The transbac

[Philpott]

Sat, Jul 15, 6:46 PM (22 hours ago)
to A, kathleensanders, A, A, Stephen, bhackemer, crowponies, andrewquanci

Saturday
July 15
Day 0 6pm

Left Hanalei this morning at 10am (thanks Greg!). 50 miles out as I write this.
Wind 11k-14k out of the NE (so we are not getting much Easting... mostly headed north to the land of the walrus).
Looks like we will have these mild winds for the next few days (avoiding the 20k+ coming to Hawaii in a few days as the remnants of a "tropical" passes thru).

Several of us left today... Alex on is Tartan 41 Reverie (he is in sight at the moment), Gary on his Westsail 32 Elizabeth Ann, and Sean and Kim on their J120 Jamani (Sean and Kim left early this morning so well ahead of us). Partings are such sweet sorrow...

Crew (Mary my wife, and Jeff and Glenn - good friends) are settling in to the 2 hrs on and 6 hrs off watch schedule... and learning to live "on a tilt" (eating, toilet, etc).

Will crew want to eat tonight? Or let their stomachs settle a day? We'll know soon...

Cheers,
Jim Q

[Philpott]

Sun 7/16 All good aboard Reverie, Pelagic coping ok, sailing close to Green Buffalo.

[Philpott]

7/17 Mon - all ok on Reverie, a bit slower going, Pelagic tiller wand not working. I have spare but saving it for later, can sail upwind without it

[Philpott]

WDC7036@sailmail.com
Mon, Jul 17, 10:02 PM (12 hours ago)
to A, kathleensanders, A, A, Stephen, bhackemer, crowponies, Andrew

Monday
July 17
Day 2 6pm

330 miles out of Hanalei... 140 miles in the last 24 hours. Wind 11k-15k (so a bit light with an occasional 20k squall ish thing). Making decent easting.

Bumpy... bump...

Tortellini with marinara sauce for dinner with a can of peas thrown in.

Swan Fun passed to leeward on the way to KKMI (much faster then us up wind so he blew by us)... Reveries just beyond AIS range... we did talk to both of them this afternoon just shooting the breeze (though Reverie has some autopilot challenges).

Weather looking mild and steady for the next 2 days (hopefully not too mild so we can make good miles).

Saw two pods of dolphins (hundreds).

Cheers,
Jim, Mary, Glenn and Jeff

[Philpott]

Sunday
July 16
Day 1 6pm

200 miles out of Hanalei... 150 miles in the last 24 hours. Wind 11k-20k and gradually lifting us.
Bumpy... though we managed to have our first real dinner tonight (mac and cheese, with string beans and chicken).

Close (5 miles) to Alex on Reverie (Tartan 41) who we chatted with about his fighting off the boobies that have been defecating on his winches.

Weather looking mild and steady for the next 2-3 days - before it goes "quiet" as we approach a wide elongated high (which might mean long 600 mile motor... but its still early).

Its going to be windy in Hawaii in the next few days as a tropical depression collapses as it reaches the islands (why we were quick to exit stage left).

Cheers,
Jim, Mary, Glenn and Jeff

[Philpott]

Looking for the Transbac tracker? Here it is: https://www.jibeset.net/gpswatch.php?FA=JACKY_T004055182_2_4247817093_NORM AL

[Philpott]

Alexander Benderskii (via inReach)
Thu, Jul 20, 5:15 PM (1 day ago)
to ssspol23

7/20 Thur - skipper ok, but engine sprung a leak (fuel hose), spent a few hrs trying to patch it up. Rainbow in the morning, raining all day.

[Philpott]

Alexander Benderskii (via inReach)
6:14 PM (29 minutes ago)
to ssspol23

Fri 7/21 - all ok onboard Reverie, trying to work my way North to (hopefully) more favorable winds

[Philpott]

Alexander Benderskii (via inReach)
3:52 PM (1 hour ago)
to ssspol23

Sun 7/23 - all good aboard Reverie, many squalls last night and somewhat bumpy upwind sailing today

[Philpott]

Gregory Ashby (via inReach)
5:39 PM (44 minutes ago)
to me

Perplexity is sailing nicely at 6.5 kt average. Appetites are getting better.
Variable wind daytime and a few squalls at night.

