very bad. Happened previously and bag was caught in sea-water
strainer. Not so easy this time. Strainer was fine! It was dark and cold
and I had no power source and nothing to eat all day except water!. I heated
3 slices of corned beef and had some coffee and analyzed my miserable situation.
The genset seemed like the shortest fix and I found a fried wire that powers
the alternator. No short just heat damage to wire. A splice and I had the
genset charging. I decided to keep the boat moving and deal with the impeller
in the in the main engine sea-water pump in the morning. So that was todays
task and ugly it was. The pump faces back and it on the galley side of the
engine i.e. Inaccessible. But I got the 6 screws off the plate and there
was a shredded impeller. I had a spare and putting it in was another 2+
hours. At 3 PM I started the engine with the freezer compressor and save
the ice-cream ice-cubes and steaks etc. I just made an iced coffee and I
feel much better now that the chaos in the cabin is gone.
After the PM checkin I will warm up a steak and slice a tomato. No cocktails
today. It will be good to get off the Gulf of Farallones chart and away
from the shipping lanes. |
| Dogbark |
06/25/06 |
2145 |
The wind has finally arrived. Dogbark was first to get it about 1600 by
virtue of being the furthest west. The rest of the fleet in turn. Until
that time it was extremely frustrating with a rather large swell wave pattern
in turn with very shifty light sw breezes meant a lot of tacks and other
work without the boat really gaining any ground. Still heavy cold marine
layer so no sun or stars. Currently moving along the great circle route
at about 9 knots in about 15 knots of wnw wind. At least we are making tracks
toward Kauai. Not much change expected for the next couple of days. Al |
| Dogbark |
06/26/06 |
0700 |
From the be careful what you wish for department, While I had wind all
night and the stars came out about midnight, Dogbark was pooped last night
for only the second time in her life. The first was in the Southern Ocean
on her BOC race fifteen years ago according to then skipper Kanga Birtles.
Last night around 0400 a large wave peaked at just the wrong time and took
a big plop into the cockpit, down the companionway and rinsed out the galley.
I spent the morning bailing , mopping and cleaning up and am fixing a bowl
of granola and a half of grapefruit. The sun is out for the first time since
about one hour after the start so it adds another delight to what is starting
out to be a terrific day. Dogbark is loping along at about 9 knots with
the 20kt wind just forward of the beam. Hope the rest of the fleet is fairing
well as I can no longer hear them on the VHF so my only contact will be
at the two radio check-ins. Those waves cannot be fun in Hesperus. Al |
| Tiger Beetle |
06/26/06 |
0900 |
It's a fine morning for the good ship Beetle Boat , we discovered this
thing called 'Wind' and are currently happily moving south in 20-25 knots
out of the northwest gusting 28-30. I tucked in one reef late evening, and
the second reef went in at 2:30am as the wind built, and also have the no.
1 spectra genoa partially rolled on the furler so the exposed sail is about
the size of a no. 4. This balances the boat out and makes it much easier
for the pilot to steer, and we still zip along in the 8-10 knots boat speed
range. And, especially nicely, the wind generator is keeping up with the
electron consumption on board - so no need to charge with the engine this
morning.
Alchera is sailing with full main and 120% genoa, and you can see from the
position reporting that his J120 is pulling away from my IOR two-tonner
- those J boats are fast, and Mark is good at this race.
It looks like the fleet has split in two at this point - the lead four boats
have broken through into the northwesterly breeze, and all others are working
westward in light air to get to the breeze. It is very painful to sail upwind
in 4 knots of breeze straight into a left-over 2 foot choppy swell; what
mostly happens is the boat hobby horses badly, and a bit of what happens
is you move forward accompanied with a lot of banging from slatting sails.
Dogbark had a rather wet ride last night when he took a breaking wave that
pooped the boat, flooding out the rather large cockpit. This would have
been ok, except that the companionway boards were not in place, so much
of that water decided to join Al down below and clean the galley for him.
Al reports a good hour of mopping out the boat and that the galley now is
extra clean.
Heard Skip Allen on Wildflower during this morning's check-in; I expect
he was in Santa Cruz, and he let us know that the position reports and logs
are being posted to the web. Skip did the very first Singlehanded TransPac
Race, and it's great that he's available to help out the fleet!
That's the morning report. It's grey outside with low overcast and kind
of chilly. Exactly the kind of day one should be sitting around the fireplace
with a good book. Beetle doesn't have a fireplace, but I do have a very
nice dry warm sleeping bag and a good book, so that's where I am headed
next.
rob |
| Alchera |
06/26/06 |
1100 |
Autopilots. One of the most critical pieces of equipment for the singlehanded
sailor. Most of the skippers have at least two in case one fails, and several
carry even more. They work tirelessly for days, often weeks at a time, but
it's a hard life and they do tend to break in the harsh environment of offshore
sailing. Without them though, the singlehanded skipper would be forced to
hand steer the entire way across the ocean, which is just not practical
except in emergency situations. So it's safe to say that the skippers love
their autopilots, even giving them names and talking to them at times.
It's a love-hate relationship though sometimes. I was reminded of this again
while struggling to make progress through the light air conditions off the
coast. Autopilots don't do real well when the boat speed drops below measurable
levels and the wind index starts turning circles at the top of the mast.
My particular autopilot will signal it's distress by alternately flashing
every instrument panel red and green, while beeping, and showing 'fault
error 104' on it's display. The only way to shut it up is to press one of
the buttons *twice* (why twice is necessary is beyond me.) That will quiet
it down for awhile until the next time, when the whole process is repeated.
A typical interaction with the autopilot in light air goes something like
this:
(I'm down below, then the sails start slatting and then..
Autopilot: Beep beep beep (flash red and green, error 104 fault)
Translation - 'There's not enough boatspeed, I can't turn the boat if there's
not enough boatspeed.'
Me - press several buttons twice until I hit the right one.
Translation - 'You're not going to get any more boatspeed, I know you think
we're not moving, but there's enough boatspeed to turn the boat slowly.
So just be patient and do your job'.
Autopilot - Beep beep beep
Translation - 'Mark, I really don't think there's enough boatspeed.'
Me - press buttons again, turn the boat the right way, reengage autopilot.
Translation - 'Stop you're f*ing whining and do what you're told!'
Autopilot - Beep Beep Beep!
Translation - 'Boatspeed! I want more boatspeed!
Me - 'Look, you piece of *hit, see, I'm turning the boat! It's not that
f*ing hard! Just do your job and shut the f* up!
Autopilot - Beep Beep Beep!
Translation 'Up yours too, a**hole.'
As I said, it's very much a love-hate relationship. In most sailing conditions
it does a better job than I ever could day in and day out. But there are
times...
A lot of light air sailing yesterday. I rolled up the jib and sheeted in
the main and just drifted for awhile during the worst of it, because I wasn't
going anywhere and the swell action was just beating up the sails. I took
the time to make myself a huge salad with everything thrown in, lettuce,
tomatoes, jack cheese, mushrooms, green peppers, ham, and a cheesy Italian
dressing. Can't normally fix something like that when the boat is bouncing
around, and the fresh produce doesn't last long, so it was a good opportunity.
Later in the afternoon I started seeing winds from the northwest, which
signaled the end of the light air and out into winds rotating clockwise
around the high pressure zone up north. It was nice to finally get the boat
moving and sailing by itself. The autopilot was very happy too, and we're
back on good terms. With the boat minding itself I was able to catch up
on the sleep I had lost making it out through the light air, so today I'm
fairly rested.
Last night and this morning we are seeing northwest winds in the 20 to 25
knot range, and Alchera is moving along in the lumpy seas averaging between
8 and 9 knots. The boat is bouncing around a bit, enough so that you have
to hang onto things to move around, but it's not too bad. The important
thing is, we're now pointed at Kauai (for the moment) and the distance-to-finish
miles are clicking down.
Mark |
| Seabird |
06/26/06 |
1700 |
Got a few hours of sleep early this AM, 3-530 then 7-8 AM made coffee
and ate a chocolate chip cookie and charged the batteries and had the check-in.
That was the best of the day. The rest of the day consisted of sailing very
slowly through faint ripple patches from one glassy area to another and
sitting. About noon with nothing else to do I hauled the asymmetric spinnaker
up on deck and tried it out reaching with a faint SW breeze. It worked ok
until the wind started coming from the NW. Down it came to get ready for
the NW wind, but alas that was a teaser and it soon petered out. It was
a major exercise to get it back in the satchel. It got larger and heavier
while it was up for 60 minutes.
Experimentation was the order of the day with many sail changes in the fleet
back here. The record goes to Synthia with 20+?. A lot of energy on that
boat. She and the General and Bob on Ragtime are still moving, while some
of us are sitting in bare spots, but we will get out there eventually, if
it's still there.
In summary it pretty crummy sailing in this area especially in heavy boats! |
| Dogbark |
06/26/06 |
2200 |
Dogbark has been flying along all day about 9 knots under blue skies over
bright blue water throwing spray almost everywhere. Wind is 20-30 out of
the NW,slowly clocking to the NNE. We were flying a full main and large
staysail but put in a double reef around 1630 to help the autopilot. It
was laboring under the quartering sea and full main. The boat goes along
fine for 10 minutes or so and then the wave / boat speed /wind combo is
just right to have a big sploosh along the deck. I spent most of the day
in a continuous cycle below napping for 20 minutes, look up for traffic
or other changes and scamper below to keep from getting wet, eat or drink
something, and then another nap. At least I am banking some good sleep time
unlike last trip. Conditions now remind me of 2004, I am hoping the rest
of the fleet does not think so when they get out here. It looks like these
conditions will persist for at least the next 24 hours. Personally I don't
think I would enjoy it on a moore 24 or the likes. I guess it is different
strokes. I can no longer hear the rest of the fleet on the VHF so must wait
for roll call to get info of the day. Participated in a nice chat session
with Don Anderson of Summer Passage about the weather for the next few days.
I twill be interesting to see how long the lead group of four boats can
stick with this great circle route before heading south to escape the new
high pressure. Foolish Muse is having a great race so far, way to go Andy.
Had some beef teriyaki with rice for dinner, thanks Lou, Al |
| Tiger Beetle |
06/26/06 |
2100 |
Tonight's radio check-in featured the Weather Discussion - it seems that
the northern contingent is losing interest in their light air exploration
of the northern california coast and would prefer to be offshore headed
southwest at speed.
To kick-start the discussion we had a wonderful half hour on the radio with
Don on Summer Passage - he is providing a daily weather synopsis and forecast
for the TransPac fleet via SSB, and today was the first time we have managed
to connect with him. It seems the Pacific High is way north and will dissipate,
to be replaced with a Low, which means the coastal waters have little air.
So the San Francisco crowd needs to get out to 125 or better west longitude
to find the northerlies.
For the leading group, the great circle route into Hanalei is not going
to work as the High is forecast to reform directly in our path in 4 days
time, and none of us have the speed to clear the High before it forms. Therefore
the lead group needs to work their way south, starting today, and hopefully
carrying the breeze with them south.
Meanwhile we're sailing while doing all the other activities that make up
onboard life. I spent time re-packing the strings in the cockpit after a
particular large wave rolled the boat past 60 degrees and the inrush of
water let the strings loose (they are now repacked in their bags), the trash
bucket contents got looose (now sorted and packed into trash compactor bags),
and one of the head shelves emptied its contents across the boat and quickly
scattered (bits picked up, head shelve sliding doors now taped shut).
The sky has continued grey and high overcast, the swell pattern has evened
out such that I'm sailing through six to eight foot quartering seas rather
than lumpy not-quite-yet-organized seas. Much better. Still traveling with
two reefs in the main and half the jib out, Dogbark is running with two
reefs and the staysail, and several boats still in the light stuff are experimenting
with spinnakers.
And Beetle is now buttoned up, cleaned up, organized, and we're headed off
into the night.
rob |
| Nereida |
06/26/06 |
2200 |
There's a big 'hole' in the wind at present - close offshore all the way
down from SF to Pt Conception, expected to last for 2-3 days more. High
is right up near Vancouver & expected to be replaced by Low there with
new High forming right on my rhumbline course from San Francisco to Kauai,
Hawaii (where it should have been now!)
Seems to me I'm trapped in light airs for some time - can't move west fast
enough to get to the good wind west of 127W now, and will then get caught
out by being near centre of new High pressure because I won't be able to
move S fast enough in 2-3 days time to avoid that.... And all because I
was trapped in light airs inshore from day 1 of race.. Talk about frustrating...!!
Anyone who went directly S has had an even worse time than my back half
of the fleet have had, if that's possible! The one guy who did that has
abandoned the race & returned to SF. Don Anderson ('Summer Passage',
N6HG) spoke to the fleet tonight on SSB with update on wx info & consequent
routeing - although what he said was pretty well what I had already deduced
from my Winlink weatherfaxes.
I actually put up the spinnaker this morning (the sailmaker had had it out
for measuring for my race rating & put it back slightly twisted) - but
by the time I'd got all the lines lead correctly the wind had died away
completely so it just flapped about - predictable!! The good thought of
the day is that at least it's ready for next time. And it actually got a
bit warmer for a good hour or so, although the sun never really got through
the grey overcast - took off shoes & socks and fleece jackets (plural!)
& sweatshirt (it's been cold & damp!!) and had a cold beer in hopeful
expectation of some good sailing in warm weather...
I'm sitting here with a nice mug of hot soup in my hands... can't wait to
get to the warmth of Hawaii. Glad I stocked up with Cup-a-Soups in London
in January (although that was with Alaska in mind).
I'm getting sleep in fits and starts, over the day as well - trouble is
that each time I get back up on deck, conditions have changed and heading/sails
need adjusting - so inclination is to try to keep sails trimmed properly
(trying to get out of this 'no-wind' zone) rather than get enough sleep!
When conditions are more constant, sleep is easier to get. I'm hoping for
NE or NW winds very soon - wind has gone round to the north tonight and
things look more hopeful. I'm presently making just 2.2 knots.
I talk often on the VHF to the others but saw no other boats or ships at
all today. Just the sea - the NW swell seems to have increased but still
only 4-5 ft (1.5m).
Jeanne |
| Dogbark |
06/27/06 |
0800 |
Glad that that night is gone. Weather conditions much the same, 20 kts
NNE, very lumpy, low marine layer made for a very black hole to sail in.
Around 0200 the autopilot started acting weird and wouldn't hold a course.
So I switched to the big coursemaster which is now working but it sucks
up the amps. Hand steering in the interim was very difficult because there
was no horizon nor bow visible. Finally turned on the bow running light
to at least get some orientation. Two questions for the day are 1) stay
the course or start moving more to the south and 2) when to set the spinnaker.
With a human at the wheel you could fly it now, but since i have a shortage
of crew it will have to wait to get a little more settled. Course is a little
to wobbly under pilot and large quartering to beam seas. At roll call last
night it appeared that most of the fleet was just then escaping the large
doldrum area between Pt Reyes and the Farallons. That had to be incredibly
frustrating. position at 0800 N35 04, W131 08, still doing around 9 kts
with double reefed main and staysail. Al |
| Tiger Beetle |
06/27/06 |
0900 |
It's a fine day out here on the big blue, the high overcast is beginning
to burn thin and the water has turned that brilliant cobalt offshore royal
blue. Brownish storm petrels are in flying about the area, dancing along
just above the surface, reminiscent of bats and swallow tails. 8' quartering
seas are making the ride somewhat lively, and while the wind is aft neither
Alchera nor I are certain we want to set spinnakers as the masthead is waving
all over the place and a spinnaker wrap is the last thing we need. Mark
is also mindful to not be the first person to set this race...
Carroll E has officially launched the '06 TransPac Spinnaker Shrimping and
Fishing Derby by landing a 24" 20 lb albacore, which Dogbark assures
him will taste very good grilled. Seabird has volunteered to keep track
of the combined results. So far the only other entrant is Ragtime, who flew
his reaching spinnaker yesterday and then plunked the sail in the water
during the douse. Fortunately the sail was recovered, without shrimp.
