BLACK FEATHERS and FERAL have made Ko-Olina Marina on Oahu and been loaded via Travel Lift on their delivery trailer. POLAR BEAR and RAGTIME are presumably also being unrigged and loaded at Ala Wai Marine. It was not an easy Kauai Channel Crossing for any of these four, with 25 knot winds and 8 foot cresting seas forward of abeam. But all are safe.

Eight boats from the SHTP remain at Hanalei: HARRIER, KALI-O, CARROL E, DREAM CHASER, FEOLENA, NA NA, WILDFLOWER, and SPARKY. The rest are at sea, with DOGBARK leading the pack home through the Pacific High.

~WILDFLOWER

This is my last log report that I'll write on his behalf. He asked me to share his excitement! He feels great and is truly enlightened by this experience.

On the home front, we're anticipating his arrival. His parents flew in yesterday and his brother will be here tomorrow. This is a surprise for him, he has no idea that they are here to greet him!

Today we're shopping for fresh juices, fruit, vegetables, pepperoni pizza and of course spiced rum. I plan to also bake chocolate chip cookies since I didn't get them in his halfway gift and have regretted it every day.

Thank you so much to the race committee and fleet for helping to arrange all the details of his homecoming! It means the world to him.

Yesterday I received a very touching description of Ruben from his dear friend DG, who was the skipper of the first boat he crewed on.

"From the first time that I met Ruben, when he presented himself as crew to work and learn, I felt his desire. This greatness in Ruben can be sensed upon the first meeting. His forthright demeanor and candid response is a sign of internal strength. He just needed to prove it to himself. He has now come through the dark tunnel of despair and dismal sights. The air of the many best wishes has reached its goal. New life has been breathed into the soul of our hero. With spirits exalted by a daily drink from the cup of his love he flies back to greetings well earned."

Thank you for all the support and encouragement for Ruben, he's almost here!

• Ken's wind dance includes Freckles, his cocker spaniel who after doing the wind dance was almost hit by lightening and was followed by wind gusts and a half inch of rain.
• Tom and Susan did their wind dance with a couple glasses of wine and we're pretty sure that it worked, because they almost fell over in their enthusiasm.
• Che Che's dance includes... inhale, EXHALE... send that wind.
• George's wife is doing her wind dance which is adjusted to 15-20kts.
• Karen and Bill are doing their wind dance like Tom & Susan, and doing it every day until he arrives.

George and Gracie are still guarding over him. Last night he decided to release Kermit (the military ball reported previously) back into the great blue.

This has been quite the journey for him. In the last couple of days he's focused on patience and hope. Last night he said he had to let go and just accepted that there was no wind at the moment, and knew eventually he would get it. He understands that his situation could be much worst, and he's thankful that he's okay and is finishing the race. He said this experience is very humbling for him.

The encouragement sent to http://www.sparkysfo.com/comments from people all over the country has truly been an inspiration to him. I've read every comment, we've cried, and he's overwhelmed and thankful for the generosity, love, and strength sent his way.

The SSTP fleet is truly an amazing group of people. I've also shared the log reports, comments, and the support shared during tree time and the awards dinner. It means so much to him.

Please keep the positive thoughts coming his way as he completes this part of his journey and crosses that finish line!

Thank you from Ruben's shore contact, Robbie

Here I sit in the Honolulu airport, my mind and heart a turmoil of emotion. I run the past few days through my mind, over and over.

The last night of the race was not as hard as I thought it would be. The skies cleared and I had no squalls after midnight, just a few overhead clouds. Before midnight was another matter, we got rained on, hard, three times in an hour! I got a couple of naps the afternoon before the last night at sea and I slept off and on during the early morning hours so I wasn't tired. I wrote in my log "I am nervous, nervous about "Karma" and nervous about the landfall. We're so close, yet something still could break and end it all. I think I will not relax until I cross the finish line and am at anchor in the Bay".

That was how the last night passed. I charted my position frequently from midnight, onwards. It was a big deal when I pulled out the "Hawaiian Chain" chart and stopped plotting on the chart of the whole north Pacific. I talked to Joan on the sat phone briefly at about 7:30. The old reliable autohelm ST 2000 that I bought for the 2004 race finally gave up the ghost at 9:45 PM in a big roundup and and a shower of spray down my back. It carried me 2/3rds of the way to Hawaii. I put one of the replacement ST 1000's up in it's place and that steered most of the rest of the way.

