You may have heard.. there is a lot of trash and debris out in the ocean.
Mostly we've been seeing small rubber balls (or floats) used by fishing
vessels to hold nets up. Today we saw about 1 per hour. (A running count
by Kevin is up to 25.. and he hasn't seen them all.) But just a bit ago..
we saw a big ball.. over 2' in diameter. And just now.. a huge one 5' at
least. That's some big balls.
Oh.. in case you were wondering... not the biggest around though. Those
are all on board, baby! Surfing with the big kite up and hoping for 20
kts.
Monday, July 14, 2014
Gears, nets, and the rail
Ok... so yesterday's 0800 position report left us a bit down.. hard to give
up that many miles so fast to your competitors and not go... WTF..
Obviously, they had a gear we didn't have or at least couldn't find. So..
we mashed gears a bit more yesterday afternoon before we found one we think
works.. at least it feels good.
Just as we found that gear.. after passing 26 rubber plastic fishing
balls.. we caught something on the keel causing an interesting flutter
through the boat. Had to take down our new found gear and sail backwards
for a while. 3' x 8' piece of net. Man this Pacific Ocean has a lot of
trash in it.
Overcast most of the day.. sundown brought some wind and we found the
rail.. put R2 up on it and blasted away. Found that extra gear.. where she
jumps to 20 kts boat speed in 23 kts of wind... and only 1 meter seas.
Funny thing.. its then that you know you are at a winning pace, and its
then you don't care one bit about the "race".. just the exhilaration of
riding a thoroughbred through her paces.
Data.
up that many miles so fast to your competitors and not go... WTF..
Obviously, they had a gear we didn't have or at least couldn't find. So..
we mashed gears a bit more yesterday afternoon before we found one we think
works.. at least it feels good.
Just as we found that gear.. after passing 26 rubber plastic fishing
balls.. we caught something on the keel causing an interesting flutter
through the boat. Had to take down our new found gear and sail backwards
for a while. 3' x 8' piece of net. Man this Pacific Ocean has a lot of
trash in it.
Overcast most of the day.. sundown brought some wind and we found the
rail.. put R2 up on it and blasted away. Found that extra gear.. where she
jumps to 20 kts boat speed in 23 kts of wind... and only 1 meter seas.
Funny thing.. its then that you know you are at a winning pace, and its
then you don't care one bit about the "race".. just the exhilaration of
riding a thoroughbred through her paces.
Data.
Sunday, July 13, 2014
The moon!
Great night last night. Getting a little warmer so its not completely
freezing up on the rail. We went through a bit of the laundry as we
finally found the right kite for the conditions.. and just one fat lip for
our troubles (mine.. its not a big deal, but someone owes me a Mai Tai.)
The moon which was hidden these past days made herself fully known last
night.. it was like daytime on the ocean, with the moon shining through our
vermilion chute making the crew think about tasting blood.. (oh, maybe that
was just me).
Stars tried to shine too, but Luna was too powerful.. could only make out
the big dipper and part of Cassiopeia. Of course, Orion which graced the
skies in March was nowhere to be found. Maybe tonight before the moon makes
her big entrance, I'll glimpse other celestial figures.
Oh.. the other big news.... and it is big.. 1/2 the crew has had movement.
Yeah.. I'm talking about the scatological.. you know.. the old number
2... we pooped, okay? (Its a topic that doesn't seem to get old on the 3rd
day at sea.)
Data.
freezing up on the rail. We went through a bit of the laundry as we
finally found the right kite for the conditions.. and just one fat lip for
our troubles (mine.. its not a big deal, but someone owes me a Mai Tai.)
The moon which was hidden these past days made herself fully known last
night.. it was like daytime on the ocean, with the moon shining through our
vermilion chute making the crew think about tasting blood.. (oh, maybe that
was just me).
Stars tried to shine too, but Luna was too powerful.. could only make out
the big dipper and part of Cassiopeia. Of course, Orion which graced the
skies in March was nowhere to be found. Maybe tonight before the moon makes
her big entrance, I'll glimpse other celestial figures.
Oh.. the other big news.... and it is big.. 1/2 the crew has had movement.
