2013JUL23 - 1915PDT
Warrior slipped past Diamond Head Buoy at 1728HST yesterday to cap another successful pacific crossing. Their time being less than two minutes earlier than they predicted 100 miles out!
I received the usual drunken telephone call in the middle of the night and the only part of that message I understood was "all's well in the Ala Wai tonight".
Today I enjoyed a long conversation with DCB and I will post a more comprehensive report tomorrow!
Blogmiester (plainly not in the Ala Wai!)
Tuesday, 23 July 2013
Monday, 22 July 2013
Makapuu?
2013JUL22 - 1955PDT - 1755HST
I would have thought Warrior would have been updated on the Transpac ETA page for Makapuu (5 miles to go) by now but even their 25 miles report is not yet showing.
Right now Arrival Parties are raging all over in the Ala Wai Basin and the volunteers have many obligations I guess . . . !
Presently we are 25 minutes beyond their ETA at the finish line and it would not surprise me if they are motoring in from the finish line as I type!
I have it on good authority that Roby - Mai Tai correctness advisor to the stars - will be on hand as usual to greet our team. So I bet that the Mai Tais will taste great tonight.
I would have thought Warrior would have been updated on the Transpac ETA page for Makapuu (5 miles to go) by now but even their 25 miles report is not yet showing.
Right now Arrival Parties are raging all over in the Ala Wai Basin and the volunteers have many obligations I guess . . . !
Presently we are 25 minutes beyond their ETA at the finish line and it would not surprise me if they are motoring in from the finish line as I type!
I have it on good authority that Roby - Mai Tai correctness advisor to the stars - will be on hand as usual to greet our team. So I bet that the Mai Tais will taste great tonight.
TP ETA A-OK
2013JUl22 - 1815PDT - 1615HST
Apparently things have improved on the boat out on the Molokai and they are clinging stubbornly to a 1730ish HST finish which, according to me, kind of translates into about a 12 knots average from here on in.
Nonetheless impatience is rampant on the dock in Ala Wai and so I gave Helen the go ahead for the "Advance Party". We decided that was what they mean by that expression and so it makes sense they get that started now!
Apparently things have improved on the boat out on the Molokai and they are clinging stubbornly to a 1730ish HST finish which, according to me, kind of translates into about a 12 knots average from here on in.
Nonetheless impatience is rampant on the dock in Ala Wai and so I gave Helen the go ahead for the "Advance Party". We decided that was what they mean by that expression and so it makes sense they get that started now!
Then came this message
2103JUL22 - 1640PDT
It sounds like the Warriors are enjoying unusually benign conditions at they enter the infamous Molokai Channel.
I'm pretty sure they would like to come in hot but from everything I can glean from here it looks not to be this year.
This message received from the boat at 1230PDT:
Cheers
Practical probably means some time this week!
The danger in all this is that they will be well rested for the dock party coming up!
It sounds like the Warriors are enjoying unusually benign conditions at they enter the infamous Molokai Channel.
I'm pretty sure they would like to come in hot but from everything I can glean from here it looks not to be this year.
This message received from the boat at 1230PDT:
"Last note from sea.
After a taxing night of sail changes and 60 degree wind
shifts we can see the shores of Molokai now and everyone is resting and
enjoying the last 70 miles to go. The wind remains light, just 14 knots, so we
may have to manufacture our fun when we get to shore. We are hoping to be able
to clock the last 70 miles in 7 hours but everyone knows that may be a bit
optimistic since Hawaii remains durably downwind from our position.
New age reggae on the speakers and fine wind. A pretty
lovely Monday afternoon -- all in all.
Cheers
Will call from shore as soon as practical.
Doug"
Practical probably means some time this week!
The danger in all this is that they will be well rested for the dock party coming up!
Not the fast finish we are used to
2013JUL22 - 1630PDT
I guess I picked the wrong day to be working out of the Warrior World Headquarters Offices!
I gather there is some problem with the 100 mile/25 mile/Koko Head Transpac Reporting system. Or Evil has locked out the Sat Phone again!
At 0830PDT today I received this brief message:
More when I figure things out.
I guess I picked the wrong day to be working out of the Warrior World Headquarters Offices!