[Philpott]

Saturday
July 22
Day 7 6pm

WWF (not wrestling)

Waves
As the wind dropped and we motored the last 24 hours... lets call it "champagne motoring" (vs "champage sailing which hopefully comes soon)... the "crazy" wave state started to make some sense. Long period 6-8 foot waves from the north (I suspect a large High or Low in the Gulf of Alaska). Modest period 4 foot waves from the west (the trades?). 3 foot very long period waves from the south (tropical off Mexico or southern ocean Low?). Makes for "bumpy" motoring with a 5k-6k "shifty" wind from the N and NE (at times its head on and at times its "almost" sailable). We are in a race to catch a wind shift to the north tomorrow that will only last a day or two before shifting to an Easterly head wind (we want to be past this Easterly... far enough east to get into the reliable steady Northerly of the west coast. The Northerly is forecast to be 10k-15k... which we expect/hope to carry for four says... most of the way to California (but forecasts about winds 4-5 days in the future are not all that reliable... time will tell).

Whales
We passed close to a pod of 4 to 5 sperm whales. Closet approach may be 50 yards from "big daddy" (50 footer). This is the third time I have seen sperm whales... always in the deep ocean (and one of those times we hit one hard... longer story). As I know some of you know... sperm whales are one of the few whales that hunt (sperm and orcas) so can have a violent nature (ie the sinking of the Essex, Moby Dick and a racing boat I forget the name of sunk by a sperm whales when returning after the Transpac).

Fuel
Our main tank ran low this morning so via siphoning we transferred about 25 gallons of diesel from the cockpit bladder (40 gallon capacity) to the main tank (33 gal capacity). Maybe by tomorrow we'll have burned enough fuel to empty the cockpit bladder (giving us more room to gather/chat/sun ourselves). We have another bladder with 37 gallons in the fore peak... time will tell if we'll need it. The process to transfer the fuel into the tank went smoothly, no diesel mess.

We had a real hot breakfast this morning with Jeff cooking Spam and Eggs (mmm mmm good!).
Dinner is chili with mexican rice, corn, cheese and diced onion..tropical fruit cocktail for dessert (Glenn is cooking!).

Just a quick note from me, Mary.. It's fairly calm out here. Glenn and I inventoried our food and we have lots left for the rest of the trip. We eat mainly 2 meals a day. Its cooling down at night... we now need an extra layer for night watches, but very comfortable during the day. Just looking out on the ocean during sunrise and sunset reminds of what draws me here. The expansive blue water goes on forever with no other boats in site. The whales came pretty close. Glad they didn't get hooked on our little fishing line (no fish today... sigh)! Just got out my ukulele to play a few tunes. Miss you!

Cheers,
Jim, Mary, Glenn and Jeff

[Philpott]

Sunday
July 23
Day 7 6pm

1000 miles out of Hanalei... 1250 miles to SF. Wind 10k-13k from a beam (yes we are no longer "on the wind").

The wind came up from abeam early this morning (as the GRIB gods predicted)... after 24 hours of motoring in light air we are sailing again... having changed out the working jib for the 155% jib top, we are making 7k "down the pike". Yes this is champagne sailing - and will likely continue for the next 3 days (maybe 4).

