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2006 TransPac Daily Return Trip Reports


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Hawaiian local time: 7/18/06 22:07hr


The Fleet begins the trip home.


Foolish Muse set sail with her return crew several days ago. Headed for Canada.

Eyrie left sometime in the wee hours this morning with Synthia and Sylvia on board headed for Oahu where they will haul and ship the boat home.

About 10:30 Dogbark set sail along the Napali Coast for a scenic tour berfore making for the Northwest.
Followed shortly by Tiger Beetle, and then Alchera. Tiger Beatle reported 28 knots apparent with a double reefed main and #4 jib. Having a good time, he said.

Westerly says he is planning on being at work on August 1st. So he has 12 days to make the passage. This is, of course, impossible.


Bob on Ragtime having never been to Hawaii before has slipped into island time very well. So we don't know what his plans are.

Seabird is sailing tomorrow. I think this is for real because Lou was wearing a shirt at the tree tonight unlike last night. He's getting ready to head out.

Ergo and Sail a Vie plan on sailing Friday. That's if all repairs go as planned. Bill, again I'm really sorry about that small fire today.
For those sailing to Hanalei, there is a great welder behind the school. He does excellent work at great prices while you wait if you catch him at the right time. His name is Tony.

We're not sure but think that Second Chance will be sailing soon for the West Coast.

Harrier is hanging out in "one of my favorite spots in the world" he says.
He has some family here now and doesn't seem in a hurry to leave.

Nereida is undergoing repairs, enjoying the Island and will be sailing for Alaska when she's ready.

The Mighty Hesperus is making arrangements to haul out for the season at Nawiliwili Yacht Harbor on the Southeast side of the Island while undergoing repairs.

Carroll E. just arrived yesterday in the Islands after the selfless escort of Hesperus (who had no rudder) the last few days of a very long race. He plans on shipping the boat home from Oahu after spending some quality time with his fiance.

Haulback, while not in the race this year, has played Harbor Master of Hanalei Bay for the fleet. We last saw Jim here two years ago when he raced over with us and got second place by a matter of hours. He has since sailed around the world and was back here to meet us. He is headed home to Canada this weekend. Back to work for a while. He says he'll be racing in '08.

Phil
Sail a Vie 184


July 19, 2006 12:36:00 AM PDT

Dogbark 23.23 159.40
Alchera 23.11 159.18 020 5.5 NE 12
Tiger Beetle 23.21 159.20 010 6.8 NE 15
Foolish Muse 29.38 158.58 030 5.0 E 15


It's a beautiful day for sailing northbound off the coast of Kauai. Boxcar tradewind puffy clouds dot the sky, seas are flat at 3-4 feet, wind is moderate at 12-14 knots, Beetle is sailing northwards at 7 knots over the bottom cracked off 10 degrees with double reefed main and 4 rolls in the 120% genoa.


It's always sad to depart Hanalei and the race community that is created; the people are wonderful, friends and bonds are created and tested (just ask Carroll E about his bond with Hesperus), and then all too soon it is time to be homeward bound. Alchera, Dogbark and Beetle delayed their departure a day in order to be present for Caroll E and Hesperus' finish, and Tatia delayed her plane flight as well. As a result I got to spend an extra evening in Hanalei and the gang went out to The Dolphin restaurant, which has really good food along the Hanalei River. I highly recommend the establishment the next time you're in Hanalei.

The boat is a little warm as the ports and hatches are dogged tight to prevent the occasional boarding white cap from making it below. Wind generator is humming away, pushing 3-5 amps into the battery bank, and a Boobie bird attempted a landing on the third spreader, only to be thrown off repeatedly by the movement of the boat through the seas.


Weather looks to be very good for the next 3 or 4 days. A kink in the isobars with associated trough from the remnants of tropical storm Bob are due to pass overhead as the kink moves westward. This will head Beetle, perhaps tomorrow or Thursday, at which time I'll tack over to the east and cross the trough. To the east are moderate SW winds, which could be very nice for reaching northeast towards latitude 30. The weather across the Pacific again appears to be completely weird for the sail home, the High is a funny NE-
SW lozenge way up north, a powerful Low is in the Gulf of Alaska, which seems to be splitting the High into two pieces. I'm headed towards the gap between the Highs, which may provide following winds in several days - we shall see.


It's now 2100, wind is steady at 14 knots, one reef and full 130% genoa (let out the roller furler rolls). Two west bound ships have gone by, therefor we must be near a great circle route to somewhere. We're checking in on 4027.0 MHz at 9am/pm Hawaiian Standard Time. Tomorrow Seabird should be joining us on the return leg, Eyrie is enroute to Keehee Lagoon, and it looks like another batch of boats will depart Hanalei this coming Saturday.


- rob, Tiger Beetle


7/19 0900 HST position report


dog bark 24.22 159.05 5.5 070 SE 5
alchera 24.09 158.32 5.0 055 ESE 8
tiger beetle 24.25 158.45 4.0 016 E 7
foolish muse 30.32 158.40 4.5 005 ENE light


We are sailing uphill in pleasant, albeit light, conditions, and I suspect we are working our way across the trough, or at least in its vicinity. The expectation is for slightly stronger winds from ESE on the eastern side of the trough, therefore we are trying to work eastwards when possible. It seems to be more possible for Dogbark and Alchera than Beetle - we all have slightly different winds this morning.


It is going to be a hot one today, the sun arose in spectacular blaze of light and shadow through the clouds this morning - and it's already toasty on deck. Good thing we have sails, as you can sit on deck in their shade and watch the ocean go by.


All boats report no fish, and two of us picked up flying fish on deck (Beetle and Dogbark). Al has the loaned SSB/HAM radio receiving as of this morning, and he will be working on the transmit cables today in hopes that he can join the check-in this evening. (so far he is checking in on VHF 69 as we're all fairly close together).
My plan is to download this morning's grib file and if the wind is forecasted to remain light for a while then I'll swap out the 155 genoa (no. 1) for the 130 genoa (no. 2) that is currently flying.


Elsewise all is good on board Beetle, a few hatches are now open as we don't seem to have enough wind to worry about boarding seas! And book reading is moving along at a smart pace.
Enjoy the day!


- rob, Tiger Beetle


7/19 2100 position report


dog bark 25.17 158.51 8.5 020 E 15
alchera 24.35 157.52 6.8 030 E 11
tiger beetle 25.06 158.06 7.0 031 E 16
foolish muse 31.16 158.40 2.8 023 var 0-5
seabird 22.49 159.43 8.0 325 NNE 12
ragtime 22.52 159.28 5.5 075 NNE 11
westerly 23.08 159.59 6.5 330 NNE 10


The sun has set on a positive note, and now we're loping into the darkness at good speed with what I hope is the sustained easterly breeze. I've spent all day looking for the wind, and if this is it I'm a happy campter. The hot hot day did live up to expectations, sea temperature at 80 degrees and I drank up a fair bit of cool fresh water.


Dogbark has manufactured an SSB cable to connect the transmitter to the tuner, and Al's radio is up and running. However, the email capability is not working, and Al thinks it is likely he won't be able to make that work.
Ragtime reports a little octopus resting on his anchor upon retrieval from the floor of Hanalei Bay - interesting little guy, perhaps 4" across. Westerly is ferrying a Boobie along with him that is hanging onto the solar panel frame with his toes. The bird is completely at home there and isn't bothered by Steve's antics in the cockpit. Steve thinks he'll have to clean off the panel when the Boobie departs.


On board Beetle it's a dark night out, winds are holding at 15 knots, two reefs in the main and partially rolled up genoa are keeping boat speeds at 7 knots - pretty fast for a return trip! All is well at this end.
May your winds be following (or at least sideways)!
- rob, tiger beetle


SSS TransPac Return 7/20 0900 position report


dog bark 26.46 158.10 9.5 037 E 11
alchera 25.32 157.00 7.5 038 ESE 13
tiger beetle 26.08 157.19 7.0 024 E 10
foolish muse 31.38 158.20 4.1 058 SW 4
seabird 24.10 159.51 7.0 025 ESE 11-18
ragtime 23.17 158.43 6.5 030 ESE 9
westerly 24.04 159.50 5.3 016 NE 10


Tiger Beetle awoke this morning to the sight of two humpback whales breaching, leaping repeatedly up out of the water and falling back with a tremendous splash. Very elegant animals, it looked as if they were playing, but hard to tell from a mile off.


The fleet is cruising northeast on the easterlies, seas have remained relatively light, and we're still hoping to climb the east side of the ridge.


Dogbark has been busily beavering away on the SSB and got the tuner to work this morning; unfortunately, it seems to make things worse as he was very difficult to copy this morning, though was receiving perfectly. Al is hot on the trail of making the reluctant bit of equipment perform to par.


Westerly's Boobie hung about the boat until morning, and Steve thinks the bird must have finally regurgitated its stomach contents and flew off a few hours ago in search of more fish. I do not envy Steve the job of cleaning off the solar panel, though perhaps the Boobie thought he was doing Steve a favor by providing a nice breakfast of warm fish.


Squalls are still about, some now pack a punch, and we're becoming a little more leary of them - no more driving straight through the rain cloud without thinking about it once or twice. I firmly believe that squalls should not exist north of 30N, and therefore all squalls will go away once I cross that magic line. However, I also suspect that no one has thought to inform the squalls of this rule.


Have a great day stateside, and avoid the squalls.
- rob, Tiger Beetle


7/20 2100 position report


dog bark 27.44 157.11 4.5 040 SSE 4
alchera 26.40 156.15 4.3 030 SSE 9
tiger beetle 26.55 156.31 6.5 060 SE 9
foolish muse 32.21 157.20 5.5 067 SW 12-13
seabird 25.02 158.58 2.6 040 SSE 8
ragtime 24.03 157.52 3.0 020 E 4 1987 (DTF)
westerly 24.44 159.23 4.0 030 E 7


It's been a beautiful day for sailing out here in what used to be the trades, albeit a slightly slow one wind-wise, but it sure is nice. The squalls even stayed away this afternoon, leaving a nice smooth light air sail for the Good Ship Beetleboat. Sure beats the bash to weather one expects to have when leaving Kauai and crossing the trades. At least we've got wind for the next day or so, but it looks as if area north of us is going to disintegrate into a big collection of random zephyrs late Saturday or Sunday, and is likely to remain that way for a couple of days. Armed with the knowlege in advance, I intend to not be frustrated if everything dies away by end of weekend - I have lots of good books to work through, and there aren't many better comfy chairs than the cockpit beanbag in a calm ocean.


On the light air front, Seabird has been motoring for the past 12 hours in a NE direction, is considering using the asymmetric tomorrow. Ragtime has been running his jib top and is sailing at close to wind speed, and we're all jealous of this boat behavior.


Dogbark has been working on the radio to figure out what it's up to as regards frequency issues, and it appeaers the radio is either FMing, or is operating slightly off-frequency. Al said he was able to get off an email today via the pactor modem, which is remarkeable given it's a loaner backup radio from Ergot with minimal manuals.


The fishes are winning the lure count, Alchera lost a mahi-mahi and Seabird lost a lure. Apparently Lou is using a proper rod & reel, while the rest of us are running dinner-lines: 400 pound test monofilament (or 1/8" dacron cord), on a sheet winch - the fish has no chance provided the hook doesn't pull out!


Here's to sailing along on mellow seas.


- rob, Tiger Beetle


PS - Connie (Ragtime): Bob reports a distance to golden gate bridge of 1987 miles. I'll be adding this distance to his reports.