Harrier met up with a trio of Minke whales, dark black friendly animals
that seem to like boat and behave like an oversize porpoise. Dogbark is
having autopilot problems and after going head-to-wind during the night
has switched over to the backup pilot. Al's plan is to go aft into the lazarette
and figure out what needs to be done to fix the pilot.
On board Beetle life is good, I still have 15-20 knots from the northwest,
more than Alchera, and I've downloaded the lastest GRIB files from saildocs.
I'll spend some time examining the data to see where Beetle wants to go
today!
rob |
| Seabird |
06/27/06 |
1200 |
I had better write this before things change. Beautiful morning- 18 knot
breeze on starboard quarter with reefed main and jib, reachiing at 8 knots.
The full cloud cover is thin enough to allow the invisible sun warm the
deck and accentuate the blue water and sparkling white wake. This is why
we are here!
24 hours ago there was much doubt and frustration in the back of this fleet.
One sensed that tempers could be thinning. The Seabird story was typical
except for the bridge fiasco. 50 hours to cover 106 NM from the Gate to
longitude 125 where the wind was supposed to be was hell on water. No wind
or shifting nearly useless variable puffs for 2 days in the shipping lanes
probably bonded us for the trip.
The GMR gribs were true. At lon 125 the winds stared building but after
so many disappointments I was hesitant to reef for the night at 15 true.
During a 45 minute catnap at about 2 AM I was awaked by lurching G-forces
in 3 dimensions. The boat had taken off like scalded dog. I stuck my head
up to see the situation. A reef was obviously needed. It was pitch dark
and the only light was in the compass. I temporized with some sail adjustments
and went a little more downwind. It was a bit unnerving out there after
not having been out here like this for 4 years.
The boat would be ok for a few hours until dawn and I turned on a sail light
on the front of the mast. I can understand why little kids like a night
light at bedtime. After another brief nap I gathered my wits and went up
in full regalia ( foulies harness, tether, strobe, flashlight, knife, handheld
VHF in one pocket and a PLB in the other pocket- you can only put so much
stuff on one lanyard!). In spite of all the shivers the reef was done in
10 minutes and I was back below sipping yesterday's coffee.
Next report perhaps family,friends and food out here. |
| Alchera |
06/27/06 |
1500 |
Knots and knowledge of their uses are one of the most important skills
for the singlehanded skipper. Let's review a couple of important ones:
Stopper knot: A knot put into the end of a line to prevent it from slipping
out through a block or fairlead. For example, stopper knots are often tied
at the ends of jib sheets for this reason. Not to be confused with *unintentional*
stopper knots, a category of self-tying knots which materialize magically
anywhere along a line when you are trying to pull it through same block
or fairlead, usually at the opposite end of the boat from where you are
at.
Jib Sheet Snarl: (Sub category, Mother-of-all) A most impressive knot, weighing
almost ten pounds when fully wet. Forget those cutesy little woven knots
you've seen at the maritime museums, they've got nothing over the Jibsheet
Snarl. These knots are among those in the category of self-tying knots,
requiring no action on the part of the skipper. The Mother-of-all variety
most commonly materializes in absence of the stopper knot (see previous)
when reefing or tacking the jib. The first indication of the spawning of
a jibsheet snarl is a huge ball of line wrapped around the active flogging
jib sheet. When this happens, quickly check to verify you have a stopper
knot in the offending line, or if not, watch helplessly as the end of the
line zips out of the cockpit, up around the foredeck, and joins the rest
of the growing mass of line forming the now mature Mother-of-all jib sheet
snarl.
Though the jib sheet snarl can form in virtually a few seconds, unraveling
it can take up to an hour, particularly in the kind of winds and seas which
are favorable spawning conditions for this knot.
Sigh...
Lots of wind yesterday, in the 20-25 knot range, which held up pretty much
all day. Alchera made good progress, with very few problems. Encountered
one Mother-of-all jibsheet snarl, which took an hour to unravel strapped
in on the low side of the boat as the waves splashed over the cabintop.
Unfortunately for the singlehanded skipper, there is no one to blame for
such events except yourself, and no newbie crew you can send forward to
sort it out. You screw up, you fix it. After awhile you to come to expect
a certain number of screwups, and take it all in stride. In fact, talking
about screwups is one of the most frequent and fun topics at the rollcall.
Or any sailor's bar, for that matter. Most of the time you can look back
and laugh.
The spinnaker is out today. Winds are in the 18-22 knot range and there's
a lumpy sea quartering from behind, which slews the stern of the boat around
and makes keeping the spinnaker full sometimes difficult. But it's still
nice to be flying it. Now I just wish it would get sunny. The weather is
still low foggy overcast, damp, with some drizzle, which it has been since
this race started.
Mark |
| Nereida |
06/27/06 |
1700 |
Oh well - another day of regular 0.0 kn Boatspeed and Wind displays &
rocking & rolling going nowhere. And just to tease me, 2-10 minutes
of nice wind three times over the day - just enough to get me all excited
and trim the sails frantically thinking that at last I was getting out of
my 'hole'!
Just had another mug of hot soup as I gazed out on the big swells coming
across a smooth grey sea, surrounded and topped by white fog & cloud.
The sails are flapping around again - every time I change things the whisper
of wind swings around to the opposite direction & backs the sails -
change again. Or take the genoa in and leave things alone for a bit, waiting
for better wind - don't like to do that - feels too much like giving up!
The swell increases the problem - I have the preventer on the main to stop
it swinging & banging around in the swell - so that's another thing
to change on each change of tack. My finger tips are quite smooth &
shiny from all the rope handling! Not much chance to relax in these conditions
- unlike when the winds are constant (at least in direction).
Have played a lot of music - especially Bob Marley: "Don't Worry About
a Thing" (- 'cause every little thing's going to be all right) &
"Don't Give Up the Fight" !!! Thought of singing first one to
the fleet at rollcall (even got out my guitar to try out accompaniment)
- but may pass on that! Good for dancing to (I've got a tiny dance floor
on 'Nereida' between the galley & chart table!)
I'm still managing to keep to my WSW rhumbline course - weatherfaxes show
winds offshore west of SF but nothing inshore tomorrow so getting west is
vital just now. Then need to get south if possible as the expected high
develops in its 'usual' place from late Wed to Thurs on. Maybe being here
may turn into a good thing if it puts me just on the edge of the new High
ie with a good gradient to give reasonable winds down to Hawaii. Have to
stay optimistic!!
No more chats to the rest of the 'back pack' - they're too far ahead to
be within VHF range.
The fog has closed in now to within 5-10 boatlengths. I try not to look
at the COG when we're drifting like this - it usually shows me going NE
at anything up to 1.3knots! AIS has been so useful - shows me boats nearby
but also means I can use the radar much less, meaning a big saving in power
consumption.
The good news today is that I finally figured out why my charger for the
main PC has been so erratic - sometimes OK, frequently off - turns out the
plug adapter was faulty (and rated at too few amps) - changed it for another
and - hey presto! - 'nada mas problema' .
Just saw 4 knots of wind - must go & see if I can coax us into the right
direction! Then it's time for a good meal before rollcall at 9pm.
Cheers,
Jeanne |
| Dogbark |
06/27/06 |
2200 |
Another day on the ocean, wind still 20-25 kts NNE, Overcast with some
rain showers, Dogbark still moving right along at 9 kts at N34 07, W133
25, It seems the fleet is very strung out with almost 500 miles between
the boats, some with still no wind. Has to be very frustrating. Big question
is what to do in the next 48 hours regarding the impending return or reforming
of the high pressure area. Could be right over the top of the lead pack,
(BAD!) or can we sneak by, or head south away from this wind in hopes of
retaining some breeze in order to get more. Had a delightful beef stroganoff
dinner and will report again in the morning. Al |
| Tiger Beetle |
06/27/06 |
2100 |
On this fine Tuesday evening the fleet is enjoying a speedy sail through
the windy reach portion of the TransPac. The four lead boats are staying
approximately along the great circle route and sailing in 20-25 knots of
northerly breeze. Alchera went for a spinnaker in the morning and then the
wind built up to 25 and Mark elected to take the kite down before it was
helped down from above. Beetle and Dogbark are broad reaching under white
sails only, and I haven't heard much from Foolish Muse as he is operating
under electron rationing as the sun hasn't shone once since we started.
The fleet has been sailing under 100% cloud cover so far and Andy's solar
panels aren't producing enough power to cover everything, therefore it is
a choice of radio conversation or autopilot? Autopilot wins, every time.
The boats back up the course are breaking out of the Low sitting on San
Francisco and are beginning to make tracks southwest. It is extremely frustrating
to be stuck in no wind glassy conditions and watch as your friends further
west take off. The frustration is particularly hard for Nereida, as she
is in fact drifting NE on current - but Jeanne is hanging in there and expects
to be in Hanalei by the finish.
On board Beetle Boat I am having a great time sailing fast under white sails
- top end so far is 13.6 knots, which while a bit short of Ric's record
at 15.6, is pretty cool. I listen as the wind generator hum changes pitch
as the wind climbs, then a big whoosh as the transom rises on the wave crest,
then zooooom huummmm as the hull rushes down the face of the wave, kicking
out spray. The swell is now running 8-10 feet so we get to do this a lot.
The wind was building as the sun was setting, so I dropped in the evening
reef and rolled up the jib a bit, and while this bring boat speed down half
a knot it also unloads the rig, hull, sheets, sails - and I sleep more easily.
There, just kicked out to 11.5 knots and zoooommm.... off we go into the
wine dark sea. This is a wonderful adventure, I'm happy to be out here.
rob |
| Dogbark |
06/28/06 |
0730 |
Same old story, wind, course, speed, weather, nothing has changed overnight
out here. Position at 0700, N33 25, W135 17, speed 9.5. If this holds my
worries about the high pressure area won't matter. Forgot to mention that
yesterday I saw a BIG ball of polypropylene line about 8 feet in diameter
that the boat nearly hit. That would have been interesting. Probably some
lost fishing gear, hopefully not thrown away. I also saw two glass liquor
bottles covered with gooseneck barnacles, the sorts of things you see on
the trip back while nearing or crossing the high. I wonder if it is because
we are way further north than usual for sailing to the islands? Al |
| Tiger Beetle |
06/28/06 |
0900 |
Wednesday morning's check-in featured an optimistic, upbeat, talkative
gang of solo sailors - I'll bet that most everybody found a solid night's
rest what with the breeze steadying and autopilots able to steer the boats
effectively. Worked for me - I did my sleep through the alarm maneuver and
stacked up three continuous hours of REM sleep. This was my first REM sleep,
as I've been sleeping less than 20 minutes at a time since the start. I
feel rather refreshed.
Alchera is atop the leaderboard of Squids on Deck with five as of this morning.
Dogbark claims zero, and I haven't checked. Ken on Second Chance reports
finding interesting non-flying fishes on his boat - none of us had heard
of that before. He may keep one such that we can examine it with interest
in Hanalei; alternatively it may prove too stinky and it won't survive the
day in his cockpit. Question - are squids molluscs? We weren't certain,
but as far as the fleet is concerned they ought to be and therefore are
now.
Last night Nereida had a close encounter with a Russian ship that a) couldn't
understand her position report, b) was showing no lights, c) couldn't find
her on radar,and d) her AIS showed them on a collision course - all this
in a flat calm when she is not allowed to motor. After a lot of discussion
back and forth the Russian captain figured out what the numbers were Jeanne's
position, yet he still couldn't see her. Jeanne them simply told them to
turn to port in the most authoritative voice she knows, and they complied.
Today on Beetle will be floor board day - time to pull up the boards and
mop out the bilges, as there is water sloshing up over the boards when we
roll heavily to port in the prevailing swell, and I'm getting water on my
tennis shoes and one shoe is now wet. Nothing much worse than getting up
at 1am to see what's what and sticking your nice dry foot into a soggy cold
salt water shoe.
Weatherfaxes start in a couple of hours, and the fleet will be studying
them later on to see what is forecast out here. The front four boats are
trying to figure out the best point to gybe onto port pole and head south
to avoid the High that will appear in our path. Could be as soon as 135W,
might be better to delay another 24 hours. Still no sun, the folks with
solar panels only are hoping for sun to appear, but it doesn't look like
it yet.
May all racers have dry shoes today.
rob |
| Nereida |
06/28/06 |
2200 |
Last night, just before 11pm, in pitch black darkness, I had a very worrying
experience while drifting about in little wind, 113ml W of SF's Golden Gate.
I spotted a ship, "SCF Ural", on the AIS window of my PC which
was clearly heading south almost directly for me.
Thinking I'd better call him up immediately, in case he needed lots of time
to turn (as tankers do, for instance), I tried to do just that. Took a time
for him to respond on VHF16, with no response on VHF13. Then it took even
longer to make it clear what the problem was - I must have given my coordinates
six times at least (language was clearly a problem for the Russians on board)
so that they could try to find me on their radar (I know I give a good signal
on big ship radars at around 30mls and the sea was not rough). I ended up
speaking to the Captain, who finally got the message - but only after I
told him firmly he MUST TURN TO PORT IMMEDIATELY to avoid hitting me - a
small sailboat nearly stationary in his path, drifting (for the moment)
at under 1 kn to the west. By now, I was getting very concerned - even put
the engine key in the ignition ready for the worst - but he eventually said
he would change course to port - and I was able to see, shortly after that,
that he had !
turned by 11 degrees (the AIS info one gets includes course steered, rotation,
etc) which would put him several miles off my position. By then, a slightwind
had got up, so I was able to sail, initially on starboard tack, at just
1.4 kn, until I realised that was taking me into his path so I then changed
to port tack. Worryingly, he did not show up on my radar until he was 6-9
mls away - usually big ships show up at 24mls - and although he passed within
4 mls of me, I did not see any lights despite knowing precisely where he
was from my AIS window...
The wind continued around F1-2 overnight, so not much progress was made
- at the 9am rollcall, I'd made just 1 ml towards Hawaii since the previous
evening!
Later this morning, I heard a noise and a big humpback surfaced several
times close to 'Nereida' on his way north.
Often, the wind has picked up and we've made over 4 kn but then it would
drop again. After carefully looking at the weatherfaxes I'd downloaded,
I decided to turn south at 1pm today - saw barometric pressure was up to
1018, from 1014 at 0400, so concluded low pressure over SF may have dissipated
earlier than expected, meaning I could safely head S now rather than waiting
longer (no wind close offshore had been predicted while the low was present
over SF). The wind then veered from SSW to WSW making for a better course.
It's still not strong, but at least I'm having a very pleasant sail - in
roughly the right direction!
Actually saw over 6kn of boatspeed later today and we're regularly seeing
over 5kn - not too bad for being close-hauled and with variable light winds.
The other good thing is that most of this afternoon, and on into the night,
I've been on a constant starboard tack (no frequent tacking around) which
is a lot more relaxing and meant I could catch up on some sleep in the cockpit.
Also the sun came out for a few moments just to remind me it exists - but
it's still cold enough for me to need to change into warmer trousers.
According to Don Anderson this evening, we're all in for a slow race because
of the highly unusual weather pattern - the usual Pacific high is finally
about to be re-established in its usual place - right in the path of a lot
of the fleet - so they have to try to avoid ending up becalmed by heading
SSW now as fast as they can - but they could well end up with a major problem.
Equally, I can expect several more days of light winds but by going south
from here for 5-6 days I should eventually find the wind increasing and
'clocking' - then I can head more & more west with the Trades to Kauai.
We'll soon see over the next few days whether people have made the right
choices of route & timing - it's a difficult call!
Jeanne |
| Dogbark |
06/28/06 |
2215 |
My plan is to stall for another day before heading south. Wind is still
holding but will quit eventually, I am giving it 24 hours before deserting
the great circle. Day was delightful sail with spinnaker up, some sunshine,
but mostly cloudy. Winds and seas have lightened considerably down to 10-15.
Planning to sail all night with spinnaker which doesn't allow much sleep.
