VALIS crossed the finish line shortly after dawn Monday morning. We
made good time the final 24 hours and are under power in the channel en
route to Kaneohe Yacht Club following the escort boat. Lots to do will
have to catch up later, but in short, it was everything I had hoped.
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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Yep, I'm sailing the PacCup again for 2014. We'll be covering over 2,000 miles and two weeks in Paul Elliot's beautiful VALIS, starting in San Francisco Bay and ending up in Kaneohe, Oahu. Our only connection to you will be via a puny satellite connection, so I can't send pics till we hit land, but if it all works right I should be able to update this blog once in a while. I look forward to reading your comments when I get back. Aloha! -Other Paul
Monday, July 30, 2012
22.04.579N 157.00.986W
I know I got busy and got behind, so here's a quick 2:30 am check in
before I go on watch. We're 55 miles from Kaneohe in moderate squalls
every half hour or so. In between those and when the sun comes up, we
should be looking at Oahu, if our aim was good. All is still great.
VALIS has continued to pile up the miles and everybody is thrilled.
Stay tuned for what should be a report from the finish line around midday!
Whiskey Delta Bravo VALIS out
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before I go on watch. We're 55 miles from Kaneohe in moderate squalls
every half hour or so. In between those and when the sun comes up, we
should be looking at Oahu, if our aim was good. All is still great.
VALIS has continued to pile up the miles and everybody is thrilled.
Stay tuned for what should be a report from the finish line around midday!
Whiskey Delta Bravo VALIS out
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Saturday, July 28, 2012
24.23.485N 153.33.972W
Well this is what you aim a boat across an ocean for. VALIS has been
galloping along on the tradewinds under full main & spinnaker all day
long. All we're doing is a little tweak here and there on the sail trim
and drive through the waves. Absolutely perfect sailing.
I know I've mentioned the blueness of the water, but haven't really
expounded. The deal is that it's 12,000-15,000 feet deep (yep you read
that right) all the way across. So there's PLENTY of opportunity for
all the particulates to settle out. Add to that the fact that nearest
source of dirt or anything else to cloud the water is miles away and you
get really, really clear water. Of course, being essentially infinitely
deep, you can't see anything down there, it's just blue. The deepest,
purest, blue imaginable. That's why the term "bluewater sailing" is
used to differentiate true open-ocean sailing from that done near the
coast or in bays, gulfs, etc.
Ah well, enough of the mood setting. We continue our onslaught on
Division A with another big day, assuming the night goes well. What we
do is leave up the spinnaker (big, powerful, hard to control sail if you
remember your lesson from earlier) up until the nightly squalls blast us
over onto our side, invoking the always exciting 3:00-4:00 am sail
change. Then we switch to something more controllable till morning.
Rinse, repeat.
The squalls start about midnight and get progressively stronger till
just after dawn. The reason is that they get their energy from the
difference in the warm water and the cool air. Since the water doesn't
cool down at night but the air does, the squalls are strongest when the
difference is greatest; early morning. AS soon as the sun starts to
warm the air, it all evens out and the squalls dissipate.
So I've got my shoes, headlamp, gloves, safety harness, and foul weather
gear all hanging from the webbing that holds us in bed, ready for me to
jump in like a fireman when the fun starts.
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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galloping along on the tradewinds under full main & spinnaker all day
long. All we're doing is a little tweak here and there on the sail trim
and drive through the waves. Absolutely perfect sailing.
I know I've mentioned the blueness of the water, but haven't really
expounded. The deal is that it's 12,000-15,000 feet deep (yep you read
that right) all the way across. So there's PLENTY of opportunity for
all the particulates to settle out. Add to that the fact that nearest
source of dirt or anything else to cloud the water is miles away and you
get really, really clear water. Of course, being essentially infinitely
deep, you can't see anything down there, it's just blue. The deepest,
purest, blue imaginable. That's why the term "bluewater sailing" is
used to differentiate true open-ocean sailing from that done near the
coast or in bays, gulfs, etc.
Ah well, enough of the mood setting. We continue our onslaught on
Division A with another big day, assuming the night goes well. What we
do is leave up the spinnaker (big, powerful, hard to control sail if you
remember your lesson from earlier) up until the nightly squalls blast us
over onto our side, invoking the always exciting 3:00-4:00 am sail
change. Then we switch to something more controllable till morning.
Rinse, repeat.
The squalls start about midnight and get progressively stronger till
just after dawn. The reason is that they get their energy from the
difference in the warm water and the cool air. Since the water doesn't
cool down at night but the air does, the squalls are strongest when the
difference is greatest; early morning. AS soon as the sun starts to
warm the air, it all evens out and the squalls dissipate.
So I've got my shoes, headlamp, gloves, safety harness, and foul weather
gear all hanging from the webbing that holds us in bed, ready for me to
jump in like a fireman when the fun starts.
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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24.53.814N 152.42.519W
Happy Saturday everyone! It is on VALIS. This morning's position
reports reveal that we expanded our lead by 3 hours during the previous
24. We are now a little over 2 days from the finish, with a good lead,
bombing along between a blue sky and an much bluer ocean in 15-20 knots
of wind. Shut your eyes and think about what it would be like sailing
to Hawaii, and what you visualize is what we've got for the past couple
of days.
A word about the standings. Those of you following on the tracker might
see a disconnect between what it says and what I say. Keep in mind that
there is a 4 hour delay on the tracker. Also, there is a handicap
number assigned to each boat, not unlike that in golf, to make it
possible for dissimilar boats to compete equitably. Finally, roughly
similar boats are grouped into divisions, and the divisions are started
in reverse order of speed. We are class A, the slowest. We are
analogous to maybe a Hummer or Suburban, whereas the division D guys
would be Corvettes. So we started first in order to get everybody to
Hawaii for the parties and such at roughly the same time. So when I
talk about our progress, I am talking about the projected time at the
finish, adjusted for our handicap number, compared to the same for other
boats in our division. We need to finish about a day ahead of
Cassiopeia, our main competition, to beat them. Right now we are on
track to do it with about 6-7 hours to spare. So that's why I talk
about it being closer than it appears on the tracker.
There is an overall winner awarded, but it is so dependent on weather
conditions at the time of your start that it isn't the prize most of us
are after. This year, for example, it was obvious on day 1 that the
overall winner would come from the late starters because of the light
air experienced by those of us who started early. Everybody is racing
for their division trophy.
Gorgeous star-filled sky last night, except for the squalls (only a
couple), and some kind of meteor shower made for some really fantastic
discussion with Big Paul, who happens to be the director of the board
for SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute.