SSS TransPac return 7/21 0900 position report


dog bark 28.52 156.07 040 9.5 S 20
alchera 27.34 155.20 7.5 047 SSE 15
tiger beetle 27.50 155.24 7.0 035 SE 18
foolish muse 33.15 156.29 6.2 051 N 15
seabird 25.55 158.02 7.5 040 SSE 11
ragtime 24.43 156.54 6.5 050 SE 12 1922 (DTF)
westerly 25.25 158.39 3.4 050 SE 7


Last night the wind strengthened from the southeast last night and the fleet is making good tracks northeast. The weather discussion centered around the breeze we have and what will happen when we get headed up into the disintegrating High/Front/High combination to the north of us. What we're hoping will happen is a new High forms to the west of us, providing northerly winds to head east towards the coast. Even though we're still several days away from any of this, we're kind of hoping it might work out that way.


Dogbark is leading the way North at 9.5 knots and climbing rapidly above the fleet - Al is just wondering how long it will last. Foolish Muse was also burning up the track last night, making 9.5 under reefed main and jib in a totally dark no-moon night.


On board Beetle the boat continues to sail nicely, though conditions are bouncier now that the new wind has filled in from the south. It will be several more hours before the seas even out as the new wind waves replace the old ones from last night. This means you have to be a little more careful when moving about the cabin as the boat will suddenly shift sideways, or unexpectedly rise/fall, and sometimes even hop(!) when the unexpected extra wave passes beneath the boat from starboard quarter to port bow. Perhaps I should consider this similiar to "magic fingers" that used to be built into motel beds, the kind where you put a quarter into the box, turn the crank, and the bed starts shaking. Was the idea to pretend this was a massage? Weird stuff people think of sometimes.
I'm going to go topsides and visit the deck, it looks to be a nice day of puffy clouds and clear blue behind.


In the words of Alchera: "Go northeast!"
- rob


Dogbark: back on the air


Well it appears we have gotten the radio back working enough to send and receive emails.  Voice communication is still as little garbly but readable
by Tiger Beetle. Caught a nice about 10 lb dorado yesterday morning and the crew had half of it baked with some onion and lemon along with cheese mashed
potatoes and beets for dinner.  Everyone has settled into their routines, weather is very mild with winds fairly light and from the south at about 12
knots since midnight.  Little Jon has 1800-2100, followed by big Jon until 2400, then Jim until 0300 followed by yours truly until 0600.  We sort of
let the watches lapse during the day with somebody always watching out.  Jon the elder has done most of the cooking so far including baking bread the
first night while it was about 90 in the cabin.  He was hired right then! Special thanks to Bill Merrick of Ergo for the loan of his spare radio.  It
took awhile for me to get it up and running by scrounging a few of the connection bits from around the boat but it seems good to go so far.  No worries though if you don't hear anything from us as there is enough Rube Goldberg connections to fail at any time.  -Al Hughes


SSS TransPac Return 7/21 2100 positions


dogbark 30.08 154.54 7.5 050 SSW 15
alchera 28.26 154.12 7.3 057 SSE 10
tiger beetle 28.51 154.25 6.0 036 S 12
foolish muse 33.38 155.33 5.1 078 NW 12
seabird 26.54 156.49 8.5 045 SSE 11
ragtime 25.36 155.44 6.5 050 SE 8
westerly 25.56 158.00 3.6 030 SE 7
sail a vie 22.55 159.01 4.5 040 SE 8
ergo 22.52 159.00 4.0 057 ESE 10


It's been a nice day on board Tiger Beetle, the wind has stayed fairly solid from the south since morning, and minimal squalls - which makes the sailing more restful than it would be otherwise. Much of the discussion between boats has focused on the weather, which is pretty darn weird for this time of year. Today I was running northeast in what is supposed to be tradewind country, under spinnaker; this is akin to flying a spinnaker north up the california coast - it is just plain wrong! Later on in the afternoon I swapped out the no. 1 genoa for the jib top, which is now sailing us northeast towards the Kermit Seamount (still a long way away, but a neat topographical marker), in winds from the south. How long the breeze will remain, and what will replace it, are what those of us out here are most interested in.


For the race and return I took off with a whole bunch of sails stuffed up forward, and now I've used 10 of them - that's a lot of sails! A friend of mine, when he left to go cruising, went with 3 - main, big jib, little jib. Sort of makes one think. On the other hand, yesterday our return fleet spoke with the Westail 32 Paitence, en route from Hanalei to Oregon, just the skipper and his dog zoro, who were very happily making 3 knots good in the right direction. Perhaps some folks are very content to cruise along slowly, and others are keen to go quickly. I suspect that quickly requires a lot more sails than slowly, at least out here, and having a variety in the inventory provides options, and options give one the ability to point the bow in directions that would otherwise be very difficult to sail. It's definitely no fun to be running at AWA 120 under a no. 1 genoa, but replace it with a jib top and bob's your uncle.


However, when we get into zero-wind conditions, forecast to be not very far away, then it doesn't matter what you have - you stop. Which is why a lot of us stocked up on egregious quantities of diesel: we want the option to motor clear through the Pacific High, if need be. Hopefully we won't have to do that, as it's not a lot of fun to sit next to what amounts to a tractor motor for days on end, no matter how good the sound proofing is.


Today Sail a Vie and Ergo departed Hanalei and have joined us on the course, they are both having a super time in good sailing conditions. Seabird is flying the asymmetric sail since morning and Lou is delighted with the sail. Ragtime likewise reports good sailing, and Dogbark is difficult to understand as his SSB appears to be slightly off-frequency in a way that I could not compensate for.


Foolish Muse, up to the north, has been run over the by the front and report rain and lightning in the area - ick! It's not a lot of fun to be the only thing with a tall bit of metal sticking up out the sea when there's lightning about. But they're making good tracks in the direction they want to go.
And Sail A Vie reports that plainclothes policemen in ties are investigating the Hanalei River area in search of Alchera's and Tiger Beetle's stolen/missing dinghies... hopefully they can find them!


It seems to be a contented fleet out here today, and that's a good thing.
- rob, Tiger Beetle


SSS TransPac return 7/22 0900 position report


dogbark 31.23 153.40 9.0 045 SSW 15
alchera 29.09 152.55 7.8 056 SE 13
tiger beetle 29.55 153.32 8.1 040 SSE 15
foolish muse 33.52 154.45 2.0 018 NE 06
seabird 27.50 155.49 6.0 050 E 1
ragtime 26.36 154.46 7.0 018 E 8 1772 (DTF)
westerly 26.49 157.33 6.4 030 SE 12
sail a vie 23.30 158.11 5.7 010 ESE 12
ergo 23.30 158.09 4.0 036 ESE 12


This morning we're working on troubleshooting the Icom 735 SSB that Ergo loaned to Dogbark; the radio seems to insistently transmit 1.1 KHz above frequency, though it is receiving well, and Bill is trying to explain to Al what the various buttons on the radio do. It's a little complicated because I can understand Al, Sail a Vie can here Ergo, Dogbark cannot hear Ergo but can hear Sail a Vie - so we're having a 4-ring circus out here trying to get information from Bill to Al and back. Al made a bunch of adjustments to the radio and it appears he is transmitting closer to frequency now.


It was a super night sailing, tons of stars, and a crystalline crescent moon that rose in the early morning hours. The squalls decided to go somewhere else and I'm happy about that. In the morning I spent some time taking apart and reseating the Comnav autopilot remote after it got dropped and the LCD display went goofy; turns out the LCD is not hardwired in any fashion to it's controller pins, but instead floats on some sort of rubbery material that must transmit signals to the LCD - when the LCD shifted after the remote hit the cabin floor, half the LCD went out. Pulled out a bunch of screws, fiddled with the display, put screws back in - bingo! working remote. There I am off to a good start for the morning.


Ragtime likewise had a super evening sail and is quite looking forward to arriving in San Francisco.


And Seabird is hoping that Marge might take a moment and send Lou an email - he would quite enjoy hearing from her and home. Right now he is sitting in his own private squall, complete with rain and no wind... but he will motor out of it soon enough!


Keep on trucking, northeast is a good thing!


- rob, Tiger Beetle


Dogbark Saturday Update

Well Jon the elder was the story of the day again. Fresh fish tacos, with homemade whole wheat tortillas, Tatia's backyard avocado, mahi-mahi, fresh salsa, red beans and rice and a cold beer. Superb! Spent the day cruising along from 7-10 knots beam reaching straight for Cape Flattery along a trough/front between the high and dissolving low, odd for a return trip but it will not last. Grib files show wind for another 24 hours maximum then then light where we will most likely motor due north to get to the next wind band on top of the high. Little Jon is a little under the weather with what we hope is some minor sea sickness. Baked mahi-mahi with canned asparagus and potatoes for dinner with a little red wine. Lot of Black footed albatrosses, and a few tropic birds today, flying fish abound and some promising signs for glass balls with a number of plastic floats sighted. Water temp and air temp dropping. Thinking about some fleece for tonight when outside. Will try for more fish tomorrow, all else is going smoothly -Al


SSS TransPac Return 7/22 2100 position report


dogbark 32.29 152.11 8.0 050 SSE 15
alchera 30.10 151.41 6.0 045 SE 7
tiger beetle 30.49 152.15 6.7 062 SE 9
foolish muse 34.23 152.53 9.2 052 NE 15
seeabird 28.39 154.45 6.7 050 ESE 6
ragtime 27.38 154.09 6.8 030 ESE 9
westerly 27.43 156.45 6.0 035 SE 8
sail a vie 24.28 157.38 6.0 035 E 6
ergo 24.21 157.26 6.0 028 E 8

The stars are out tonight, and I'm going to miss seeing the milky way every evening, big as life, crispy clear against the velvety black surroundings. The air here is warm, but not too warm, the sea is flat, but not too flat - zen and the art of skywatching. Of course I have no idea which stars are what, for the most part, but the planets leap out and some of the constellations are noticeable. But what I see most is edge of the galaxy, where we hang out here on the western spiral arm (apologies to douglas adams).


Seabird picked up a mahi-mahi for lunch, and observed a real glass ball complete with rope - but failed to stop for it as the asymmetric was up. I hope Lou doesn't regret this later on!


Foolish Muse has been having quite the adventure with their frontal system. Last night and again today they've been sailing in the company of electrical storms, and have been living in foulies for the past three days. Apparently the winds are sufficiently strong to present problems to the autopilot, so they've been hand steering and cycling the power on the pilot to get it back on line.


Dogbark is making a bee-line for cape flattery (actually, bees do not fly straight, so I'm not sure a bee-line is a good thing to be sailing, we'll see if Al does figure eights in the middle of the ocean), and intends to sail north towards the High, power north through, and continue sailing. He also saw a squall line, possibly the same one Foolish Muse is dealing with, with significant lighting. Fortunately the lightning was too far away to be heard. Always nice to be on the sidelines for that kind of event.


Ragtime sailed by a 70' fishing boat, possibly a trawler, out in the middle of the sea dragging nets or lines; not often we run across a smaller boat like that. More common are the big steel floating islands called container ships - they are easy to spot on radar as big blobs. The little guys can be tougher to spot when they're over the horizon.


On board Beetle I'm back to my books, and it looks to be a super night. The water temperature is down in the 75-76 degree range and the air has cooled down nicely - so it's not such a drippy-with-sweat feeling in the cabin today. Alchera and I are discussing an expedition up to the High to search for glass fishing floats; nothing certain yet, but at this point it looks like we may be able to sail comfortably beneath the High, or at the very southern boundary. On the other hand, we could sail north another 120 miles and motor through the High, binocular and books in hand, to see what we can find.


Dreaming of glass fishing floats...


- rob, Tiger Beetle


SSS TransPac Return 7/23 0900 position report


dog bark 33.30 150.57 9.0 050 ESE 15
alchera 31.05 151.05 5.6 035 E 7
tiger beetle 31.38 151.21 5.0 002 NE 9
foolish muse 35.22 153.14 5.7 023 E 10
seabird 29.24 154.05 5.0 022 E 8
ragtime 28.38 153.57 6.0 018 ENE 8 1667 (DTF)
westerly 28.40 156.13 5.5 030 E 8
saila vie 25.33 157.05 6.5 020 ENE 14
ergo 25.20 156.45 5.5 026 ENE 10


A busy night for Tiger Beetle and Alchera, both dealing with lots of rainy fat squashy squalls, rainy drizzly hard squalls (those with wind), and furry squalls with rain and no wind whatsoever. We both motored for several hours to get away from the furry squalls, as the rain seems to form a curtain that cuts off the very light pressure-driven tradewinds out here - though I suppose we're too far north for the breeze to be 'trade' winds, so think in terms of the prevailing breeze that is disrupted by these unwelcome squallnesses.