I gather there is some problem with the 100 mile/25 mile/Koko Head Transpac Reporting system. Or Evil has locked out the Sat Phone again!
At 0830PDT today I received this brief message:
"100 mile <Edit from finish> Position is at 21 28 N 156 02E
ETA Diamond Head 1730 HST"
More when I figure things out.
Sunday, 21 July 2013
Pass the Baton?
2013JUL21 - 1900PDT
I have not heard much back from the boat lately and, as is my custom, was about to start making stuff up!
But this just in
Recently they describe the sailing as:
It's normal for a sort of melancholy to fall over the crew near the end of a crossing. As the end of an epic adventure approaches reflection on the preparation, the gruelling racing and time away from loved ones all begin to take their toll. With aching joints and diaper rash it's even customary to speak out loud of making room the a younger generation of sailors (representin onboard) to pick up the baton. But the Transpac Organizing Committee is cunning and arranges several killer parties at each of the three prominent Yacht Clubs on Oahu - not even to mention the Awards Banquet. By the time the crew weathers those shoreside storms they don't even remember their own names but all the trash talking that occurred remains and is like a cheque that has to be honoured when, as they cross the finish line, that two year clock starts ticking again!
I am expecting a sunset finish tomorrow and that my next report will be from the Ala Wai.
I have not heard much back from the boat lately and, as is my custom, was about to start making stuff up!
But this just in
Recently they describe the sailing as:
"We are in
the "one day is pretty much like another fucking perfect day out here now.
Last night the sailing was great at we are very nearly at a full moon now. The
moon sets at about 6:00 am boat time and the sun rises an hour later. Last
night chuggy commented that he had the moon rising off the stern and the sun setting
off the bow. Pretty fucking nice.
We just finished our last happy hour consuming the last
measured dregs from the last plastic bag. I have completed the finishing
paperwork and we just need to keep sailing to get to our 100 mile report. We
are very much hoping that happy hour tomorrow will feature cold beer and
related amenities. This has been another great crossing and I think that we are
all feeling that this epic project that began a decade ago on baby dart with
Dave Smiff and Andrew is now drawing to a natural close. Time to let these
young Fucks take over the racing mantle.
Hope this finds you all well
Cheers from Warrior!"
It's normal for a sort of melancholy to fall over the crew near the end of a crossing. As the end of an epic adventure approaches reflection on the preparation, the gruelling racing and time away from loved ones all begin to take their toll. With aching joints and diaper rash it's even customary to speak out loud of making room the a younger generation of sailors (representin onboard) to pick up the baton. But the Transpac Organizing Committee is cunning and arranges several killer parties at each of the three prominent Yacht Clubs on Oahu - not even to mention the Awards Banquet. By the time the crew weathers those shoreside storms they don't even remember their own names but all the trash talking that occurred remains and is like a cheque that has to be honoured when, as they cross the finish line, that two year clock starts ticking again!
I am expecting a sunset finish tomorrow and that my next report will be from the Ala Wai.
Friday, 19 July 2013
Re-Loaded
2013JUL19 - 2000PDT - Special Report.
And this is a special report. The day and a half of suntanning came to an abrupt end onboard on Warrior this afternoon when some bright light decided to climb back in the coffin sized under deck quadrant area of the boat to discover - to their horror only the last inch of Rudder Bearing supporting the rudder - normally there is five inches in for that job.
So what did they do? Well this discovery did come just before happy hour so. . . - OK I'm Kidding!
They climbed right under there and hammered it back into the tube with DCB's size twelves - and life onboard is instantly transformed and fast and fun again.
Here is what that message from the boat looked like:
"Grinder,
And this is a special report. The day and a half of suntanning came to an abrupt end onboard on Warrior this afternoon when some bright light decided to climb back in the coffin sized under deck quadrant area of the boat to discover - to their horror only the last inch of Rudder Bearing supporting the rudder - normally there is five inches in for that job.
So what did they do? Well this discovery did come just before happy hour so. . . - OK I'm Kidding!
They climbed right under there and hammered it back into the tube with DCB's size twelves - and life onboard is instantly transformed and fast and fun again.
Here is what that message from the boat looked like:
"Grinder,
Rudder prob fixed!