This is not some whacko's stab at getting some videos on Discovery
Channel. This is the organization that built and operates the huge
radio telescope array used by NASA, JPL, and any other highly
authoritative scientific organization needing such a thing. They also
designed the Kepler Project, among other things. If you saw Jodie
Foster in "Contact" SETI would be the guys that have the equipment her
character was using. Anyway, I digress. Just know that he's a smart
guy that's plenty informed on what's in the sky, so it's pretty cool to
talk to him about it while sailing to Hawaii.
We had to clear a few flying fish off the deck this morning. Little
dudes get scared and take off in front of the boat. Most fly way off
downwind, but a few arc around and hit the sails, then fall on the deck.
We are seeing LOTS of them now. We trolled a fishing line in hopes of
making fish tacos tonight, and hooked one, but lost him. He didn't come
off the hook. Rich was fighting him and the rack that holds the hand
line collapsed, making it impossible for him to hold on, so it was lost
to the sea. Bummer. It was a big fish.
I better go. Gotta keep the throttle on the floor.
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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reports reveal that we expanded our lead by 3 hours during the previous
24. We are now a little over 2 days from the finish, with a good lead,
bombing along between a blue sky and an much bluer ocean in 15-20 knots
of wind. Shut your eyes and think about what it would be like sailing
to Hawaii, and what you visualize is what we've got for the past couple
of days.
A word about the standings. Those of you following on the tracker might
see a disconnect between what it says and what I say. Keep in mind that
there is a 4 hour delay on the tracker. Also, there is a handicap
number assigned to each boat, not unlike that in golf, to make it
possible for dissimilar boats to compete equitably. Finally, roughly
similar boats are grouped into divisions, and the divisions are started
in reverse order of speed. We are class A, the slowest. We are
analogous to maybe a Hummer or Suburban, whereas the division D guys
would be Corvettes. So we started first in order to get everybody to
Hawaii for the parties and such at roughly the same time. So when I
talk about our progress, I am talking about the projected time at the
finish, adjusted for our handicap number, compared to the same for other
boats in our division. We need to finish about a day ahead of
Cassiopeia, our main competition, to beat them. Right now we are on
track to do it with about 6-7 hours to spare. So that's why I talk
about it being closer than it appears on the tracker.
There is an overall winner awarded, but it is so dependent on weather
conditions at the time of your start that it isn't the prize most of us
are after. This year, for example, it was obvious on day 1 that the
overall winner would come from the late starters because of the light
air experienced by those of us who started early. Everybody is racing
for their division trophy.
Gorgeous star-filled sky last night, except for the squalls (only a
couple), and some kind of meteor shower made for some really fantastic
discussion with Big Paul, who happens to be the director of the board
for SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute.
This is not some whacko's stab at getting some videos on Discovery
Channel. This is the organization that built and operates the huge
radio telescope array used by NASA, JPL, and any other highly
authoritative scientific organization needing such a thing. They also
designed the Kepler Project, among other things. If you saw Jodie
Foster in "Contact" SETI would be the guys that have the equipment her
character was using. Anyway, I digress. Just know that he's a smart
guy that's plenty informed on what's in the sky, so it's pretty cool to
talk to him about it while sailing to Hawaii.
We had to clear a few flying fish off the deck this morning. Little
dudes get scared and take off in front of the boat. Most fly way off
downwind, but a few arc around and hit the sails, then fall on the deck.
We are seeing LOTS of them now. We trolled a fishing line in hopes of
making fish tacos tonight, and hooked one, but lost him. He didn't come
off the hook. Rich was fighting him and the rack that holds the hand
line collapsed, making it impossible for him to hold on, so it was lost
to the sea. Bummer. It was a big fish.
I better go. Gotta keep the throttle on the floor.
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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Friday, July 27, 2012
25.56.721N 150.51.992W
Another great dinner, this time ribs. We've got a gimballed stove,
which means it is on hinges both fore-aft and side-side so that it stays
level, even though the rest of the boat is heeling over and pitching at
times 30-40 degrees in each axis, sometimes fairly violently. Those of
you who haven't experienced it would likely think it to be like really
bad airplane turbulence, if the plane rolled side to side just as much
as it went up and down. So cooking is obviously challenging. Thus the
gimballed stove. Roughly half the time it's too rough to do anything on
top, even with the pots that clamp on, so it's bake in the oven only.
So we've had lasagna, ribs, chinese food, etc. that can be easily
pre-made, frozen, packed with dry ice, and reheated at sea. Works
great. The only meal cooked is supper, at about 6:00. Everything else
is just grab as you go on or off watch. Lots of Cliff bars, etc.
Got some email from Lydia and it sounds like she & the kids are all
having a big time in their big adventures, so I'm looking forward to
hearing all about that. Obviously I've got some for them too.
So, last night was a big one. We flew a chute all night, through at
least 3 pretty good squalls with high wind and hard rain, one with
lightning. Steering through the squalls brought to mind the scene in
Apollo 13 where Tom Hanks has to steer the ship through a rocket burn
with no guidance computer. They hit the rocket and he's just hanging on
for dear life, trying to aim the thing as it swerves and bucks through
the darkness. That was us last night. Just keep it together with the
big sails up so we can keep driving hard during the soft spots. As
dedicated readers know by now, it worked. VALIS leads the division
going into the home stretch.
So today we were doing what runners would know as "striding out", I
guess. We're keeping the pace up, moving well under spinnaker all day
long, but we reduced the size of the mainsail (called reefing) when the
wind came up just to make the boat easier to handle. We're at 85%
throttle, if you will. The last few days should be similar weather,
which VALIS is well suited for, so if today's effort holds up well we
know we are in really good shape. Our competition will undoubtedly have
put the pedal down today and if we hold our own in this comfortable
mode, with more speed still in our pocket if we deem it worth the risk
of damage to dial it up, that's good news for the good guys.
I'm WAAAY behind on sleep and running in zombie mode, so better go.
(By the way, in case I haven't explained the sign off, it's related to
the SSB radio, which is what is used for communication between boats.
VALIS is the communications boat for the fleet, meaning we take position
reports, roll calls, distress messages, etc. so the radio is omnipresent
in VALIS life. VALIS' call sign is WDB2898, so every time we end a
broadcast, we are required by Federal Law to broadcast our call sign,
thus...)
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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which means it is on hinges both fore-aft and side-side so that it stays
level, even though the rest of the boat is heeling over and pitching at
times 30-40 degrees in each axis, sometimes fairly violently. Those of
you who haven't experienced it would likely think it to be like really
bad airplane turbulence, if the plane rolled side to side just as much
as it went up and down. So cooking is obviously challenging. Thus the
gimballed stove. Roughly half the time it's too rough to do anything on
top, even with the pots that clamp on, so it's bake in the oven only.