So far so good, no breakages, knock on wood. Dinner of Jamaican chicken
and rice. Al |
| Tiger Beetle |
06/28/06 |
2100 |
It's spinnaker time for the good ship Beetle! - today the wind backed,
the seas smoothed out, and up went the 1.5 oz reacher in a picture-perfect
20 knot broad reach. Amazingly, the sail didn't wrap, crash, hourglass or
otherwise display evil temperment. This is good. While carefully observing
it for several hours from atop my bean bag chair, and making numerous adjustments
to the sheet, guy, lift, foreguy, and outgrabber it appeared to be well-behaved,
so I popped down below and caught up on my sleep. So far the spinnaker is
flying well and we're in business. And NO squalls in sight!
Dogbark is also going for the all night spinnaker hoist as we try to get
south away from what is forecast to be a gigantic High and we're right in
the middle of that High's landing pad. Eyrie has been experimenting with
her pink spinnaker thong, was thonged-on for a while, then thonged-off when
the wind lightened, and latest I heard is she's thong-on for the evening.
The thong is a line that runs through small patches from the head down the
center seam, and when the thong is tensioned (thong-on position) it's supposed
to collapse the kite in the center and stabilize and possibly depower the
sail as well. Unfortunately for Mark, Alchera's kite refused to come out
it's sock, and after arguing with it for a while he got frustrated, so he
set the sail aside and pulled out a good book instead.
Zen and the art of racing is filtering through the fleet. After all, we're
all on vacation and on vacation you're supposed to relaxe and enjoy, yes?
At least that's the approach Westerly took after his motor heat exchanger
failed - rather than get upset he opened a book and decided to enjoy the
beautiful afternoon's sailing. Likewise Ergo set aside his spinnaker issues
and instead set up his twins and is now enjoying the magnificent view from
his boat. Foolish Muse is cheerfully in repair mode, having torn four feet
of the kevlar no. 1 leach - he's slowly but surely punching holes through
the very tough fabric and sewing the sail back together - he's two hours
into the project and figures another two hours to go, which can wait until
tomorrow. And Sail a Vie reports water in his fuel system, as his motor
shut down right in the middle of roll call. He's not looking forward to
bleeding the entire fuel system to remove the water, but Phil is very mechanically
oriented and probably has every manual ever written about his motor. If
anyone can fix it, he can.
I have a slightly different approach to why I'm out here - this race is
an adventure and adventure is not necessarily pleasant, predictable or comfortable,
but is almost always interesting. Predictable is a plane ticket and a hotel
room waiting for you. If, on the other hand, you jump in a boat and head
out onto the Big Blue you never know what you might find. And that's why
I'm out here - to find things I wasn't expecting. That and to not be last
to the finish line!
A good night's sailing to the fleet.
rob |
| Alchera |
06/29/06 |
0600 |
Sometimes it's best to know when to beat a strategic retreat. Today was
like that. Started out innocently enough, found 5 squid in the cockpit and
on the decks this morning, one of which made a real inky mess. There was
some debate during the checking as to whether squid were a form of mollusk
- know one knew for sure, so the award for first mollusk went to Alchera.
After checkin I downloaded the latest set of weather files and analyzed
my upcoming strategy. There's a zone of no wind forming directly ahead of
the boats in my vicinity, so we are all going to have to hang a left to
go south pretty soon. The key decision will be when to do it, because there's
an equally bad area of no wind just to the southeast which will be a factor
if you turn too early.
But I digress. The winds had lightened up to the point where setting a spinnaker
was the proper sail configuration, so I climb into my foulies and set up
the rigging. The spinnakers I use are enclosed in 'socks', which are basically
long tubes of fabric that allow you to hoist the spinnaker without the wind
filling it. A couple of control lines are then used to raise the sock from
around the spinnaker to expose it to the wind. A clever device when it works
right, and very handy for setting spinnakers singlehanded. Typically this
is a fairly simple operation. However, today was not a day when it worked
right. When hoisting the spinnaker sock, the wind combined with the substantial
wave action kept twisting the sock so that it couldn't be deployed. Each
time just as I thought I had it all sorted out, I would look up one last
time and see the sock twisted again. Or wrapped around the forestay. Or
both. At the end of two hours I was totally drenched in my own sweat, and
the spinnaker had, through my efforts to fix it, totally twisted itself
into a mess inside the sock. I sat down exhausted and frustrated on the
foredeck, thought to myself 'this isn't fun any longer', and decided to
spend the rest of the day enjoying myself.
One of the nice things about a boat like Alchera is that it has some of
the creature comforts of the bigger cruising boats. Like a shower. So I
stripped off my sweat drenched clothes and took a nice hot shower. Hadn't
had one since the Friday night before the start of the race, so you can
imagine how good that felt! And put on clean clothes! Life was looking better
already. Made some coffee and had a lie-down with a good book for awhile.
Got up on deck to watch as the clouds parted and let a brief ray of sun
illuminate the waters ahead over the vast ocean. Chatted with the rest of
the skippers at the evening checkin. And then broke out the fresh produce
and made another ham/cheese/pepper/tomato salad. Tonight I plan to allow
myself the luxury of some extended sleep periods. Definitely didn't break
any sailing speed records, but I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon and evening.
All in all, a nice ending to the day. Maybe tomorrow I'll sort out that
spinnaker sock mess. Or not.
Mark |
| Dogbark |
06/29/06 |
0830 |
The report from Dogbark is not good. This morning about 0130 while scooting
along under spinnaker, finally settled down and dialed I attempt to crawl
below for a few zees and I lay down and hear a bang, that was no like most
of the other banging clanging that happens when the boat is slatting about.
I rush topside to see what is up just in time to see the spinnaker gracefully
settle on the water in front of the bow and the boat run over it. The slow
death of tearing fabric etc was just a start. I spent the next hour and
half retrieving all the remnants, lines, sock and getting the boat back
moving again but now no wind. So I have decided to head south already, nothing
worse than slatting about on the ocean. We will see if it pays or hurts
in about two days time. Al |
| Tiger Beetle |
06/29/06 |
0900 |
It's a quiet light-air high overcast dawn that greeted the TransPac fleet
this morning. The winds have gone light across the fleet and most everyone
is headed south-ish in search of a path around the High. The competitors
are also using the change of pace light air brings to inject a bit of a
pause break into the race to re-charge their internal batteries, get a good
night's sleep or good day's read topsides.
Beetle's spinnaker stayed up throughout night in the light stuff, and with
average winds in 10-15 knot range it was a comfortable evening. The seas
have evened out significantly and therefore the incessant rolling has given
way to smooth gliding. Things were not quite so smooth to the west onboard
Dogbark: Al was similiarly flying his spinnaker last night and was woken
up by a rifle shot bang! His words: "that didn't sound good."
He was on deck in time to watch his boat drive over the spinnaker that had
fallen forward into the water when the halyard broke. He spent the next
hour head to wind while he retrieved the remains of the spinnaker, and is
thinking of having nylon tents for sale in Hanalei. Al plans a trip up the
mast to rereave a halyard, though he may wait a bit for the seas to reduce
further.
On the thong front, Ergo this morning indicated that he has the male version,
known as a Wedgie. I didn't know spinnakers had gender; I must take this
up with my sailmaker and learn more.
On the mechanical front, the water has been removed from Sail a Vie's motor
and it works great now. Lots of cheers on the radio for Phil.
On board Beetle, my big excitement was the hour-long gybe in the dark that
commenced at 1:45am when the wind shifted to the north east. I was hoping
it wouldn't shift until daylight, but no such luck. I ran around and around
and the boat pulling socks down and shifting spinnaker nets and undoing
strings and retying strings, all in the dark and without the benefit of
moonlight (we're sailing under a waxing gibbous at the moment, and the cloud
cover means it is 100% pitch black out here). Best part is the harness is
continually pulling you up short as the tether gets stuck on some deck fitting
or shroud (think of a dog on a leash that always goes the wrong way around
the tree - I was the dog). Luckily, when the moment finally came to raise
the sock all the strings had found their correct location and purpose -
the sail went up uneventfully! I sat in the cockpit and had a long drink
of water, watching the sail on the new gybe to make sure I had it trimmed
ok - and the radar alarm went off. Seemed I had a local ship visitor, I
watched as he steamed by 3 miles across my bow, headed west, a brilliant
lozenge of white light in the otherwise completely black sea.
rob |
| Tiger Beetle |
06/29/06 |
2100 |
The fleet is doing well on this, our fifth day at sea. We are in good
spirits and running repairs are working - Seabird's genset is once again
operational after Lou hit it with a wrench. Sometimes it only takes a bigger
hammer - perhaps each boat should be issued a 3 pound sledge prior to race
start - I bet that would fix anything on these boats.
Ragtime was able to help Foolish Muse make his autopilot shutup so that
Andy can sleep for more than 5 minutes at a time. Turns out there is a setting
buried deep in the setup menu system that does the trick. Bob has exactly
the same autopilot as Andy, and Bob had already been through the process
once to make his autopilot stop squawking when the wind shifted more than
15 degrees (which it does a lot when it goes light and the boat is rolling
around in the swell). Andy is testing it out tonight.
Radio reception has become problematic on 4MHz so we're considering moving
up to 8MHz for tomorrow night's check-in. What is nice is that we are getting
used to the SSB radios and are now quite adept at skipping up and down frequencies
as needed. And whomever is operating MARS on 4024 LSB should know that the
nasty tweedle chirps they produce are drowning out conversation on 4021
USB.
On board Beetle boat the kite stayed up thru mid-afternoon, though I did
change out spinnakers to the 3/4 in order to effect repairs to a minor tear
in the 1.5. Sticky back is definitely your friend out here. There was a
surprising amount of breeze,10-12 from NE despite forecast of 5. And then
late afternoon my radar alarm went off, so I popped on deck to look for
the ship and there, on the horizon, was a blue spinnaker - Arch Enemy Alchera
had appeared! It's fun to see another competitor this far offshore, and
we talked a bit on the VHF.
And word just in from the outside world: squids in fact are molluscs!, and
Eyrie now has her own squid passenger.
Having a fine night of white-sail reaching with full main and no. 1, Beetle
zippiting along well, and all the spinnakers are happily at rest back in
their bags. Time for me to catch some rest as well.
Good night.
rob |
| Dogbark |
06/29/06 |
2100 |
Today was just what we needed after last night/early morning. Light airs
with another spinnaker all day and early evening. Saw the sun for the first
time for an extended period, even sunset. Warming up too, so I had my first
sea shower, prior to today wet wipes rule. Trying to get the boat south
to hopefully some moderate trades for the run to Hanalei. Not much in the
way of mileage but you gotta love the position. Spaghetti and meatballs
for dinner and last of the bread. May have to try my hand at baking later.
Found three squid that had hitched a ride a few days ago because they were
really dried out, squid jerky any one? Two were under the heretofore unused
spin pole and one in the propane locker that probably got flushed in there
by and earlier wave. It is a locker on deck that have sort of mousehole
drains fore and aft. Al |
| Nereida |
06/29/06 |
2100 |
Discovered around dawn that the autopilot wasn't working, nor the GPS
(I'd recently wired a new GPS antenna into the autopilot course computer).
Seems to me like a loose wire since sometimes GPS comes on (but autopilot
never does)- will need to empty aft bunk area to get under & have a
look - major job!.
Fortunately, the wind direction (SSW-WSW) was such that I could keep going
close-hauled and "Nereida" normally steers herself beautifully
upwind. Unusually, I had to help her by constantly hand-steering & then
locking off the steering wheel because the biggish seas kept knocking her
off otherwise. I had to dive up to the cockpit on a regular basis to check
on things - found us 'hove to' several times! Our course wasn't quite what
I had wanted (was going SE earlier when wind was SSW) - but by 2pm we were
doing fine on a close reach - actually going S! Our speed was excellent
- I even had to reef down twice as the night progressed because the winds
(and seas) got up - to around 25kn apparent. I'm trying to keep in the good
wind near-ish the coast (shown on weatherfaxes I download on Winlink), while
remembering I'm trying to get to Hawaii, but also trying to avoid the high
pressure wind 'hole' now forming W of me & beginning to affect the middle-back
of the rest of the fleet. A ba!
lancing act!
Having to mess about with PCs didn't help matters over the day - trying
to get backup Garmin handheld GPS's connected and talking to each of them
(one PC normally lives in my aft cabin by the SSB for emails/wx , the other
normally lives on the chart-table for charting (via Nobeltec) and AIS -
but this one has been giving problems with the new mains charger suddenly
deciding to stop charging so PC closes down unexpectedly & the new 12V
charger no good either. So having to move comms PC from aft cabin to saloon
on regular basis to do Nobeltec/AIS - a pain reconnecting all the leads
each time, and had to load AIS software and charts onto 2nd PC via memory
stick (CD drive not working!) - PCs are fine when all is going well but
what a pain when they start misbehaving!
AIS has been so useful that I didn't want to be without it - and it needs
GPS info as much as Nobeltec does. I could cope with paper charts OK but
when the autopilot and GPS both went down simultaneously, and then the wind
(I'm delighted to say!!!) got up so strongly over the evening and night
- with no autopilot - I had my hands full trying to cope. (Not much by way
of a meal yesterday!).
Just to add to everything else, when Lou on 'Seabird' mentioned generator
problems, it occurred to me to check on the date of my last oil change as
I went to check the oil level. (I'm relying on my little generator for charging
my batteries, rather than the main engine.) To my horror, it was way overdue
(and the oil level was low anyway) - so I had to change the oil immediately
- the afternoon's job. So I was unable to get my usual afternoon catnap
yesterday - hopefully I will manage it today - I feel quite tired.
Good news of the day (apart from a happy generator!) - actually saw blue
skies and sun for about 2-3 hrs mid-afternoon - first time this trip! |
| Tiger Beetle |
06/30/06 |
0900 |
It's an absolutely beautiful morning on the pond, a light 4 knot southerly
breeze riffling the surface of the smooth one foot swell. At sunrise an
albatross soared over and closely examined Beetle's wake in search of fishes
to eat. Nothing at all visible horizon to horizon, just white puffy clouds
up high and crystal clear blue water in all directions.
With the boat gliding along on its own I opened all available hatches including
the inspection port above the rudder stock and now there's a nice cool breeze
wafting through the cabin. With spring cleaning in mind it was time to sort
the trash and bag up plastics, lay out damp gear on deck to dry, fire up
the computer and send out a request for the morning GRIB, and don't forget
to fill the sun shower with water and set it on deck - later today is hot
showers for the crew. As there's only one of me I get to take an extra long
shower.
At morning check-in Seabird was suddenly taken over by a clearly deranged
Lou and "Radio Pacific Seabird" was born with song and a play
by play analysis of his transpac dream from last night. Across the fleet
we are experiencing very light winds of 0 to 4 knots, with two outliers
at 6 (Seabird) and 12 (Nereida). Al climbed Dogbark's 80' spar and ran a
new spinnaker halyard, Bill on Ergo went for a swim and suggested the possibility
of swimming to Hanalei should the wind fail to return. We are investigating
what the racing rules of sailing have to say regarding such an attempt.
Might also want to notify the guinness book of world records and the men
from the funny farm.
The plan for today is to pull down weather data, relaxe in the cockpit with
my third book of the trip. I did a quick check of the Fat Tire Ale and there
is sufficient supply for several weeks, plus the magic box is working wonderfully
and serves up chilled beverages as needed. If conditions remain as stable
as they are now, then tonight is a movie and popcorn evening.
From the offshore floating a laundry service and beetle boat cinema.
rob |
| Dogbark |
06/30/06 |
0900 |
It was a weird night. I anticipated going through the night under white
sails and then putting the spinnaker back up. The best laid plans... Around
0100 I got up for a check and the sails were aback, the wind had shifted
and continued throughout the night and morning going all around the clock.