Foolish Muse is extremely pleased to be through the rather nasty frontal system they've been dealing with for the past two days. Edie has a request: she would love to see what the infrared satellite image is of the area that Foolish Muse was in last night. Apparently this can be downloaded from the NASA Hydrology website, and if someone can obtain that image and save it for Edie, she would much appreciate it. Edie sounds very relieved this morning, as last night was once again Mr. Toad's wild ride - but today they are in calmer winds and can relaxe a little. Probably sleep a lot, too.


Tiger Beetle had a close encounter of the glass ball kind this morning, but I missed it! Drat! A soccer-ball sized glass float, complete with rope attachment, appeared next to the boat as we sailed by around 5AM - bingo!! I rounded up, rolled up the headsail, looked for the ball, found it in the wake, turned around and got the net out, and the ball was gone. I searched for 20 minutes but couldn't find it. Something that size gets lost super easily in the shadows of the windwaves and swell - and I suspect I had moved 200 yards past the ball before getting completely turned around; image looking for a soccerball in the tall grass from two football fields away - not the easiest thing to do. So I have modified my ball-retrieval strategy: the handheld GPS is now in the cockpit and I can poke the MOB button on it and then use the GPS to go back to where I saw the ball. Now I just have to spot another one - and this can keep one busy for the entire day (we're easily amused out here).


Off to the mines to look for balls!
- rob, Tiger Beetle


SSS TransPac Return 7/23 2100 position report


dogbark 34.44 149.34 7.5 040 E 10
alchera 32.04 149.52 6.0 039 ENE 10
tiger beetle 32.40 150.21 6.8 040 ESE 11
foolish muse 36.15 152.54 4.9 023 NE 10
seabird 30.28 153.49 7.5 036 NNE 10
ragtime 29.41 153.29 6.5 023 ENE 12
westerly 29.44 155.57 6.0 010 ENE 10
sail a vie 26.50 157.04 6.5 000 NE 14
ergo 26.14 156.26 3.8 102 NE 10


no additional boats checked in from Hanalei.


The Breaking News: Ragtime got a glass ball today! He was just sailing along minding his own business and the ball went right by the boat, large as life. He tacked the boat and on his second pass was able to retrieve the ball. Bob sounded a bit non-plussed by the whole thing as now he has one but isn't sure what to do with it - it's slimy and covered in marine growth. But now he has the best return trip trophy anyone could ask for.
Crazy day today, lots of rain total overcast fuzzy squalls on the 360 degree horizon, much more wind than anticipated, unpleasant cross swell resulting - then stronger winds for the afternoon for a good push northeast towards the eastern High (there is a western High, plus associated dying frontal thingy to Beetle's port side we wish to avoid), followed by sailing out of the rainy squalls into a beautiful clearing in the clouds - the same feeling as finding a fine meadow in the woods. Only we weren't out of the woods yet as the new meadow wind is competing with the old squall wind and left-over swell, resulting in a boat motion of up, down, HOP, up, down, SWERVE, up, HOP, SWERVE, down... Finally the last of the old seas died off, leaving just the meadow seas, just as the stars appeared tonight - and now it is a gorgeous evening.


On the battery fire front - the fleet extracted the story from Ergo and Sail a Vie this morning, and it has a happy ending (Bill got more batteries): Ergo replaced some batteries while at anchor in Hanalei. Cousin Phil the Electrician, being a helpful kind of chap, is helping Bill wire up said batteries only they get the terminal wiring backwards in the series/parallel hookup. Not a problem until *after* the terminal nuts are tightened, at which point two entire batteries tried to jump through the wire simultaneously, resulting in melted battery terminals but no actual fire.


Westerly has finished up the last of his bacon, and now his morning bacon and eggs breakfast will have to do without the bacon portion. Sail a Vie picked up a mahi-mahi and baked it up for dinner, and Phil reports that it was a perfect treat.


Back on Beetle there is stuff to do what with screwing back in pin-shackles that self-unscrew, greasing autopilot rams and quadrant cables, patrolling the deck in search of hidden flying fish, and one of the 1/4" stainless rivets in the vang bracket has sheared off - will pop in a new one when we get to a calm patch as I've got a large rivet gun that can set them - no twinky rivet guns for Beetle (misquoting Mike "Snap On" Jefferson but I can't resist).


May your rivets never shear!
- rob, Tiger Beetle


Dogbark Return Sun 07/23

Relatively peaceful benign day out here in the middle of the Eastern Pacific.  Steady winds from ESE at 10-15, dodged a few squalls, lost a fishing lure, making good progress towards Cape Flattery.  Corn beef hash and eggs for breakfast and Lime chili shrimp ramen for lunch.  Big Jon was an instant convert.  Jim baked a couple of loaves of bread this afternoon, so we had some fresh slices with our roast beef, mashed potatoes and green beans.  Will send more tomorrow, Al


Return Log Seabird 07/23

Greetings from the Mid Pacific
We are currently approximately 600 miles from Kauai and 1600 miles 
from San Francisco.  We, of course, are not going to San Francisco 
with everyone else but hope to eventually land in San Diego, I have 
no idea how far, or where that is.   This message is brought to you 
from the terrace of Restaurant Chez Louie.  We have been eating like 
the Kings of the Sea (we think we are).  New York steak and special 
mashed potatoes, elegant chowder, steak salad - just some of the 
offerings.  Last night we had a visiting chef - Chef Christopher.  
After 3 days of fishing, 2 strikes, 1 lost lure, Chris finally hooked 
a Dorado.  We were hooting and shouting on deck and Mr Dorado was 
apparently just as happy to be caught - he leaped and jumped with 
joy.  Dorado also appears on finer menus in chi-chi eateries as Mahi 
Mahi, which means "yummy, yummy" in Hawaiian.  The 3 ft long prize 
was iridescent green on one side and brilliant blue on the other, and 
delicious!
Today is our fifth day at sea, having reluctantly left Hanalei Bay on 
Wed.  For those of you stuck in traffic on the 101 or 405, we have 
seen a grand total of 3 distant lights in 5 days.  Oh yeah, and no 
TV :).  Sailing has been generally grand:  1 day of kind of lumpy 
going, 1 day of glassy motoring, but mostly clear sunshine, nice 
breezes and making good progress.  We did have a visit from a school 
of dolphins yesterday, musta been that Catalina channel school on a 
Hawaiian holiday.  Flying fish, large 6-8 " and small about 2" 
occasionally land on deck at night.  Although we sun dry them to a 
tender crispiness, but haven't been reduced to eating them yet.
There are 9 boats in the return fleet (all spread out over many 
miles), they have radio check-ins at 9:00 and 9:00 (noon and mid-
night California time).  Lots of talk and strategy about navigating 
around the Pacific high pressure (light breezes) and  fronts (nasty 
weather.)
Email comes and goes thru Iridium (satellite) phone which is slow and 
expensive.  So how about sending replies to Janice or Doug M for 
compiling and forwarding to Seabird.  Gracias.
Hams on Land - have you guys had any luck listening on SSB 4027 ?
Crew of the Grand Ship Seabird


Seabird Update Monday AM

Rainy day activities at Camp Seabird today. After a glorious Sunday with blue sky and good breezes pointing us to 39 x 146 about 600 nm NNE from here, the rains came with wind on the nose. If front is a nice word for rain and contrary winds then we are in it. Started motor about 0400 and will keep going for a while with motor-sail, SE wind will be welcome. The temp has dropped enough that being on deck with wet trunks and t-shirt is less appealing. 
We watched Master & Commander last night in pieces between squalls and adjustments. Perhaps a matinee of Saving Private Ryan today? 
We hope to turn right for coast in 72 hours. Meanwhile we will continue to plod North and east, perhaps more east to greet the early-bird trades from the east. 
Best to all 
Seabird 


SSS TransPac Return 7/24 0900 position report


dogbark 36.02 149.01 8.0 000 ENE 10
alchera 33.18 149.23 7.0 012 NE 10
tiger beetle 33.42 149.41 7.1 018 NE 12
foolish muse 36.59 152.32 4.8 032 NE 10
seabird 31.13 153.25 5.8 064 ESE 12
ragtime 30.14 152.22 7.0 048 ESE 11
westerly 30.54 156.08 6.0 355 NE 8
sail a vie 27.56 156.50 6.0 005 NNE 10
ergo 27.27 156.26 6.1 009 NE 10
second chance 23.50 159.14


This was morning marine mammal and bird discussion - turns out Dogbark's book Harrison's Sseabirds of the World photographic guide is the ticket as it has lots of pictures of birds looking just like you would see them from your boat. I'm going to get one for Beetle, as the Harrison book I have is paintings, which is somewhat more difficult to work with. The return sail so far has been mostly devoid of animals, which is what brought up the discussion and it turns out there is more here than meets the eye. Dogbark had a juvenlie boobie trying to land on the spreaders for quite a while last night, but the boat's motion would throw him off. I spotted what I think is a marlin on the surface this morning, perhaps 6 feet long (or at least 4' from sharp pointy tail to sharp pointy dorsal fin), moving languidly along with the boat.


Alchera is out in the cockpit scanning the water for glass balls, as I will as soon as this report hits sailmail.
Ragtime reports boxing winds and squalls for much of last night, and now conditions have settled down for him. Seabird, who is relatively nearby, also reported rain and weird wind, so he was motoring as of roll call to get into more stable breeze. It's amazing how much a squall will disturb the prevailing breeze, and often it's simplest to move away a few miles under motor to the better breeze and then continue sailing.
Right now Alchera and Beetle are looking pretty good for hitting the High from beneath by sailing straight up longitude 150 - the forecast is for the High to shift slightly west and set up directly above us, giving us reaching easterlies to drive north and 300 miles and then setup for the tack east in the northerlies coming down the eastern side of the High. I wonder if this will actually happen? - one thing you learn out here is if you don't care for current conditions, just wait 12 hours and you'll have something completely different.


I also changed down this morning from the big no. 1 genoa to the no. 2, which takes about 20 minutes, and we're sailing again at a slightly better angle with slightly less heel - makes for better book reading conditions!
Have a fine day stateside.


- rob, Tiger Beetle


Seabird Update Monday

Dogbark had a great of sailing after some early morning squalla. Winds 10-15 out of the NE so we hard on the wind heading due north. When we hit the light airs of the high the plan is to motor due north through it and come out into the westerly flow on top. Jon fixed some fish chowder with the last of the mahi-mahi for lunch. Chili and homemade bisquits for dinner. Skies are clear so it looks like we are close to the high but only time will tell. Al


SSS TransPac Return 7/24 2100 position report


dogbak 37.32 148.46 6.5 340 NE 8
alchera 34.38 149.16 6.5 015 NE 14
tiger beetle 35.04 149.37 7.4 000 ENE 13
foolish muse 37.51 152.19 6.5 000 NE 12
seabird 32.19 152.43 7.2 013 ENE 14
ragtime 31.20 151.57 6.8 003 ENE 13
westerly 31.57 156.11 6.2 010 NE 12
sail a vie 28.50 156.08 6.0 020 NE 12
ergo 28.24 155.58 5.4 020 NE 10
second chance 24.44 159.06 5.7 025 NE 13
haulback 22.33 159.38 5.8 350 NE 16
nereida 22.33 159.38 6.5 350 NE 16


Today two more boats have joined us out on the pond: Haulback and Nereida. Haulback is Jim Kellam, the acting Hanalei Bay harbormaster who appears to have abdicated his post in favor of returning to Canada and picking up his logging crane and putting some dosh back into the cruising kitty.
Haulback reports that today a 45' ketch hung up on the reef in Hanalei as Haulback was departing, and the ketch was still on the reef despite the effort of the US Coast Guard. Hopefully the ketch can be extricated in more or less one piece. In further news from Hanalei, Hesperus has a new rudder installed, an outboard strapped to the back, and Paul is planning to run around to Nawiliwili to haulout for the winter, the plan being to return next summer and sail north to Seattle. Hesperus has certainly earned its stripes during this race.