So we've had lasagna, ribs, chinese food, etc. that can be easily
pre-made, frozen, packed with dry ice, and reheated at sea. Works
great. The only meal cooked is supper, at about 6:00. Everything else
is just grab as you go on or off watch. Lots of Cliff bars, etc.
Got some email from Lydia and it sounds like she & the kids are all
having a big time in their big adventures, so I'm looking forward to
hearing all about that. Obviously I've got some for them too.
So, last night was a big one. We flew a chute all night, through at
least 3 pretty good squalls with high wind and hard rain, one with
lightning. Steering through the squalls brought to mind the scene in
Apollo 13 where Tom Hanks has to steer the ship through a rocket burn
with no guidance computer. They hit the rocket and he's just hanging on
for dear life, trying to aim the thing as it swerves and bucks through
the darkness. That was us last night. Just keep it together with the
big sails up so we can keep driving hard during the soft spots. As
dedicated readers know by now, it worked. VALIS leads the division
going into the home stretch.
So today we were doing what runners would know as "striding out", I
guess. We're keeping the pace up, moving well under spinnaker all day
long, but we reduced the size of the mainsail (called reefing) when the
wind came up just to make the boat easier to handle. We're at 85%
throttle, if you will. The last few days should be similar weather,
which VALIS is well suited for, so if today's effort holds up well we
know we are in really good shape. Our competition will undoubtedly have
put the pedal down today and if we hold our own in this comfortable
mode, with more speed still in our pocket if we deem it worth the risk
of damage to dial it up, that's good news for the good guys.
I'm WAAAY behind on sleep and running in zombie mode, so better go.
(By the way, in case I haven't explained the sign off, it's related to
the SSB radio, which is what is used for communication between boats.
VALIS is the communications boat for the fleet, meaning we take position
reports, roll calls, distress messages, etc. so the radio is omnipresent
in VALIS life. VALIS' call sign is WDB2898, so every time we end a
broadcast, we are required by Federal Law to broadcast our call sign,
thus...)
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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26.25.511N 149.56.667W
As of 0800 PST today, there is a new leader in PacCup 2012 Division A.
Get outta da way cause we ain't slowin down!
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Get outta da way cause we ain't slowin down!
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26.56.712N 149.18.312W
Whee! I love it when you are at the helm in 20+ knots on a moonless
night off the wind.
There is a little pressure under your butt as a wave starts to pick up
the back of the boat. You are just getting a gust of wind, so you know
your apparent wind will move forward a little more, so you press a
little extra against the rudder to get the head of the boat headed down
the building wave. Just one quick press because you want to get it over
there and not be dragging your rudder when it's time to surf. So you
jab it pretty firmly and the added drag to leeward of the centerline
causes the boat to start heeling in the building gust. Not what you
want, but you have to get that head down, so you do it quick to get it
over with. The boat sort of picks up it's shoulder and drives off the
wind a step, with the rail pressing down. You can't surf a boat on it's
side, so that's not going to work. But you knew that was going to
happen because it's happened a thousand times before, just today. So
just as the bulk of the boat responds to your jab but before the head
even really starts to move down, you release the wheel, allowing it to
spin back, giving back the pressure you had applied, releasing the force
on the rudder. It's job is done. It got the big boat swinging into
line already, momentum will finish the job. What you need now is for
the boat to get back on it's lines before the crest of the wave passes.
So when it's head comes down in perfect alignment with the press of
the wave on your seat, and it levels it's shoulders for the charge, you
are not surprised. Your fingertips are light on the wheel because you
know adjustments now will be subtle. There is a heave as 30,000 lbs.
raises up like a sprinter in his blocks. Then a hiss from the front of
the boat that becomes an open throated "waaaaaa' then finally a deep
roar as the green glittery glowing foam cascades out from the bow like
the flames from the sidepipes of a dragster. The beast blasts ahead in
full roar, level, on balance, but teetering on forces that will go bad
in a hurry if they get out of alignment. So you make the tiniest little
moves with your fingers on the wheel, just to keep everything in perfect
alignment, and you ride that wave on your massive surfboard till it
finally drops you off for the slide down it's back. Glance over your
shoulder and get ready for the next ride.
I just got through doing that in alternating 30 minute turns for the
past 3 hours (except for 20 minutes spent trying to keep the mast
pointed up during a squall). How cool is that?!
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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night off the wind.
There is a little pressure under your butt as a wave starts to pick up
the back of the boat. You are just getting a gust of wind, so you know
your apparent wind will move forward a little more, so you press a
little extra against the rudder to get the head of the boat headed down
the building wave. Just one quick press because you want to get it over
there and not be dragging your rudder when it's time to surf. So you
jab it pretty firmly and the added drag to leeward of the centerline
causes the boat to start heeling in the building gust. Not what you
want, but you have to get that head down, so you do it quick to get it
over with. The boat sort of picks up it's shoulder and drives off the
wind a step, with the rail pressing down. You can't surf a boat on it's
side, so that's not going to work. But you knew that was going to
happen because it's happened a thousand times before, just today. So
just as the bulk of the boat responds to your jab but before the head
even really starts to move down, you release the wheel, allowing it to
spin back, giving back the pressure you had applied, releasing the force
on the rudder. It's job is done. It got the big boat swinging into
line already, momentum will finish the job. What you need now is for
the boat to get back on it's lines before the crest of the wave passes.
So when it's head comes down in perfect alignment with the press of
the wave on your seat, and it levels it's shoulders for the charge, you
are not surprised. Your fingertips are light on the wheel because you
know adjustments now will be subtle. There is a heave as 30,000 lbs.
raises up like a sprinter in his blocks. Then a hiss from the front of
the boat that becomes an open throated "waaaaaa' then finally a deep
roar as the green glittery glowing foam cascades out from the bow like
the flames from the sidepipes of a dragster. The beast blasts ahead in
full roar, level, on balance, but teetering on forces that will go bad
in a hurry if they get out of alignment. So you make the tiniest little
moves with your fingers on the wheel, just to keep everything in perfect
alignment, and you ride that wave on your massive surfboard till it
finally drops you off for the slide down it's back. Glance over your
shoulder and get ready for the next ride.
I just got through doing that in alternating 30 minute turns for the
past 3 hours (except for 20 minutes spent trying to keep the mast
pointed up during a squall). How cool is that?!
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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Thursday, July 26, 2012
27.33.405N 148.05.818W
We be jammin'
We be jammin'
640 NM or so to go. Chicken chute still up. Averaging about 8.25 knots
for the last 10 hours. That thing is HARD to drive smoothly downwind.