At 4:00 AM Pacific Time I spotted a smudge of light on the horizon, right about when and whereI thought I would....the loom of lights from Lihue. I took a reading from the GPS and plotted my position on the chart. At 4:09 I caught the first glimpse of the flash of the Kiluea lighthouse. The different flash of the Nawiliwili light showed up a little bit later. It was dark, but it was going well. I saw two shooting stars that night.

6:15 AM....I could smell the island. I remembered the powerful scent of a tropical island after so long at sea from my crossing in 1996. This was more subtle. I plotted my position again from the GPS readout. I called up the Race Committee on the VHF when I was 18 miles out and talked to Sylvia, let her know my eta and told her to go back and take a nap on the couch. She wanted to know if I was reading her mind!

7:00 AM Pacific Time....The Nawiliwili lighthouse has slipped behind us, and I can see the lights of the Princeville resort condos. Finally, finally in my log I wrote the words "This is really going to happen. Really, actually going to come true"

7:30 talked to Sylvia on the VHF again, and asked her about the specific loation of the finish line. I'm wondering if that line of green lights I'm seeing is on the bluffs of Princeville, or on the other side of the Bay.

8:00 AM, the skies are lightening, dawn is on it's way. The green lights are on the bluffs, NOT on the other side of the Bay....don't get too close! I put on my harness and tidied up a bit, got out the anchor and rode and put it on the cabin sole. I shook out the reefs in the mainsail and changed course so I was reaching for the finish line, both mainsail and headsail pulling.

8:15 Pacific Time: I'm hand-steering with full main and high clew #3 and starting to stress out about being far enough off the shore so as to not pile up on the reefs. The sky is lightening, there are clouds behind me and a magical nearly-new sliver of a moon is rising. It is unspeakably beautiful. I whisper a prayer of thanks.

8:30 Approaching the shore...talking to Sylvia, hearing Synthia "going mobile" to get the dinghy out to meet me... the sky lightens further and the mountains of Kauai change from shapes and shadows to color; the green fastnesses that I remember.

And then.

"Congratulations, Alan. You have just finished the 2008 Singlehanded TransPacific Race."

I had thought for hours about what I would say when I heard those words......and this is what I said.

"Never, ever let go of your dreams. You never know when you might be able to make them come true."

*********************************************

The sun came up above the clouds behind me a few minutes after I crossed the line. Ankle Biter and I sailed into Hanalei Bay in the light of dawn. I will never forget it. I told myself that I could never forget these last couple of hours, I don't think that will ever happen. Skip Allen motored out to meet me in Wildflower, it was good to see him! I talked to Synthia on the VHF radio and dropped the headsail. The dinghy came out with Joan on board. Joan climbed on, so did Synthia and Rich...there was beer, a scented washcloth, laughter, friends, hugs and kisses....the whole ritual. Johnathan video'd it all from the dinghy. I was a little bit giddy as we sailed down the center of the Bay in the flat water and lightening wind.

We anchored by Hecla, and rode ashore with "Mitch-Boy" driving his family business inflatable dinghy. We went ashore by the pier. I was in Hanalei, again, only this time, I sailed there.

The next few days were busy. Ankle Biter was "sold" and the new owner, Pete Rutkowski from Oahu was coming on Friday. Thursday was spent unbolting this bit and that part is blistering heat and transferring solar panels and emergency rudders and flares to Hecla aboard my "rubber ducky dinghy". THANK YOU Jeff for the kind service of letting George and Greg pile all that stuff in your after cabin and schlepping it home for me! It was hot in Hanalei....Pete and his friend Dan arrived on Friday and I spent the morning with Pete, going over the boat systems and kayaking back and forth to shore. Pete came to Friday "Tree Time" and got to know the fleet. He's a great guy, Ankle Biter is going to a good home.

Memories: Being there as Chris on Carroll E. pulled in, and congratualating him on the radio.....sweating like a pig in the cabin of Ankle Biter as I removed "stuff".......paddling my cheap little dinghy back and forth over the sometimes tranquil, sometimes windy water of Hanalei Bay. The Tree Times... laughter, beer, chips, stories and good fellowship.... diinner with Joan......interviews with LaDonna and Johnathan about the race....talking to Dean Euser as he worried so painfully about Barbara....hugging Ruben Gabriels girlfriend, Robbie to help her through the rough hours as she waited for Ruben and Sparky to arrive...... the "high" at seeing Barbara Euser after she finally arrived....snorkeling with Joan at Tunnels beach....kissing the lighthouse at Kiluea Point......the three fingers of Johnnie Walker Black Label, my Christmas Present from Joan, at the Tahiti Nui.