So not much sleep but not much lost as the rest of the fleet is looking
for wind. Only Nereida has more than 4 knots of wind or speed. It was good
for climbing masts so I replaced the broken spinnaker halyard early this
morning. Exciting being at the top of the mast, could see a long ways but
no wind nor boats in sight. It is a weird sensation to be out here at 30
x 140 and be beating into southerly winds. Hope the day is better for sailing
but it is delightful morning for puttering about. Al |
| Nereida |
06/30/06 |
1200 |
Overnight last night, as I was trying to handsteer a lot in strong
winds, I found that the instrument lights kept going off erratically -
when I pressed the button the lights always came on instantly, but then
odd ones would turn off again after a short time - including my wind and
speed display - not very helpful when you're trying to tack (after finding
yourself 'hove-to') or reef down under a very dark, overcast, night sky!
"Nereida" kept a reasonable course over much of the night but
I decided it was about time I got the wind-steering gear (the German Windpilot)
into action since I was going to be on this starboard tack for quite a
time - and I could do with a bit of a rest from constantly jumping up
into the cockpit & worrying about the course we were making.
So I brought 'Hermann' into action - actually a very simple thing to do
but since I'd done it so very little over the last few years, I had a
bit of a 'hang up' about it (should have done it yesterday but generator
oil change took precedence).
I got us going nicely on course, locked off the wheel and set Hermann
into action - with a few easily-made, minor adjustments we were trundling
along nicely on course. The good news is that we are now able to make
less westing (into that threatening, developing, High pressure area) since
I can control our direction, unlike yesterday when I was forced to maintain
a close reach. The wind has veered more so it was important for me to
be able to keep us going no higher than SW. Steering by the wind means
I need to keep an eye on the wind direction, but also means no battery
power usage!
Looking at the weather info downloaded this morning, it seems I need to
keep going SSW-SW for several more days before, hopefully, the wind goes
gradually into the NE & then E to take me on a run to Hawaii. A N
gale is forecast for the coast region & might reach out to affect
me a bit tonight or tomorrow - good news if it brings good wind!!
Well, the sun got out again, Hermann is keeping us on course beautifully
and the seas have calmed down from last night - although the occasional
big swell comes along, as you'd expect. I spent some time writing up my
logs and emailing and had a good nap instead of looking at the autopilot
wiring - tomorrow! When the latest weatherfaxes were downloaded, they
made it clear that I must try to keep going due S, if possible, rather
than get any further west, if I'm to avoid the 'no-wind' zone of high
pressure - already today the pressure on my path rose to 1023, although
it's now down to 1021. The wind is N, so it's difficult to go dead downwind
- I may have to gybe onto port tack at some point if I see the wind dropping
or the pressure rising again.
After our roll call, I had a good meal and then relaxed - the sky had
cleared a lot and the stars were out - I saw all the familiar ones: Cassiopeia,
the Plough, etc and was pleased to spot my favourite little constellation,
Delphinus (the dolphin), close to Cygnus. The sea and air temperatures
have risen to 17C and 18C, so it is definitely getting warmer gradually.
I'm just south of Pt Conception (well over 300 mls off), so entering S.
California in latitude.
|
| Seabird |
06/30/06 |
1930 |
Today was a beautiful day in spite of a real gloomy start and yesterday,
as you may have observed nobody sailed very far. The complex high and low
came south and closed the rhumbline/great circle shortest way to HI. So
everybody is moving south before it gets worse!
Yesterday I worked the boat like a fiend, trying the asym. and both poles
and then swapped sides with them. A few tangles and bumped knees and feet.
I worked up a sweat, cleaned up (sort of) did check-in and ate dinner (corned
beef and cabbage, pre-prepared). Late dinners seem to make the nights shorter.
For all the effort I sailed further while I was asleep from 2330 until 0600
at the chart table. I woke up feeling well rested if not a little stiff
and some what guilty. The uncovered coffee cup (a no no at sea) had not
even budged. I went on deck to see if we were still sailing. We were still
going in the dawn light. Looking back at the computer log the only variance
was the speed which varied 1.5 to 4.5 kn.
But back to today. The entire fleet had a dismal night last night. Even
Dogbark, Alchera and Tiger Beetle were barely moving. I was feeling sort
of down at the prospect of another calm day but Rob waxed eloquently at
AM check-in about how many books he had read and how he had opened up the
entire boat and was having a great rest. That was very inspirational. Anyway
the wind came out of the east at 8 knots, the sun came out, I started cleaning
(beginning with me) and had a couple hot dogs with chips and celery for
lunch. All afternoon I have trimmed sails a few times and generally tinkered
around the boat listening to Forrest Gump music,
After check-in dinner will be served in the main nav station ( NY steak,
salad and baked potato) Potatoes bake much faster with a nail inside but
alas I have no nails aboard so I borrowed a cunningham hook.
Preparing and eating meals on a moving and heeling sailboat is challenge
but you have at least one side (the down side) as a friendly place to rest
stuff. Add in a large swell with little wind or going downwind and the local
environment becomes very chaotic. Making a pot of drip coffee can be a real
triumph or a mess! That was Wednesday and I had FSC meat-loaf with mashed
potatoes (little liquid) at noon.
The evening was better than the day. Bright stars and quarter moon (the
ultimate night light - no watts). It is warm enough to go on deck with a
T-shirt. At this latitude (about Ensenada without the Humbolt/ California
current) life is great! We just gotta get out of this place!
At 0300 I was at 31 deg 42 N and 134 deg 18 W heading south but now slowing
considerably c/o decrease in wind. Must get out and get boat moving. Then
one of Rachel's mint brownies from the freezer and nap-time. Chris, the
CD you made with Mission Impossible is blasting out here. But the neighbors
are a ways off. Marge, the 9th may be a tad soon.
To all the families and friends shore-side (some may be a bit anxious) all
the boats are doing well and and everyone sounds good at check-ins and all
seem to be solving minor boat issues. |
| Tiger Beetle |
06/30/06 |
2100 |
The fleet is cutting the corner of the Pacific High and have run shy on
wind - I can see the big 'H' in the sky directly above us and it's glass
out here. It's also suprising to realize I'm drifting south at 0.8 knots
- there are mid-ocean currents but it's something you don't normally notice.
According to the weather forecast the nearest wind filling station is located
50 miles to the south, and that's more or less where we're all headed.
Today Eyrie passed the quarter-way-there point and to celebrate Synthia
opened up her bottle of Cruzan mango rum and she's psyched. Much thanks
to Barb for supplying the good stuff. On the happy tummy front Seabird mentioned
a super meatloaf he has courtesy of the Surgery Center, and on Beetle the
Day 5 Cooler that Tatia had packed with solid CO2 and frozen food was opened
and food transferredinto the magic box. Even though the CO2 had sublimated
the contents are still frozen solid. I suddenly have ice cream!
Ragtime reports a fabulous day of superb sailing, smooth water, consistent
breeze, flying the asymmetric and having a super time tweaking sails. Bob
also had time to raid the candy box and sends a big Thank You to Connie
for the See's goodies.
For myself, today featured a wonderful rinse and shower. With a sunshower
full of hot water tied to the boom and shampoo at the ready, I popped on
mask, fins & snorkel and plunked into the water for a rinse and paddle
around the boat. Floating in crystal clear bright blue water 12,000 feet
deep is spectacularly surreal - there is no sense of depth, height, weight
or movement - as if you're floating in space. There are also tiny little
fishes resting in the hull shade, and no gooseneck barnacles have taken
root so far.
And now it is evening, breeze is stable, autopilot is driving and tonight
it's definitely movie night. I suspect ice cream tastes best in the High
while making 5 knots south towards the wind line.
- rob |
| Dogbark |
06/30/06 |
2230 |
A beautiful day to be out on the pacific, excepting the wind of course.
Blue water, blue skies, flying fish,one red billed tropic bird who did a
double fly-over. Still trying to head south to the wind, but it is very
frustrating in that regard. The sails and gear are so big it is hard to
respond to drastic changes quickly enough to take advantage. I like my position
being so far south but it is worrisome to see the Muse and Alchera still
moving along the course up there. Not much else to report,but I am having
fun, Al |
| Tiger Beetle |
07/01/06 |
0900 |
Good morning from mid-Pacific. Last night's sailing started with a call
from Alchera to say, "Look out - I've sent 10 knots from the NW headed
your way" and an hour later the breeze was here. At one am the wind
had backed sufficiently to set the 3/4 kite on a headstay reach and I went
back to sleep. That breeze has held all night - the kite is saying a big
Good Morning to Mr. Sun as he wakes up to climb over the horizon. It's an
awesome dawn, I'm in the center of a giant cloudless sky; usually not fast
to be without clouds, but sure is pretty.
One feature of morning check-in is News From the Outside World. Today we
learned that Ergo's Bill was allowed to become a member of the club that
hosts the TransPac start - Corinthian YC. Fortunately Bill had set aside
his singlehanded transpacific swim attempt and therefore we could deliver
the message to him. Bulletin two: Na Na has arrived in back in San Francisco
and is safely at dock. Bulletin three: Haulback has crossed the finish line
in Hanalei Bay and awaits arrival of race committee.
Dogbark reminded us that today is Canada Day! - and Foolish Muse, being
our lone Canuck, has therefore gone on holiday for the afternoon. Andy is
going to put on his touque, be happy that Canada defeated the Americans
in 1812, and hopefully make his boat go south, all at the time.
On the racing front winds remain light for the fleet, through for some reason
the lead four have found light northerly wind. Doesn't show up on the grib
data, and Al thinks his breeze is building and may take him into the trades.
Due to the light winds Westerly fired up his engine this morning and is
motoring south to position the boat for better winds in the hope that this
will get him to Kauai in time to meet his daughters. Steve therefore has
dropped out of the race but is continuing to sail along with the fleet.
Skippers are now reporting auditory hallucinations - those noises and creaks
that sound like snippets of conversation, chirps and rattles that the mind
translates into people having a conversation in the forepeak. Foolish Muse
was adjusting his sails early morning and wondering and why the crew he
was giving instructions to were not following through and what was he doing
in Germany? That's when he sat down and said out loud, "Wait a moment
- I'm in the midddle of the Pacific and should be sailing 220." Last
night Lou went forward to investigate a conversation, only to discover he
was still on his own.
On board Beetle we (beetle and I) are still relatively sane and have useful
conversations between us. I think today I will spend some time scouring
the radio channels to see if I can find Radio Australia and the BBC World
Service. For some reason I quite enjoy getting updates on the Australian
cricket scores.
Go fast, head south.
rob |
| Dogbark |
07/01/06 |
1100 |
Happy Canada Day to everyone, but particularly to the Foolish Muse and
Haulback. Jim Kellam has beaten everyone into Hanalei, not bad, heh? A glorious
sunrise this morning after a clear night first real good look at the night
sky. Venus was extremely bright preceding the sunrise. Winds returned to
Dogbark about 0400 with light NNE which has continued to build all morning.
Nothing odd for the rest of the way weather wise so they say. Light to moderate
trades, pretty staight forward. Lots of shade and sunscreen for the skipper,
but it is still hot. Water is quite warm so sea shower actually felt good
this morning. Westerly dropped out this morning but Steve will be continuing
to sail and motor on to Hanalei. Still looking like more light winds for
the bulk of the fleet for the nest couple of days. I am approaching the
halfway point and all is well, only minor hallucinations, take care, Al |
| Nereida |
07/01/06 |
1200 |
What a lovely day this has been!
At 7am, I decided it was time to hoist the spinnaker - all went well until
I realised the spinnaker halyard was on the wrong side of the genoa halyard
& pole uphaul. Grrr! Had to furl in genoa and take down pole before
I could sort it all out - by roll-call at 9am, we were moving along nicely,
goose-winged with poled-out genoa (or 'wing-on-wing, as they say in the
US!) and flying 'chute - looks good! Boatspeed has been excellent - up to
8kn at times, but regularly 6-7 kn. And Hermann is continuing to steer beautifully
- what a relief! Means I have been able to relax and thoroughly enjoy my
day.
I'm trying hard to keep heading due S, to avoid light winds to the west
of us, until I get to 130N when I can begin to 'turn the corner' - hopefully.
I've just downloaded updated wx faxes - I'll keep checking where that H
is to keep an eye on wind direction and change course as soon as it looks
safe to do so.
If I keep up a speed of 6kn SOG, that's 144ml/day.
Having looked at wx charts & plotted a course to stay in wind - that
gives a distance of 2181ml, giving ETA of 15 days from now = 16th July.
BUT THAT ASSUMES I CAN KEEP UP AVERAGE SPEED (SOG) OF 6KNOTS!!
Thought the calculation was interesting!! (Of course, should average drop
to 5.5kn, that brings us to midnight on 17th July! And if I should manage
an average of 6.5kn, that would bring me in on 15th July .... dream on!)
I've been playing around taking photos of Hermann and the sailplan - I'll
try to attach some of them to this Winlink email.
Time to cook - I'll be making a 'ratatouille stew' - my aubergine, bell
peppers and tomatoes are going off fast (result of being chilled and water-sprayed
in the supermarket - annoying but unavoidable in the US!) so I'll combine
them with courgettes, potatoes, meat & lots of garlic to make my favourite
'on-passage, pre-cooked' meal - should be able to store several portions
in the 'fridge.
The GPS has decided it's working for most of the day (that loose wire must
be connecting from time to time) so I've not had so much of the irritating
constant beeping it gives when it loses the data signal. I've no sense of
urgency to fix it now that I've got my alternatives working well (I'm getting
good at ignoring the beeping when it happens!).... maybe tomorrow I'll have
a look under that aft bunk... not looking forward to the moving of items
in the way, as can be gathered! Hasta manana.
The sun has poked its head out from the cloud cover from time to time -
it definitely feels a bit warmer, although it's still not warm enough for
shorts!
Time for a cup of tea while I cook.....!!
(At 6pm PDT: 32 26.3N, 126 52.5W; course:170M; boatspeed: 7.0, SOG: 6.7kn) |
| Tiger Beetle |
07/01/06 |
2100 |
We have discovered that Dogbark is the go-to guy for troubleshooting just
about anything that might be not be working. He's helped with Seabird's
generator low oil indicator, Nereida's electrical problems, Sail a Vie's
water in the motor, Ergo's non-charging alternator, and a raft of other
issues that afflict mechanical and electrical things on boats. It is always
surprising to realize that despite the huge effort put into getting these
boats ready for the race, an amazing amount of things still break. No wonder
we carry all these tools and spares and manuals in order to go sailing.
One things for sure - if you need something out here and forgot to bring
it with you, there's no way you're getting to find it out here.
Hesperus popped in to mention that Paul has eaten his final apple and orange,
and would like to say this to his sister and his cousin for the fresh food.
Paul is sailing the smallest boat in the fleet and while he has a good radio
installation I suspect he's in electron conservation mode - therefore a
minimal conversationalist.
In Beetle boat land, this evening Arch Enemy Alchera appeared over the horizon
for a visit and gave me quite a fright. I was down below working away re-applying
sticky back over yesterday's spinnaker repair when a cheerful disembodied
voice from behind said, "Hi Rob! Nice Kite!" I leapt straight
up and hit my head on the overhead (never turn your back on the VHF). This
is the second time Alchera and Beetle have crossed paths this race and it's
a grand to see Arch Enemy, even better to see him off your transom. Mark
shows as one mile closer to Hanalei in tonight's report, and I thnk he flipped
over for a short gybe to starboard just before check-in just to get that
mile, as now he's gybed back and is following along. Cruel, cruel. We've
agreed not to play bumper-boats tonight, and I've tuned the radar so I can
watch him. Racing in the bay we're accustomed to passing within meters of
other boats, but out here a boat 4 miles off is suddenly way too close for
comfort.
Beetle has a few sails and so far I've used seven. Tomorrow the downwind
butterfly headsail will go up the headstay in place of the no. 1 genoa.
The butterfly is wonderful, a pair of huge 150% triradial genoas built of
1.5 oz nylon that share a single luff tape. They are especially useful as
a spinnaker replacement when it is too windy or too deep to fly a proper
kite, in which case the arrangement is point the boat downwind, set the
main out to leeward, pole out the weather genoa and sheet the leeward genoa
to the toe rail aft. Then I can use the schaefer roller furler to control
the amount of exposed sail area. The difficult part of changing the sail
is folding the no.1 back into its bag - that can be a several hour process.