It's fine on a reach. So we'll reach along with it tonight and hope we
make it through a night with the chute up. Those 3:00am changes down to
the genoa are exciting, but exhausting.
Well today was what you think of when you think of sailing to Hawaii.
Great wind, nice blue sky, ridiculously blue water, lotsa flying fish.
Here's hoping for more tomorrow.
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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We be jammin'
640 NM or so to go. Chicken chute still up. Averaging about 8.25 knots
for the last 10 hours. That thing is HARD to drive smoothly downwind.
It's fine on a reach. So we'll reach along with it tonight and hope we
make it through a night with the chute up. Those 3:00am changes down to
the genoa are exciting, but exhausting.
Well today was what you think of when you think of sailing to Hawaii.
Great wind, nice blue sky, ridiculously blue water, lotsa flying fish.
Here's hoping for more tomorrow.
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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Tuesday, July 24, 2012
31.07.985N 142.43.895W
Just a reminder for those who joined us late, the numbers at the top of
each post are our latitude and longitude when I start typing. Plug
those into google earth or something similar and you'll see exactly
where we are.
The clever among you will note that today's position is closer to
Kaneohe than it is to San Francisco. That's right, HALFWAY! The crew
of VALIS celebrated with a concert by Tiki Drummer (I'll have video
later) plus some fabulous gifts provided by several of the VALIS wives.
The chocolate covered coffee beans and the truffles in the little blue
box were especially outstanding.
Well, the conservative route worked so well last night that we stayed
with it all day. Michael and I rigged a double-headsail wing and wing
deal that is dragging us downwind at a pretty steady 8-8.5 knots and the
plan is to continue that through the night. We are in a close race in
our division and I fear our cautiousness may have cost us some today.
We'll see in the morning with the daily position report. If Cassiopeia
and No Strings have really put it to us today, we'll need to pour the
coals to it tomorrow. If not and we're still logging competitive days,
there's no need to raise the risk of breaking stuff. There's 1,000
miles to go, no need to get stupid. There have already been a couple of
retirements and there is a rumor of some damage on Cassiopeia, even
though our last report didn't show they had slowed.
I saw my first flying fish of the trip today! Man I love those little
dudes, a sure sign that the water is getting tropical. I was working on
the bow while we were booming along in 25 knots and we scared a school
of about 6 of them up from right under my feet. The champ went maybe 40
yards.
The waves are up over 10 feet, but they are starting to get a little
more organized, which is good because the 8' lumps coming from 3
directions that we had was tough to deal with in the dark. Wind is
varying from mid-teens to high 20's. Now it's the old deal where you're
either in a trough looking at a wall of water over your head behind you,
or you're on top of the thing so you can see all around. Repeat about a
million times a day.
So all's well in mid-Pacific. Nice conditions, still cloudy but warming
up. The crew is having fun and eating well (Mongolian beef tonight).
We have all developed a protective salty crust that prevents our
situation from deteriorating further. The current thinking is that we
are in the beginning stages of forming an exoskeleton. We're making
good progress and are projecting a late Monday arrival in Kaneohe.
I need a nap so...
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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each post are our latitude and longitude when I start typing. Plug
those into google earth or something similar and you'll see exactly
where we are.
The clever among you will note that today's position is closer to
Kaneohe than it is to San Francisco. That's right, HALFWAY! The crew
of VALIS celebrated with a concert by Tiki Drummer (I'll have video
later) plus some fabulous gifts provided by several of the VALIS wives.
The chocolate covered coffee beans and the truffles in the little blue
box were especially outstanding.
Well, the conservative route worked so well last night that we stayed
with it all day. Michael and I rigged a double-headsail wing and wing
deal that is dragging us downwind at a pretty steady 8-8.5 knots and the
plan is to continue that through the night. We are in a close race in
our division and I fear our cautiousness may have cost us some today.
We'll see in the morning with the daily position report. If Cassiopeia
and No Strings have really put it to us today, we'll need to pour the
coals to it tomorrow. If not and we're still logging competitive days,
there's no need to raise the risk of breaking stuff. There's 1,000
miles to go, no need to get stupid. There have already been a couple of
retirements and there is a rumor of some damage on Cassiopeia, even
though our last report didn't show they had slowed.
I saw my first flying fish of the trip today! Man I love those little
dudes, a sure sign that the water is getting tropical. I was working on
the bow while we were booming along in 25 knots and we scared a school
of about 6 of them up from right under my feet. The champ went maybe 40
yards.
The waves are up over 10 feet, but they are starting to get a little
more organized, which is good because the 8' lumps coming from 3
directions that we had was tough to deal with in the dark. Wind is
varying from mid-teens to high 20's. Now it's the old deal where you're
either in a trough looking at a wall of water over your head behind you,
or you're on top of the thing so you can see all around. Repeat about a
million times a day.
So all's well in mid-Pacific. Nice conditions, still cloudy but warming
up. The crew is having fun and eating well (Mongolian beef tonight).
We have all developed a protective salty crust that prevents our
situation from deteriorating further. The current thinking is that we
are in the beginning stages of forming an exoskeleton. We're making
good progress and are projecting a late Monday arrival in Kaneohe.
I need a nap so...
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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31.35.659N 140.50.503W
Those using the Lat/Long I give you in the subject will notice that
we've veered North a bit. It's not a strategy change, it's just that
we've been experiencing squalls with winds up to 30 knots and you have
to head up a bit to keep the jib full. Gybing in the pitch black while
barreling along at 10 knots is not a good idea, so up we go till
morning, then a gybe & we'll be all good.
It's been a great night of sailing! Totally black night without a
horizon. Just black except for the glowing glittering wake streaming
out behind us and the boat bounding through 6-8 foot seas. Throw in a
little rain once in a while and it was quite invigorating.
This is one of those times when I'm thrilled to say I was wrong. I
wanted to fly a spinnaker, but Big Paul made exactly the right call by
going a little conservative. We've had periods of big wind building
suddenly that would've meant a middle of the night takedown, at best.
So the move looks brilliant. If anybody else managed to keep the pedal
to the metal without breaking anything, our hat's off to 'em.
We seemed to have crossed another shipping lane of some sort. We had
'em all over us a few days ago, then nothing for a couple of days, now 2
or 3 in the past 12 hours. The ship's captains are invariably really
nice guys. While we'd be just another pleasure boat in the way around
the bays and coastal waters, out here we're fellow mariners worthy of
their respect. They almost always offer to alter course to allow us to
keep ours and frequently ask if there is anything they can offer to help
us. They are always curious about our voyage and wish us the best. One
guy even signed off with "Godspeed, little boat."
The water's about hot, so I'm gonna get some oatmeal.