The dinner....hugging Synthia, talking to Connie and Bob Johnson and their kids at dinner.... laughing with Tom on Feral and Don from Warriors Wish who also had runs-ins with that determined sea lion at the beginning of the race...clapping for each and every skipper as they collected trophies and belt buckles. Taking pictures of everybody.....and maybe biggest of all, twenty one Singlehanded TransPac skippers up on the awards dais for the massed picture chanting "SPARKY, SPARKY, SPARKY"...over and over. One of us was still out there. He'll cross that line, he's gonna make it. He IS one of us.

In the middle of all that, it was my turn. I didn't win any trophy, I would guess that in the overall standings I'm probably second or third from "last place". I actually haven't looked yet because it doesn't matter. There's a belt buckle in my pocket as I write this. I guess I choked up a little bit when I accepted it. It's been a long, long road.. When it was all over Joan and I went back to our little house and finished getting packed up. That done, I went to the race committee headquarters, "the dorm" and hung out with folks for a little while. I finally walked down to the Bay to say goodbye to Hanalei. On the road to the Beach Pavilion and the Tree is the house where I slept on the veranda in 1996. Rob MacFarlane and Terry McKelvey rented that house in 1996 and they let me crash there after I came in. Rob rented the place in 2004 and I hung out with them in the carport, watching Tatia grill burgers for Robs return trip. Nobody rented that house this year, so it was dark and silent as I walked around, remembering.. I walked through town for a while, sat down at the table where Mike Jefferson and I had a heart-to-heart talk in 1996 about Life and this race. Mike said it was just a race, that it wouldn't change you. Well, Mike, you were both right and wrong. It IS just a sail to the Islands. It IS "just a sailboat race".

But it has changed me.

I walked down to the beach and sat for a long time under the cloudless sky, filled with stars. Anchor lights bobbed on the still Bay, there was almost no wind. The little waves sounded loud on the sand. I just sat there for a long time alone, playing my whistle, or not, and looking around and remembering the years and the times I've been there, and saying goodbye to the Hanalei that I knew.

It's over. Hanalei is not, for me, what it was a week ago. The goal is achieved, the passage done, the crossing crossed. The beauty remains, but the drive, and the ache that goes with it is gone. I will go back someday and sit on the beach again and remember the three times I came here, once thinking I had achieved dreams, once with ruined dreams, and once with dreams that came true. Goodbye, Hanalei Bay. If I had to fixate on someplace to go, someplace to be, someplace to build dreams on, I could have done a lot worse than to pick the blue waters, green mountains and magical sky of Hanalei Bay.

I sit in the Honolulu airport, and remember all the years that Hanalei and this race have been a part of, I remember the past couple of days. Go, Sparky! Life moves on, and while I rejoice and hurt....while there's both joy in my success and a huge empty space in my heart where the Singlehanded TransPac has been for about fifteen years, life goes on. I have music to make, kilts to sew, a kitchen to remodel, church to get back to..............Life After TransPac.

So what do I have to say, now that it's all over?

*****

"Never, ever let go of your dreams. You never know when you might be able to make them come true."

******

Aloha,

Alan

Sometimes in life we are fortunate to be part of magic happening. SHTP '08 has been an incredible coming together of energy, creativity, friendship, and just plain hard work. Every competitor has faced and overcome challenges to arrive here. It is in overcoming these challenges, often with help from others in the fleet, that we have forged friendships that will last a lifetime.

It was a fitting conclusion to the evening as all gathered on stage for a final photo, and a spontaneous chant erupted: "SPARKY!" "SPARKY!" "SPARKY!"

The fleet will begin to leave Hanalei on Tuesday, with twice/day radio sked being maintained between boats by those who are sailing home.

Yesterday, he only went 7 miles in 12 hours, Ruben defined this as torture. The good news was a rain shower in the afternoon, which didn't provide any wind, but did give him the opportunity to pull out the soap and take a shower.