Well MacGivered anyway....the lower rudder bearing had moved up approx
4" (only 5" holding it in the
boat!) We dropped the sails for an hour, removed the quadrant, hammered it back
down, replaced quadrant, cut plastic shims to hold the quadrant down, and are
now back on our way doing 16-17knots in 21wind Fk ya!
Thank god we found this out before malikai (edit: I detect Chuggy's spelling here!) or fear rudder
may have been ripped out of boat and @ the bottom
Back in the game and red lining it for wild women and
maitai"s
Cheers "dude"
And good thing too because I was threatening to send Chuggy the plans for Teef's new office so he could be estimating and that way at least spending the time productively.
Stay tuned for an updated ETA!
Grinder (BlogMeister)
Kindling
2013JUL19 - 1200PDT
Well at least there is very little chance of the Japanese Tsunami debris field washing up along the west coast beaches of North America now. This years Transpac fleet has pretty much shredded it down to pieces no larger than kindling!
But not without suffering in the process. You can read of it elsewhere but the normal daily routine is altered onboard many boats to include;
Breakfast,
Change to bigger kite,
fibreglass damaged parts,
Light lunch,
Jibe
Grind, fair and re-install,
Dinner,
Change to smaller kite
Sail with hair on fire,
Tear up some flotsam while sailing hair on fire,
Throttle back,
Inspect damage at daylight,
Breakfast,
repeat. . .
Many boats report numerous collisions with unseen floating objects - only some of which damage can be repaired along the way.
Unfortunately the nature of the damage to Warrior is of a kind not repairable while at sea.
It sounds like the mood onboard is not to push too hard and so much of the enthusiastic racing anticipation is replaced with a cruise across the Pacific to paradise atmosphere.
I bet that everyone on the boat is beginning to look forward to arriving in Hawaii and seeing their loved ones.
With about 660 miles remaining that now looks like early Monday morning HST.
Well at least there is very little chance of the Japanese Tsunami debris field washing up along the west coast beaches of North America now. This years Transpac fleet has pretty much shredded it down to pieces no larger than kindling!
But not without suffering in the process. You can read of it elsewhere but the normal daily routine is altered onboard many boats to include;
Breakfast,
Change to bigger kite,
fibreglass damaged parts,
Light lunch,
Jibe
Grind, fair and re-install,
Dinner,
Change to smaller kite
Sail with hair on fire,
Tear up some flotsam while sailing hair on fire,
Throttle back,
Inspect damage at daylight,
Breakfast,
repeat. . .
Many boats report numerous collisions with unseen floating objects - only some of which damage can be repaired along the way.
Unfortunately the nature of the damage to Warrior is of a kind not repairable while at sea.
It sounds like the mood onboard is not to push too hard and so much of the enthusiastic racing anticipation is replaced with a cruise across the Pacific to paradise atmosphere.
I bet that everyone on the boat is beginning to look forward to arriving in Hawaii and seeing their loved ones.
With about 660 miles remaining that now looks like early Monday morning HST.
Thursday, 18 July 2013
Speed Wobbles
2013JUL18 - 1000 PDT
After dinner last night I received a message from the boat.
I am not sure if they stopped again to GoPro the underwater foils but they have some video that shows some damage to the Rudder.
It is not thought to be of a structural nature or concern however it does have an impact on boatspeed and causes the rudder to vibrate and ventilate at higher speeds.
It is reported that a massive pile of junk has accumulated over years and is floating around in the rough centre of the Pacific High. After the Tsunami in Japan a couple of years ago all manner of other floating hazards are out there on the race course with many sightings by racers. The winds and predictions this year have encouraged racers not to stray too far from the Rhumb Line (most years a course south and away from these hazards is advisable).
These things; the pile of accumulated junk in the High, the Tsunami debris field and a course that takes the sailors closer to it all appear to have conspired against our team.
They speculate that they hooked into something and it chaffed back the normally perfect airfoil shape of Warrior's Carbon Fibre rudder blade. The rudder is clean of fouling now so we may never know the nature of the culprit.
Because the boat and the crew all operate at a high pinnacle of excellence this is having an effect on their performance. Unfortunately there is nothing that they can do in the middle of the ocean to remedy the situation and so this is a condition that will endure until they arrive in Waikiki likely sometime later this weekend.