Catching up on boat maintenance the last few days... Checked the fuel filter and found just a little water and dirt to drain. Water intake clean. Coolant level on target. Just need to check engine oil level (tomorrow). Made two new dyneema lines for the vang that were clearly at "end of life" using an old after guy for the line. Fixed a broken snap on the dodger. Shortened the outgrabber which had a wear in the line where it exits the boom (happens every race because the outgrabber is pulling perpendicular to the exit block in the boom). Most return trips I would disassemble, clean and lube the winches - but I did that just 4 weeks before the race so really not needed. Took a few sails out of the forepeak and put them on the weather rail... with our being able to leave the fore hatch open, helping dry out the fore peak. Wiped down the fore peak and the head with disinfectant (everything, walls, ceiling, floor, etc) as one could see a bit of mold starting to take hold after what is now a month of wet and humid conditions (wet sails and the sort).

Did another fuel transfer moving the last 15 gallons or so from the cockpit bladder to the main fuel tank... emptying the bladder so we could roll it up and throw it in the forepeak. 40 gallons burned with another 67 gallons left (some chance we won't have another long motor... time will tell). Nice to have an empty cockpit!

No fish today... guessing we are now too far north for mahi mahi and too far south for albacore (soon enough).

Sailing is so so quiet/mild... feels like we are barely moving... though we are piling on the miles.

Thought we saw an "eligible" glass ball but it was a small one and we went back but never found it.
We did see a funny plastic hat with eyes and ears.

Note from Mary...our sailing is in a quiet pattern right now. Just going down the pike. I finished my third book on the trip. Beautiful Woman. It was really good. I also read a Louise Penney book called Still Life and it makes me want to read more of the Gamache series. Finished the fascinating Prophet of Flight about Varien Fry. Jim has read all the paper books I brought. He is cooking tonight (tortellini). Night watches are cooler. I wear long pants and shoes at night now. Still warm during the day. Glenn and Jeff are great to sail with.

Cheers,
Jim, Mary, Glenn and Jeff

[Philpott]

Alexander Benderskii (via inReach)
4:40 PM (35 minutes ago)
to ssspol23

7/24 Mon - everything ok on Reverie, smooth seas today, made some extra miles North this morning while winds shifted W, now back closer to rhumb line

[Philpott]

Gregory Ashby (via inReach)
11:05 AM (18 minutes ago)
to me

Motoring last 12 hrs. Hopefully wind this noon. Lots of life, birds, albatross, pilot whales, flying fish, small clear jellyfish types with a sail.

[Philpott]

Monday
July 24
Day 8 (end of) at 6pm

Half Way
We are now equal distance from Hanalei and SF... 1120 miles either way.
The wind was on and off last night... motoring... sailing... and now motoring most of today. I "thought" we would be sailing all day but a closer look at the surface progs (those isobar maps) showed there was a "sort of cold front" (it was on some maps and not others... sometimes as a real front, sometimes as a "line" and sometimes not shown at all). Fronts are done "by hand" - not computer generated so it depends on who was drawing the map that day. In any case... back to motoring through the pretty typical light air behind a front. Hopefully by tomorrow the wind will fill in and we'll start the final slide/reach into the California coast. We have enough fuel aboard to motor for 72 hours... about 400 miles... which should be plenty... but something to keep an eye on. The every other day use of the Iridium GO! is working out... still have 70% charge on its battery (recall the power connector broke off the GO!s PCB so we have no way to charge it). I also have a friend Ian watching the weather progs more often, running routing, and suggesting way points each day (one always wants a belt and braces approach to important things... like the weather forecast).

Fish On!
We (the crew) have been talking about the desire for fresh fish (after our only mahi mahi catch 3 days back). Well we are far enough north (almost 37 degrees) so hooked our first tuna (albacore). Nice sized... maybe 20 pounds... bit of a bloody mess cutting fillets and steaks in the cockpit... we'll be eating tuna for lunch and dinner the next two days (and the portable fridge we brought is paying off enabling us to eat fresh tuna for 2 and maybe 3 days).

Small Preparations
As we all know the California coast can be a bit snotty at times. The long range forecast (which cannot yet be trusted) predicts we'll have one day of 20k-30k reaching. Took some time to resew a seam on the dodger plus add support lines forward on the dodger (ie if we take large green water from abeam).