And Dogbark reports that the Kermit Roosevelt Seamount is named after Roosevelt's son Kermit, and not Kermit the Frog. An add-on question we do not know the answer to: was the seamount discovered at the time Roosevelt was in office, or was it located much later and for some reason named after Kermit the son? It doesn't take much to get one interested in things out here, and the fleet has been discussion Kermit for some time now.
On board Beetle I've been dealing with squalls for much of the day and have settled on two reefs in the main and the jib rolled up to the size of a no. 4 headsail. The wind is running at roughly 14-7 knots and has shifted east somewhat, allowing me to sail relatively reachy on my way due north to rendesvous with the High. This combination also seems to work with the nasty squalls, one of which is passing nearby at the moment as one can hear the wind generator spin up - kind of nice to have an auditory wind speed indicator, very useful when lying in the bunk at night.
So, it's off to bunk for me to bank some more sleep.
Good night.
- rob, Tiger Beetle


Dogbark: Tuesday update

Well Dogbark has reached the halfway point to Cape flattery. We have decided to try and go under the high because it is moving to the north and west. I don't think the extra miles to get on top of it are worth it but time will tell. We flopped over on to port tack for about half of the day to get some more easting but are back on starboard heading north right now. We are almost passing directly over the Kermit Roosevelt Seamount for those of you with your charts handy. Jon baked up some fresh cinnamon rolls today to celebrate our halfway point. Little Jon thinks his sentence is half over. Guess that also calls for celebration. Some very large swells are arriving from the NW from a storm in the gulf of Alaska. Water temp dropped by 5 degrees from 70 to 65 this morning so we must be getting north. Saw a small pod of pacific white sided dolphins this morning who followed the bow for about five minutes before leaving for something more interesting. More albatrosses , shearwaters and gadfly petrels today. See you all in a another week or so, Al


Seabird Wed Night High Seas Update


We keep working our way north to get in position to circle east and let the winds take us down to San Diego. We're now approx 1700 miles due west of Catalina, but have to go as far north as San Francisco or even Mendocino before turning. Tonight we have about 14 knots of wind and are sailing at 7 knots under a billion stars. Last night we watched part of Master and Commander, yes we have DVD's also have a freezer for ice cream and other goodies. There's plenty of good food, but now TV, or news and I haven't found the vacuum yet (Ms Carmelo). Guess this is a real "guys" boat. We did see a gigantic cargo ship head west today but no other sightings. From the radio chatter it sounds like most of the race boats have left Kauai now and are headed back to San Francisco or other ports.


More later


SSS TransPac Return 7/25 0900 position report


dogbark 38.45 149.15 7.5 325 N 11
alchera 35.51 149.04 5.5 000 NE 18
tiger beetle 36.30 149.40 7.3 001 NE 16
foolish muse 38.38 152.14 5.1 007 NE 8
seabird 33.35 152.41 7.5 344 NNE 19
ragtime 32.10 151.51 5.5 005 ENE 17
westerly 33.01 156.02 6.5 010 NE 14
sail a vie 29.56 155.55 7.0 010 NE 16
ergo 29.36 155.34 6.8 014 NE 15
second chance 25.45 158.31 6.1 028 ENE 14
haulback 23.51 159.45 6.0 000 NE 15
nereida 23.38 159.25 6.1 356 NE 15


Foolish Muse reports that there are zillions of dolphins surrounding them, apparently Edie has located the Eastern Pacific Dolphon Conference and Exhibition, and are quite enjoying all the antics going on around them - leaping, jumping, happy playful dolphins. Likewise Seabird had dolphins come over from the west to play around Seabird, then they departed back to the west. As Lou points out, Seabird is a dolphin-friendly boat.


Up here with Alchera and Beetle, the breeze has strengthened and headed us slightly, we're now plugging along through 18-20 knots of wind and the associated sea state is substantial - now 4-5 foot seas from the starboard bow, which completely changes the ride from gliding along with beam-on swell to hoppity-hoppity pitching in the head seas. This morning I was up at 5AM and realized we were belting along at 8 knots completely loaded up, so I dropped in the third reef and that slowed us back down to 7 knots. Mark's response over on Alchera was to roll up the jib completely and slow down the boat sufficiently to ride the swell rather than bash straight into them. Beetle won't sail on main alone, so I still have the no. 2 rolled up on the furler to be roughly a no. 4 - which keeps us moving at a reasonably comfortable speed. Given how uncomfortable these relatively benign conditions are, it does give one pause for thought to realize just how hard the Stan Honey and the Volvo 70 folks were pushing their boats, and how much discomfort they are willing to put up with in search of speed. Glad I'm not sailing on one of those!


Dogbark reports a most interesting water temperature change - last night the sea temp dropped 5 degrees real fast, the squalls dried up and the overcast marine layer kicked in. I've been observing the sea temp as we travel north, started at 80.5 in Hanalei, and is now at 70. It will be nice to get out of squall country. Last night was wave after wave after wave of squalls, and I was up and down enough to sleep through the first half of roll call, therefore Seabird ran the morning check-in and later relayed the positions to me for posting ashore.


And word in from Nereida: Harrier may depart Hanalei tomorrow. We shall see. I happen to know from prior expereince that The General really likes Hanalei!


Jogging along to weather...
- rob, Tiger Beetle


SSS TransPac Return 7/25 2100 position report


dogbark 39.24 148.27 8.5 010 NE 15
alchera 37.05 149.01 6.0 356 NE 18
tiger beetle 37.54 149.42 6.2 000 NE 15
foolish muse 39.19 151.31 5.5 060 NE 11
seabird 35.04 152.42 7.5 000 ENE 19
ragtime 33.14 151.51 5.5 012 ENE 15
westerly 34.17 155.43 6.5 010 NE 15
sail a vie 31.11 155.54 6.5 345 NE 21
ergo 30.45 155.42 6.6 340 NE 21
second chance 26.45 158.33 5.5 015 ENE 14
haulback 25.02 159.43 6.0 000 ENE 15
nereida 24.49 159.20 5.6 005 ENE 16


Harrier -- plans to depart Hanalei Thursday afternoon --


We're all hard on the wind and beating to weather, and nobody is too thrilled about it. However, being made of stronger stuff (or at least being not too smart), we're trying to focus on the positive elements when faced with a 900 mile beat to weather, particularly for Sail a Vie and Ergo. Phil listened in to the US Coast Guard responding to a sinking Pacific Cup boat at 28N x 156W. Apparently there was a whale strike and the boat went down (the name was something Excel, we think), and the four folks on board took to the life raft. A Maersk ship picked them up, and apparently the boat was still floating with decks awash as the ship had to maneuver to avoid the boat. The coasties were flying planes overhead during the operation to keep an eye on things, and Phil talked with them to learn more. I'm glad everyone is safe.


In news from the outside world, news in that the dinghy thief (or thieves) were arrested in Kauai. What we don't know is whether or not the dinghies and outboard motors were recovered. I asked Tatia to check on this, we'll find out what she can learn from the police. Also, Mitchell, who did all the chase boat operations, was hospitalized and apparently had a pacemaker installed or worked on, and is due back in Kauai tomorrow - The General will be seeing him tomorrow and we've asked Ken to extend our hopes for a speedy recovery.


Another topic now on people's minds are staph infections, small infections one can easily pick up in the islands from small cuts and sores, particularly on the foot and ankle as we walk from the dinghies through the sand, and they don't heal quickly or easily. Fortunately, most of us have antibiotics on board and can deal with a problem if it arises. I was careful in Hanalei to not get cuts and haved checked for any little sores and no problems to date. Seabird suggests that if one does get an infection, start with something as simple as a warm soapy compress and keep the foot elevated. Perhaps the drug industry is overrated!


Alchera did not realize that winning the race has future repercussions: Phil pointed out he will have to come out next race to defend his title, Haulback suggested that it would be Mark's opportunity to take the race trophy again and have his name on it twice, "consecutively!", which apparently has never happened before. Mark is not sure he wants to break with tradition, so may pass on this chance.


Ragtime has carried out running repairs to his Harken roller furler, as the screws have fallen out of the connection between the furler drum and the torque tube. This is a common problem with the Harken design, and the fix is to push the screws back in (the threads are stripped) and wrap tape or a hose clamp around the drum to force the screws to act as shear studs and keep the unit working. Bob is pleased with his repair!


On board Beetle I'm still working towards the High, it looks like 40N is the ticket for the right turn towards San Francisco, and that turn should happen around noon the 28th, assuming the current forecast holds. So if you see Beetle sailing past Pt. Reyes and forgetting to turn, that's why.


Have a good night.
- rob, Tiger Beetle


Dogbark Wednesday Update

Lots of false starts on our turn to the east today but it looks like finally this evening it will hold. We would get headed going north and tack over only to be headed again an hour or so later and so would tack back and so on until around six this evening. Fingers crossed for a good ride home. We are having a fishing lure contest amongst the crew. Since I have lost all three lures, but have a supply of hooks and leaders and lots of detritus on board, it is a scavengers and artists best time, but we shall see who if any can catch a fish. If appearance is any matter then Jon and Jon have the best shot, If creativity matters then Jim is in the lead and if best use of the most junk then I am a winner. Who knows which the fish will choose if any. Saw lots of Vellela Vellela in the waters today as well as tons of birds. We crossed paths with a fellow sailing an approximately 30' catamaran solo from Yokohama to SF. No cabin on board, looked like an oversize Hobie cat with hiking racks loaded with bags of stuff and a long bowsprit. Name of the boat is One World and he said he is trying to set some kind of solo record. Lots of sponsors names all over the craft. He left Japan in early June. If a singlehander like me thinks he is crazy, I have no idea what the general public think. Very nice mushroom spaghetti dinner with garlic bread tonight. Al


26 Jul 2006 Morning Report


Dogbark 40 19 148 03 6.5 085 NE 8
Alchera 38 16 148 59 6.8 010 NE 15
Tiger Beetle 39 08 149 37 6.5 007 NE 13
Seabird 36 30 152 50 8.3 005 E 20
Foolish Muse 40 00 150 58 6.2 028 E 10
Ragtime 34 01 151 54 4.5 012 ENE 19
Westerly 35 20 155 20 6.0 010 NE 18
Sail La Vie 32 28 156 10 6.5 345 NE 21 and no fun
Ergo 31 58 156 00 6.5 345 NE 21 also no fun
Second Chance 27 42 158 37 4.9 352 NE 14
Haulback 26 11 159 54 5.5 360 ENE 15
Nereida 25 47 159 22 5.8 002 ENE 15


Foolish Muse has reported they have passed the halfway point to Victoria and
retracted the wind direction from the last report and changed it to E. More
news to follow this afternoon from Tiger Beetle. Al


SSS TransPac Return 7/27 2100 position report


dogbark 40.56 147.08 7.0 080 N 15
alchera 39.37 148.36 6.4 008 NE 13
tiger beetle 40.26 149.09 5.8 037 E 9
foolish muse 40.51 150.16 4.5 024 E 5
seabird 38.00 152.37 5.1 016 E 15
ragtime 35.05 151.37 4.0 026 ENE 17
westerly 36.27 155.05 6.0 015 NE 16
sail a vie 33.48 156.23 7.0 345 NE 22
ergo 33.11 156.22 6.5 340 NE 23
second chance 28.40 158.49 5.8 350 NE 20
haulback 27.19 160.04 5.5 350 NE 17
nereida 26.45 159.37 5.4 345 NE 16


The day has been fine on Beetle, though it is odd that we're going so far north in order to get to San Francisco! The sailing has been very nice up here in the northern latitudes, though no polar bear sightings so far. A big eye tuna came on board courtesy of the fish line, and fresh sushi is a good thing. Must admit I'm ore accustomed to chilled sushi, but it was good none the less.