Fortunately the wind is light and the decks are dry - sail scheduled for
morning before the sun climbs too high and it gets hot.
rob |
| Dogbark |
07/01/06 |
2200 |
As of 2230 hrs Dogbark is halfway to Hanalei Bay. I will open gifts tomorrow
as I am too tired to enjoy them tonight. I flew the spinnaker since 0400
to get into the trades and I think we are there but the quite light, peaking
at about 10 knots and shifting 20 or 30 degrees about every 30 minutes.
Not my definition of trades but I am sure would satisfy most of this fleet
about now. Saw another tropicbird and lots of flying fish and plastic debris.
Tried fishing with out success but it feels good to be halfway. Had some
sweet and sour pork with rice, quite good, and celebratory beer. Good night
, Al |
| Dogbark |
07/02/06 |
0800 |
Dogbark had a halfway party this morning with scrambled eggs and sausage,
fresh grapefruit, some pear cider and cards and gifts from home and other
sailors. Thanks a lot Tatia, Sandy and Stu (get ready for 08), MJ and Owen,
fellow N dockers. The cabin sole is somewhat littered with party popper
streamers, party animal that I am. Weather is quite benign though, with
a beautiful Venus preceding the sunrise. The stars are amazing to see out
here. Winds 10-12 out of NE. Looks like it will be another fine day of sailing.
Thanks again to the race committee, supporters and friends for all that
you do to make this such a great event for all of us. Geez, it sounds like
some lame awards speech, must be the cider, yeah that's the ticket. Al |
| Tiger Beetle |
07/02/06 |
0900 |
Tiger Beetle was seized this morning by a sudden urge to go fishing and
is therefore to be known for the day as F/V Tiger Beetle. Unfortunately,
I think we're only practicing fishing as we haven't caught a fish (yet).
Alchera and Dogbark are likewise towing lures at dawn/dusk and between the
three of us we have scored a zero in the fresh fish department. Lively discussion
has followd on the radio regarding the relative merits of purple, as opposed
to green and red, feathered lures. Cousin Phil swears by his cedar plug
but we noted he is fishless as well and therefore experience may not count
for everything.
At daybreak I was greeted by two aerial visitors - a dark brown albatross
cruising for fish and our first Tropic Bird. Armed with Harrison's Seabirds
the Phaethontidae was identified as either a red-billed or white-tailed
tropic bird; strangely enough, the red-billed version also has white tails.
Note to self: remember to look for beak color.
Sail a Vie almost scored a glass fishing ball last night! He sited the green
ball off to leeward, gybed over in the light air, sailed slooowly over towards
it - it was green and shiny all right. He got the boat along side and reached
out to grab it with both hands (glass balls are slippery, use two hands)
at which point he realized he was nose to beak with a green sea turtle.
For its part, the turtle floated calmly beside the boat and looked at Phil
with interest. Phil backed off rapidly, surprised and glad to not be bitten
by the turtle. Phil is now scouring the surface for more green fishing balls,
preferably those without flippers.
Mark has convinced himself that there is a chunk of net or line stuck on
Alchera's keel which is preventing Alchera from sailing to her polars. He's
going to stop the boat to dive the hull and investigate. Hopefully he finds
nothing that requires cutting away with a knife. In the meantime Dogbark
is the first competitor to celebrate the Half Way point, and found in his
half-way package cool comic books, a nifty bottle of cider, and an 1920
vintage life boat chart printed on waterproof paper (unfortunately, the
chart is for the North Atlantic).
Harrier checked in this morning, he and Eyrie are drag racing to Hawaii.
Ken still has a bag-full of autopilots in reserve and hasn't yet tapped
the backup spinnakers - his primary kite is still going full steam.
And it's off into another nice day. Dogbark is reporting better breeze ahead,
Arch Enemy has stopped his boat, Foolish Muse is charging down the course
doing an amazing job, and my 1/2 oz kite has been since yesterday afternoon
is performing solidly. Time to go change headsails and keep heading south.
Enjoy the day!
rob |
| Seabird |
07/02/06 |
1900 |
Well today was much better after a 4 h nap last night and letters from
home this morning. Have had sustained winds over 5kn true all day with gentle
ripples in the gorgeous blue ocean. Who ever thought that such a breeze
would bring such elation?? Wind is from ESE and until recently very smooth.
Now there is a slight rolling coming from the east which may mean the better
winds are coming. They also tend to slow the boat somewhat. Its hard to
keep 20 ton boat moving in light air. Am going pretty much south because
the boat neighbor just west of me by 60 nm and south by 15 nm had no wind
this AM and night. So I do not want to turn right and go there. A lot will
hinge on check-in tonight. Harrier and Eyrie are rocketing south on my tail.
If they are still following behind me then I may be doing something right.
They are very good. I suspect that all will be out of high by tonight. Today
was a reaching day with the only jib all the way out and constant trimming.
A little soon to go right and try the asym again. Another piece of good
news is that the barometer fell 2 mb just today. Another triumph, I downloaded
weather faxes onto the computer from SSB radio. They may be clearer than
the Furuno faxes!
Today was good enough to make me forget the first 50 hrs. However I will
not forget the high real soon! No shirt, sunscreen on face and a delicious
half tuna sandwich for lunch.
A warning about the dirt shirts and the washing machine. My wife was pretty
surprised to have an orange washing machine! The last of the chocolate in
the refer for so long is gone now but I smeared a little on Marge's pillowcase
like they do at the Ritz-Carleton and Silver Seas! That was really good
stuff and certainly aged well! I am down to 5 lemons for iced tea so the
wedges are getting less generous!
I will celebrate passing 35 x 135 with one of the 2 pink grapefruits for
breakfast in AM. Also a fresh grilled steak sounds great!
Tonight will be meat-loaf a la FSC galley and instant mashed potatoes with
freeze dried chives, cheddar, butter and bacon-bits. Sadly I forgot the
sour cream. I will celebrate sustained 10 knot winds with a hot fudge sunday,
if that ever happens. The batteries got a good charge today and today was
classical music all day except hymns in AM. Country tomorrow. It is certainly
easier to type in the afternoon in daylight. ( and maybe better rested)
As I write this the wind is fading fast!. |
| Tiger Beetle |
07/02/06 |
2100 |
It is beginning to sink in just how long this race is going to be. The
main body of the fleet is slowly pinwheeling around the southeast corner
of the High and finding the light winds frustrating. Spirits remain reasonably
high, however, and I suspect a good night's sleep will work wonders as we
are in fact all rather tired after eight days of racing. Good thing we have
thirteen more days to make it to the finish line! That said, all of us who
were out in the very fast very windy '04 race three day gale prefer the
gliding along in sunshine and mild seas we are experiencing now.
Meanwhile, on with the race. This morning Mark droped sails and stopped
Alchera dead in the water, then jumped in to make a check under the boat
for a dragging line or fouled net, only to discover there was nothing wrong.
However, upon resetting the sails he believes that the boat is sailing much
better, therefore whatever it was fell off when he stopped the boat. Lends
credence to Hesperus' suggestion of, "Has he considered backing the
boatdown?"
Winds have remained light and frustratingly shifty, making it difficult
to fly a spinnaker unattended; as you shortly discover you're sailing too
deep and the kite goes limp, and fifteen minutes later the wind has shifted
twenty degrees, the boat picks up speed and drives the apparent wind forward,
and suddenly you're pointing too high! Several discussions on how best to
tackle the problem, and those without are envious of those with autopilots
that will steer to a dampened apparent wind angle.
Tiger Beetle was extremely surprised by a series of enormously loud explosions
booming up from the south mid-morning. Sounded different than a sonic boom,
more like live fire guns. About four in the afternoon a fighter jet flew
by on afterburner and the roar was huge, and those little planes don't get
mid-Pacific without refueling or an aircraft carrier... and at check-in
Dogbark confirmed the presence of a US Navy carrier battle group - he spent
several hours watching them sail by horizon to horizon, the sky filled with
helicopters, airplane, prop planes, fighters buzzing around. When the firing
initially started Al called them on the VHF to point out he was there and
please be careful. He was told they were very aware of exactly where he
was and they were directing fire away.
Another subject that has come up - where do pelagic birds go at night to
sleep? They aren't any convenient islands here (I'm roughly a thousand miles
from anywhere), and they wouldn't necessarily be comfortable sleeping on
the water. One explanation I've heard from the Farallon Island birding people
is that birds fly can fly on automatic pilot, much like breathing - it just
happens, you don't think about it - and birds are in the unique position
to shut down one side of the brain at a time while the other side manages
flight. This thinking is a bird out here can go into a semi-sleep state
and continue to fly around. I wonder if anyone has caught a bird busy sleeping
on the wing?
Questions, questions. Oop, the wind has filled again, off to trim the kite.
rob |
| Dogbark |
07/02/06 |
2200 |
This afternoon Dogbark was visited by a whole Navy Aircraft battle group
of about ten ships with all sorts of aircraft buzzing about. Fighter jets,
helos, radar planes conducting some kind of exercise that included live
fire which got my attention. The sailors on the radio were very friendly
though and said they knew I was there and not to worry. Pretty magnificent
sight though. This evening I was passed by the Horizon Consumer headed back
to the states from Hawaii. Also standing a very good watch and responded
to the first call. The day was spent sailing downwind under spinnaker since
0600 and will go until about 2400, then down to genoa poled out to get some
sleep periods. Note to Dave, yes if I had apparent wind I could sail all
night with spinnaker. Very pleasant sailing though I think I am ready for
the anchorage in Hanalei. Looks like more of the same for tomorrow. Al |
| Alchera |
07/02/06 |
2200 |
A very busy day today. For the past 20 hours or so I had noticed that
Alchera didn't seem to be performing up to speed. It was often difficult
to tell in the light winds, but I was convinced something was wrong. I suspected
something had gotten caught around the keel or rudder, just big enough to
slow the boat by a knot or so, but not enough to really be obvious. So it
took awhile to convince myself that indeed there must be something there
and I wasn't just imagining it.
So right after checkin I took down the spinnaker, rounded the boat up, and
dropped the mainsail. Put the helm hard over so the boat wouldn't move very
fast in the water just from the existing wind, got on my suit, fins, snorkel,
and harness, tethered myself to the boat, and jumped overboard to check
out the bottom. Nothing. Everything looked fine. So I raised the mainsail
to get going again, and the boat took off just like old times, nice and
quick. All I can figure is that there was indeed something stuck down below,
but in the process of me rounding up the boat and backing it down to get
the mainsail down, whatever it was became dislodged and floated away while
I was occupied. The difference in the boat's performance was dramatic, so
I know I wasn't imagining it.
The next job on the agenda was to take the jib off the roller furler, get
it stowed, and put up the butterfly jib in preparation for the downwind
trades. Butterfly jibs, or 'twins' are double jibs which can be poled out
to one or both sides. Very useful for the singlehander when too tired to
fly a spinnaker, or when the wind is too challenging to do so. Also very
useful in light air, where a spinnaker might be unable to stay filled. But
it's a real job to do the switch, and typically takes a couple of hours.
So the twins are on the furler now and ready when I need to use them.
That done, the spinnaker went back up and we were back to racing. Came within
sight of Tiger Beetle again, we seem to be doing that a lot this race. Our
individual strategies seem to be similar, and our boats similar in performance,
so we keep running into each other. It's been really nice, since we chat
several times a day on the VHF radio.
Caught the first Dorado of the race this evening at check-in, a nice 33
incher. It's all sliced up in the fridge now ready for some good eatin!
Also spoke on SSB with Jim Kellam aboard the good ship Haulback, now anchored
in Hanalei Bay waiting for the racers to arrive. Jim raced with the fleet
two years ago, and then left to sail around the world. He's just now made
it back to Kauai, and is wondering what is keeping us slackers from showing
up. I made a bunch of excuses about the high pressure zones, etc., but he
wasn't buying it. It will be good to see him again, he's quite a character.
Mark |
| Nereida |
07/02/06 |
2300 |
I've managed to stay in good winds so far by being this far west &
have been trying to zoom S as fast as I could while most of the rest of
the race fleet are caught in light winds!! As a result, I had a bit of a
nightmare last night & early this morning in 25-30kn winds with full
canvas + spinnaker...oops! But I was regularly making 8 knots or more!!
Problem arose when I badly mishandled the adjustment to the Windpilot as
we slewed around in a big gust - I had to take over the helm at around 3
o'clock in the morning - and was then trapped there, rushing along in the
darkness and big seas/winds, thinking I couldn't use Hermann, waiting for
the morning light (and hopefully for an easing of the conditions) with the
instrument lights regularly turning themselves off. I seemed to be forever
switching them on again so I could see the wind direction relative to the
boat - being on almost a dead run, I didn't want to back the main by steering
too far to port but wanted to stay on a course that took us as far south
as possible (to keep good wind speed away from the centre of the high over
the next few days). The GPS also kept 'beeping' at me frequently, screaming
'no data'... !
I could see that the spinnaker badly needed to be taken down since it kept
jerking about and snatching in the big, gusty winds. I'd already spotted
that part of the problem was that the aft guy block was no longer held down
on the aft quarter, the shackle holding the block down having disappeared
- obviously the pin had come loose ("why hadn't I moused it?")
so the line was now effectively several feet longer than it had been and
leading directly to a winch, catching on a lifeline as it did so. I could
also see that the spinnaker forward guy (downhaul) was catching on the pulpit
and moving it about violently - I was very worried about major damage occurring
there - already some damage had possibly already taken place because the
upper lifeline had become very loose. The problem was how to get the spinnaker
down when I had to stay at the wheel.. seemed to me that I couldn't heave
to from a run with the genoa poled out! (And where would the spinnaker have
wrapped itself then, anyw!
ay..?)
Eventually, as light came, I was able to furl in the genoa, bit by bit,
and then discovered that 'Nereida' seemed to be staying on course with no
problem - Hermann was back in business again (& could probably have
taken charge a lot earlier!).
Getting the spinnaker down in the strong, gusty conditions was another nightmare
- on going forward, I started pulling down the sock, nearly losing the lines
completely in the process - and then, to my horror, watched as the spinnaker
flapped about & wrapped itself thoroughly around the forestay/genoa
- how ever was I going to get it unravelled...? It had also been jerking
madly at the pulpit - damage there was clearly extensive already - I just
had to get it down. Somehow, I managed to catch hold of & pull on the
after guy without being parachuted into mid-air (close call there!!) and
found that, by persevering, slowly the spinnaker unravelled from the genoa
- then it flapped madly and wrapped itself again!! No...! The after guy
was clearly also too short for me to get the sock down fully - back aft
to release what I hoped was just enough line. I finally unravelled the spinnaker
again and hauled the sock down to tame it, eventually lowering it to the
deck with a feeling of reli!
ef. By now, it was nearly 9am - race fleet rollcall time. I let out the
genoa on its pole again and we were sailing nicely with Hermann in charge.
I could relax.....
My intended job of the day had been to investigate the mis-behaving GPS
and autopilot by getting to under the aft bunk (no mean job!) - that I did,
and found a slightly loose connection on the GPS input to the course computer.
Sorting this out meant lying almost upside down, no mean feat... Nothing
else seemed amiss, but I checked all wires were well pushed in to their
connectors, fuses, also power & data input/ output while I was there
- I'm getting quite good at using a multi-meter these days! Finding that
the GPS was no longer regularly 'beeping' at me,I congratulated myself on
a job well done - especially when I spotted that the 'auto' was, for no
really obvious reason, now coming on - the autopilot was OK?? (Having Hermann
in charge, with the wheel locked off, I didn't want to check that out any
further, but that seems to be the case- time will tell.)
Having put everything back, I decided it was time to write up my log and
check weather & emails - went to switch on the SSB - nada!! Unbelievable...
what else was going to go wrong...?? I decided it had to be a power supply
issue... cleared space and wriggled myself in to under the radio (in the
aft cabin) to check the rear fuses, having found my spares first. They were
both fine but I changed them anyway. So now to the switch... I took off
the cover... to discover a bare & corroded positive lead hidden away
beneath .... cause of the problem?? Some worker hadn't made a decent connection
& obviously reckoned it wouldn't be noticed, being out of sight....
thanks!...