Quesadilla's with tuna for dinner tonight (no surprise).

Cheers,
Jim, Mary, Glenn and Jeff

[Philpott]

Tuesday
July 25
Day 9 6pm

Rumbling along. With wind 6k-10k its pretty slow going and constant heading adjustment as the wind shifts back and forth 20 degrees. Thank god we have the big 155% Jib Top which in 7k of wind will drive us at 5.5k boat speed - near the same as if we were motoring (though we had fuel to motor over 800 miles... this has turned into a 1000 mile slow patch). Its been impossible to make any northing these last two days so just east we go - and sagging a wee bit south. Knowing the wind will soon swing to a solid northerly in a "few" days that will enable us to get north easily (we are already quite north... latitude of Big Sur).

Mary and Jim showered (oh so good) in the cockpit. Jeff shampooed (he has just enough hair ;-) ) and changed the sheets on his bunk (he's a "clean" guy). Glenn also cleaned up and put on clean clothes.

Quickly seared tuna steaks over rice and beans for dinner (though Jeff likes his a bit "well done")

More tuna to eat tomorrow (we'll never eat it all...).

Mary is playing Vivaldi and a bit of Loggins sitting in the cockpit on watch.

With the steady slow going the crew is starting to ask "when will we get there dad?". With these light winds the last two days and likely the next three days... maybe re-entry is Tuesday next week - July 31 (in one week after 17 days at sea... my prior sail backs have all been 16 or 17 days).

From Mary... We are all looking toward home. As my mother would say, "Like a barn shy horse." Since we are over half way to San Francisco we are starting to count down the days to our arrival. Mother Nature has been very good to us so far. We have enjoyed nice sun and beautiful days. Our food and water supplies remain plentiful. We had a "mystery" can with no label. Tonight we opened it and found canned pears. What a nice dessert. Miss you!

Cheers,
Jim, Mary, Glenn and Jeff

[Philpott]

Alexander Benderskii (via inReach)
4:53 PM (6 hours ago)
to ssspol23

7/26 Wed - all good aboard Reverie

[Philpott]

Wednesday and Thursday
July 26 and 27
Day 10 and 11 6pm

After getting the latest GRIB two days back, and routing with Expedition, it became clear we needed too get north to catch the incoming northerly (and get out of the erratic "unconsolidated" High we were playing cat and mouse with). So motor we did - for 22 hours - making to the NE. Today we finally "broke through" to the Northerly, no longer need to motor, and are making 6k-7k in a variable 8k-12k (direction oscillating 30 degrees but always enough North to make good progress "down the line" ("painting the line" - the target course - as we have come to call it).
So no longer need to think about fuel usage as it looks like a consistent breeze all the way to the GGB (late Monday or Tuesday?).
Thinking about how we likely need to change from the jib top to the working jib (and with a main reef or two?) in two or three days - as we get into the coastal breeze.

We are on our third (and last) day of eating tuna... tuna steaks, tuna with mac and cheese, tuna with spaghetti(tonight), tuna fish sandwiches, tuna rolls, and more. Glenn cooked last night and Jeff is cooking tonight.

From Mary... I thank the men for cooking on the boat since they made delicious dinners. We are responsible for our own breakfast and lunch. Fresh food and cookies mostly gone. They also help me out if I am exhausted and will take my watch. We are hanging in there and thinking about what we will do when we reach land. Miss communicating with you. Will talk and talk upon my return.

Cheers,
Jim, Mary, Glenn and Jeff

[Philpott]

Alexander Benderskii (via inReach)
6:35 PM (1 hour ago)
to ssspol23

Sat 6/29 all ok on Reverie, figured out to make a 'return line' for fuel leak using a funnel and piece of hose back to fuel tank, motored for few hrs

[Philpott]

Friday and Saturday
July 28 and 29
Day 12 and 13 6pm

450 miles to the GGB!