He's also still enjoying the company of George and Gracie, the two fish on his bow reported earlier. They are still with him after 3 days. His father has called them his guardian angels.

The good news Thursday was the lack of wind and small seas so he had the opportunity to accomplish Operation Sparky Phase 3 - but enough already!!! It's now day 3 with no wind!

PLEASE - everyone reading this, go outside, take off your shoes, flap your arms, twirl around, and do a wind dance for Ruben and Sparky, it would mean the world to us!

You can also send encouragement and support to Ruben and Sparky by going to http://sparkysfo.com/comments/.

As the glass ball came abeam, HAULBACK snagged it's "nest" of rope with the boathook and held on to the shrouds with one hand. For a moment he was spread eagled outside the lifelines, but his logging experience helped gain the upper hand and HAULBACK landed the glass ball without being torn limb from limb.

The glass ball is beautiful green, without a seam, handblown, and about 6" in diameter. It had likely been drifting for many months, if not years.

A rare find in this day of plastic,

CARROLL E, FEOLENA, and SUNQUEST all finished this afternoon. There are five boats left at sea: KALI-O, FERAL, BLACK FEATHERS, ISLANDER, and SPARKEY. The race officially ends noon on Saturday.

~skip

Tom heard explosions and thinks he saw gunfire exercises last night. He kept a careful watch for naval and other ships a lot last night. He said he knew he was getting closer to the islands and wanted to avoid their path. He hasn't seen land yet.

He said yesterday around 8 pm (California time) he had a rigging issue, as a pole fell down. He fixed it, but couldn't understand why that happened. Tom said he has a beard and looks like a Rabbi or a terrorist or an Indian Hindu. Won't be able to shave until he arrives on land.

When he called in 4am this morning, he was pretty tired and said he is usually pretty tired getting up for the 4am coordinates call (it is Hawaii time zone). He has used the Sat phone to communicate but doesn't understand why it has been spotty reception, as the phones advertise that they work quite well. He goes up on deck to use the phone, to maximize reception. He will look forward to comparing notes on arrival, to find out how he could have improved its reception.

He is really glad he caught a fish today because he really didn't want to look at any more dried food. The fish was beautiful, at 2 to 3 feet long, green with spots. The coloration disappears quickly once out of water. It wasn't very bony and was large enough for two or more persons. He said is definitely looking forward to dining at one of the restaurants on the island.

His wife and elder daughter will enjoy greeting him, along with the race committee, when they venture out to his boat at the finish line and escort him into the Bay... no matter what hour he arrives! And yes, he will also surprise his mother with a call, as soon as he arrives !!!

LD told me that the RC was wondering why I seem to be going faster at night than during the day, especially since I roll in the jib and slow down a bit to sleep well. I reminded her that they were probably not taking into account that I'd been checking in through her at 7 p.m. while the rest of the fleet checked in at 9 p.m. So my morning run is only 10 hours worth of miles while the evening run is 14 hours. Hope that makes sense!

See you in Hanalei!

He caught an evil looking fish today. It was five feet long and very narrow. Looked like a predator. Skin was too tough to prepare and eat.

Polar Bear and Eric have arrived in Kauai safe and sound. Looks to be that I won my class and did well in the overall standings as well. Nothing official yet as we still have several boats on the course. The finish was a hoot as I flew the kite all the way in from dawn through check in till the finish at 11 am local time. The island in classic King Kong fashion came out of the mist mid morning as the squall that was chewing on me in the am moved forward and engulfed the island. I had the closest reaching of the whole race in the last two hours as the trades bent around the edge of the island. Had the pole just off the headstay and had to hand steer to keep up on course to make the finish line. Had no problem with the reef as it was daylight and was easy to see. The crags and spires of the island are pretty awe inspiring as they come out of the clouds. The first words I spoke to myself for the whole run were then muttered " finally something to look at!" not that the ocean wasn't a thrill to study (stare) at but you got to hand it to the land of the the world for providing some scenic variety.

A few friends wondered if my arrival would mirror the evolution of man up onto land with me swimming in towards the tree and slowly slithering up onto the beach and into the bushes. Not q uite. I finished under spinnaker in the sun, even had a clean Hawaiian shirt my sister made on, met up with Sarah and the RC who had come out with Mitch the Zodiac driver to get the finish inspection done. We sailed up into the anchorage and dropped the hook in the front row just off the beach. Sarah and I closed the boat down and got it set to sit for a week at anchor, I snorkeled down in crystal clear water to check the anchor in 12 feet of water. While in the water I also checked on the rudder bearing that began to clunk on the last few days, nothing out of the ordinary. The bottom of the boat is clean as a whistle with now growth or fouling. I also checked for scrapes and gouges as there were a few things that went bump in the night one is not sure what they were. The water temp is 87. The air temp is also 87.