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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we've veered North a bit. It's not a strategy change, it's just that
we've been experiencing squalls with winds up to 30 knots and you have
to head up a bit to keep the jib full. Gybing in the pitch black while
barreling along at 10 knots is not a good idea, so up we go till
morning, then a gybe & we'll be all good.
It's been a great night of sailing! Totally black night without a
horizon. Just black except for the glowing glittering wake streaming
out behind us and the boat bounding through 6-8 foot seas. Throw in a
little rain once in a while and it was quite invigorating.
This is one of those times when I'm thrilled to say I was wrong. I
wanted to fly a spinnaker, but Big Paul made exactly the right call by
going a little conservative. We've had periods of big wind building
suddenly that would've meant a middle of the night takedown, at best.
So the move looks brilliant. If anybody else managed to keep the pedal
to the metal without breaking anything, our hat's off to 'em.
We seemed to have crossed another shipping lane of some sort. We had
'em all over us a few days ago, then nothing for a couple of days, now 2
or 3 in the past 12 hours. The ship's captains are invariably really
nice guys. While we'd be just another pleasure boat in the way around
the bays and coastal waters, out here we're fellow mariners worthy of
their respect. They almost always offer to alter course to allow us to
keep ours and frequently ask if there is anything they can offer to help
us. They are always curious about our voyage and wish us the best. One
guy even signed off with "Godspeed, little boat."
The water's about hot, so I'm gonna get some oatmeal.
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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Monday, July 23, 2012
31.41.099N 139.21.912W
Howdy again from mid-Pacific. Looks like we're about a thousand miles
from anywhere. We should be passing halfway tomorrow. Today was more
good sailing with 15-20 knot wind and 6-7 foot seas. We've gone a
little conservative by dousing the spinnaker early in the afternoon and
going with white sails for the night. After our brilliant run yesterday
(boosting us to at least 2nd in the division), I was hoping for a repeat
tonight to really put a dagger in 'em. But I think the skipper wanted
to get some sleep rather than waiting for something to break all night,
so he has his foot off the gas for the moment.
For my non-sailing friends, the spinnaker is a large sail that produces
a tremendous amount of power, but is hard to control. Last night we
barreled through the darkness like we were on fire under spinnaker till
a squall made us take it down about 4:00am. It was something! The boat
was heaving and crashing along with lots of phosphorescent glitter
flying around. It was hard enough to keep it under control that you
were ready for relief at the end of each 30 minute hitch at the helm. I
don't think the boss was up to that sort of excitement again tonight.
He's probably being smart. A couple of the other boats have already
suffered breakdowns that will slow them down quite a bit, and we've got
a thousand miles to go.
It's clear that we've moved at least one time zone to the west, even
though we remain on Pacific Time. The first couple of nights when I
came off the 6:00-9:00 watch, it was pitch dark. It's 9:32 right now
and it'll be light for another half hour. Buy the time we get to
Hawaii, the sun will have backed up 3 hours. Combine that with our
broken up work/sleep schedule, and time of day gets pretty meaningless.
I took a Wet-Wipe bath and changed clothes, all in one day! That level
of personal grooming makes me a metrosexual in these circles. Rich, a
veteran of 9 Pacific crossings, actually shaved despite the motion. His
courage had inspired me to maybe attempt the same tomorrow.
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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from anywhere. We should be passing halfway tomorrow. Today was more
good sailing with 15-20 knot wind and 6-7 foot seas. We've gone a
little conservative by dousing the spinnaker early in the afternoon and
going with white sails for the night. After our brilliant run yesterday
(boosting us to at least 2nd in the division), I was hoping for a repeat
tonight to really put a dagger in 'em. But I think the skipper wanted
to get some sleep rather than waiting for something to break all night,
so he has his foot off the gas for the moment.
For my non-sailing friends, the spinnaker is a large sail that produces
a tremendous amount of power, but is hard to control. Last night we
barreled through the darkness like we were on fire under spinnaker till
a squall made us take it down about 4:00am. It was something! The boat
was heaving and crashing along with lots of phosphorescent glitter
flying around. It was hard enough to keep it under control that you
were ready for relief at the end of each 30 minute hitch at the helm. I
don't think the boss was up to that sort of excitement again tonight.
He's probably being smart. A couple of the other boats have already
suffered breakdowns that will slow them down quite a bit, and we've got
a thousand miles to go.
It's clear that we've moved at least one time zone to the west, even
though we remain on Pacific Time. The first couple of nights when I
came off the 6:00-9:00 watch, it was pitch dark. It's 9:32 right now
and it'll be light for another half hour. Buy the time we get to
Hawaii, the sun will have backed up 3 hours. Combine that with our
broken up work/sleep schedule, and time of day gets pretty meaningless.
I took a Wet-Wipe bath and changed clothes, all in one day! That level
of personal grooming makes me a metrosexual in these circles. Rich, a
veteran of 9 Pacific crossings, actually shaved despite the motion. His
courage had inspired me to maybe attempt the same tomorrow.
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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Sunday, July 22, 2012
32.24.388N 135.50.296W
Do you ever look around and think "I am the luckiest person on Earth?"
This evening, at the helm of a wonderful boat, going 10 knots in 23
knots of wind, with the chute up, skirting around the edge of a little
squall being framed by the sunset, 750 or so miles from the nearest land
I had that feeling. I'm not talking about all the big life stuff (I
checked that off when I got an email from my family tonight). I'm just
talking about the pure selfish joy of getting to do what you really love
doing.
I've eaten my past 20 or so meals with the same spork & bowl (the green
ones) or my fingers. I sleep in foul weather gear (the 'foul' part is
beginning to make sense) and days-old underwear. No shave in a week
(would be suicidal, given the motion). No sleep longer than 2 hours at
a stretch in a week. Yet not one of the 7 billion or so of the rest of
you had a better afternoon. If this keeps up, I might even celebrate
having reached the wind with some fresh boxers.
I don't know how the competition is doing. I'm sure they are ripping
right along too. Doesn't matter. It's all good.
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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This evening, at the helm of a wonderful boat, going 10 knots in 23
knots of wind, with the chute up, skirting around the edge of a little
squall being framed by the sunset, 750 or so miles from the nearest land
I had that feeling. I'm not talking about all the big life stuff (I
checked that off when I got an email from my family tonight). I'm just
talking about the pure selfish joy of getting to do what you really love
doing.
I've eaten my past 20 or so meals with the same spork & bowl (the green
ones) or my fingers. I sleep in foul weather gear (the 'foul' part is
beginning to make sense) and days-old underwear. No shave in a week
(would be suicidal, given the motion). No sleep longer than 2 hours at
a stretch in a week. Yet not one of the 7 billion or so of the rest of
you had a better afternoon. If this keeps up, I might even celebrate
having reached the wind with some fresh boxers.