Wind
Its been up and down... 4k-10k... so a mix of motoring (when wind is under 7k) and sailing. The sailing is smooth... magic carper ride. The motoring is fast as the sea state is "placid" - at least for now (Sunday night is looking to be a tad "breezy"). So looks like we'll be in SF on Tuesday... might be early and might be late... after just shy of 17 days at sea.

Sounds
When on a boat a long time one gets used to the various sounds the boat makes... the creak of the mast in the partners, the we waa of the autopilot ram, the tick of the vang... but yesterday there was a new sound... sort of a "scrape". What could it be? Looking around sounded like from astern... took the face plate off that covers the rudder shaft head, and low and behold the top rudder bearing was moving around a bit (not just the rudder shaft moving a smidge in the bearing... the bearing itself moving). Well we discover one of the 5/6 inch bolts holding the bearing in place had broken - and the other three bolts loosed up. The tricky bit is we only had two 5/16 bolts on the boat (lots of 1/4 and 3/8 but few 5/16). And the bolts were "carriage bolts" in that they had no place to grip them at the top to tighten (or loosen) them. Jeff went below to turn the nuts (he was upside down) while Jim worked with channel locks, vice grips and a putty knife (to wedge the bolt heads up enough to grab them). We got there after pinched fingers, pinched palms, grease all over and a wee bit of "salty language". Replaced and tightened two bolts and made a third exiting carriage bolt "work". Job done with the top bearing now firmly fixed in place (ready for the hard reaching to come Sunday night).

Fish On (and not)
After eating that 20+ pound tuna the last four days, we were out of fresh fish - so threw the hand line back out. Just after dinner it was "fish on"... pulling in a 6-7 pound albacare. The boys were ready for some fresh fresh protein - but Mary thought the fish was so cute we just had to throw it back... so we did. We had eaten so much tuna already. Would have kept it if earlier in our trip.

Fuel
We emptied the bladder in the fore peak... so we are down to out last 25 gallons in the main tank (we have burned 85 gallons already... glad we brought a lot!).
We expect the wind to really fill in by tomorrow... so we should have plenty of fuel too get us home (though we'll probably pull into Richmond YC with maybe 10 gallons left). In a pinch, we have 3 gallons in the heater pony tank should it get that tight (doubt it will).

From Mary... The rolling seas are very nice. We have been motoring and it is fine. We collectively decided to make the time change today to Pacific time from Hawaiian time. It was "too" dark around our 6 pm dinner time. The group is getting excited to see our loved ones at home. I'm surprised how days have remained so sunny. More cool temps for the night watches. We have become inventive in our meals using our remaining food. I'm so glad the boat has held up well. We had a real "men at work" day yesterday. Time for a ukulele song.

Cheers,
Jim, Mary, Glenn and Jeff

[Philpott]

Sunday
July 30
Day 14 6pm (California Time)

300nm to the Farallons!


Ships, Showers and Calm Waters

Ships
In the last 24 hours we have passed within sight of 4 ships... from 600 to 1200 feet long... closest approach 2 miles (10 boat lengths for the big boys). Never close enough to need to chat. The boats were headed for Long Beach, Mexico, Korea and the Panama Canal.

Showers
With just two days till landfall, and with bright sunny skies and a warm sun, it was time for SSS (sxxx, shower and shave) so we could be respectable when we arrived. Everyone aboard cleaned. Jim even did a bit of laundry. To be 350 miles offshore showering in the cockpit was a real privilege (so many times this is where one can get the crap beat out of the crew and boat with big wind and waves).

Calm Waters
This morning the sun came up to blue skies horizon to horizon and wind under 2k... the ocean "slicked off"... not a ripple to be seen... just long period ocean waves. The question was if we should stop and go swimming... but the crew voted to keep on keeping on. We saw a pod of dolphins.

So as expected the crew wants to know "when will we be there?". "Sometime Tuesday" is what we expect (early or late afternoon?). A lot depends on how hard it blows the next 300 miles (the weather forecast is for a "brisk" breeze... and we could use it... having left Hanalei with 110 gal of diesel, we are now down to 18 gallons (which should be enough).