Many have asked what the hardest part of the trip was? Keeping your spirits up and mentally pushing through the "dark" times whether they were tiredness or fear was the thing I had to get over. The scope of the trip, being 1000 miles from shore was a new and very big wall to climb that caught me a bit off guard. One really is on there own out there, not unlike many things on shore that have consequences but a new feeling to deal with. There is more to this mental aspect that will take time to flush out. I will20see what I can come up with, but in terms of racing it is a big part of the skipper and boats overall performance.

We have spent the days snorkeling and taking in the sights while meeting every evening with the growing crowd at the tree. I have to say that friendliness and hospitality of the SSS group has been great. Everyone has been generous with advice and support. It makes one realize that Northern California really is just a little slice of Minnesota! Now if only we could explain where the Great Lakes are located! Now on shore we keep a vigil on the logs and reports hoping for a safe passage for those still out there. Sarah is still rooting for Sparky and we watch his and Black Feathers posts and updates on jury rigging with the thought of "the little boats that could" enthusiasm.

As the final boats near the finish many thoughts turn to getting boats ready to sail or ship back to the mainland. Everyone is giving advice, tools and spare parts back and forth around the fleet. Bits and pieces of Polar Bear may sail back on other boats as I have spare parts that are common among the fleet and will help others. You have to give a big hand to the RC for putting up with a group like this, its kind of like herding cats.

Early next week we will sail Polar Bear=2 0over to Honolulu to be hauled out and loaded onto its trailer. It will then travel in the hold of a Ro Ro car-carrying ship to San Diego, that trip takes only 5 days! My father and a friend will then fly out and drive the boat back to Minnesota on August 22nd.

A big thanks to everyone who helped out in this venture. It has been a busy 10 months since I decided to go. There as been support and help from all sorts of people in every sector of my life. I will seek you all out and give you a hardy thanks in various ways as the summer wears on. I may just have to get a billboard on Interstate 35 near the Bong Bridge and 21st Ave East.

Aloha and Mahalo
Eric

I can't say enough about RC: Syn, Sylvia, Rich, and JR from Lat.-38 welcome all the boats and climb aboard from Mitch's inflatable at the entrance to the Bay. How they manage to greet the boats, handle the radio communications, makes trips up to the Princeville finish line, update the website, make wonderful meals for the fleet at RC headquarters, answer a million questions, and still get some sleep is a marvel to behold. Heck, they were out there last night in the pitch dark to greet NA NA's arrival. HUGE kudos to RC!

The fleet has been incredibly supportive of each other, and the gatherings under the Tree are much fun, with new friends and old sharing stories. Rich backs up the CopperTop rent-a-car which he has wired with radio equipment, and we all get to hear Roll Call while sipping drinks under the Hanalai Tree.

This group of friends is the best, and we are all richer for being able to share this incredible experience.

Aloha!

skip/WILDFLOWER 7/30/08

The sun has been out for a couple of days which is brightening his spirits! Well, actually... that's not all that's brightening his spirits!

Today was the launch of phase two of his new jury rig. He topped his current rig by opening up the mangled, squished portion of the piece of mast he was using for phase one, and inserting the twisted, crooked, piece of what's left of a spinnaker pole. He then ran a jib halyard up the pole.

The successful, phase two, is now 8 to 9 feet tall running twin headsails. While talking to him on the phone tonight, he hit the downside of a swell at 6.6 knots! His speed is ranging from 3.5 to 5.5 knots.

Tonight he's ingeniously formulating the next phase of his creation which will get him closer to Hanalei Bay! While devising his plan he's thinking about Synthia's comment to him when the mast came down, "you're a single handed sailor, so you'll figure it out!" - thanks Synthia!

Today he enjoyed the company of two 3 foot long shark looking fish who stayed on his bow. He named them George and Gracie. These friends will join the military ball named "Kermit" which he found on the first week of his trip.

He's so excited about his journey now. Tomorrow he might follow the advice of our friends Karen and Bill and actually throw the hook out!

