Day 8

Saturday night is here! Only 215 miles to go, so we'll be in tomorrow for party time! Lighter winds gave everyone a chance to rest up finally after so many days of hard driving. A bit dull and very very hot in the afternoon, even after most of us finally had a chance to take a bath at the back of the boat. Scott solved the boredom problem with a smuggled speaker aboard and we rocked the afternoon away on the R2 dance floor under the shade of the big A2 spinnaker.

The evening brings a bit more wind and we are back to some small surfs and a favorable shift towards the finish line. Last night was such a gorgeous sunset, seen I think only by our little boat. Makes you wonder if really the purpose of our world is just a cosmic canvas, under constant variation for every hour and for every latitude, just for the joy of the Artist. Or maybe its just another reason we do Transpac.

Aloha!

Data.

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Day 7?

Ok.. first a mea culpa. The good thing about unplugging from everything means you very quickly forget what day of the week it is. So refreshing not knowing or caring really. Unfortunately, this added to to the general fatigue of breakneck racing and occasionally getting an interrupted 2 hour sleep inside of a tomblike enclosure, shared with your crewmate racked 4 inches above or below you, while the primary winch is 12" from your head above and the ocean rushes by just on the other side of your shoulder.... makes one (this one) incapable of converting dates to days.

We should arrive not on Sat evening.. but SUNDAY. 7/21. Hopefully, actually, more like in the afternoon if we can keep in the pressure.

Now.. the tough part. How to tell the rest of the crew...

(sheepishly)
Data.

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Day 6 Bonus Update: Second Gauntlet thrown!

Looks like the other J125s have a commanding lead on us... but we're not ones to focus on the negatives. Instead it's currently looking like we'll be finishing on Sat evening. So, new goal... arrive at the dock to have the best arrival party! Hope the crews of the other Js make it!

Meanwhile... more fun surfing tonight! Woot!

Data.

Day 6 update

Woo! It's been a couple of days now since the last update. All is well here, some relearning of rusty skills and some learning of new ones the hard way, and we are rocketing towards the finish in what should be our fastest crossing yet. For the past two days and much of the nights we've been at max speed. "Drive it like you stole it" is the motto. The boat going down surfs at 20+ kts... not sure how fast because the speedo comes out of the water as she planes clear to the keel. (I hold the maximum recorded speed at 26.87kts as crashed bow into the wave in front sending water clear back to soak my trimmer...oops. Sorry, not sorry.)

Of course every act has some karma associated with it. I've been grinding when Scotty drives. He takes pride in having kept me dry during my shift. Alas, on two occasions, my relief was a minute or two late and in that small moment, I've managed to get a wave shipped perfectly as to go up my jacket fill my shirt and squirt out my neck. With nothing dry or dry-able down below, I shivered in my berth, warmed by the knowledge that Scott's record is intact.

Oh, did I mention that I'm the driest of the crew? Anyway, all is well... fun is being had. Memories being made. Wish you all could be here too.

Data

Day 5

This is what we came for people!

Last night in the Pacific was spectacular. The wind was blowing us towards Hawaii with enough pressure to allow Reinrag2 to surf from 12 to about 20 kts on the smallish 2 to 4 foot seas. The air was in the low 70s, chilly with wind on wet clothes, but pleasant to my New England accustomed senses. Oh, and the moon was full and shining down on all, the white foam of breaking waves, the sparkle of the spray from the bow, and the ghostly white of the spinnaker curl in trim.

As I relieved Tom and took my turn at the helm, he admitted understatedly, "Ok, maybe I had fun for a few moments there." Pointing out that there is something here in these moments of driving a small boat across this wide ocean that make it worth the price of admission. The expense, the months of preparation, even for a boat and crew that's done it before, and the time away from family and career. Why do we do it? And why do we come back and do it again? We do it for last night, that feeling.

Behind the wheel, I started to think how I can describe it. I chuckle to myself as I think in my SoCal raised way, "it's just awesome dude!" And in a way it is.. a feeling of awe. No, not so much in the natural world around us; it is just too alien. The ocean raging from the trade winds, the tiny sails of the jelly fish, the moon and Jupiter beside it are indifferent to our passing (although the porpoise do check in on us from time to time). No, I feel the awe about the humanity invading this night so far from land. This boat, these five primates on it, riding, crashing, bursting towards Hawaii.

I stand behind the wheel, my feet firmly planted on the deck, through which I feel the boat almost as though it were an extension of my body. The pitch and roll of the boat tells me what the waves are doing, though I see only a crest reflecting the moonlight. The boat pitches down and begins to roll to leeward as the stern is lifted by the oncoming wave. Like a dinghy I shift my weight unconsciously to windward and will the boat to catch (in fact I move the wheel to leeward and the boat rolls windward). She catches the wave and accelerates. Tom is watching the sail and grinds in to keep her pulling as the apparent wind shifts forward. The boat is now doing half again as much speed as before and I hunt by feel and moonlight for a second wave to catch, or a clean exit from the one I'm on. Eventually the boat slows and Tom eases the sheet.

There are instruments to help... a compass, apparent wind angle, boat speed etc.. but these are secondary checks. Surfing is done by feel. You feel the wave, and you move the boat... and it's a wonder. Standing at the wheel, riding over the ocean is just awesome.

Yeah Tom. You did have fun for a moment. And the better thing is.. we just reached the trades. Many more moments and days to come.

Aloha!
Data

Day 3...

Day 2 was a bit of a challenge and the weather was not in our favor, but last night the moon came out next to Jupiter and the big kite was pulling. Today we are into the slot cars part of the race.. and R2 is picking up speed and drying out. All smiles on deck as we surf the blue waves in azure skies. -Data

First day!

Tough first day, as usual, so all good. Living in the 45 degree slant makes things difficult to do, so this is a short update. Lots of wind and very wet water. We took last night to try to tame a wild mule that snuck aboard somehow, not sure if thats a winning strategy yet. Might seem lonely down here, but we have seen plenty of porpoise.

More when it gets a bit flatter.

Dr. Data.

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