Last...
Mac and cheese with string beans and bacon bits for dinner... extra portions tonight as the crew was getting a bit surley about needing more grub.

From Mary... This morning I had the pleasure of watching the sun rise. Reflections of the morning sun danced from wave to wave. Last night we had an almost full moon. I have pictures of all of these sightings. We are so glad to have the extra peanut butter and jelly!

Cheers,
Jim, Mary, Glenn and Jeff

[Philpott]

Alexander Benderskii (via inReach)
5:56 PM (14 minutes ago)
to ssspol23

7/31 Mon - all good aboard Reverie, found some wind, finally making miles in the right direction!

[Philpott]

Alexander Benderskii (via inReach)
4:49 PM (1 hour ago)
to ssspol23

Wed 8/2 - all good on Reverie, 600 nm to go!

[Philpott]

Fri 8/4 -all good aboard Reverie, fast and bumpy ride broad reaching in 20-22 kts.

[Philpott]

Alexander Benderskii (via inReach)
5:38 PM (1 hour ago)
to ssspol23

Sat 8/5 all ok on Reverie, getting through the coastal flow zone (big wind, big seas), less than 50 nm to Channel Islands - should be calm from there

[BobJ]

I hadn't checked the tracker in a while. Is Gary Burton (Elizabeth Ann) checking in with someone? His tracker pings stopped a few days ago.

[Now&Zen]

Did you find any info?

[BobJ]

No. Is Hula (Bill) on his way home as well? Tortuga (Randy) is. Those Westsail guys may be staying in touch with each other.

[Aussie]

08/09/23 - The RC (David H.) communicated with Elizabeth Ann over Email and she reported “all is well”. He gave no indication as the why his tracker is not running. As far as we know Hula is not sailing home. The latest information can be found on RC notes on the raceTV screen.

[BobJ]

Thanks Aussie and Mr. Hedgehog.

[Critter]

As of 19:45 tonight, Iniscaw is back in its Oceanside slip after a 26 day return trip. Sorry I didn't post more (or at all!) during both the race and the return. As some of the racers know, I had repeated problems getting email working over the Iridium Go – many thanks to Gary Burton for the time he spent working through my issues.

I had some other potentially interesting failures and breakages going both ways; at some point maybe I'll do a bit of a recap, if I can read my logbook.

Many, many, many thanks to David, Synthia, Greg, Jackie, Christine, Jonathan, Kristen, and anyone I've forgotten to mention who worked so hard to make this race happen. And it was such a joy to see these old friends again after five years of separation.

Max

[Now&Zen]

Well done Max!

[Daydreamer]

Welcome home Max!


Perplexity, with John and myself made Port Townsend August 7 at 22:50 for a 17 day crossing.

[Now&Zen]

Congrats Perplexity!

[WBChristie]

Welcome back Max, John and Greg!
Elizabeth Ann is home as well.


Welcome home Max!


Perplexity, with John and myself made Port Townsend August 7 at 22:50 for a 17 day crossing.

[Now&Zen]

Congrats Elizabeth Ann!!

[Daydreamer]

Welcome home Gary !

[WBChristie]

Welcome home Gary !

Thanks Tony? And Greg

[northwester]

Hey everyone:

Greg and I had a pretty good trip. Too much upwind of course but we only used about 20 gallons of diesel. We also dodged a couple of bullets - the first may be of interest. We heard a rattle while the engine was in gear. Discovered that the transmission dipstick had fallen into the transmission (whu?). We had a magnet and were able to fish it out but anyone with a kanzaki transmission might want to check their dipsticks (the plastic cap was essentially disintegrating). Lee says this is common (really?).

Our second moment of excitement occurred in Pt Townsend. It was very windy in the marina and when I used reverse there was a big vibration and little power. Then I put it in forward - same problem. Meanwhile we are drifting quickly toward a rock jetty~ We managed to eek out enough forward motion to avoid it. What was the problem? A wad of poly line that must have been trailing behind the prop for days - until we put it in reverse for the first time when it gummed up the prop. Oy.