It was getting late so I left dealing with that job for the morning and
sent an email of my position and the SSB loss to Lucie (race cttee) using
my Inmarsat C terminal- at least that (for now!!) is working and satellites
are usually (not always!) in good view. I also put my Iridium phone on charge
(expensive, but occasionally irreplaceable). I hope L. communicates to the
fleet so they know why I couldn't check in. I definitely felt a bit down/isolated
with the SSB loss - I use it so much for keeping in contact with friends
& really look forward to getting their news, quite apart from the fact
that I now have no way of getting proper weather info - so I can't be sure
where that high pressure system centre is and where to aim for, or avoid,
to make the best course to Kauai. All I have is the 4-day forecast from
this morning to work with & hope things don't change too much.
I was thankful for my ready-made meal from yesterday and got down to sleep
early - I was tired, not having got much sleep last night. |
| Tiger Beetle |
07/03/06 |
0900 |
Last night was an unusual one out here - about midnight four sets of very
bright amber lights appeared, scattered across the horizon, and several
more blips came up on 16 mile radar. I was wondering about this when the
radio crackled to life. "Warship 73, this is Warship 76" "No
joy" "MOD". Ahah! I called them - "Warship 76, this
is sailing vessel Tiger Beetle. I have no idea where you are, but would
you like to know where I am?" Brief pause, and the pleasant reply,
"Yes - we'd like to know where you are." I gave data, brief pause,
and "Roger. We have you tracked on radar. Maintain course and speed,
we will avoid you." I was happy about that last bit as I was sailing
under a spinnaker that was finally working nicely and I didn't want to change
course and screw that up.
Turns out that I was sailing right through the center of the US Navy carrier
battle group, in bound after 6 months at sea. The closest amber light, Warship
76, was the carrier, and I sailed by two miles to port - a very distinctive
silhouette in the moonlight. At that point their bridge called over and
asked, "How big is your boat? We have a bet going here." We chatted
for a bit, and they were surprised to realize there was a whole fleet of
little boats out in front of them, and yes, they would be happy to have
our check-in frequencies and times to know where we were.
And the loud booms way off over the horizon that morning? I asked if they
were having a live fire exercise. "Ah, yes. We were having an aerial
firepower demonstration." I told them it sounded very impressive, and
they said, "Yes, it was."
Good radio reception on 4021 MHz for morning check-in. Tiger Beetle is no
longer fishless, having landed a 34" mahi mahi during roll call - fresh
fish! And it's Half Way There for Alchera and Beetle - we both went through
1060 miles to go during roll call. Finally, we're no longer leaving San
Francisco, we are going to Hanalei Bay.
The fleet was upbeat this morning, the breeze is filling through for those
on the south of the course, Ragtime is booking along at 9 knots, causing
Andy some concern. Andy has finished up the last of his fresh eggs he got
at Corinthian YC - he's been cooking them up as scrambled in his one pot
burner/heater hunkered down inside is Olson 30 and he reports they were
tasty. Seabird had his perfect texas pink grapefuit and exclaims it is great
be here! He's also going to look up which aircraft carrier 76 happens to
be.
Synthia has decided that as she's singlehanded, perhaps there could be another
moniker in addition to the doublehanded Dolls with Balls when doublehanding
with Sylvia. Turns out she can receive text messages via her Iridium phone,
so she's inviting messages to fill out Chicks with [insert your word here].
Carroll E has a new addition to the menu courtesy of his fish no. 2, and
he is going to celebrate his 1/3 of the way there with fresh grilled fish.
He's also
Back on board beetle, I have dropped the .7 kite as our first series of
squalls approaches right during check-in as the fish bit the lure and I
crossed the half way point. It was very peaceful for the prior four hours,
and now everything has happened simultaneously. Good thing I got some great
sleep last night, as it's going to be a busy next couple hours. I've already
gybed the main, now to wing out the butterfly, dress the fish, and then
time to open half way presents!
rob |
| Dogbark |
07/03/06 |
1100 |
Its beginning to sound like a broken record, but it truly is a beautiful
day again out here, nice NE trades at 15 knots, Dogbark's spinnaker went
up at 0600 probably not to come down until 2400. The second half of this
race is so different from the first, nice winds, nice weather and not much
in the way of tactical decision making as far as I can see. It has been
a long race though and I will be happy for it to end in 4-5 more days. Will
try my hand at fishing today and see what the sea has to offer. No contact
with Nereida for the last two check-ins, hope it is just an electrical issue
as Jeanne has had some electrical gremlins so far. Its a very good boat
and she has had extensive experience so I would guess it is no serious issue.
Al |
| Dogbark |
07/03/06 |
1900 |
Another day in paradise, except starting to miss friends and loved ones
back home. Same old story, 15 NE, sun and spinnaker going along smoothly
until thud and the boat quickly comes to a stop like it ran into a mud bank.
I am down below and first think, Oh no another spinnaker in the drink. But
then the boat starts turning and heeling and I imagine all sorts of scenarios.
Whale, Container, but it turns out to be a huge ball of poly net materials.
It is wider than Dogbark at 15' and the boat is at a total stop from 8 knots.
Wind pressure has now heeled the boat over like a knockdown and we sort
of roll off this island and continue sailing. Additional bummer is my fishing
line is out trailing behind and also caught the junk for a moment before
the line parted. What are the odds of hitting something like that out here
in the middle of the ocean? On the other hand you hear about of enough stories
that must mean there is a lot of junk out here and/or a lot of people traveling
around. A quick check below shows no major damage but I will dive on the
boat in Hanalei. Corned beef hash and eggs for dinner, Al |
| Tiger Beetle |
07/03/06 |
2100 |
Good evening from the TransPac fleet. The front four are happily in the
solid trades, running deep in 15-20 knots of wind and the body of the fleet
is perking up on the incoming 10-15 breeze swinging across the ridge. It
only takes a couple knots extra wind to raise the spirits out here, and
today we have it. Seabird reported that Nereida has sent position reports
via email to race committee, so she is presumably doing well, but we haven't
been able to raise her on the radio and therefore the fleet does not know
where she is.
Ergo had a surprise when, as a result of radio trouble shooting courtesy
of Harrier and Hesperus, it was determined there existed a loose connection
inside the SSB antenna tuner. To get at the tuner Bill opened up the lazarette
and crawled down inside, armed with screwdriver, and started in on the turner.
At this point the boat rolled and the lazarette hatch slammed shut, leaving
Bill inside the suddenly dark lazarette. At the same time the lazarette
hasp had swung shut, locking him inside. Uh-oh. It took Bill ten minutes
of banging on the hatch lid to get the hasp to joggle free enough to re-open
the hatch. Bill went back into the lazarette and fixed the loose antenna
connection, presumably tying the hatch open this time.
Foolish Muse has crossed the half-way point and he is a kid in a candy store,
literally, as he's enjoying the trades, spinnaker up going lickity-split
across the waves. Today was his first sighting of a flying fish and they
are amazing critters, able to leap out of a wave face and take off for flights
of several hundred feet. Sometimes you'll see 50 or more explode out of
the water as the boat's shadow crosses over them, and they scatter in all
directions. Andy has opened the bottle of wine in is half way gift, complete
with wine glass, and is toasting a major milestone: he's halfway to Hawaii
and loving it.
On Beetle I've been taking it easy today following four days of flying spinnakers
continously. The butterfly is up and drawing well in what is now 17 knots
of wind, the bow aimed straight down the pipe at Hanalei. The waves are
slowly building, four feet now and Beetle is beginning to glide out on some
nice surges (at 21000 pounds we don't so much surf as surge down a wave,
and definitely don't plane). The first squalls of the race have come through,
they were small and therefore a nice way to ease into squall country. As
we get deeper in the trades and the water warms up the squalls will become
stronger and require more attention, but today they are docile. Hope they
stay that way tonight.
Halfway presents were great! I have several comic books, a tasty Samuel
Smith's Tadcaster now chilling, and a fine selection of novels and books.
Thanks to Mom and Dad, Tatia, Sarita and Ralph, and Jean for the fun goodies,
including the lots of candy and toys as well. I will be reading the new-on-board
literature over the next week as we glide to Kauai.
From the floating library and surge board,
rob |
| Nereida |
07/03/06 |
2300 |
Had a good night, despite GPS all of a sudden deciding it was NOT OK from
7pm on...grrr!.... why??? For several hours it had been happily silent and
I thought I'd resolved that problem. I suspect that Mark (Alchera) is right
- maybe one instrument is sending 'silly' msgs to all the others, resulting
in lots of different problems
We're making excellent speed, even without spinnaker. Conditions are quite
gusty - generally making boatspeed of 6.6-7.3, up to 7.9 & 8 in strong
gusts. Occasional gentle surfing at 8.6 or so! If the gusts weren't coming,
I would try the spinnaker again - but will now wait for calmer conditions,
being happy with our general speed. Can't risk more damage from a snatching
'chute. Barometer is reading 1023 and has been for over a day now, except
a short time this morning when it went up to 1024 - I promptly turned us
a little back S, having just previously turned more W!! 1020 is usually
the 'golden figure' to keep at/under, so I'm already pushing my luck. Wish
I had up-to-date weather info.
Spent quite a time writing up log, listening to music.
Tried phoning all the fleet with Iridium phones this morning - not a single
call was successful! So emailed Lucie again with position - was very happy
later in day to get a text msg to my phone to confirm receipt of email -
nice to have contact of some sort..!!
5pm: ALL OK with power supply to switch for SSB supply - had to re-make
a spade connection which had come apart - didn't take too long - wish all
present problems were resolved so easily!! Then caught up on weather/emails/logs/position
reports!!
Took a time trying to see which way I should head - almost directly to Kauai
from now on looks OK for wind direction and strength. (Later) Seems odd
to me that I haven't been able to get through to anyone since my first download
early this evening - wonder if something is amiss with my transmission?
No way to find out just now.
10pm: How frustrating! I could hear the rest of the fleet clearly on 4 (also
on 6 & 8) Mhz on the SSB at 9pm rollcall - but not one of them seemed
to be able to hear me, so having to send position etc by email again. I
heard their positions clearly so could see how their wind compared with
their position relative to the H. Interesting & instructive - think
I'm crossing a slight 'ridge' now - wind is really up and down a lot and
varying in direction somewhat as it varies in strength. But generally still
making good speed.
Daily (24hr) runs of late have been excellent: (Thurs to Mon morning) -
134, 128, 163, 153 n.mls! |
| Dogbark |
07/04/06 |
0800 |
Kind of quiet night out here, not much cloud cover or squall activity.
Excellent view of the half moon out the forward hatch while in my berth.
Nice moonset a while later. Wind is up to 20 so I keep the poled out genoa
until after morning check-in because the upper frequencies mess up the autopilot
I normally use. The lighter duty pilot can't cope with the spinnaker loads
on the rudder but can handle the wing and wing set up as well the other
frequencies. Most everyone seems to have the breeze now and moods are more
upbeat. Nereida checked in via email so no worries there. Have a Happy Fourth
of July everyone, Al |
| Tiger Beetle |
07/04/06 |
0900 |
It's another beautiful morning here in the Pacific as Beetle heads down
the track straight into Hanalei. The butterfly is still flying, we are making
fine VMG with very little work, though one must endure an enormous amount
of rolling from side to side. I slept a lot last night and no squalls this
morning - not a bad world to wake up to!
We bumped the check-in up to 6A as this frequency is working much better
for the fleet, though unfortunately transmitting on 6MHz causes Seabird's
autopilot to do donuts, not so good out here, and therefore Lou can only
listen in. In his place Sail a Vie ran the roll call. And Hesperus was able
to very faintly copy Nereida at check-in, so she's back on the position
report today. There appears to be something wrong with her transmitter,
as she can copy us quite clearly but her signal is not getting off the boat
very well.
We heard from Haulback today via SSB. Last time I heard from Haulback over
SSB he was south of the equator headed for Tahiti following the '04 TransPac
race. He has returend following his circumnavigation, and is happily ensconced
in Hanalei and where he is acting as an advance scout for the fleet. Jim
thinks he can make more room in the anchorage for the incoming fleet and
has devised a cunning plan - he will run up and down the beach, waving his
arms and making strange noises while naked. He figures that will run off
the natives.
At dawn I watched a ship pass by 8 miles to the north, and Ragtime reported
an appearance by the container ship Matsonia - so we must be close to a
great circle route again. Ragtime picked up Matsonia on AIS, rang them up
on the VHF and the captain said he's stop by for a visit. The ship altered
course and pulled up alongside - Bob had a grand time waving up at all the
people on the bridge, and they had in turn were busy taking pictures of
some weirdo in his tiny boat out here in the middle of the ocean. Apparently
they have emailed the photos to Connie, who doesn't read email but who does
read the logs - therefore, Connie, check your email to find out what Bob
is up to.
Phil had an encounter of the giant tuna kind. Last night he was pulling
in the fish lines when he noticed one was very heavy and he couldn't get
the fish up to the surface, so he tied the line off and let it drag for
a while, hoping to tire the fish out some more. After check-in he went back
to the line and in the dark pulled to the surface the giantest tuna he's
ever seen - he figures a good five feet long and the mouth was so huge he
could have put his whole arm in. Phil stood there and looked at the tuna,
the tuna looked at Phil, and Phil decided this was a fish he had no desire
to do battle with, but he did want the lure back. Suddenly the fish started
flapping about and the hook slipped free, much to Phil's relief as he figured
a fish that big, if it could be lifted aboard, would have destroyed the
cockpit! Today there is a very large tuna swimming around out there, and
Phil still has all fingers and toes intact.
On the food front Eyrie had a double serving of cream of weegee for dinner
last night, thanks to Terry. We're not sure what this is but Synthia said
her spirits are soaring and that weegee is the best soul food on the planet.
We are concerned that she may be losing it as she said, and I quote, "I
mabe be by myself but I am not alone." I made her repeat it twice to
get it right.
It's back to sailing Beetle, which today mostly means sitting back and watching
the ocean go by as we are pretty much in self-management mode. The butterfly
doesn't require trimming (just keep the boat within 30 degrees of DDW),
the cockpit strings already put away in their sheet bags. It is time to
address the interior, which is looking a bit manky.
Go fast and head for the beach.
rob |
| Seabird |
07/04/06 |
1200 |
I have completed my trek south to the Promised Land. I woke up at 0700
this AM below Lat 27 with good breeze out of NNE so I jibed over to head
west at last. I may have broken a basic transpac rule. Do not change tracks
north or south. But I needed enough wind to move this boat DDW. I also briefly
forgot that the Promised Land is Squall Land. I have been through three
doozers and many more nearby. Course changes every 15 minutes as wind warns
me by shifting to ENE.
Wonder what the night will bring? Definitely an early dinner and sleeping
in cockpit. Dinner tonight is Harris Ranch short ribs and baked potato a
la Cunningham hook
105 miles to half way. Anxiously waiting but I must admit to getting into
Tatia's basket for the licorice. Another on of my weaknesses.
I hope to join the 900 Club in 48 hours.
I got the scoop on the Carrier Fleets. At least one is a Tiger Cruise for
dependents etc. They have a fantastic barbeque on those trips and they grill
3000+ Harris Ranch NY steaks for the crew and dependent guests on the flight
deck. Of course the skipper has complete control of the breeze on the deck
by adjusting course and speed. Earlier I went on deck and smelled steak
grilling. It was a bit hazy so I thought maybe I was downwind from one of
the CVN's. I went down and tried "any vessel" on ch 16. No response
and alas the steak oder was me. I still have not used up the first 40 gallon
water tank but I am now beginning to calculate cigars with VMG to Hanalei.
Music today was Victory at Sea to contemplate the victory of finishing.
The anniversary issue is not working out very well Marge, I'm sorry, but
I will get there.