Today, he also warded off a potentially serious problem. Tom noticed the control lines on the monitor were chafed through. He replaced them while underway; problem resolved. His side band radio receiver still not working either due to water damage or accidentally touching the wind vane or other item to it during this trek and shorting it out, but the vhf and vhf handheld and sat phone still work. All energy is via solar power. He is in good spirits.

With the hope of increasing his speed, tomorrow he plans to replace the current jury rig with the larger portion of his mast which is approximately 12 feet high. He's feeling better and his spirits are high.

This afternoon he was able to regain communication with his friend, Chris Humann which was encouraging and, as always, Chris was unselfishly supportive. Chris and Ruben have worked out a communication schedule via the SAT phone until the SSB antenna is stabilized. He also hopes to speak to Ken Roper (The General) this evening, who also lost his rig in 2004 and finished the race. He's commented many times on the inspiration that Ken brings, and is looking forward to the conversation, encouragement, and the amazing amount of experience that Ken can advise him with. He also has heard the love and support from the fleet, friends and family which has meant so much to him and is providing him strength and energy to keep going.

He has plenty of food and water, the only concern is the fuel for his generator. His solar panel is charging the battery, but he's using the generator for the SAT phone. So he plans to try and conserve the fuel and will limit communication to just reporting coordinates and hopefully short log reports.

Thank you for everyone's support, as his father said during his qualifier - "Ruben is tough as nails and when he makes up his mind about doing something, he will do it".

He heard a loud noise on the boat earlier, like young boys throwing balls against a wall. He then noticed the side of his boat was filled with black ink. He ate the culprits and swabbed the deck. I asked how he cooked the fish he ate yesterday... a frying pan, a little olive oil and lemon. He has seen some birds but none have tried to come on deck. A fish had flown into his dodger the other day; he had heard the noise but didn't realize what had occurred. Found it today; and so explains the lingering fish smell in the cockpit. As of this evening, he is 434 miles to finish.

Two solid days of good sun have both replenished my spirits and pumped up the batteries. I even indulged in the ridiculous and extravaganza of charging the laptop so that I could write this blog entry.

Today there has not been ONE squall to dodge. (I'm gonna get hammered, now that I've written that). It's been sunny all day with lines of clouds coming by overhead. It's Beautiful! The wind is about sixteen knots *exactly* from astern, which is a nuisance. With the seas running I can't sail straight for Kauai, the seas cause us to crash gybe every three minutes so I'm heading a bit south on one course (where I am right now), then gybing over and heading a bit west on the other course. I'm going to emphasize the "south" because I'd like to be reaching in to the finish, and that means aiming for the east end of Kauai.....well...the lighthouse at Kiluea, but youo get my point. Aiming for a light house from 230 miles out is kind of silly. CRASH...even on this heading we crash gybe a couple of times an hour. Crash gybes break things, and considering Sparky and the Generals problems....and Bob on Ragtime!'s autopilots, I am chary of "breakage".

It's been a laid-back day despite the gybes. I've driven the boat for about 5-6 hours, like yesterday. This gives me something to do, I'm sometimes a tiny bit faster than the autopilot and it saves more electrons for the autopilot, later. This morning it occurred to me that I'm only 48 hours away from finishing. Somehow, putting the number into "hours" made it more real. It's now 5:00 (Pacific time/ 17:00) so that 48 hours is now 40 hours. I was 484 miles from Kauai at this mornings check-in, I'm making almost exactly 140 miles a day, there are only two days to go, so it's pretty logical that I will finish....God willing and I don't break anything.... around 9:00 AM Pacific time (just after dawn out here) morning after next.

The end is in sight. You know, I've played my whistles a bit on this trip, but I haven't read a single line in the two books I brought. In 1996 I read everything on the boat, twice. I am down to my last Chefs 5-Minute heater meals...MRE. It's cans for dinner tomorrow! I will divulge a little secret. I shaved yesterday, but I'm going to have new facial .....ahh....adornment in Hanalei. This means I shaved twice on this trip and I *might* do it again so as to be presentable when I arrive. I even took video of myself brushing my teeth for Johnathans movie. Nothing like the mundane to keep you grounded.