I don't know how the competition is doing. I'm sure they are ripping
right along too. Doesn't matter. It's all good.
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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Saturday, July 21, 2012
33.17.313N 132.36.576W
Good day today! Nice wind and lots of chatter on the radio. It seems
several of our courses have sort of converged in this part of the ocean
and we've enjoyed sighting a couple of boats as well as seeing more on
the AIS.
For those unfamiliar with it, the AIS is a transponder that transmits
your location, speed, heading, vessel type, etc. so that nearby vessels
can avoid collisions. It's our primary means of avoiding getting mowed
down by big ships. They have strong AIS transmitters, so we can see
them sometimes 50 or more miles away. If their path & speed are a
threat to us, we contact them on the radio and make sure they know where
we are. Naturally, if a ship is going to pass close, you keep a very
watchful eye till you actually see him pass with your own eyes.
Anyway, we see Lightspeed, our rival from last night, still more or less
abeam of us, 10 miles to our south. That's out of visual range, but we
feel good about keeping the boat from teh faster class that close all day.
There was a really cool visual this afternoon when the sun broke through
the solid cloud deck maybe 2 miles away. The patch of sea it lit up was
brilliantly silver against the otherwise dull surface and the fact that
we could only see the wave tops made for a beautiful effect.
Another point of interest is that our travel across the globe is quite
noticable in terms of daylight. The first night it was DARK when I came
off watch at 9:00 pm. Tonight it was still very light.
The spinnaker is up. We're sliding along at a comfortable 8-9 knots.
The crew is well fed, though smelling a bit funky. Rich & Dick are on
watch, everyone else but me is snoozing and I'm about to join them.
Gotta be up at 0300.
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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several of our courses have sort of converged in this part of the ocean
and we've enjoyed sighting a couple of boats as well as seeing more on
the AIS.
For those unfamiliar with it, the AIS is a transponder that transmits
your location, speed, heading, vessel type, etc. so that nearby vessels
can avoid collisions. It's our primary means of avoiding getting mowed
down by big ships. They have strong AIS transmitters, so we can see
them sometimes 50 or more miles away. If their path & speed are a
threat to us, we contact them on the radio and make sure they know where
we are. Naturally, if a ship is going to pass close, you keep a very
watchful eye till you actually see him pass with your own eyes.
Anyway, we see Lightspeed, our rival from last night, still more or less
abeam of us, 10 miles to our south. That's out of visual range, but we
feel good about keeping the boat from teh faster class that close all day.
There was a really cool visual this afternoon when the sun broke through
the solid cloud deck maybe 2 miles away. The patch of sea it lit up was
brilliantly silver against the otherwise dull surface and the fact that
we could only see the wave tops made for a beautiful effect.
Another point of interest is that our travel across the globe is quite
noticable in terms of daylight. The first night it was DARK when I came
off watch at 9:00 pm. Tonight it was still very light.
The spinnaker is up. We're sliding along at a comfortable 8-9 knots.
The crew is well fed, though smelling a bit funky. Rich & Dick are on
watch, everyone else but me is snoozing and I'm about to join them.
Gotta be up at 0300.
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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34.02.478N 130.43.462W
0600 Quick update coming off watch. Great night of sailing with 8-15
knots pretty much all night. VALIS is nice relaxed galllop, averaging
over 7 knots. We spent the last 3 hours racing with Lightspeed, one of
the later starters from a faster class. They eventually crossed
probably a mile and a half behind & we'll keep them there as long as
possible.
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knots pretty much all night. VALIS is nice relaxed galllop, averaging
over 7 knots. We spent the last 3 hours racing with Lightspeed, one of
the later starters from a faster class. They eventually crossed
probably a mile and a half behind & we'll keep them there as long as
possible.
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Friday, July 20, 2012
34.33.805N 129.53.232W
Weird night last night. Wind kept coming up to 12 or so, then dying
away to nothing. Seemed connected to the little mini-squalls, for lack
of a better term, that only produced some misty rain. So we'd charge
ahead, then stop, then repeat.
The morning was overcast with a light breeze on a fairly smooth sea,
same as all the others. Early in the afternoon, it backed to the point
that we could get the spinnaker up, which was a huge breakthrough.
We've spent a lot of time with the speedo on the happy side of 7 knots
since, so maybe tomorrow's position reports will bring good news.
The notable thing about today was the ship traffic. We are crossing a
major shipping lane to Japan, so we've had a steady stream of
conversations with Japanese ships, making sure that they saw us and
clarifying who was going to alter course which way. With them being
thousands of times our size, it's best to clear that sort of thing up
early. My favorite exchange was actually between David on Temerity and
a Japanese ship. David could see the ship, dead astern, on the same
heading, with no response on the radio. So we joined in attempting to
hail the ship on various channels. David got him on the horn in plenty
of time and all the usual negotiations took place with the ship offering
to alter course to pass to starboard (similar to a guy on a bike saying
"on your right" when passing a pedestrian for my non-sailing friends.
Except this 'bike' was 800' long and going 3 times as fast as Temerity.)
Anyway, after they got it all sorted out, the ship's captain called
David to ask where he was headed. When David explained about the race,
the captain said (in a really neat sounding Japanese accent) "You are an
excellent navigator sir. You are a hero. You have my deepest respect."
Sorta made us feel bad for giving David a hard time back at the bon
voyage party!
Chute's up, we're moving, gotta get some rest before 0300 & time to go
again.
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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away to nothing. Seemed connected to the little mini-squalls, for lack
of a better term, that only produced some misty rain. So we'd charge
ahead, then stop, then repeat.
The morning was overcast with a light breeze on a fairly smooth sea,
same as all the others. Early in the afternoon, it backed to the point
that we could get the spinnaker up, which was a huge breakthrough.
We've spent a lot of time with the speedo on the happy side of 7 knots
since, so maybe tomorrow's position reports will bring good news.
The notable thing about today was the ship traffic. We are crossing a
major shipping lane to Japan, so we've had a steady stream of
conversations with Japanese ships, making sure that they saw us and
clarifying who was going to alter course which way. With them being
thousands of times our size, it's best to clear that sort of thing up
early. My favorite exchange was actually between David on Temerity and
a Japanese ship. David could see the ship, dead astern, on the same
heading, with no response on the radio. So we joined in attempting to
hail the ship on various channels. David got him on the horn in plenty
of time and all the usual negotiations took place with the ship offering
to alter course to pass to starboard (similar to a guy on a bike saying
"on your right" when passing a pedestrian for my non-sailing friends.