Meanwhile we will keep rocking and rolling in the Promised Land.
Best to all |
| Tiger Beetle |
07/04/06 |
2100 |
We're in the trade winds now, complete with big nasty squalls and and
big puffy nice squalls. Today was spent mostly fending off the nasty type
that come in long trains and carry winds of 30 knots. Squalls are one of
the not-so-pleasant features of the TransPac race, mostly because they appear
and disappear unexpectedly, they change the wind directions which means
you have to go on deck and make adjustments, and they change wind strength,
which means you have to go on deck and alter sails. As as result you spend
a lot of time running up and down between the bunk and cockpit, back to
the bunk, then back up to the cockpit again later on. Bleah! I wish squalls
would go somewhere else, preferably where I am not. But they aren't listening
as currently there is a nice healthy squall behind and to weather (it will
pass by no problem), and another to aeam to leeward - it should pass ahead
and be no problem either. It's the sneaky squall that appears on the aft
quarter that you have to watch out for, as that squall may indeed march
right up and over you.
Squalls typically travel in pairs, or longer trains of 5-8 vertical clouds
billowing up from the lower 3000 foot clouds; the bit sticking up much higher
is the heat engine that results in extra wind down at surface level, so
one can look around and count parts sticking up and be reasonably certain
where the squalls are. I've also got the radar tuned to where it will see
water as well as ships, which makes it easier to sleep as the alarm will
go off when a squall gets within 6 miles of Beetle.
One nifty feature of Your Friend the Squall is they travel at a slight angle
northwards relative to the prevailing wind, something like 15 degrees, and
I believe this is the Coriolis effect and preserving angular momentum. Either
way, the fact that there is a general behavior to squalls makes it possible
to figure out which ones are potential problems, and how to maneuver to
avoid them.
Today Beetle had the first gear breakage of the race - the connector between
the main track car and the batten end fitting snapped off, raining down
little bits of metal into the cockpit, one of which actually bounced off
my head! Fortunately this is a straightforward fix and I have two spares
on board, so I dropped the main, replaced the fitting, rehoisted the main
and we keep on heading for the beach.
I need to go upstairs and discuss squall strategy with the boat. So far
we have reefed the main and the butterfly is half-furled, winds are 20k
and we're bopping along between 6 and 9 knots on the swell. Port pole will
probably be better than starboard, there will be gying shortly.
Hope everyone else has a fine night sans squalls.
rob |
| Dogbark |
07/04/06 |
2200 |
Hope every one had a happy fourth, Dogbark just keeps on going. Same old
story, NE 15-20, sunshine and spinnaker all day, can't get much better,
although a shower and a nice cold beer sounds good. Had the top slide almost
seventy feet up the mast break just at tonight's check-I heard this loud
bang and something hits the deck while I am on the radio. I dash out and
look around fearing the worst of course and find it just laying there. It
was the bail from the sail slide just below the headboard. How it landed
on the deck and stayed on the deck from some seventy feet in the air while
rolling around under 1.5 oz kite in 20 knots is just one of those things.
Right now it looks like a finish on Friday sometime, but who knows really.
Al |
| Dogbark |
07/05/06 |
0800 |
I think it must sound like a broken record by now, but the weather is
still NE 15-20, sunny skies, mostly starry nights. No squalls for Dogbark
so far. Woke up to a foredeck full of flying fish when I when to set the
spinnaker this morning. Probably a dozen of the really little ones about
2 inches long. Talked to the race committee via Haulback last night and
no changes decided on yet regarding time limits, etc. I told them I expected
to be in sometime on Friday. That is all for today, Al |
| Tiger Beetle |
07/05/06 |
0900 |
It's Wednesday morning, and the fleet is now interested in the finer details
of spinnaker setting technique. We are all amazed that Al flies a 3000 square
foot kite out here in the trades, sun-up to midnight, but Al simply says
the boat is a real stable platform and it's no big deal. I think he's just
being modest.
The consensus is (start with spinnaker in sock): set guy through pole, attach
guy to sail, set pole into position with lift, foreguy, guy. Attach sheet
to sail, set sheet tensioned on winch. Tie center of sock line to deck,
hoist sock on halyard. The goal is to have the bottom 10-15 feet of the
sail hanging out of the sock and filled such that you can then position
the pole and sheet just right for the course, then go pull up the sock and
voila! - you're off. Dogbark has a slight variant to this: set everything
up, then appear on foredeck with sock line in one hand and take a good look
at the runway back to the cockpit. When mentally prepared, hoist sock and
run for the cockpit, leap over the cabin top and grab spin sheet before
something nasty happens or the sail wraps.
As far as we can tell, the two boats going it without socks are Foolish
Muse and Hesperus; it seems all others are slightly more cautious with the
kites and have equipped them with socks. Andy just blows the guy and halyard
and hauls the sail in under the boom. When it was pointed out that the sail
might get wet he responded, "You didn't say anything about keeping
the sail dry!"
Today on Beetle it looks to be another day of downwind sailing under the
butterfly. I've started to think in terms of Coastal Cup Races (around 250
miles) - I have 3 Coastal Cups to go and I'm running around 140-150 miles/day
towards the finish. Dogbark thinks he will be in on Friday, Alchera is hoping
for a daylight finish Sunday, I'll be happy with Monday. Looks like Foolish
Muse will have to finish Saturday as all the other days are taken.
Race Committee has arrived in Hanalei and is waiting for the fleet to arrive
from over the horizon. Haulback is there as well, no word on whether or
not his anchorage-emptying method was a success or if he has been taken
away for a remedial course on good behavior.
Have a happy day, the fleet is happy that we're on approach for the islands.
rob |
| Nereida |
07/05/06 |
1200 |
Well, over the last few days, I've very slowly been discarding layers
- and today I finally got down to almost the last one. (Next is bare skin
- with a covering of high-factor sunblock, I hasten to add!)
It's 2pm and the NW quadrant of sky is blue, with cloud overhead but the
sun is trying to get out. The sea is a beautiful deep shade of blue, rather
than the grey-green it was further north. It actually feels warm and I've
bare feet at last. Sea temperature is up to 21.6C (71.9F) - not quite up
to Bonaire standards (28C) but getting there. Definitely a lot better than
the 10-12C of the Pacific NW area I've been in for the last year!
Lunch was quesadilla using tortillas I bought for the trip - still some
left. Still a few tomatoes left that haven't gone rotten, plenty of onions,
potatoes and white cabbage (that always lasts well), bananas over-ripening,
apples fine, grapefruit & lemons fine.
Just before midday, as I was adjusting (the Windpilot) Hermann, I spotted
a good-sized flying fish skimming the waves for quite a distance - always
an amazing sight. So far my tally on baby squid found on deck after the
night is just three.
The wind is beginning to die as it did around this time yesterday. We were
doing very well until a short while ago - regularly up to 7.5 kn in winds
of 16-18kn from the NE, with asymmetric spinnaker and full main & genoa,
but now we're doing 6.5. I took the spinnaker down overnight, although very
tempted to leave it up because the wind was not so strong. Good decision
because the wind got up again later and over the night.
I thought my fridge was giving up because I kept hearing the motor try,
and fail, to start up. But then I realised that was not so - if my battery
voltage has dropped down to below a certain value, the compressor motor
recognises that and refuses to run when switched on via the thermostat.
My Link 10 allows me to monitor the battery state & I tend to run my
generator twice daily, normally coinciding with SSB usage for racefleet
roll-call/emails/weather downloads.
This morning's 6Mhz rollcall was again very frustrating - I could, as always,
hear everyone fairly clearly - but they could not hear me. On 4Mhz I made
contact with Lou on 'Seabird' so could give my posn details to be relayed
to Rob on 'Tiger Beetle'. Lou doesn't dare transmit on 6Mhz because it 'kills'
his autopilot - and being on almost a dead run, heading south still, he
could end up in trouble.
Heard a very useful discussion on hoisting the spinnaker after the rollcall.
General plan for a safe, controlled hoist is to raise it fully in its sock,
then raise the sock about one-third, amble aft to adjust the guy lengths
with lower third of spinnaker flying (not too strongly) in the wind, so
making it possible to see exactly what lengths are needed, then finish raising
it fully and make fine adjustments to guy lengths if needed. It works well!
I presume to drop it safely, I do everything in reverse - I've already discovered
that the wind is pretty good at trying to make me do some para-sailing -
which thought doesn't exactly enthrall me! I have to anchor the sock leads
pretty firmly while I'm trying to lower the sock - it definitely has a mind
of its own! Prior to this passage, I think I've had the spinnaker up about
three or four times only in total over the years!! Another learning curve....
But it looks beautiful up there.
Just tried to chat on SSB (6Mhz) to people near-ish me. Managed to speak
to Paul on 'Hesperus' but Bill on 'Ergo' and Chris on 'Carroll E' clearly
couldn't hear me. Maybe we should try 4Mhz. I think I need to check that
I am pressing firmly on the transmitter switch on the microphone - I noticed
at one point that I wasn't transmitting while I was speaking - good reason
for people to have trouble hearing me! Hope it's me and not the switch going.
Talking of electrics, I've discovered that my PC mains charger only switches
itself off when I turn on or off the generator - maybe there's a 'spike'
in power that it doesn't like? If I unplug it, leave it for several minutes
and then plug it back in - it works fine. Obviously it's too smart for my
good!
Think I'll go and lie in the cockpit and have a snooze, leaving good old
Hermann in charge.... |
| Tiger Beetle |
07/05/06 |
2100 |
Breaking News From the Pacific - Tiger Beetle breaks autopilot Ram. This,
in addition to the earlier failed batten car connector, brings to two the
failures on this racing yacht. Knowing that problems always occur in threes,
skipper Roberto and his trusty sidekick Ship's Lizard have therefore determined
the ship's sponge is also broken. With these three failures on the books
Beetle Boat can now proceed to the finish line safe in the knowledge, or
at least unfounded faith, that all evil demons have had their fun and now
been exorcised. The sense of humor has also returned on board, as it is
no longer sulking in the corner near the windseeker.
I swapped the Alpha Spectra ram this morning after the brand new ram started
to make an amazingly loud clunk! gggrrrrrr bang-pong! in the back of the
boat. As that's near to where I sleep, perhaps 3 microseconds passed before
I woke up and thought, "That's new! - wonder what that noise is?"
The new failed ram has been changed out for the original ram and it is driving
just fine. In fact, old ram is driving better than the new one.
The day has been pleasant and peaceful, the swell is running 4-5', wind
has been hovering between 14-18 knots, and there are squalls about but none
came visiting today. If conditions persist into tomorrow I will pop out
the spinnaker and play with it for a while. However, if anything has been
demonstrated, conditions here are anything but stable and the wind/seas
are continually changing, so cannot say what tomorrow will be like.
It has been difficult to pick up the other boats during roll call, but I
shall try extra-hard tonight to log what's going on at the neighbors. Evening
roll call starts in 40 minutes.
Roll call is complete, and it appears that Seabird has not only crossed
the halfway point, he also managed to break the control line on the whisker
pole - so no more whisker pole for the racej. Luckily he was not in the
way when the line snapped and the pole collapsed with a bang. Lou is using
the regular much heavier spinnaker pole to pole out his headsail. As Seabird
also has an asymmetric spinnaker, Ragtime spent some time describing to
Lou the ins and outs of flying asymmetric kites. I think Lou was a rapt
student and tomorrow he may try it all out - we shall see!
Race Committee has extended the race deadline 1 week to allow the fleet
time to finish the race - Yeah Team! More to follow as the fleet learns
what the changes entail, but at least we can be certain that boats will
not run out of time as they approach the beach. Would be a real bummer to
sail 2100 miles and discover that time runs out just a few hours short of
your finish.
Westerly is working away on his roller furling system in attempt to make
it work properly. Seems the sail will unroll, but not necessarily roll back
up - weird, normally the problem is the opposite. Steve spent quite a while
lying on the deck examining the upper swivel and masthead with binoculars
- no obvious problem is seen.
Jeanne has been troubleshooting Nereida's SSB radio and it appears she has
two problems: low voltage to the transmitter due to corroded power terminals
on the back of the radio, and a faulty microphone key that sometimes keys
the mike and sometimes doesn't. She's figured out the mike key, next up
is cleaning the terminals and the radio should have full voltage. SSBs are
super sensitive to voltage - if you don't have 12v minimum the transmitter
starts FMing and nothing useful comes out the antenna.
The fleet is upbeat, most folks have had a restful day, hopefully the evening
will be as well.
rob |
| Dogbark |
07/05/06 |
2200 |
I am thinking about the finish already and there is still 350 miles to
go. Saw a pair of Manx Shearwaters today. Same old story other wise 15 NE,
sun, sunscreen, seek shade, sea shower, no squalls. I am having trouble
judging what to do on the seemingly diurnal fluctuation of wind direction.
Usually seem to be on the lifted jibe, not the fastest thing. I will have
to consult those that are more expert than I. I think the race committee
has extended the race time limit by one week. I stress the I think part
as have not heard it officially but I am sure the website will have info,
Al |
| Tiger Beetle |
07/06/06 |
0900 |
This morning we find that Ergo has been triumphantly flying his spinnaker
for over an hour and he is elated that nothing has gone wrong. We asked
if he was using a spinnaker net as well, and he said, "A what?"
The fleet immediately launched into a littany of spinnaker wrap stories
and how difficult it can be to undo a wrap. Unphased, Bill just said he
only had to reverese the process to unwrap. Go Bill! Hesperus and Nereida
both report spinnaker wraps of their own, both of which behaved as Ergo
thinks they should: wraps undo themselves without having to do too much.
Ragtime had a little bit too much beer at his halfway party and slept through
his alarm clock, resulting in waking up to spinnaker hourglass that had
wrapped into a nylon rope. After setting the twins and retrieving his new
rope, Bob slowly unwrapped everything only to discover his super duper downwind
asymmetric kite was in fine condition - much relief there.
Carroll E has been troubleshooting an electrical problem with his solar
panel. Seems the panel wasn't producing the power it had previously and
he spent quite a while searching for a bad connection or corrision. When
nothing was found, he poked his head up to examine the surface of the panel,
and found that a banana peel he had tossed overboard yesterday had instead
landed on top of the panel, and the peel's shadow was killing the panel.
Problem solved.
Back on Beetle, we are trundling along in 16 knots of wind under the butterfly
sail. Now that the interior is spotlessly clean, it is now a day for playing
with the Airx spinnaker and seeing how it behaves in these conditions, which
are kind of sloppy chop with 5-6 foot swell from behind. The spinnaker net
is already rigged (left over from some days ago), but I do need to roll
up the butterfly and transfer the spinnaker sheets from the butterfly to
the kite. Shouldn't take that long, and it will be fun to try out something
new.
On the autopilot front, Tatia has arranged with Alpha Marine for them to
ship over to Hanalei a third working ram, plus two e-clips for repairing
the unhappy ram (the e-clip is an overload safety valve that Alpha thinks
may have broken as intended, had the ram had been overloaded). As Tatia
puts it, "It's only an autopilot ram - doesn't The General carry a
whole bag of them? There will be one waiting on the beach for you."
I'm going to send this ashore, then it's topsides to see what's on for the
day!
rob |
| Dogbark |
07/06/06 |
1000 |
Looks like a friday afternoon finish is in sight. Wild 70 degree wind
shift to the SE last night after midnight had us white sail reaching to
Kauai. Shifted back somewhat to the east this morning but I don't know if
the cause was a tropical wave that Rob mentioned on his weather talk the
night before last. Are all the flying fish the same species? Some that I
find on deck a very small, 1-2", but some of them I see on the water
are huge, maybe 12". They are all great flyers though. Very clear last
night with absolutely brilliant stars. Still plugging away out here, Al |
| Alchera |
07/06/06 |
1100 |
560 miles to go as of the last check-in. Alchera is loping down the final
portion of the course bound for Kauai, with about 15 knots of breeze. There
are small squalls all around, not big enough to dump any real rain, but
big enough to disrupt the winds and shift the direction as they approach
and go by. I'm flying the twin jibs and trying to position the boat to head
further south for better winds, hopefully without losing ground to arch-enemy
Tiger Beetle, about 50 miles to the north and a little back. It's a calculated
risk, because there may not be enough stronger winds south to justify the
extra miles, if that's the case I will have gone a lot of extra miles for
nothing. But the weather files are hinting at an area of lighter winds ahead
in the next few days, so I want to get south to avoid that as much as possible.