About the whistles, Jeannie, tell Bob I've been working on: The Hag with the Money, Drowsy Maggie, The Boys of Bluehull, Off to California, The Redhaired Boy, The Rights of Man, Swallowtail Jig, Morrison's Jig, The Maid Behind the Bar, and The Ashokan Farewell....I know he marked a lot more tunes but these are the ones I've "taken" to.

On the subject of breaking things, I'm really upset and worried about Ruben on Sparky, since he was dismasted. My heart goes out to his girlfriend Robbie as well. I'm sure she's a wreck. At least she's with other sailors who understand what Ruben is going through, and with other wives and girlfriends in Hanalei. It's one thing to break your mast 200 miles from port, it's entirely something else to break the rig 650 miles from your destination. At his current rate of speed, as reported on this mornings SSB chat, it will take him 20-25 more days to get to Hanalei. I know Ruben saved a lot of "parts" from the rig so he's surely got something cobbled together by now, but whether Hanalei is still his destination is a big decision he'll have to make. Much will depend on what charts he has on board.

Hang tough, Ruben. My thoughts and prayers and the thoughts of dozens of other sailors, and sailors friends and SO's are with you. Everybody is pulling for you...fix the rig, get some sail up and sail to safety. Next time I see you I want to see Robbie's arms around you in a big hug, and the beer I bought you in your hand..eh?

Alan

July 28 0700:
Tom sounded great today. His phone reception was better than it had been in a long time, with no interference at all. When asked if the trip was what he had expected, he said it was more than he had expected, with rain squalls over 30 feet...but too many squalls to deal with. The roller coaster quickly returned since the prior blog entries and it's been quite a ride! He is deliberately trying to keep the boat out of overdrive to avoid serious problems, not become stranded, etc. He was sorry to hear about Sparky's mishaps and will be glad to hear that Ruben is managing okay at this point. He was not yet aware of Wildflower's recent travails but sensed the Kali must be going through the squalls that the Feral is encountering.

Tom finally caught a fish last night! It was too beautiful to eat, but those dried meals leave a lot to be desired...and so he dined. He also said a flying fish landed in the boat. This fish was six inches long, with a wingspan of eight inches; the fish was translucent and beautiful. It was so gorgeous that Tom threw it back into the ocean. The cockpit still smells of the fish.

Tom said that just before this race began, while he was in San Francisco, his engine had conked out. So he has no engine and has had to rely on only solar power for all the permitted uses of energy on board.

Addendum:
Tom's wife and older daughter arrived in Kauai this afternoon. The latter will join Tom in sailing the boat back from Kauai to Honolulu after the race, and help prepare the boat to be shipped to Southern Calif.

Gayle is pleased to report that Jen Socrates arrived by plane from London's Heathrow airport last night. It was truly an honor to return to the airport last night to get her and have her join Tom's family for dinner that eve, as she is a very special, incredibly passionate and gifted sailor, who recently completed 15 months of circumnavigating the globe single-handed! She also raced in the solo transpac to Kauai two years ago. I'm sure everyone involved in the race here in Kauai is delighted to she is joining them again!

The primary pilot steered through the night with nary a hitch but I napped fitfully, sitting braced against the companionway ladder and ready to grab the tiller in an instant. The autopilot would indeed give me one more scare but it was saving it for after I finished.

Finally at 0940, a half-hour into my 15th day of the race: "This is the Race Committee. Congratulations, Ragtime!, you have finished the 2008 Singlehanded Transpac." There are few moments over my 50+ years that compare with hearing these words and like in 2006, they brought a wave of emotion and relief.

This race has been a different challenge. Last time the challenge was getting to the starting line. I had to learn many things about the boat and its systems - electrical, communications, navigation, sail handling, etc. The 2006 race itself had gone very smoothly and I had no breakdowns. This race speaks for itself with the spinnaker problems and frequent autopilot repairs. My desire to be more competitive also added an urgency and stress, which made the equipment problems all the more frustrating. But at last it was over - almost.

Avoiding the reef that claimed a Hobie 33 in a prior race, I turned the corner into Hanalei Bay. I had no choice but to leave the pilot engaged at this point, since I would need to furl the jib and prepare the boat for arrival. Exiting the bay was a large cruising boat. He was sailing on starboard tack and had the right-of-way, so I pushed a button to bear off slightly and go below him. Just as we passed, the autopilot dropped out one last time and my boat rounded up sharply. I was heading straight for the side of the cruiser. I hit the "Auto" and "+10" buttons on the pilot and the pilot re-engaged, and I just cleared the cruiser's stern. The skipper's eyes were wide, as were mine! We traded waves.