Yeah.. I'm talking about the scatological.. you know.. the old number
2... we pooped, okay? (Its a topic that doesn't seem to get old on the 3rd
day at sea.)
Data.
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Finally a kite!
At last, the western wind that has been our impediment to a normal Pacific
Cup of downwind spinnaker flying has clocked to the North. So, a day of
Code 0 and now at last a spinnaker. Yes!
The Pacific is our playground now.
Data.
Cup of downwind spinnaker flying has clocked to the North. So, a day of
Code 0 and now at last a spinnaker. Yes!
The Pacific is our playground now.
Data.
Friday, July 11, 2014
Whale sighting!
Just a quick update.. there is life out here besides the rafts of jelly
fish.. got a glimpse of the charismatic megafauna. A smallish whale
crossed our bow this afternoon... about 100 feet away. Light colored,
with a small dorsal fin... about 30 feet long. Left Melville at home, so I
'll just have to wonder what it was.
fish.. got a glimpse of the charismatic megafauna. A smallish whale
crossed our bow this afternoon... about 100 feet away. Light colored,
with a small dorsal fin... about 30 feet long. Left Melville at home, so I
'll just have to wonder what it was.
Chilly and damp night
Nice night last night.. if you like beating towards Hawaii in the mist.
No, really, I mean it. Big headsail up, seas were reasonable.. wind about
10 kts... a big bright moon that we never saw but it made the sea look like
it does in old WWII movies. Windy enough that we wanted weight on the rail
so we took turns getting cold and damp with the occasionally misty fogs
that would roll by.
Morning did not bring sun, but did bring billions (and billions) of tiny
blue man-o-war.. my brother calls them blue bottles. At first we thought
there were a lot.. perhaps 10 per square meter covering the ocean. Then we
got to patches where they were stuck up against eachother... thousands per
square meter... and carpets of them 10 meters wide by 100 meters long.
Like you could walk on a blue green grass on top of ocean. But.. don't try
that..
0800 roll call confirms we split from Swazik and Hamachi...
No, really, I mean it. Big headsail up, seas were reasonable.. wind about
10 kts... a big bright moon that we never saw but it made the sea look like
it does in old WWII movies. Windy enough that we wanted weight on the rail
so we took turns getting cold and damp with the occasionally misty fogs
that would roll by.
Morning did not bring sun, but did bring billions (and billions) of tiny
blue man-o-war.. my brother calls them blue bottles. At first we thought
there were a lot.. perhaps 10 per square meter covering the ocean. Then we
got to patches where they were stuck up against eachother... thousands per
square meter... and carpets of them 10 meters wide by 100 meters long.
Like you could walk on a blue green grass on top of ocean. But.. don't try
that..
0800 roll call confirms we split from Swazik and Hamachi...
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Start!
We have started... beautiful day in San Francisco Bay. Sun was shining and
about 20 knot western wind blowing in from the gate. Start line at St.
Francis Yacht Club did not disappoint as we could not quite pull off a port
tack start. Hamachi, our sister ship pulled off a nice lee bow tack on
us.. kudos to them, although after the gate we seem to have taken opposite
sides of the course.. it will be interesting to see how that develops.
Picked up a bit of kelp along the way.. was pretty easy to tell as the
boats around us seemed to put on jets while we wallowed... sailed
backwards for a bit to clear it. All part of the fun of ocean racing.
Just passed south of the southern Farallon Islands. Last bit of land for
2000 miles.
Aloha!
Data (AKA Darren)
about 20 knot western wind blowing in from the gate. Start line at St.
Francis Yacht Club did not disappoint as we could not quite pull off a port
tack start. Hamachi, our sister ship pulled off a nice lee bow tack on
us.. kudos to them, although after the gate we seem to have taken opposite
sides of the course.. it will be interesting to see how that develops.
Picked up a bit of kelp along the way.. was pretty easy to tell as the
boats around us seemed to put on jets while we wallowed... sailed
backwards for a bit to clear it. All part of the fun of ocean racing.
Just passed south of the southern Farallon Islands. Last bit of land for
2000 miles.
Aloha!
Data (AKA Darren)
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