I have definitely been watching that, and waiting to see who gets out to the better breeze first. It's been pretty dreary for them since Monday.
I have definitely been watching that, and waiting to see who gets out to the better breeze first. It's been pretty dreary for them since Monday.
From Greg Ashby on Morning Star: "We're moving now!"
with Skip
Last edited by Philpott; 07-18-2024 at 11:24 AM.
While paddlin' Madelin home this morning I overtook a red, Davidson 44 being towed into Santa Cruz Harbor, obviously a refugee from the Pac Cup. "Problem?" I inquired. "Lost steering," was the reply. "Rudder gone?" I asked? "Nope, auto-pilot steers fine, but we can't disengage to manually steer."
Unclear on the concept I paddled on..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF0J...b_channel=Isto
Sled, you may remember that the inability to pull the pin on Surprise!'s autopilot drive led to a large rudder bearing repair for her sellers.
And the last time I looked, the boat you're aboard just above was leading her division. Go, Lee and Greg!
We had the same problem on Another Girl, but I was eventually able to pull the pin on the Autopilot Drive.
You would think that before crossing the ocean the steering would be gone over with a fine tooth comb. Maybe not. I remember turning the wheel to round a corner in my '66 VW bus. The wheel spun in my hands, and the bus went straight into the iceplant.
So Greg and Dan's 30 foot OUTSIDER has a significant advantage over other sprit boata in the Pac Cup. What is that?", you might ask. OUTSIDER's sprit articulates 30 degrees either side. allowing them to get more downwind than a non-articulating boat.
In a non-articulating sprit boat, when running hard, 95% of the sail area is on the leeward side, elevating chances for a round-up. I learned this one dark night with BobJ as we ran RAGTIME across Monterey Bay, touching 18 knots at times. It was all we could do from tipping over, a very narrow band to steer in.
Nobody can do a play-by-play better than you, Skip. We're all waiting. What are you thinking? It doesn't look windier up ahead.
And
Cree on Glass Slipper and his brother on Rapid Transit were racing for the other's pink slip. What now?
Thanks, Jackie. Losing your rudder integrity and pink slip to a shark strike is about tops for a sea-story, don't you think? I'm off to Jurassic Park, aka "Club Mud," to assist the 110 fleet in their "Midsummer's Mischief" distance race. Wind conditions for Tomales Bay wind tunnel are forecast to be festive once the water returns. Carry on in my absence....
Last edited by sleddog; 07-20-2024 at 03:39 AM.
Norton Smith, Jim Willowby, and Ron Harben have just completed an unusual and arduous upwind passage against the SE tradewinds, 840 miles from Pago Pago to seldom visited Tongareva (Penrhyn Atoll) in the Northern Cook Islands. Their little ship is the vintage C&C 40 CHEETAH from Port Townsend, WA. Norton, winner of the first SHTP and mini-Transat is known for not taking easy routes and visiting hard to reach destinations.
Also in Norton's crew from Tonga to American Samoa, Sally Stewart found time to carefully consider the waves they were meeting. https://sallyleestewart.substack.com/p/humility Good writing, Sally!
Last edited by sleddog; 07-22-2024 at 02:54 PM.