On board Seabird Lou was anticipating the afternoon matinee in the onboard cinema as they bounce northwards. And a few of the yachts that departed later in the week are experiencing the full on return trip experience - banging along to weather in 20 knots of wind, so you hunker down, get out the warm soup, run with small sails and let the boat feel it's way up and down the swells.


In news from the outside world, Alchera's Mark and Carl are hosting a post-race party at their house in August, that should be a lot of fun and everybody should be in off the water by then. Mark also mentioned that he does have a tree, therefore we can have 5 o'clock tree, on stateside this time. Must remember to bring Teva's, shorts and the hat. I wonder if Mark has a place to beach the dinghies?


Foolish Muse reports passing the half way point to Cape Flattery; it appears that it is closer for me to go straight to visit my parents up at Orcas Island rather than head east for San Francisco. That would surprise everyone! I think that Kodiak Island is also closer to Kauai than San Francisco, though it doesn't look that way on the 530 chart due to the projection of a spherical earth onto a conveniently sized flat piece of paper.


On board Beetle I am enjoying a movie in the relative calm of my bit of the ocean, it's clear overhead and the stars are out. It looks like I'm not going to motor through the High as it is forecast to shoot off to the west shortly, so I'm simply going slow and waiting for the wind shift to occur (looking at Dogbark's data for tonight shows that he has found northerlies already).
Have a fine night!
- rob, Tiger Beetle


SSS TransPac Return 7/28 0900 position report


dogbark 40.59 145.22 7.5 080 N 15
alchera 40.24 148.06 7.1 092 NNE 12
tiger beetle 40.42 148.07 6.5 093 NNE 14
foolish muse 41.21 149.48 2.3 009 NE 5
seabird 39.21 152.18 7.6 010 E 15
ragtime 35.57 151.24 7.0 020 ENE 17
westerly 37.29 154.39 6.0 010 NE 15
sail a vie 34.48 156.32 5.0 350 NE 20
ergo 34.24 156.54 5.4 340 NE 21
second chance 29.37 159.07 5.5 348 NE 23
haulback 28.07 160.27 5.0 340 NE 18
nerida 27.42 160.05 6.0 340 NE 20


The fleet has arranged itself into three distinct groups, based upon when each boat departed Hanalei. The northbound contingent is pushing towards seattle and is currently passing through/around the High; the early-easters are breaking away to the east of the High; and the upbound group that is pounding north towards the High. It's surprising just much energy is being expended on trying to understand what the pesky High is up to, where it might go, and what a such and how such a movement will affect each boat's routing. Alchera is providing grib data forecasts for a given boat, and then the question often comes out, "So - should I go north or east?" You can practically hear the all the gears spinning across the fleet trying to put yourself in that boat's position, consider the performance envelope, and then (surprisingly) mostly unanimously a decision is prognosticated. I wonder if the folks that produce the NOAA weatherfax and grib models realize how much time we spend poring over the data? If one of the forecasters wiggled the isobar a bit this way rather than that way, wow, we jump all over it and wonder what the wiggle might mean!


Sail a Vie and Ergo are both experimenting with rolling up the headsail completely and bopping north on mainsail only; that seems to work very well, and Bill reports that it gets so quiet you have to look outside to make sure the boat is still moving - not bad for 23 knots of breeze. Westerly reports that he's ocassionaly punches a wave that washes down the deck, climbs up and over dodger and cascades into the cockpit; this seems to have
Harrier is getting ready to up anchor in Hanalei, he's waiting for a squall to go by and expects to be under way within the hour.


Given that we're traveling across popular great circle shipping routes, in particular panama-yokohama and points similiar, AIS is once again a hot topic. And just to add spice to our lives, we collectively pointed out the nasty large objects we've seen on various crossings that we would not wish to hit.
Dogbark has gone through all their fish lures and now creating custom hand-crafted feathered jigs. The top performer so far is Nature Valley Granola Bar wrapper, while the yellow Rubbermaid glove has no takers. Clearly they have too much time on their hands.


On board Beetle I'm scooting east as best as possible, just slightly cracked off, thinking that every mile I go east increases separation from the High and therefore leads to slightly greater pressure - a good thing.


Go East!
- rob, Tiger Beetle


Seabird Thursday Update

Command and crew moral much better this AM as we rapidly approach high and pounding eases up. Going N at 6.5 kn in 10 kn breeze. After last 3 days this seems like slow motion, but so comfortable. Additional moral boosters are the fact that we went further north in 2002 and the fleet has landed 2 tuna so we are hoping for ours today.


Had full box of pasta last night and could have used more. Breakfast this AM was last of cantalope and first of poptarts.


I am hopeful that we can begin going east(ese at first) within next 24 hours. So things are ok on Seabird and we are looking forward to a speedy California landfall, but too soon for ETA.
Regards to all
LAF


Dogbark Friday Report

Fishing lure derby results are in with the Heriot entry coming in first with a tuna in less than one hour and the Ilio entry catching another about an our later. Jim didn't even get a chance to get his lure wet, before we had to put a hold on catching so as not to waste the resource. The tuna are either dumb or really hungry to bite at a Nature Valley granola bar wrapper and some rope and a feather from Synthia's boa or in my case a bit of a yellow rubbermaid glove. No Matter we are very happy campers. Also a delightful day of sailing on the rhumbline for Cape Flattery. Less than 1000 miles to go so we hope to be in Aug 1 or 2. Will update as timeline gets firmer. Jon made some fresh cornbread to go with Loony Tuna ( only the locals in Poulsbo will know what that is ). Had some seared tuna steaks and trisquits with wasabi and mayo for lunch. Hope everyone has found someplace cool as we hear it is baking hot everywhere one the west coast. A very pleasant 75 out here, talk to you tomorrow, Al


SSS TransPac Return 7/27 2100 position report


dogbird 41.22 143.27 7.0 080 N 11
alchera 40.22 146.22 7.5 090 NNE 15
tiger beetle 40.31 146.19 6.2 105 NNE 14
foolish muse 41.38 148.59 3.5 052 NNE 5
seabird 40.27 152.14 4.5 355 NNE 10
ragtime 37.05 151.32 5.0 350 NE 18
westerly 38.35 154.20 5.8 020 NE 15
sail a vie 36.00 156.31 6.0 350 NE 19
ergo 35.24 156.55 6.8 002 NE 20
second chance 30.40 159.12 5.6 012 ENE 23
haulback 29.09 160.46 5.5 350 NE 23
nereida 28.41 160.24 5.9 340 NE 25
harrier 23.17 159.35 6.4 015 NE 15


Tonight we've been troubleshooting Ergo's lack of voltage from his engine starting battery to the key switch, and as a result the solenoid doesn't want to kick over. The most interesting suggestion so far was from Haulback, "Use as a screwdriver on the back of the solenoid, you'll figure out pretty quick which posts work best. There'll be a bunch of sparks and what not, just use a rubber handled screwdriver." Bill things this sounds most interesting, and is going to sleep on the problem and adress it in the morning.


Today I'm sailing along one of the major great circle routes from Panama and US West coast across to Asia - Japan, China, etc. I've spoken with several ships and it seems that Beetle's radar reflector is doing it's job and giving the ships a nice radar return, and they know I'm here - this is good stuff! Most recent ship went by 2 miles off, he had me on visual and radar - he departed Oakland two days ago and will be in China August 4 - the big boys move fast. Most pleasurable is the ships I'm talking with are answering back, in English, and they have their radars operating and in fact are keeping a look out.
Sail a Vie is keen to get to the High, as he will have opportunity to dry out. And the Shock News! - Phil shaved off his beard! None of us can imagine what he looks like now.


Stay out of the way of the ships.
- rob, Tiger Beetle


Friday AM Positions


Dogbark 41 52 144 03 7.0 045 NW 8
Alchera 40 16 144 49 4.9 090 N 8
Tiger Beetle 40 31 144 49 6.1 090 NNW 12 under spinnaker
Foolish Muse 42 22 147 36 7.0 050 NNW 15
Seabird 39 43 150 42 8.0 085 NNW18
Ragtime 37 56 151 40 6.0 087 NNE 17
Westerly 39 43 154 18 6.5 345 NE 14
Sail La Vie 37 16 156 29 6.0 010 NE 18
Ergo 36 22 156 55 5.1 013 NE 15
Second Chance 31 38 158 58 5.5 015 NE 18
Haulback 30 15 160 42 6.0 005 ENE 15
Nereida 29 45 160 34 6.1 000 ENE 20
Harrier 24 24 158 58 6.4 025 E 20


Friday Report

Very NW kind of day today, with grey overcast skies, light drizzle at times and variable winds mostly from the north and west. Had the spinnaker up for a few hours to give the boys something to do, but they have become so used to the routine that after a few hours all wanted to go read or sleep or email instead of watch the spinnaker, so back to white sails for the rest of the day. Garlic marinated tuna, rice, mixed vegetables, tomatoes, with fresh scones for dessert. Days are moving along and the miles are clicking by, but it has been an extraordinary fast trip thanks to some fortunate breaks in the weather for us. 750 miles to Cape Flattery, be home soon, Al


SSS TransPac Return 7/28 0900 log

 

Turns out that Tiger Beetle's SSB radio doesn't seem to like talking with the sailmail radio stations mid-day from this location, and as we're running on Hawaiian Standard Time the 0900 report is roughly 1030 local time, way after the sun has come up on the California coast, at which point the atmospherics change significantly and the frequencies needed to get a signal to shore seem to be frequencies my boat doesn't like, so I apologize for not sending out the morning log until tonight. Dogbark's radio, on the other hand, does a fine job of getting the data to shore from his location, which is a good thing.


It's a grey, overcast morning here are 144W, sun is poking through a bit to the south, but to the north are incoming grey-nesses that look suspiciously like squalls but which I suspect will turn out to be rainy fuzzy clouds. The wind went light and shifted aft last night, therefore the .7 spinnaker is up and we're trundling along slowly eastwards in the flattish water.


Haulback reports that Jim was seen running around the boat in his underwear, this despite the wind and spray as Haulback beats northwards towards the High. Jim has about 550 miles of northing to make to reach the High, and the fleet is worried Jim's britches will not be suitable for mixed company by the time he arrives. Jim is not concerned.


Westerly was very pleased with his progress this morning, especially that the wind is down somewhat but most importantly the seas have evened out. Steve is almost at the High, and is exhorting Sail a Vie to come north and join him there as the combination of wind and wave is terrific. Phil is doubtful and thinks Steve only wants him to sail extra miles north.


Seabird has made the right turn towards the coast and is stoked. Nice breeze from the north and he's making tracks eastwards. Looks like the High going west dramatically has opened up the door for Seabird. However, there is another High forecast to form 3 days into the future, and the new High may be directly in Seabird's path. Lou doesn't care - he's just plain happy to be done with the bash to weather!


On the motor front, Bill spent some time this morning troubleshooting the motor problem, and it looks like he can start the motor but now has found that the alternator is not producing output suitable for charging batteries. We have scratched our collective heads and Dogbark thinks there may be a connection between the low 6v power at the motor panel and the alternator problem - perhaps a bad connection somewhere that is preventing proper voltage from reaching the alternator field coil. We are meeting up at 6B at 1500 to give Bill time to poke around more and see what he can come up with. We know the motor works, the alternator works, there's just a it of wire loose somewhere, therefore we are all optimistic he will fix it.