Other than that, a pretty smooth, albeit long as always, trip home.

I would like to echo Max - Thank you to Dave, Jackie, Synthia, Greg and everyone else who made SHTP 2023 happen. It was also great to meet all of the racers and I hope we meet again soon!

John - Perplexity

[Philpott]

Greg didn't mention that you were drifting toward rocks. He's a cool customer, that Greg. He did send this photo of the dead polypropeline line. Poor dead rope.

8698

[mpolkabla]

Solstice made it back safely last Friday to SF and will undergo her hull repairs at KKMI prior to returning to her home port of Monterey. It was a 17 day return trip and (like other reports) included just about everything... which is what it is all about I'm sure. Memorable moments included having a crew (Austin Book) come along for company and expert assistance, allowing some catching up of rest, teams dolphins visiting, a well deserved swim some 1000 miles offshore, long hours playing around with Expedition software (finally learning the finer points), and listening to the audible book on Shackleton (Endurance) which put things into perspective for sure! Also only burned about 20 gallons of diesel during the crossing which was also nice.

Miss you all already and many thanks for the great commerraderie that is evident within this amazing group of people and supporters... That is definitely the best part of this entire adventure. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Michael P.
Solstice

[GBR3068]

Hi everyone! EOS made it back safely. It was quite exciting and not exactly what I expected. Just a few things for now and then I think I should follow up with more details in a tale of newbie experience to help others in future...


Raw water pump replacement in Nawiliwili. A new Sherwood pump blew its bearings but I knew this was a weak point so had a complete spare I swapped in. Stressful though.
Starter battery failed. Its a pretty new Relion lithium but designed to start engines. It was charging and otherwise working OK but the BMS suddenly started cutting out on high-current start. Still dont know why. Could be a case where low resistance actually hurts. I have ability to combine so can use the house battery to start and also had two LiPO jump packs: one worked (Weego) the other did not (Schumacher). I had not tested combined battery mode for days at a time though, so was nervous.
Sailed out of Nawiliwili with Tortuga which made me feel better and then it got rough, lost sight of them at the end of the first day and then learned a couple days later they had turned back. Wife was hoping I could follow them most of the way back. Definitely felt more alone than on the way there. (Randy looks like he is having a tough time.)
My alternator and regulator failed about 2 days out of Kauai. Running the engine was discharging the batteries in float mode. After a couple days troubleshooting, the alternator looked OK. It took 7-10 more days of troubleshooting with great support from shore (thank you Ryan) to learn that the Balmar controller was really designed for AGM and had been hacked (Balmar's words) for LFP. Balmar wanted me to change about 8 parameters to figure out what was going on. At day 20 I ended up just hot wiring a switch to the alternator, running the alternator in bulk to charge things and then manually turning it off. That got me home. It could be something to do with combined battery mode, still working it out. Never had a problem before but I dont often run the engine for 24 hours either.
As part of troubleshooting the alternator problems, I enlisted Rick Shema, The Weather Guy, to help route me in clear weather whenever he could. I knew engine belt/alternator/pulleys was a weak spot; I replaced all before I left but knew I could not change the alternator at sea. So my backup was 600W of solar and that turned out to be a good backup for the alternator and charging system. Big thank you to Rick.
Together with Michael and Solstice went through a stinger low. I got spun around in a 40knot downblast about 10:30pm. The rudder wanted to go this way and the autopilot wanted to go that way and shear pins broke. That was an interesting quick repair.
Solstice timed things perfectly and overtook me a few days out from SF. I did not time things well. Ran into a gale in gale alley. Saw it coming and went as high as I could get. Had no choice but to run off South (you can see it in my track) in the face of 25G30 wind from 000M but mostly because of two swells: a 12-14 000M swell that was confused with a swell from 030M that I never did figure out. Just could not do anything except head DDW for what seemed like forever. Things calmed down just in time for me to turn East for a panic motor into SF.