We'll see if it works out. As one gets closer to the finish, the options
for routing tactics get more and more limited.
I have an extra passenger on board Alchera, at least in spirit. Last year
my yellow Labrador retriever "Kruger" of 13 years died after a
long and happy life. Great dog, loved the water, but was scared to death
of boats. Just couldn't get comfortable with the idea of the deck moving
underneath him. Even the small motion of walking down a marina dock would
freak him out. I once took him out on a calm lake in a big houseboat, and
he didn't like that a bit. So it was always a shame that I was never able
to take him out sailing, or even motoring, his entire life. You could tell
he wanted to come along, but he just couldn't get over his fear.
After Kruger died, I had his remains cremated. A portion of those remains
are now aboard Alchera, nestled in the center console where the motion is
the least. He seems to be quite happy now, and he can do all the sailing
he wants with me and never be afraid again. His spirit flies along with
Alchera and I as we race towards the finish, and in my imagination he watches
over us and keeps us safe.
Mark |
| Nereida |
07/06/06 |
1200 |
Last night I sat in the cockpit watching the dancing diamonds of light
along the hull - I'd forgotten how lovely the sea can be at night.
In the English Channel, the phosphorescence lights up the water and it's
not easy to see the individual points of light whereas out here, each point
of light is relatively large - very bright and distinct. Tonight the moon
is out and I can see a dark mass of cloud off to the south of us - looks
like a squall building and I hope it stays well away! Elsewhere the clouds
are thin and the stars are shining through the gaps. (Having just switched
on the radar, I'm pleased to see no evidence of squalls around - not for
24mls, anyway!)
Today the wind has not been as strong, so the sea is calmer with just the
occasional larger swell coming through. I made the decision to gybe onto
port tack after looking at the weather forecast. Not at all sure it was
the right thing to do, but I don't want to get caught in light winds again
and it looks as though the high pressure system to the north is expected
to move south and so that much closer - hence my decision. Took a very long
time to change everything over, not helped by my forgetting to move the
spinnaker halyard over to the other side of the genoa pole before I raised
it - curses galore! Having gone to all that trouble, I'll stick with my
decision at least until late tomorrow and see how tomorrow's weather faxes
look.
I'm not moving along my rhumbline now, so the effect on my Distance To Finish
will be noticeable - pity, because today I was no longer in last position
at both rollcalls! But I'd rather be tending to move south rather than north
(because of the high) and often the rhumbline course was dead downwind -
difficult to maintain, especially in swell conditions (although I must say,
I've been impressed by the Windpilot's ability to keep a downwind course).
My electrical problems continue - I'm not worrying about the lack of autopilot
or GPS (which still beeps at me but not always as often) since my alternatives
are working well. The SSB radio's microphone switch is a nuisance though
- I took the back off the mic and the transmit switch worked perfectly,
but when I screwed the cover back on, it played up again. I have to keep
an eye on the radio display to see whether or not I am transmitting when
I speak. I'm keeping a screwdriver handy by the mic now! I suspect it's
the soft rubber cover to the switch which is causing the problem - I could
always take that away. I also need to try wiring up an alternative NMEA/Seatalk
interface box again to see what the problem is there - but, again, I no
longer have a sense of urgency about it, now that my handheld GPS is feeding
info into the computer for charting - thank you, Jeff, for helping there!
Little did I realise how vital it would turn out to be, sorting that link
out just before I lef!
t- something I'd been wanting to do for a time. And I'm so pleased I checked
that the Windpilot fine adjustment was working OK before I left also....
It's nice to hear from friends keeping an eye on my path - my daily distances
run have surprised me, not just them, and it was pleasing to see myself
catching up with the fleet, having been left so far behind after the start.
(I'm running the spinnaker again tonight since it seems fairly calm...)
Two people were getting set to celebrate their half-way stage tonight/early
tomorrow (Synthia on 'Eyrie' and Ken on 'Harrier') - I look forward to doing
the same in day or so (165 mls away!). Synthia said she would stay up tonight
until it happened, to celebrate the moment!
I finally got too warm in my long trousers this afternoon - the sun was
out for a bit and I was busy organising lots of 'bits of string' for my
gybe - to & fro between the foredeck and cockpit both for the poled
out genoa and then the 'chute.
Great!
Distance run over 24hrs (by the log) to this morning: 153 n.mls (5th day
I've done ~150n.ml or more)
At 9pm PDT tonight, DTF: 1240n.ml to Hanalei Bay, Kauai. Posn: 25 54N, 137
13W
Jeanne |
| Tiger Beetle |
07/06/06 |
2100 |
One of the things I love about this trip is that you aren't actually anywhere.
Right now the fleet is out here in International Waters - where are we?
Where are you if you're in orbit on the international space station? I suggested
during SSB chat time that we were in The World. Andy said, "I should
try that one on Customs - will cause them no end of grief."
Today I've been spinnaker flying, not necessarily any faster than the butterfly
but many more strings to pull on and therefore more fun, had a second shower
of the trip (I get to pull that one out of hat at tonight's roll call),
and we're moving along at 7.1 knots directly towards Hanalei.
I had a sense of dejavu this afternoon. I was looking around at all the
water and thinking I had been here before, even though water here looks
like water most anywhere else on the course. But this felt familiar. We
also sailed onto the French Frigate Shoals chart (19007) when we crossed
longitude 150W, and on that chart are tracks from previous Hawaii runs.
I opened the chart to add this race's track and sure enough! - today at
15:48 we crossed 150W at latitude 24.25N. And already on the chart July
6 2004 at 15:05 we crossed at latitude 24.26N. So I'm a mile south and 43
minutes late from exactly where I was two years ago.
Seabird has gotten back on the horse he got off two races ago - he is once
again flying a spinnaker! Best of all he didn't kill himself (or the kite),
and the boat took off like a scalded dog. Unfortunately Seabird sailed straight
into a squall and Lou had quite the foredeck dance to get the snuffer down
and secure the spinnaker. Lou is super happy at his rediscovered abilities.
Seabird's email is down at the moment (computer port problems that Lou has
not resolved), but all is well on board.
Phil's sister Luarelle is having a birthday this Saturday in Hanalei, and
it looks like Phil will not be able to join in the celebration until possibly
*next* Saturday. Dogbark is bombing along towards the finish, now 150 miles
out, and has seen his first frigate bird of the trip. Al notes that as you
approach the islands all sorts of new birds appear, lots of aerial life
this close to shore.
Transmitting on SSB 6A causes Eyrie's autopilot to freak, so during roll
call Synthia is sitting near the control head and pushes buttons to keep
the pilot going forward. Synthia will pass through half-way tonight, and
is quite looking forward to drinking a bottle (small) of coconut rum to
go with Sonya's last brownie, specially saved for this occasion.
The sun is setting, Tiger Beetle is trundling downhill under butteryfly
and full main, little boxcar tradewind clouds scooting by above us, the
3/4 moon floating above them. Looks to be a good night on the water. Only
9 back-to-back Farallon races to go.
rob |
| Dog Bark |
07/06/06 |
2200 |
This is probably my last night out here and looks like a good one. 150
miles to go makes for a finish around 10 am local time. Started to see a
lot of birds today, flocks of shearwaters and terns and my first frigate
bird this trip. A few minor rain showers today that lasted about 4 minutes
each and the night looks clear. Not much else to report because I have a
very difficult time hearing the rest of the fleet during roll call. Rob
will have to provide most of that news. I will probably spend the night
awake just because of anticipation and also for practice after the last
race. Log issue tomorrow will be delayed until after finish, thanks, Al |
| Tiger Beetle |
07/07/06 |
0900 |
It's Friday Morning - and some members of the fleet crossed the halfway
point since last roll call. Harrier went through at 10pm, and Ken mixed
up a bloody mary and rang up Eyrie on the VHF and shared stories. Then it
was Eyrie's turn at 1AM - she opened up the coconut rum and rang up Harrier
to share ukulele music and stories. Both are in good spirits.
Dogbark is fast approaching the finish line, and it is none too soon for
Al as this morning the spinnaker track peeled away from the spar, thus ending
the use of spinnaker poles for the race. Al said he was running with the
kite last night when wind kicked up to 20 and Al figured he was going to
break something, so doused kite and set up the poled out genoa instead to
be more conservative. A short time later an unusual grinding/tearing sound
got him back up on deck and he caught the problem before the pole could
thrash around. As it is, the track rivets remain in the spar but the track
is not attached to them, and the cars are jammed due to the bent track.
So it's white sails to the finish.
Ergo wishes to report he has used up his entire roll of Gorilla duct tape
- apparently it is the best thing since sliced bread for chafe protection.
Based Bill's description of what he's done, I suspect the entire boat is
covered in the stuff.
Synthia has an open call to the world: does anyone know how to adjust the
transmit power output level on the ICOM 706 SSB radio? She doesn't have
the manual with her and is hoping that by making the radio transmit in other
than high power it will reduce impact on the autopilot. Synthia asks that
if anyone knows how to do this, please text message her with instructions.
People are beginning to gather in Hanalei and are awaiting the fleet's arrival.
Haulback is there, along with Race Committee, and Al will soon be anchoring
Light House Dogbark. Hopefully the fleet will get there also! In the 2004
race Al would wake up for each night time finisher and turn on his strobe
light, which was about the only way to tell where the anchorage is. This
year we are coming in under almost full moon, could be much better visibility.
On board Beetle the spinnaker has been up since dawn, drawing well on a
light air reach. There is definitely a diurnal shift in wind - dies off
in the evening, at dawn 10-11 knots, then slowly builds through the day
to 18 by mid-afternoon - at which point I'll probably douse the kite and
go back to the butterfly. This is what the fleet has been reporting across
the board. What I find interesting is that tradewinds, which are pressure
driven, would have that significant a thermal component to them out here
in mid-ocean.
I've popped a couple more Fat Tire Ales into the magic box and am looking
forward to a nice chilled ale this afternoon. Also am finding that the microphone
for my Icom M802 SSB radio is dying - it seems the key switch is intermittent,
which is incredibly annoying. I've shot off a note to HR Radio on Board
to see if Don can send out a replacement - hopefully he has one in stock!
All of the gear problems makes me think - if this much stuff breaks in a
two week passage, how much gear has been replaced by the time a boat has
sailed around the world?
Looking forward to a fine day's sailing.
rob |
| Dogbark |
07/07/06 |
1000 |
I know I said I would wait until Dogbark finished, but it won't be until
this afternoon anyway. Overnight the wind came up and I doused the spinnaker
to be safe and sane and poled out the genoa. Things were going well and
from down below I started to hear a new noise. Usually not a good thing
and this time it was the spinnaker car track peeling off of the front of
the mast. Glad I caught it before it let loose otherwise the spinnaker pole
end is loose and can do all kinds of damage. As it was i am glad it was
the last night because we are out of commission on using the poles for now.
Still 50 miles to go but the winds are fair and we are still making 9 knots
to the finish. It might take a little longer nearer the finish line with
maybe having to jibe back and forth at the end. Al |
| Nereida |
07/07/06 |
1200 |
Last fresh (more or less!) banana finished today with b'fast cereal. Still
some apples & tomatoes and some lettuce in the fridge.
Looks as though being on this (port) tack isn't working out too badly -
it's keeping me closer than I expected to my rhumbline course to Kauai while
keeping S of it as I wanted. Pressure is still on the high side at 1022/23,
occasionally 1024 - light winds are still being forecast for north of my
position over the weekend.
It turned from being grey overcast all morning to a lovely sunny afternoon.
After relaxing in the warm sunshine, I felt it was time to get down to the
instrument problem-solving I'd been putting off - I decided to isolate my
depth display from the rest of the 'bus'to see if that solved problem of
lights switching off erratically, radar misbehaving, autopilot down, etc,
etc. (Mark on 'Alchera' had suggested this possibility)
I have a forward-looking sounder so I would not miss the depth display particularly
and I had the feeling that this was the unit causing my problems. Sure enough,
it worked!! No 'beeping' about missing GPS data, lights stayed on, autopilot
looked as though it was working - hurrah!! Encouraged by my success, I thought
I'd look at the NMEA Interface box which had also stopped working - meaning
no data input to PC. I had another & thought I'd re-wire it to see if
it worked. Unfortunately, although I thought I'd turned off the instruments
before attempting the re-wiring, it became clear that I had not - I found
myself with NO instruments at all - I'd obviously fused the lot! Grrr!!
Now I had to get down under the aft bunk to clear a space around the course
computer where the fuses were in an awkward position.... Just as well I'd
bought several spares before leaving SF.
With that done, the instruments came on....YES!... but NOT the GPS input...why
not? I checked for a signal from the antenna - nada! Tomorrow's job... it
was rollcall time by now!
'Dogbark' had made landfall safely (although with major spinnaker track
damage, we heard). Well done, Al!!
The wind seemed to be getting up, so the 'chute needed to come down - got
a mite difficult in the darkness and strong wind, but I was glad I'd decided
to do it when I did.
It's VERY rolly tonight (the change of wind direction to NNE for a time
has made for big, confused swell, I think) - and the instruments have a
new 'beep' message - 'shallow alarm' - but I've disconnected the depth -
so why...? Sleep...! |
| Tiger Beetle |
07/07/06 |
2100 |
A fine day of spinnaker flying on board the flying fish-less vessel Beetle
Boat. I'm figuring out the .7 Airx kite - it behaves differently than the
older .75 nylon sail I use - for one thing, crispy new spinnakers make a
lot more noise when they luff. Nary a one flying fish has elected to stop
on board, which is probably good for the flying fish and not so bad for
me, either. There are few rivals to poor traction and slippery unhappy wet
things to trod upon barefoot, except possibly the recently deceased squid.
This morning's GRIB file called for a 20 degree wind shift to the north
and it seems the wind listened and has indeed shifted to the north a bit.
Therefore I gybed onto starboard and have 18 knots of wind, running deep
towards Hanalei. Arch Enemy and I chatted this morning after roll call and
I congratulated him on his excessive downslope speed (I am attempting to
lull him into a state of complacency, but I don't believe the ploy will
work). Alchera weighs dry 13900, Beetle comes in at 21000. Neither boat
is a stripped out racer, we have windlasses (there's an extra 120 pounds
in the bow!), interiors, comfortable places to sleep, not a single pipe
cot to be found between us - we gave each other 3000 pounds of 'extras'
on board. Based on prior races with Mark I know that Beetle gives Alchera
a run for the money upwind and reaching but dragging an additional 3.5 tons
of fiberglass and lead downwind is painful. I wonder if the factory thought
to install the Keel Release Lever? I shall go investigate!
Foolish Muse had a close encounter of the dark fishy kind. He was changing
headsails, and to do so sits butt on deck and pokes his legs out through
the bow pulpit. He was sitting there working on the sails when he glanced
to his left and not three feet away from his feet were two very large dark
grey fish, perhaps 8' long, pacing the boat. Andy leaped up and ran for
the cockpit - those were huge fish! - very scary. He watched them for a
while and they kept pace for several minutes, then headed off.
This is my fifth arrival by sail to the Hawaiian Islands and it would be
nice to show up this time during the day (all other arrivals have been in
inky blackness way after sunset). At the moment that doesn't look too promising
as my average speeds over the last two days suggest I'll be in sometime
after Sunday 9pm check (6pm local time) and midnight. Come on, Wind! On
the other hand, if we hold to the current 6.5 knot average, the moon is
solid and large and as Harrier pointed out, "There's nothing like a
Hanalei Moon."
Have a fine evening under the moon, the fleet will be doing so out here.
And stay away from really big fishes, unless they prove friendly.
rob |