On board Beetle the first fuzzy rain cloud has played through, light drizzle and not much additional wind, perhaps 2 or 3 knots worth. The decks are once again clean. So is the spinnaker, for that matter - it got a nice light rinse as well, to be followed with time in the dryer if the sun pops out. I'm interested in the new High forecast to appear between the coast and I - I'm reasonably certain I can clear the forecast position, but there look to be light running conditions in a ridge that will extend towards the coast and I cannot outrun the ridge's forecast position. There may be some motoring in this trip after all!
May your spinnaker be dry as well.
- rob, Tiger Beetle


SSS TransPac Return 7/28 2100 position report


dogbark 42.36 140.09 8.5 060 NW 15
alchera 40.17 143.09 7.4 090 NNW 16
tiger beetle 40.23 143.00 7.6 098 N 18
foolish muse 42.54 146.29 4.9 069 NNE 10
seabird 40.32 148.47 7.5 095 NNE 22
ragtime 37.55 150.17 6.3 090 N 23
westerly 39.59 153.08 6.0 080 NNW 16
sail a vie 38.16 156.13 6.0 110 NE 17
ergo 37.26 156.47 6.0 010 NE 18
second chance 32.42 158.43 5.7 010 NE 18
haulback 31.29 160.35 6.0 005 ENE 20
nereida 31.02 160.31 6.8 005 ENE 23
harrier -- did not check in --


The Mystery of the Motor has been solved: water in the engine panel. It seems that Ergo's engine panel is cockpit-mounted, and Bill has had the cockpit flood out a couple of times during his bounce north towards the High. There is a problem with cockpit-mounted panels that become immersed: water can intrude through the key hole and wet out the backside of the panel. Bill was able to bypass the key switch, jump the starter solenoid, and Voila! he has both a running motor, a charging alternator, and a wet motor panel. He's planning to dry out the panel and see if that fixes things so he can use the normal procedure to start the motor. So Bill is now a happy camper.


Little Beetle used to have the same setup with the cockpit engine panel, and I've ruined two panels when the cockpit filled with water. On this boat I moved the panel to down below just to keep it dry, and installed a waterproof pushbutton switch in the cockpit to energize the starter solenoid - makes it impossible to know the RPM from the helm, but since I'm never back there anyway on these long trips, it works for me.
Foolish Muse reports that the boom has failed, this time just forward of the original repair. This means Muse is now running on headsails alone, and they are considering options for resetting a sail in some fashion from the backside of the spar. A bummer for Edie (and Rich), as they still have a fair ways to go and you don't want to be hobbled if you can avoid it. The fleet had all sorts of ideas on what to do, including sawing up the spin pole, flying storm jibs, dismantling the interior... I think they are simply going to wait until morning and see what is simplest for them! At least they are in good spirits and proceeding northwards on course, only slightly slower.


Alchera and Beetle are still running more or less side by side, I'm starting to slide southwards and Mark is proceeding due east. We spent a while comparing weather prognostications, and we both think we'll be motoring by this time tomorrow night. I think I'll have wind for longer slightly south, and Mark votes for wind slightly north. Will be interesting to see what happens. And I talked with a westbound container ship just before roll call, and he popped right up on the radio and said he was tracking me on radar, had left Oakland and was bound for China - will be there in 8 days as he's traveling at 24 knots. Wow! - those steel islands have legs, that's for sure. Very nice fellow on the bridge, and we chatted about sailing across big oceans in tiny sailboats. I think he was glad he was not on the tiny sailboat, and thought it was very intrepid that we are out here, alone.
But we're not alone, there's a whole gang of us!
Sail far tonight, as we may be motoring tomorrow.
- rob, Tiger Beetle


Sat 07/29 9AM HST TP return positions


Dogbark             43 01   138 11     7.5  060  NW 10
Alchera             40 13   141 29     8.2  097  N  18
Tiger Beetle        40 11   141 15     7.2  098  NNE18
Foolish Muse        43 10   145 33     2.5  045  N   5  broken boom
Seabird             40 00   146 52     8.5  095  N  17
Ragtime             37 47   148 53     5.0  082  NNE17
Westerly            40 00   151 25     7.0  085  N  18
Sail La Vie         38 13   154 50     7.0  075  N  17
Ergo                37 54   156 16     5.0  072  N  12
Second Chance       33 46   158 44     5.5  012  NE 20
Haulback            32 39   160 37     6.1  350  NE 20
Nereida             32 13   160 34     6.6  000  NE 23
Harrier             26 58   158 40     6.4  000  ENE19
Al


Sat Report from Dogbark

After a very blustery wet friday night, double reef and staysail, winds to 25 kt, we had a pleasant day sailing along the rhumbline to Cape Flattery, 600 miles to go.  Spent the day cleaning the boat inside, after 10 days with four guys, well enough said.  Jon prepared green curry tuna (what else) with potatoes carrots and mushrooms, very tasty.  Some of the crew seem anxious about getting home, already planning their escapes, but still a few days any way.  Started


SSS TransPac Return 7/29 2100 position report


dogbark       43.36 136.16 7.0 060 N   8
alchera       40.00 139.52 7.4 097 NNE 10
tiger beetle  39.55 139.36 5.4 100 NE  12
foolish muse  43.40 144.42 6.2 070 NW  12
seabird       39.53 145.23 6.1 085 NNE 4 (motoring)
ragtime       37.55 147.23 5.5 080 NNE 12
westerly      40.01 149.35 7.0 095 NNW 18
sail a vie    38.19 153.08 7.0 080 N   20
ergo          38.14 154.56 6.5 060 N   20
second chance 34.41 158.57 5.0 335 N   19
haulback      33.46 161.06 6.0 345 NE  16
nereida       33.27 160.50 5.0 345 NE  20
harrier       28.05 158.56 5.3 350 NE  22

 

Hmm... I slept through the beginning of roll call, so when my turn came up Alchera rang up on the VHF and announced, "Hey, Beetle - roll call!"  I popped out of the bunk and thanked Mark for the wake up call and he said, "Glad to oblige - we're a full service race organization."  Good people to have around you in these here parts.


The fleet was upbeat tonight, Sail a Vie especially so now that he's in recoverey mode from the bang northwards to the High.  Ragtime is perking up as well - Bob had early on asked the collective group if he should sail his boat home, and the consensus is that sailing your boat home is definitely part of the experience.  Bob is glad he's doing the sail home, at the same time he would have liked a third reef in the main, and will not sail the boat home after his next race.  I suspect the bug has bitten Ragtime, don't be surprised if Bob does this again (except boat goes home on Matson while Bob comfortably does 550 knots to weather on a 747).


Second Chance has reported a failure (and repair) to his Monitor vane - the breakaway tube broke away, as it is designed to do, only the broken away part got left in the hinge mechanism and he can't get it out.  However, he also has a Monitor EMRUD on board and swapped out the hinge from that emrud for the paddle and he's back in business. 


Foolish Muse has determined the boom is not worth salvaging and instead are winging out the jib and running the main as a trysail sheeted to the stern rail.  They are making good progress northwards and in fine spirits.


Nereida is happy with her Trinidad KISS wind generator, it seems to be putting out the amps.  Her destination is Victoria, Vancouver Island, where she intends to go exploring up the backside of Vancouver Island before heading to Mexico in October. 


An question for the bird people out there: we are seeing these mid-size brownish birds that fly like a slow swallowtail or bat, very delicate flight with slow wing beats, very pointy wings in the middle (carpal joint?) and the birds are incredibly agile and dart about just above the water's surface.  The birds chirp to each other, sounding not unlike a squeaking block.  At night several will congregate right off the transom and flit about above the boat's wake, chirping at each other.  We've started to call them Squeaking Block Birds as the first thing one does is check the main sheet blocks to see which one needs oiling - at which point your realize the chirps are coming from behind the boat.  The birds look like oversize petrels, but they're not as large as a shearwater nor as small as the tiny petrels. 


On board Beetle the winds have now dropped suddenly to 6-8 knots during roll call and the seas continue to even out.  I've unrolled the no. 2 and raised the main - we're not going fast but it is now very pleasant.  I'm going to get in a couple hours sleep, then see if there's enough wind to continue sailng, or fire up the motor and head off through the High.  I particularly like motoring through the High as it's a super break from the constant motion, pounding and sail adjustments that have been going on for the past 11 days - also a good opportunity to look for glass balls.  In a couple of days we'll hit the coastal flow east of the High and I'm anticipating the customary 20-30 knots of cold reaching wind from the North that is the trademark of arriving in San Francisco.
Happy out here on the Pacific
- rob, Tiger Beetle


SSS TransPac Return 7/30 0900 position report

dogbark       44.17 134.31 7.5 060 NW  10
alchera       39.53 138.06 5.5 095 N   6  motoring
tiger beetle  39.41 138.04 5.0 103 N   8  will motor shortly
foolish muse  44.13 143.13 8.0 065 NW  15
seabird       39.56 143.44 6.5 083 NNW 3  motoring
ragtime       38.01 146.13 4.0 080 NNE 3  motoring
westerly      39.58 148.03 6.5 085 N   18 (claims to be sailing :)
sail a vie    38.17 151.25 7.0 110 NNE 19
ergo          38.32 153.44 6.0 090 NNE 20
second chance 35.27 159.23 5.0 344 NNE 16
haulback      34.54 161.42 6.0 340 NNE 15
nereida       34.30 161.28 6.0 345 NE  16
harrier       29.13 159.14 5.9 000 NE  25 gusting 32


It's interesting to watch a High form, I've never been right where one landed before, so it's fun to watch it unfold.  This morning early the wind went up and down in strength but was consistent in direction, the seas died off very rapidly, perhaps within an hour, leaving behind just the swell.  Currently I have 4-6 knots from the North, therefore time to put the motor in gear and tool along eastwards to 38.30N x 130W.  Winds should reappear in front of us in perhaps two days.  Should be a nice break from the sailing, boat goes flat and comfy, and it's time to air everything out. 


Several boats in the fleet are now starting to use their fuel, stocked on board in Hanalei in expectation of meeting up with a High.  Sail a Vie has 1000 miles of motoring, Beetle has 900, Seabird has 145 gallons and I don't know what Lou's range is.  We all hope to arrive in San Francisco with fuel to spare.  The trick to long endurance motoring is to know as accurately as possible where the efficience crossover point is for fuel burned vs. miles traveled.  On Beetle this works out to 1450 RPM on the Perkins 4-108 and Martec prop - 0.5 gal/hour @ 5.8 knots.  The fuel burn curve is not linear, so simply slowing the motor down more does not necessarily save an equitable amount of fuel.  I figured out the number during the last return trip when I'd fill up the tank, motor for 12 hours, figure out how far I'd gone and refill the tank to see how much the motor had used.  Adjusting RPMS through a range from 1350 to 1550 produced a graph showing 1450 was the magic number.  A good RPM too, as the motor is pretty quiet there.