If they are off the pace on boatspeed; in order to stay in it, I have suggested to them that redouble their efforts at going exactly the right way!
After dinner last night I received a message from the boat.
I am not sure if they stopped again to GoPro the underwater foils but they have some video that shows some damage to the Rudder.
It is not thought to be of a structural nature or concern however it does have an impact on boatspeed and causes the rudder to vibrate and ventilate at higher speeds.
It is reported that a massive pile of junk has accumulated over years and is floating around in the rough centre of the Pacific High. After the Tsunami in Japan a couple of years ago all manner of other floating hazards are out there on the race course with many sightings by racers. The winds and predictions this year have encouraged racers not to stray too far from the Rhumb Line (most years a course south and away from these hazards is advisable).
These things; the pile of accumulated junk in the High, the Tsunami debris field and a course that takes the sailors closer to it all appear to have conspired against our team.
They speculate that they hooked into something and it chaffed back the normally perfect airfoil shape of Warrior's Carbon Fibre rudder blade. The rudder is clean of fouling now so we may never know the nature of the culprit.
Because the boat and the crew all operate at a high pinnacle of excellence this is having an effect on their performance. Unfortunately there is nothing that they can do in the middle of the ocean to remedy the situation and so this is a condition that will endure until they arrive in Waikiki likely sometime later this weekend.
If they are off the pace on boatspeed; in order to stay in it, I have suggested to them that redouble their efforts at going exactly the right way!
Wednesday, 17 July 2013
The Front Is Not Going To Fall Off!
2013JUL17 - 1600 PDT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgrX7uOZqHI
All's well!
After some challenging sailing in a nuclear squall, as dark as the inside of a cow, with their biggest spinnaker they brought up there were concerns on board the mighty Warrior this morning. These concerns were reported and subsequently appeared on the front page of Sailing Anarchy this morning http://sailinganarchy.com/2013/07/17/park-up/ causing some anxiety among my audience and myself.
It now turns out that perhaps those concerns were overstated after a long night at the redline.
After a couple of downgrades the extent of the damage to the boat is now reported as a mark on the bottom left by the trailer cradle.
I'd suggest that any boat might get to feeling a little lose sailing downwind, among the floating hazards from the Japanese Tsunami, at oh dark thirty, in the middle of the Pacific doing at 20 knots.
The biggest question the crew on board have this afternoon is whether they prefer sailing at 16 knots with a wet ass or 9 knots without diaper rash. So far a wet ass is the run away winner!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgrX7uOZqHI
All's well!
After some challenging sailing in a nuclear squall, as dark as the inside of a cow, with their biggest spinnaker they brought up there were concerns on board the mighty Warrior this morning. These concerns were reported and subsequently appeared on the front page of Sailing Anarchy this morning http://sailinganarchy.com/2013/07/17/park-up/ causing some anxiety among my audience and myself.
It now turns out that perhaps those concerns were overstated after a long night at the redline.
After a couple of downgrades the extent of the damage to the boat is now reported as a mark on the bottom left by the trailer cradle.
I'd suggest that any boat might get to feeling a little lose sailing downwind, among the floating hazards from the Japanese Tsunami, at oh dark thirty, in the middle of the Pacific doing at 20 knots.
The biggest question the crew on board have this afternoon is whether they prefer sailing at 16 knots with a wet ass or 9 knots without diaper rash. So far a wet ass is the run away winner!
2013JUL17 - 1130PDT
From all reports it has been a boringly fantastic race for the Can Am team onboard West Coast Warrior. No drama or terror from the high seas to report and which I rely on to sell advertising here on the Blog!
Sometime late yesterday they passed the half way mark which simple math suggests would put them into the Ala Wai Yacht basin in Waikiki sometime Sunday the 21st, for a respectable 10 plus days crossing time. But to make sure my audience doesn't miss their (hopefully dramatic) finish however I would like to caution you that the second half of this race will be faster and, assuming the weather remains so agreeable to fast sailing, it would not surprise me to see them shave a day of that estimate and arrive on Saturday the 20th - or a sizzling (for a 40 footer) 9 plus days crossing!