Except this 'bike' was 800' long and going 3 times as fast as Temerity.)
Anyway, after they got it all sorted out, the ship's captain called
David to ask where he was headed. When David explained about the race,
the captain said (in a really neat sounding Japanese accent) "You are an
excellent navigator sir. You are a hero. You have my deepest respect."
Sorta made us feel bad for giving David a hard time back at the bon
voyage party!
Chute's up, we're moving, gotta get some rest before 0300 & time to go
again.
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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Thursday, July 19, 2012
35.47.596N 128.01.770W
--
I'm not sure what I sent last time and I cant see it, so this might be
redundant. Nice day, but unspectacular sailing. We made good time
through the night with a top speed of 8.3 knots around 4:00 am. Quite a
bit of reaching in light air and sloppy seas today though. Right this
instant (9:15 pm Pacific Time) it's blowing 10, we're going about 6, and
the swells are confused and 6-10 feet, so it's sort of like trying to
hurry down a washboarded, lousy dirt road.
Saw some cool birds, but nothing notable fish-wise. We've encountered 3
ships since I checked in last. All of them 700-900 feet long and going
more than twice as fast as us, so we give them plenty of room. Even
from a mile and a half away they are sort of creepy in the middle of the
night.
We did see a sail on the southern horizon just before dark. No idea who
it was. We could check all the positions from this morning and probably
figure it out, but nobody has that kind of energy. We only get the
positions of the other boats every morning. We can't see the tracker
that you all can.
Well, Phil whipped up some spaghetti worthy of a medal tonight, and
dinner was on my watch. So I'm full, tired, and just coming out of the
damp air for a nap. Gotta be up and going at 0300.
Oh, I almost forgot the big news of the day. I took off my wool
underwear! It's warming up a little, so we all started shedding layers.
I literally found a layer of clothes that I had forgotten that I put
on. To say that the boat is developing a 'salty' air about it would be
accurate, with 5 others in the same state of wardrobe. It ain't pretty,
but we're having a ball!
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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I'm not sure what I sent last time and I cant see it, so this might be
redundant. Nice day, but unspectacular sailing. We made good time
through the night with a top speed of 8.3 knots around 4:00 am. Quite a
bit of reaching in light air and sloppy seas today though. Right this
instant (9:15 pm Pacific Time) it's blowing 10, we're going about 6, and
the swells are confused and 6-10 feet, so it's sort of like trying to
hurry down a washboarded, lousy dirt road.
Saw some cool birds, but nothing notable fish-wise. We've encountered 3
ships since I checked in last. All of them 700-900 feet long and going
more than twice as fast as us, so we give them plenty of room. Even
from a mile and a half away they are sort of creepy in the middle of the
night.
We did see a sail on the southern horizon just before dark. No idea who
it was. We could check all the positions from this morning and probably
figure it out, but nobody has that kind of energy. We only get the
positions of the other boats every morning. We can't see the tracker
that you all can.
Well, Phil whipped up some spaghetti worthy of a medal tonight, and
dinner was on my watch. So I'm full, tired, and just coming out of the
damp air for a nap. Gotta be up and going at 0300.
Oh, I almost forgot the big news of the day. I took off my wool
underwear! It's warming up a little, so we all started shedding layers.
I literally found a layer of clothes that I had forgotten that I put
on. To say that the boat is developing a 'salty' air about it would be
accurate, with 5 others in the same state of wardrobe. It ain't pretty,
but we're having a ball!
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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Wednesday, July 18, 2012
36.59.774n 125.48.293w 9:15pm
Howdy again from the bounding main. THings are looking up. Early in
the afternoon, the first cats-paws of wind from the north, which is the
prevailing wind we've been trying to hook into, started slithering
through the swells. We tacked, gybed, tweaked & trimmed from one patch
to another until they grew together. Since then it's been a slow but
steady build to 12 knots. We're on a loose reach at about 6.25 knots,
which is TONS better than the triple 0's we had on the speedo last night.
Since it's a new wind, the waves look like what you'd see on a lake,
except they are sitting on 8 foot swells, so there's quite a bit of
motion, but it's a relaxed, pleasant sort. I'm looking forward to a
great sleep with the sea rushing by and the boat dancing me to sleep.
FYI, the numbers at the top of the post are our Latitude and Longitude
when I started to type. Plug those into Google earth to see where we are.
Cloudy most of the day, no rain. Tonight's 3:00am-6:00am might be my
last in the wool underwear, it's gradually getting warmer.
Dick thawed & served a fantastic lasagna for dinner. Lots of good
stories and jokes, many of which are not suitable for mixed audiences,
so you'll have to use your imagination.
Oh well, this thing is jumping all over whle I'm typing and that sleep
deal is sounding pretty good, so...
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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the afternoon, the first cats-paws of wind from the north, which is the
prevailing wind we've been trying to hook into, started slithering
through the swells. We tacked, gybed, tweaked & trimmed from one patch
to another until they grew together. Since then it's been a slow but
steady build to 12 knots. We're on a loose reach at about 6.25 knots,
which is TONS better than the triple 0's we had on the speedo last night.
Since it's a new wind, the waves look like what you'd see on a lake,
except they are sitting on 8 foot swells, so there's quite a bit of
motion, but it's a relaxed, pleasant sort. I'm looking forward to a
great sleep with the sea rushing by and the boat dancing me to sleep.
FYI, the numbers at the top of the post are our Latitude and Longitude
when I started to type. Plug those into Google earth to see where we are.
Cloudy most of the day, no rain. Tonight's 3:00am-6:00am might be my
last in the wool underwear, it's gradually getting warmer.
Dick thawed & served a fantastic lasagna for dinner. Lots of good
stories and jokes, many of which are not suitable for mixed audiences,
so you'll have to use your imagination.
Oh well, this thing is jumping all over whle I'm typing and that sleep
deal is sounding pretty good, so...
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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37.14.068N 124.57.832W
--
Well, we're parked. We kept it moving, slowly, but moving, most of the
night. But just about the time it started getting light, the wind shut
off completely. I wish I could say that means we are sitting still on
this glassy water, but no, we're bobbing and rolling and the sails are
slatting about aimlessly. You think of the ocean as being big wind and
waves, and mostly it is. But Greer's Ferry Lake has never been more
slicked over than the Pacific, or at least the circle of it I can see.
The difference is that there is wind in other parts of this pond, and
the waves from that have us slopping around, getting nowhere. Grey sky
with low clouds and the grey water reflecting it. Whole thing is very
monochromatic.