It's been difficult to hear much of the fleet during roll call; looks like Ken was able to swap out Monitor parts and is happily sailing again under wind vane.  Ergo's charging system is good to go, though a little funky (I suspect Bill means it's not perfect), but he has electrons and like this fact.
Alchera is using his MaxSea program and having it run routes for folks that are interested in which direction they might consider pointing their boat.  Mark said you have to be a little careful, 'cause the program will happily route you directly through peninsulas and islands.  Seems like an fun toy to have on board.
I'm going to go topsides and set up the main for motoring - two reefs, flatten the sail, and set the boom slightly off center to keep the sail away from the runners, and the sail dampens rolling in the swell, making motoring nicer.
Have a nice afternoon.  Tiger Beetle is off for a Sunday drive across the pond.
- rob, Tiger Beetle


Dogbark Sunday Report

Fairly easy Sunday on the big pond, sailed most of the day with only about one hour total motoring, a little rain and drizzle this morning but somewhat clearing this afternoon. Had sone potato latkes and scrambled eggs for breakfast, brought back memories of my grandmother's fixing the same with leftover mashed potatoes. Mac and cheese with tuna of course for dinner, with fresh cornbread and black beans. No ship traffic or much in the way of birds roday. Library on board is pretty well used up so we are sharing books now. How many hours can a teenager sleep in any one day? Little Jon wins my prize for maximun rack time. Under 400 miles to Flattery, you can see we are counting down the way, Al


SSS TransPac Return 7/30 2100 position report


dogbark 45.03 132.43 7.0 060 NW 8
alchera 39.46 136.41 6.1 098 NNE 9
tiger beetle 39.32 136.38 5.8 090 NNE 9
foolish muse 44.41 141.42 4.5 065 NNW 10
seabird 39.51 142.29 2.5 100 S 5
ragtime 38.16 145.17 4.5 070 variable 2 motoring
westerly 40.08 146.27 6.5 085 N 16
sail a vie 37.59 149.47 5.5 100 NNE 15
ergo 38.16 152.23 5.0 115 NNE 16
second chance 35.24 158.18 5.8 088 NE 17
haulback 35.57 162.29 6.0 330 NNE 15
nereida 35.33 162.04 5.7 325 NNE 15
harrier 30.14 159.13 5.8 000 NE 20


A super day out on here on the water for the fleet. Most boats are enjoying the calmer conditions, people are upbeat and relaxed, everyone is happy to be moving east rather than north, as it seems like you've turned the corner and are headed in the right direction.


On Beetle I used the mellow conditions of the newly forming High to clean up the boat, bag plastics, take a shower and slip into new fresh clothes (feels great!), get some good rest, and look for glass balls. Nothing was sighted in the water, but the crescent moon was quite beautiful has it set slowly after the sun.
Back up the course Sail a Vie is again removing water from his fuel system. There must be a design flaw in the fuel pickup, as Phil says it only happens when the boat is sitting flat. He and Haulback are talking about how to dry out fuel filters and remove the water from them (put in oven on low low heat), and whether or not to use WD40 (Water Displacement 40) blown into the air intake to get the water to remove itself from fuel injectors. Looks like Phil may give it a shot.
Seabird is convinced that Haulback is headed so far west simply because he's going to sail around the world again. Jim claims it ain't so, he has to get back to Canada.


A bit of a setback this evening on Tiger Beetle when the forward clutch plates in the Hurth transmission slipped, which will significantly curtail motoring activities. I was resting in my bunk when I heard the engine rev up, which is odd as the throttle hadn't been touched, so I put on my glasses and checked the speed, which was going down. This is usually not a good sign! - so I put the motor in neutral, opened up the motor box and sure enough the transmission was too hot - and this was exactly what happened in 1998, so at least I know what the problem is and know that I can't do anything about it. Too bad it's happened again out here rather than in the bay, as this portion of the High is devoid of any shop I can send the transmission over to for a quick plate change. The good part is I'm almost clear of the High and into the coastal flow, and there's breeze now so I'm sailing due east in hopes of getting east of 135W by Tuesday morning - at which time there should be breeze in to the beach. I know the reverse clutch plates are in perfect condition, but unlike the 1998 Big Boat Series (when we motored backwards everywhere on those reverse plates), I am not going to motor backwards out of the High!
Enjoy the evening.
- rob, Tiger Beetle


Dogbark Sunday Report

Pretty easy day of light air spinnaker before finally succumbing after dinner to the call of the motor. Beautiful day, flat seas, 5-8 knot westerlies. Did some noon sunsights with the crew to shake off the rust then last of the sea showers we hope as water was 60 degrees, with a sunshower rinse which was warm thank god. Jon did his usual grand cooking providing us with chicken enchiladas verdes with his homemade tortillas. I think he would be my Most Valuable Crewmember for the return trip. A little over 200 miles to Cape Flattery. I will make a last try for somw more tuna tomorrow to put in the fridge for BBQ at home. Not much longer now, Al


SSS TransPac Return 7/31 2100 position report


dogbark 46.40 129.48 7.0 060 SSW 5 motoring
alchera 39.21 133.41 5.4 098 NW 5 motoring
tiger beetle 39.21 133.53 3.1 098 NW 7
foolish muse 45.49 139.02 6.0 060 NNW 8
seabird 39.29 139.47 5.0 085 N 6
ragtime 38.29 142.37 5.7 087 NNE 8
westerly 40.07 144.07 2.5 090 variable 7
sail a vie 38.01 147.22 6.0 075 N 1 motoring
ergo 38.33 150.14 7.0 076 N 7
second chance 34.45 156.29 5.1 037 ENE 14
haulback 38.04 162.55 5.0 010 ENE 10
nereida 37.31 162.28 6.0 005 NE 10
harrier 32.19 158.23 6.0 030 E 17


It's been a most pleasant day on board the good ship Beetle. What with no transmission to push boat it means we get to take a pause break and tour the light air bobble in the general vicinity of the High. Winds diminished through the day until the water turned to glass late-afternoon. This was a perfect opportunity to stare intently into the water and observe the little critters floating around there: wild looking tiny jellyfish, bits and blobs that moved along under some sort of propulsion scheme, the wandering albatross wandered by... in short I had a fine time. This is no doubt due to the fact that the breeze is supposed to reform within the next 24 hours; if I were out at 150W in these conditions I don't think I would be quite so sanguine about my circumstances!


Alchera stopped by to visit, looking dapper under reefed main and rolled up jib - mucho fun to have friends out here on the pond. He and I exchanged books, and then he powered on his way through the light air towards San Francisco. I sure hope the pictures came out, some of them should be great with the clouds in the background. At the moment Mark is having intermittent failures with the masthead wind speed/point, so Mark's autopilot is now referencing a GPS waypoint rather than apparent wind sailing.


Foolish Muse has had no sun for the past 6 days and is therefore running out of electrons as the solar panel charging system is not working. They are therefore hand steering and minimizing time on the radio. Otherwise all is well aboard.


Ragtime had porpoises today and Bob is in good spirits, they were all over the place and playing with the boat. Likewise Sail a Vie is having a great sail, Phil has showered, cleaned the boat inside and out, baked up brownies and is rocking out with the stereo. Life sounds very good indeed on board. Ergo is still experiencing electrical problems as regards battery charging - the motor is running fine and Bill is troubleshooting the charging.


What's really weird is that Haulback and Sail a Vie both have failing Icom microphones; it is definitely time to let Icom know that having 4 failed mics out of 17 boats is not a good average. Something to take up with Icom when we get in.


On board Beetle I'm running with jib top and main this evening, and if winds are still light from behind come morning I'll set the 0.5 oz kite and keep on heading for the coast. The seas are very smooth, a touch of wind riffling the surface, and the moon reflecting in the sea is beautiful to observe from my vantage point in the cockpit. This is a magical place, and it's moments like this that make the energy and effort required to do the race worthwhile. I suspect that in short order there will have way more wind than I want, so I'm going to enjoy the relative snail's pace for the time that I am here.
Have a super night!
- rob, Tiger Beetle


SSS TransPac Return 8/1 0900 position report


dogbark 47.23 128.07 8.0 055 NNW 15
alchera 39.12 132.14 6.5 099 NW 8 motoring
tiger beetle 39.13 132.55 3.5 100 NNW 7
foolish muse 46.10 137.32 7.6 070 N 10
seabird 39.47 138.47 4.5 075 NNW 7
ragtime 38.29 141.15 6.0 100 NNE 7
westerly 40.05 142.45 3.5 095 N 8
sail a vie 38.06 145.55 6.0 075 N 5 motoring
ergo 38.43 148.31 6.7 065 -- -- motoring
second chance 35.30 155.49 4.8 037 ENE 13
haulback 38.59 162.39 4.7 035 E 6
nereida 38.37 162.21 6.0 007 variable 3 motoring
harrier 33.23 157.57 6.0 030 E 16


It was a quiet evening, and I can understand why the Pacific is named what it is
- when it's quiet, it's real quiet... not even a porpoise to disturb the calm.
This morning we find Beetle ghosting along under 5 oz kite, making feets towards
SEFI (that's South East Farallon Island for those that are not part of the PRBO
gang). I've read one of Mark's books and am on to the next one, they are fun.
It's really pleasant to sit topsides in the shade of the sails, read, and gaze
out into the distance, plus it's warm enough to require just jeans and a t-shirt
to be comfortable.


Looking forward to hearing how the rest of the gang faired last night. We shall
know shortly as the 0900 roll call is in 30 minutes. Rollcall is on 6MHz is
difficult to work with at this time of day, so we might need to move up to 8MHz
and see if that works any better.


Ergo is continuing to have chargin
g issues and is motoring along, he has a full
house bank and it looks like he can manually control when he pumps electrons
into the bank. Several boats are working with Ergo to try and locate the fault
with the charging regulator, as that appears to be the root of the problem. If
Bill can come up with a way to apply voltage to the field coil wire in the
alternator, then he will be able to make the alternator put out current.


Sail a Vie's microphone finally crapped out and Seabird has again taken over the
roll call, at least until Phil can hotwire the mic and make it work. Seabird is
happily sailing along under asymmetric, as is Tiger Beetle (That's Me!) who is
flying the half ounce.


Westerly has asked the question that has haunted mankind for all time: Who ate
the last of the bacon? None of us know the answer, as we finished the bacon a
long long time ago, somewhere in the vicinity of Hanalei.


We did make one significant change as regards roll call: tomorrow (Wednesday
8/2) we will shift to 9 and 9 PDT, that's california time - so we're moving roll
call up 3 hours and hopefully that will synchronize with the sun and provide
better reception across the fleet on 6MHz.


So it's back to sailing Beetle boat towards the wind line. The GRIB file
forecast shows the wind gradient as 2 knot increase per degree of longitude east
from my current positon. Unfortunately the GRIB also shows a Low moving off the
coast on Saturday, which is reminiscent of race start where we drifted around
offshore for several days. Let's hope we get into the breeze and arrive before
that happens!


Scampering east as fast as possible...
- rob, Tiger Beetle


Dogbark Tuesday Report

Got some good sailing in today and another tuna before loosing the glove lure to the last one. Lost my chance at a new patented lure. Down to 60 miles to Cape Flattery so this will most likely be our last log. More fresh bread from Jon the baker but just some chili with cheese and onions for tonight. Still another 150 miles of travel to Seattle so another day of traveling but we will leave the big briny for the time being. Thanks to all of the competitors, race committee but mostly to the unsung support staff at home everywhere. Lou, Tatia, Carla, Marge, Joanne, Justine, Andrea, Connie, Sarah, Sylvia and I am sure I am forgetting someone, but without you all it would much harder if not impossible to do this adventure. Thanks, Al


SSS TransPac Return 8/1 2100 Position Report


dogbark       48.06 126.13 8.0 070 NW  10
alchera       38.58 130.28 7.5 101 NNW 15
tiger beetle  39.01 131.30 6.8 098 N   14
foolish muse  46.27 136.17 2.8 070 variable 2
seabird       39.27 137.40 6.5 115 NNE 8
ragtime       38.12 140.03 5.0 085 NE  4
westerly      40.03 141.27 6.0 090 N   5
sail a vie    38.18 144.32 6.5 115 NNE 8
ergo          38.53 147.14 4.5 075 E   10
haulback      39.21 162.12 2.5 030 E   6
nereida       39.21 162.12 2.5 030 E   6
harrier       34.13 157.04 030 6.1 E   16
note: haulback and nereida are next to each other.