Let me add my thanks to all those who organized the SHTP. Amazing people doing an amazing amount of work. Thank you.

[Daydreamer]

Welcome back, Michael P. and Mike S.
Well done!

[solosailor]

It took 7-10 more days of troubleshooting with great support from shore (thank you Ryan) to learn that the Balmar controller was really designed for AGM and had been hacked (Balmar's words) for LFP.The Balmar 614 isn't "hacked" nor designed for AGM (also Lead, Gel, LFP, etc) but programmed for your battery type. Years later and many years ago they added LFP to the the stock programming choices. I worked with Balmar 15 years ago to come up with charge profiles that work great with LFP packs and I've personally used it for dozens and dozens of installations. If you want the numbers that are know to work reliably hit me up.

[solosailor]

Also re: starting LFP. You have to be careful with any pack that has an integrated BMS because any number of internal failures can happen and the default position is OFF. This is why I like LFP packs with external BMS setups as you can bypass the failed electronics and still get to your perfectly fine electrons in the cells. Starting packs usually aren't setup to handle a lot of charge amps so you should never use a combiner or charge directly from an alternator. You should always use a DC-DC trickle charger that charges from the house bank when it's getting charged. NEVER use a 1-2-ALL battery switch. You should have a starter selector switch that lets you choose to start from the House or Starting battery.

[GBR3068]

1. Thanks Daydreamer!
2. Thanks solosailor! You posted many similar great comments on batteries and charging that really helped me in the thread on power budgets https://www.sfbaysss.org/forum/showthread.php?2846-Power-budget-calculations/page2 Instead of mangling this thread I will post an electrical follow-up in either that thread or start a new one.
3. Randy sent me a few messages and he is slogging his way back much further north than anyone else had to go. He says Horizon was about 360 nm SE of him a couple days ago. They are, I think, the last two coming back.

[mpolkabla]

Solstice update...

Since our return to the mainland, Solstice has been with KKMI in Point Richmond for a bit now and the repair is going very well says the yard's PM today. The hull damage was caused by a pretty heavy "slam" during my post arrival move from Hanalei to Naliwili where the wind and seas became a bit "spirited" off of the lighthouse point and a table sized chunk blew off the side of the hull leaving only a thin layer of roving between the sea and the cabin. The yard noted that the epoxy and roving patch that we put in place in Nawiliwili prior to the return to the mainland also held very well and has been now ground off for the finish fiberglass layup and repair with X-Mat and other modern epoxy compounds... making the repair the strongest part of the boat now of course!

The yard also said that the problem was originally located at a previous hull/waterline repair that had poor adhesion some years ago. Good news as that means that there is not a systemic issue with the hull other than the fact that resins have changed and improved much since 1963. Anyway, I just wanted to give everyone an update on the progress and look forward to getting Solstice back to Monterey after she is made whole again.

Cheers,

Michael
Cal40 #4 Solstice

[Now&Zen]

Horizon update. I exchanged emails with Piyush this morning. He is 350 from SF and trying to make it home before the next gale rolls down the coast. Winds are light but he says he has an enough fuel to motor.

[GBR3068]

Did Horizon make it in?

That storm is nearly done and Randy and Tortuga are speeding up to get in since wind totally dies Friday. They are 175 nm out at 7:30am today. I was hoping to go help Randy when he came in, not that he needs it and I'm sure there will be a ton of people there at Pier 39, but he helped me so much before and during the SHTP I just wanted to say thanks again. I am going down to LA to visit in-laws but Tortuga should be in by the time I get back. What a journey!

Mike/EOS

[Now&Zen]

Yes Horizon is back. I exchanged VMs with Piyush Tuesday morning and he had just arrived back. He said wind and seas were building but not as bad as when we left for Hawaii. No major breakage or issues.