Ah well, yesterday's sail was beautiful and we did have really great
phosphorescence last night. The wake behind the boat was glowing so
brightly that it looked like VALIS had the afterburners on. We met a
couple of ships, but that's about it. Fairly uneventful. Here's hoping
today picks up soon.
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
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Well, we're parked. We kept it moving, slowly, but moving, most of the
night. But just about the time it started getting light, the wind shut
off completely. I wish I could say that means we are sitting still on
this glassy water, but no, we're bobbing and rolling and the sails are
slatting about aimlessly. You think of the ocean as being big wind and
waves, and mostly it is. But Greer's Ferry Lake has never been more
slicked over than the Pacific, or at least the circle of it I can see.
The difference is that there is wind in other parts of this pond, and
the waves from that have us slopping around, getting nowhere. Grey sky
with low clouds and the grey water reflecting it. Whole thing is very
monochromatic.
Ah well, yesterday's sail was beautiful and we did have really great
phosphorescence last night. The wake behind the boat was glowing so
brightly that it looked like VALIS had the afterburners on. We met a
couple of ships, but that's about it. Fairly uneventful. Here's hoping
today picks up soon.
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out
----
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Tuesday, July 17, 2012
37.26.824N 123.24.825W 1:45 pm pacific time
Howdy everybody. Here's the first of what will be several comments from
the deep blue sea. We're just over a day into it, and so far it's been
a pretty good run. We were second off the line and second under the GG
bridge in about 20 knots of wind, fog, mist, and gloom. Several of the
boats starting with us could point higher, so we lost a little ground
getting out, but we kept moving well and had put the Farallon Islands
behind us before sundown.
All the weather models show a huge area of no wind developing all along
the coast out to a couple of hundred miles or so. So the challenge is
to get out to the gradient wind before you get caught by the lull.
Right now, and for most of today, we've been sailing in a light but nice
5-8 knot breeze, With a very long, gradual swell topped by wind ripples.
But we spent several hours last night bundled against the cold,utterly
motionless, except for the slatting around on the leftover waves.
Hopefully we've hooked into the edge of the real thing and are putting
some time between ourselves and today and tomorrow's starters.
The notable animal sightings have included several dolphins, a couple of
which played alongside for a while. Lots of seals, too. There have been
countless sea birds, the type of which changes continuously the farther
you get from land. There was a pretty big shark about 100 yards behind
the boat a couple of hours ago, but he sensed our awesomeness and gave
up quickly.
My first sighting of phosphorescence this trip was actually in the
toilet bowl. It flushes with sea water and since phosphorescence is
just some plankton that glows when agitated, pumping water through the
bowl fills it with green glowing sparkles. It was cloudy/rainy/foggy
all night so you could really see it in our wake.
So, that's it for now. Boring post, I realize, but we're just getting
started. We've left all signs of land behind, passed over the edge of
the continental shelf where the bottom falls away thousands of feet,
turning the sea to a really nice dark shade of blue. No other boats in
sight. No ships since about 4:00am. We're having a nice peaceful sail
out to hopefully hook into the real offshore wind soon. The crew is a
great bunch, lotsa good food on board, nobody sick, and we've settled
into our watches (I'm 0300-0600, 1030-1330, 1800-2100). So I guess I
better get a nap before I'm on duty again. I'm not sure if the comments
section on this thing is open, but if it is, fire away!
So after four years of wanting to be back out here on this beautiful
boat with my friends, I finally get to say:
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out.
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
the deep blue sea. We're just over a day into it, and so far it's been
a pretty good run. We were second off the line and second under the GG
bridge in about 20 knots of wind, fog, mist, and gloom. Several of the
boats starting with us could point higher, so we lost a little ground
getting out, but we kept moving well and had put the Farallon Islands
behind us before sundown.
All the weather models show a huge area of no wind developing all along
the coast out to a couple of hundred miles or so. So the challenge is
to get out to the gradient wind before you get caught by the lull.
Right now, and for most of today, we've been sailing in a light but nice
5-8 knot breeze, With a very long, gradual swell topped by wind ripples.
But we spent several hours last night bundled against the cold,utterly
motionless, except for the slatting around on the leftover waves.
Hopefully we've hooked into the edge of the real thing and are putting
some time between ourselves and today and tomorrow's starters.
The notable animal sightings have included several dolphins, a couple of
which played alongside for a while. Lots of seals, too. There have been
countless sea birds, the type of which changes continuously the farther
you get from land. There was a pretty big shark about 100 yards behind
the boat a couple of hours ago, but he sensed our awesomeness and gave
up quickly.
My first sighting of phosphorescence this trip was actually in the
toilet bowl. It flushes with sea water and since phosphorescence is
just some plankton that glows when agitated, pumping water through the
bowl fills it with green glowing sparkles. It was cloudy/rainy/foggy
all night so you could really see it in our wake.
So, that's it for now. Boring post, I realize, but we're just getting
started. We've left all signs of land behind, passed over the edge of
the continental shelf where the bottom falls away thousands of feet,
turning the sea to a really nice dark shade of blue. No other boats in
sight. No ships since about 4:00am. We're having a nice peaceful sail
out to hopefully hook into the real offshore wind soon. The crew is a
great bunch, lotsa good food on board, nobody sick, and we've settled
into our watches (I'm 0300-0600, 1030-1330, 1800-2100). So I guess I
better get a nap before I'm on duty again. I'm not sure if the comments
section on this thing is open, but if it is, fire away!
So after four years of wanting to be back out here on this beautiful
boat with my friends, I finally get to say:
Whiskey Delta Bravo 2898 VALIS out.
----
This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.
Friday, July 13, 2012
So far in Sausalito...
When not at sea, VALIS lives in Sausalito Yacht Harbor, surrounded by the boutiques and tony cafe's of that lovely village. I've been here since Wednesday, but rather than walk my well-coiffed dog up and down the boardwalk, as seems to be the local pasttime, I've been busy getting ready to be at sea for awhile.
We stowed gear and crates of food, fixed electrical and propane systems, fiddled with the electronics, sewed up zippers that we don't want to unzip, etc. for two days. Today (Friday) we were rewarded with our first day on the water. A big lap around San Francisco Bay in a 25 knot blow went perfectly. Neither the boat nor the crew appeared to be hopelessly unprepared, we managed to rescue our mock "man overboard" and perform the required maneuvers under the control of our emergency rudder.
With all that done, tomorrow is just some final prep, maybe a little sightseeing, then a bon voyage party at the Berkely Yacht Club. So, stay tuned for the action that starts Monday at about 1:00 pm PST (that's 4:00 for most of y'all). That's when we take the gun, head out under the Golden Gate Bridge, make a left turn in the fog and gloom, and aim for paradise. Aloha!
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