In the interest of full disclosure your correspondent notes that Warrior was about 20 miles off the pace set by other boats in her fleet yesterday. The first thought that springs to my mind was maybe the half way party was a raging success!
As regards comments that may be taken out of context to sesationalize the Blog here is one from Helen (Chuggy's Wife), already ensconced in Hawaii:
"Quite windy today so I hope you are getting it out there too."
I am sure she doesn't really hope that Chuggy is "getting it out there too"! And what does she mean by "too"?
Here is an entire report from DCB on the boat yesterday:
Good news was that the J125s were sitting first and
second in our class.
From all reports it has been a boringly fantastic race for the Can Am team onboard West Coast Warrior. No drama or terror from the high seas to report and which I rely on to sell advertising here on the Blog!
Sometime late yesterday they passed the half way mark which simple math suggests would put them into the Ala Wai Yacht basin in Waikiki sometime Sunday the 21st, for a respectable 10 plus days crossing time. But to make sure my audience doesn't miss their (hopefully dramatic) finish however I would like to caution you that the second half of this race will be faster and, assuming the weather remains so agreeable to fast sailing, it would not surprise me to see them shave a day of that estimate and arrive on Saturday the 20th - or a sizzling (for a 40 footer) 9 plus days crossing!
In the interest of full disclosure your correspondent notes that Warrior was about 20 miles off the pace set by other boats in her fleet yesterday. The first thought that springs to my mind was maybe the half way party was a raging success!
As regards comments that may be taken out of context to sesationalize the Blog here is one from Helen (Chuggy's Wife), already ensconced in Hawaii:
"Quite windy today so I hope you are getting it out there too."
I am sure she doesn't really hope that Chuggy is "getting it out there too"! And what does she mean by "too"?
Here is an entire report from DCB on the boat yesterday:
Lovely day at sea today. Folks are mostly upstairs this
afternoon enjoying the sun and visiting. We are coasting along at about 9 knots
with about 12 (edit: read between the lines - the after party is already begun?)
14 knots of wind. We had some good news and some bad news
on the recent Transpac reports. Bad news was the dismasting of Phaedo, the
Gunboat 66 which is truly a beautiful boat --- one which I had most hoped to
visit in Hawaii, or at least admire.
This is truly amazing when you think of who we are racing
against. Although the wrong J is in front right now Chuggy is pretty happy with
the situation overall.
Early morning we had a couple of squalls pass through.
This is early in the race for squalls but we appreciated the fresh water douse
just the same. We had a couple of gusts of 28 to 30 knots which is a handful
with the 4A up but we sailing attentively and were able to travel 10 miles in
30 minutes.
This afternoon we caught sight of a boat on the horizon
and closed with them much more quickly than we imagined we might. This turned
out to be Aquarius which is the first of the Monday Aloha class starters. We
were close enough to converse by VHF and had a nice but short visit. We passed
feeling sorry for them that it would be another 10 days before they enjoyed a
cold Mai Tai in Hawaii and them feeling sorry for us that we could not enjoy a
cold beer TODAY!
Cheers everyone, today is a great day to be at sea!
Doug
It sounds like the great ride continues,
Blogmiester out.
Sunday, 14 July 2013
2013JUL14-1630
I have a new message from the boat which is basically "things are boringly beautiful with winds between 10 and 20 from a nice angle producing decent speed on course".
The highlight line from it was "Fouled Weather Gear" is being stowed!
The crew reports that they think they have most of the leaks plugged (ed: until they get into fire hose conditions waiting further down the track).
Pictures from the boat are difficult and so today I will post a shot of the crew including coordinator/facilitator Cutler shore side just before leaving for the start line a few days ago.
I have a new message from the boat which is basically "things are boringly beautiful with winds between 10 and 20 from a nice angle producing decent speed on course".
The highlight line from it was "Fouled Weather Gear" is being stowed!
The crew reports that they think they have most of the leaks plugged (ed: until they get into fire hose conditions waiting further down the track).
Pictures from the boat are difficult and so today I will post a shot of the crew including coordinator/facilitator Cutler shore side just before leaving for the start line a few days ago.
If these slow news days continue I plan to upload a story I have been sitting on titled Police Incident!
I have never uploaded a video but I have some raw footage of spinnaker testing the new Ullman Spinnakers that recently came onboard Warrior.