On board Beetle the wind has filled in nicely from the NW, leading to a fine day of light air spinnaker reaching, followed by slightly more wind and a heavier kite for reaching, and now we've been headed slightly and spinnakers are put away in anticipation of exiting the High and entering the coastal flow - so it's up to the jib top to pull forwards through the night.
The boat is buttoned up, the deck is organized, strings stowed, down below is cleared and cleaned up, and best of all: my bunk is still dry!  I like this.
And tonight we should have our first boat home - Dogbark is 60 miles from Cape Flattery and expects to be in by morning.  Al has been a wonderful person to share the race with, time in Hanalei and the return passage.  The Open 60 definitely has legs and Al can sail it well.  That, coupled with his sailing skills, makes Dogbark and Al a formidable combination.
For the rest of us still out here, it looks like Alchera will be into San Francisco first, Seabird is headed for San Diego, Foolish Muse gathered some electrons when the sun poked through the clouds and is bound for Cape Flattery as well.
NOTE: commencing tomorrow morning (8/2 0900 report) the fleet is shifting time zones to do check ins at 9am/9pm Pacific Daylight Time (california time).
Onwards towards the coast.
- rob, Tiger Beetle


SSS TransPaca Return 8/2 0900 position report


dogbark -- arrived --
alchera 38.46 129.04 7.3 101 N 18
tiger beetle 38.50 130.07 7.2 100 N 18
foolish muse 46.43 135.21 5.0 065 NNW 7
seabird 39.05 136.42 7.0 115 N 12
ragtime 38.19 139.06 5.5 086 NNE 17
westerly 40.00 140.26 5.0 090 N 9
sail a vie -- did not check in --
ergo 39.00 146.23 4.8 083 ENE 10 motoring
second chance 36.09 154.18 4.9 050 E 12
haulback 39.45 161.41 5.8 050 SE 10
nereida 39.43 161.41 5.7 050 SE 10
harrier 34.47 156.20 6.0 045 ESE 14


sail a vie's microphone is known to be failing, and it is likely the mic completely failed and he could not join the net.
It's an overcast, lumpy, grey day here in the California coastal flow, a bit of rain earlier that has moved south, and it's the kind of day for hunkering down in a comfy bunk and reading a good book. Today is so completely unlike yesterday's clear skies and flat seas - give the wind 24 hours and it can drive
up the swell and waves, which serves to remind me of just how much energy there is in something as simple as air moving by.
Our check-ins have adopted a much more touch-feely approach, in that we are now politely asked how it went last night and how are we doing, and then would we be so kind as to send along the position numbers when convenient. A big shift from the race in which we simply banged through the numbers and afterwards have chat time. But somehow I don't think the touchy-feely approach suits Lou, as he sounds much more like a hands-on get it done kind of person - but Lou is trying! Ergo is doing much better this morning, and now I understand what he's dealing with: the electrical harness connecting the motor to the enginee panel has automotive plugs at each end, and those plugs are corroded, leading to all kinds of goofy voltages moving up and down the wires. Therefore Bill is creating an entirely new harness from scratch.
Talk has turned to boat batteries. Alchera has 5 year old batteries and Mark is finding he has to charge noticeably longer to bring the batteries up to voltage,
Westerly replaced two batteries in Hanalei when he noticed the ones he started with weren't doing that well, and we all know the story of Ergo's battery
replacement in Hanalei. The general consensus is that deep cycle 6v golf cart batteries in series are perfectly good for what we're doing, the Rolls battery
is completely out of our league and needs, and there doesn't seem to be a cost/benefit in buying expensive premium marine batteries.
Seabird is working out his course to break south for San Diego and thinking he will go a bit further east before making the big turn.
Tonight's roll call will be at 2100 PDT on 8185.0 MHz, in case anyone in in the outside world is listening in!
- rob, Tiger Beetle


SSS TransPac 8/3 0900 position report


alchera 38.07 125.23 9.0 104 N 30
tiger beetle 38.10 126.25 7.1 100 N 29 gusting 36
foolish muse 47.21 132.02 7.0 070 NW 13
seabird 37.51 133.49 7.0 120 N 20
ragtime 38.09 136.24 5.0 087 N 19
westerly 39.51 137.42 6.5 095 N 16
sail a vie - no contact -
ergo 38.53 144.09 4.0 090 ENE 10 motoring
second chance 37.26 152.30 5.8 054 ESE 8
haulback 41.20 159.15 6.0 050 SE 11
nereida 41.13 159.36 5.5 040 SSE 15
harrier 36.11 154.17 5.4 050 ESE 12


On board Beetle conditions are still very rough, wind is up and I'm well intrenched in the high winds and seas off the coast. Last night was particularly un-fun with winds gusting to 40 knots, but it has eased off this morning and we're back into low 30s. One has to wonder when 30 knots doesn't seem like all that much.
Up ahead Mark is out of reefs for his mainsail and is steaming along at 9 knots; if he had a third reef set up he would use it, but as he doesn't he's going to
leave well enough alone and simply go faster. The downside is you thump the waves much harder and the motion gets worse. I'm keeping boat speed around 7 and that's much more manageable than 8.5 or 9.
Nereida has had a failure with the fuel tank deck fill o-rings, which has allowed water into the fuel tank, and that water is now in the motor. Today she
is emptying out the fuel lines and working the water out of the pistons and injectors. Not much fun! Haulback mentioned that he's actually disconnected
the deck fills on his tanks, and instead does all fueling down below, for precisely the reason that Jeanne is now dealing with. Not a bad idea, as long
as the fuel is not gasoline (Nereida uses diesel).
Harrier reports that the planet Mars is on it's closest approach in the last 60,000 years, and can be easily seen at sunrise, near the moon, just prior to sunrise. He said it was huge this morning, very vivid. I shall look tomorrow morning and see if I can spot the planet through the clouds.
Seabird has a genset overheating issue, and has troubleshot the problem to be either a failed impeller or heat exchanger. He is going for the impeller
replacement first; if it's the heat exchanger then it becomes a bigger issue. The difficult part will be locating the spare impeller - Lou knows it is on
board, the question is now: Where is it? He's not looking forward to tearing the boat apart to find it.
Overall folks are moving along, the folks behind Alchera and Beetle are listening to our descriptions of current conditions and the general consensus is
nobody else wants to do the same thing. I agree with them!

 

I'm looking forward to catching sight of the Farallon Islands, hopefully tomorrow morning after I've seen Mars up by the moon, as the islands should be
coming up on the horizon shortly after sunrise.
- rob, Tiger Beetle


SSS TransPac Return 8/3 2100 position report and log


alchera 37.46 123.31 7.4 104 NNW 23
tiger beetle 37.54 124.28 8.0 101 NNW 34
foolish muse 47.30 130.04 7.5 085 NW 18
seabird 36.56 122.21 8.8 110 NNW 25
ragtime 38.07 134.57 5.5 087 N 18
westerly 39.49 136.19 5.5 110 NNW 18
sail a vie 38.43 139.44 5.5 080 N 12
ergo - no contact -
second chance 38.07 151.36 5.4 040 ESE 5
haulback 41.52 157.55 6.2 060 S 14
nereida 41.53 158.18 5.1 050 S 10
harrier 36.42 153.18 5.4 060 ESE 12


Beetle is now on the second day of sailing through the gale, and it's been absolutely no fun whatsoever. Alchera has exited the worst of the gale and is sailing in lighter wind and somewhat smaller swells, I am 50 miles back and can't wait to get out of here. Worst bits were this afternoon with 40 knot winds and big white capping swells that dumped all over the boat. Everything worked ok on board, so nothing in particular happened, but it is completely unpleasant - this is an experience I would highly recommend one avoid!
On the plus side, it's 70 miles to my turning point at Southeast Farallon Island - and from there it's a short hop to the Gate. I hope to be in the marina tomorrow evening, all snug as a bug in a rug.
Nereida is continuing to work on her motor to remove the water from the fuel system, and it turns out she also has a generator that is working just fine, so she is all stocked up on electrons.
Sail a Vie popped up on the radio tonight, appears his microphone is working at the moment (his radio works great, it's just the mic) - he's doing well, sailing well, and moving right along.
It looks like Alchera will be off the water tomorrow, so this is likely to be the last time Mark checks in on the net.
So I'm going to pick up some good rest tonight, I slept most of today as much as I could, tomorrow should be a busy day of getting home.
- rob, Tiger Beetle


4 Aug 2006 2100 check-in
 
Seabird 34.54 129.23 8.0 120 21N 430 Harvest 376 GG 
FM 48.13 126.00 8.0 074 12N 50 Cape Flat. 
Rag 38.03 131.52 6.5 087 20N 446GG Tell Connie he will go under Gate late Monday 
West 39.29 133.12 6.2 095 25N Getting v wet!! 
CLV 38.59 136.46 6.0 080 25N 671 GG 
Ergo Did not check in today 
Haulbk 42.54 155.39 6.0 060 11S 
SecondCh 39.32 150.03 5.0 058 8SE 
Ner 42.56 156.41 6.0 047 10S Water in eng fuel problem not yet solved Fog rain all day 
Mandarin 39.55 141.52 4.8 095 14N 
Harrier 37.44 151.23 4.0 060 9ESE 


SSS TP Return 0805 0900 Positions

Here's the data for sat AM from Dr. Lou on seabird


Foolish Muse 48.23 125.04 2.2 085 3var  Cflat still 50 no wind fog ship lanes
Ragtime        38.01 130.31 0.0 150 20N   hove to fixing AP 382 GG under Gate Tues
Seabird         34.26 127.47 5.9 085 13nw  motoring soon in low  350 Harvest raining shuffleboard tournament postponed
Westerly       39.06 131.30 6.5 100 25N
Ergo             did not check in
HaulBack      43.23 154.06 6.2 060 13ssw
Nerieda         43.34 155.42 3.3 046 7s              no prog on eng fuel supply w water
Second Chance 39.34 148.54 4.5 095 4se
Harrier               38.07 150.24 4.7 090 4E motoring 1463 to pt concept
 
Dogbark arrived - had an email from Mrs Dogbark last night that Al was actually out racing the boat locally
Alchera - arrived  yesterday
Tiger Beetle - arrived yesterday


08/06 SSSTP Return Sun AM roll call


Lat     Long    Speed    Course     Wind Dir   Wind Speed
Sea bird      34-03   125-13    5.2      080         SW         5
Foolish Muse   Should be home
Ragtime       37-56   127-42    5.7      087         NE         14        248  nmi to GG
Westerly      28-20   128-43    4.5      095         N          15        292  nmi to GG
Sail A Vie    no report - microphone problem?
Ergo          no report
Second Chance 39-23   146-22    5.6      095         NW         10        1118 nmi to GG
Haulback      44-44   152-00    6.0      040         W          15
Nareida       no report
Mandarin      no report
Harrier       28-12   147-59    6.0      100         NW         13       1348 nmi to Pt Conception
Second Chance had company last night - pod of dolphins for a while
Dogbark - Arrived Seattle
Alchera - Arrived SF


Return Log from Seabird Aug06 AM


Here is our separate report since we have been voted off the island, 
perhaps because we are not sharing the gale but instead have 7-10 kn 
with flat seas.
Sunday morning:
Er...where's the Sunday paper?  OK, that leaves housework, naw it's 
Sunday, shuffleboard on the foredeck, oops it's sprinkling a bit, 
guess we're down to a nap, OR we could go sailing today.  America 
(and the crew) has voted it's SAILING!  If we sail straight-a-head 
for 222 miles we'll arrive at Platform Harvest or Point Conception, 
your choice.  Harvest is a spectacular, gigantic oil rig off the tip 
of California.  During the day it dwarfs and intimidates, at night it 
is bathed in lighting which glows from miles away.  Seabird is still 
in an low pressure with broken clouds, few rain-showers and about 10 
knots of wind out of the South.  We've been clocking off 6-7 knots 
most of the night.  Last night's entertainment was changing the fuel 
filter on our genset (auxiliary electric generator), which requires 
disassembling much of the skipper's cabin, wait a minute doing just a 
bout anything on a boat requires disassembling a lot of something or 
other.  Also have a tired battery on that little diesel but we're 
coping.  Looking forward to a pleasant Sunday at sea. --Jad
(Our position at 0900 34 03N X 125 13W  225 from Harvest  wind 7 S 
speed 5.5. We have about 58 gal of fuel aboard.-LAF)
Seabird