Here goes:
Saturday, 13 July 2013
2013JUL13-1630-PDT
When I went to my bunky on Thursday night Warrior was standing in first place in their division. When I got a look at it on Friday afternoon they had dropped to 6th - quite a turn around of fortunes.
Since I know it was Doug and Chuggy's plan to go to sleep all night I immediately wanted to blame the kids. But I thought I had better review the film. And there it was.
10 short years ago your correspondent was in the race and I remember that we strayed too close in the lee of San Nicolas Island. To close was still 5 miles away but we wallowed in the dark for a few hours in a sloppy calm with light winds from several directions. The replay seems to confirm it and I speculate that this might have been there undoing again.
If it was an issue it has been forgotten by now. Here is a message received from the boat yesterday:
Crew of Warrior"
It is a little hard to tell with the tracker being delayed when what is happening.
After that short sojourn they seem to be charging back now.
And good news for weather over the next few days the high is strengthening and there looks to be very good pressure down the course.
When I went to my bunky on Thursday night Warrior was standing in first place in their division. When I got a look at it on Friday afternoon they had dropped to 6th - quite a turn around of fortunes.
Since I know it was Doug and Chuggy's plan to go to sleep all night I immediately wanted to blame the kids. But I thought I had better review the film. And there it was.
10 short years ago your correspondent was in the race and I remember that we strayed too close in the lee of San Nicolas Island. To close was still 5 miles away but we wallowed in the dark for a few hours in a sloppy calm with light winds from several directions. The replay seems to confirm it and I speculate that this might have been there undoing again.
If it was an issue it has been forgotten by now. Here is a message received from the boat yesterday:
"All is well on Warrior. We had a slow night last night,
again, but we are sailing now under the full main and number one. Yesterday we
had to gybe to get around Catalina which will mean more to bill than anyone
else but it tells you that we ad unusual wind conditions at the start of the
race. Wind today is between 8 and 12 knots and we are sailing at 8 knows. There
was a shout from above about 20 minutes ago to have a look at a whale that
passed by about 100 metres away.
The 'dudes' are sailing well and it is great to have them
along. They are really quite good sailors and I appreciate Zac in particular
who has taken an interest in navigating which is a thankless part of this trip.
It is good to have someone to talk to about those things.
With luck we will get a happy hour today.
Best to everyone.
Crew of Warrior"
It is a little hard to tell with the tracker being delayed when what is happening.
After that short sojourn they seem to be charging back now.
And good news for weather over the next few days the high is strengthening and there looks to be very good pressure down the course.
2013JUL13-1600PDT
There has been little to report so far.
Start day Thursday was a bit slow and unCalifornialike. The boats in Warrior's start hit the line on the wrong tack because the wind was coming from the wrong way. Old Sailors don't like change!
Still, as Warrior nosed out among the carbon fibre and money and sailing celebrity, on the Transpac Website, it looked to be Chuggy's 7th best start.
And then it got weird.
Around 1700PDT Thursday I received a cryptic message from Chuggy about being at the West End (the last mark of the course) and packing the spinnaker.
Here is the picture attached. I am trying to figure out what it means. Obviously it doesn't mean they are getting the spinnaker ready to use. They are only at the west end. Anyone who can figure it out gets to pick a prize off of Chuggy's Desk.
There has been little to report so far.
Start day Thursday was a bit slow and unCalifornialike. The boats in Warrior's start hit the line on the wrong tack because the wind was coming from the wrong way. Old Sailors don't like change!
Still, as Warrior nosed out among the carbon fibre and money and sailing celebrity, on the Transpac Website, it looked to be Chuggy's 7th best start.
And then it got weird.
Around 1700PDT Thursday I received a cryptic message from Chuggy about being at the West End (the last mark of the course) and packing the spinnaker.
Here is the picture attached. I am trying to figure out what it means. Obviously it doesn't mean they are getting the spinnaker ready to use. They are only at the west end. Anyone who can figure it out gets to pick a prize off of Chuggy's Desk.
Thursday, 11 July 2013
Monday, 8 July 2013
The weather looks to be setting up with almost ideal conditions for the race and our current route projections indicate a fast course directly down the rhumb line.
All is well.
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