Godspeed, Sparky.

After spending time bobbing around, he's managed to use the bottom portion of the mast and the lower shrouds, forestay, and a halyard on the stern to jury rig a new mast. Using his jib, he's able to steer a steady course going between 1.8 and 3.5 knots.

He said the mess on his boat is unbelievable and is doing his best to clean it up. He's tired, but now with the new rig he's feeling better.

Very sad to hear about Sparky's dismasting this morning. Rueben is a very cool dude and I hope he can get a jury rig set up and continue on - so relieved he wasn't hurt. Good news that Wen Lin made it back to the dock and is apparently in good health.

You all haven't heard from me for a while because we've beren pretty electronically challenged. There hasn't been that much sun until today, and I discovered yesterday that my generator doesn't work. It ran for about 40 minutes, probably pumped 25-30 amps into the #2 battery, and died. I've tried everything; it's getting a spaark, it's getting fuel, it's getting air, and the cylinder turns over but it won't start.

That setback started....to be honest....a long 24+ hours of depression. I'd been midldly "down" before that because I didn't want to use the stinky old loud generator at all...which turned out to not be so bad after all, for the 40 minutes it was running.. In 1996 I was younger, maybe more cheerful, I don't know what. But I don't remember going through such emotional roller coasters out here. This morning in the gray skies I was having to tell myself that I WAS going to frinish, and that if I had to hand steer for 48 hours to do it, I would just sleep when I could and DO IT.

Which of course, I would since I have no other option, but still...my mood was down. With the sunshine, full batteries, and the more-or-less certainty of an autopilot for the next two days, My mood has lifted. I'm charging the satellite phone right now so I can send this blog report.

I'm really sorry about Wenlemir, I'm glad hes' OK, but I am very worried about Barbara Euser on Islander. Very worried.

I guess I worry a lot.

I'm annoyed that for some reason I can't call Joan on Kauai with the Iridium phone. It won't connect to her cell phone number. I have no idea why..

My closest competitior, Dream Chaser has put some miles on me. He's figured out how to go fast, which is to do next to nothing...get out of the boats way....wing out a genoa and let the Monitor Windvane do the driving. While he was fussing with this and that we were dead -even. Now he got 30+ miles on me. Ah, well.

The radio check-ins are the highlight of the day. The rest of the time is spent fixing this, adjusting that, putting in a reef, shaking out a reef, changing headsails, gybing. etc. etc. etc. over and over again.

Hey, there's some more wind...a line of clouds approaches. Best tend to the sails. This may be my last blog entry of the race, we'll see how it goes. Oh and for those of you who are sending mail, and I'm not answering....I'm sorry, but your mail IS read and appreciated! I'll answer in Hanalei!

Alan

The breeze (no anemometer aboard, but guessing 35-40 knots) had evidently overwhelmed the wind vane and the boat had rounded up, causing the misadventure. As I stood tugging on the tiller to get her back down off the wind, a medium sized flying fish, not wanting to be left out of the party, bounced off my chest and disappeared into the maze of line on the cockpit floor.

Several minutes later we had things semi under control: we sheeted the port side twin to the boom end and secured the outer half of the broken pole. But what about the other half of the pole dangling like a giant wind chime from the radar dome? Appying the Jim Tallet principle, I climbed the mast 12 feet to the radome, and untangled the pole.

Just don't tell my doc I didn't have time to put on the knee brace.

Back in the cockpit, the MIA flying fish was still flapping and shedding oily scales. With a headlamp, I was able to return him overboard.

164 miles to go at 10 a.m. We've got the hacksaw, spicing kit, and rivet gun to put the broken pole back together. The wind has moderated to 18-20. Wild FLEUR is off and running for the final lap.
~skip

Remember the Squall article in the July issue of LATITUDE 38? Great article and obviously very timely. In the segment Max Ebb discusses the etiology of Squalls and how to take advantage of them while racing. Max made it all seem so obvious and effortless. Well maybe on a well crewed Pacific Cup boat. I'm not so sure it all applies to Single Handed Racers. So here are some excerpts from Skip Allen's report this morning. I apologize to Skip for any mistakes.

At 03:00 Skip was struck by a particularly strong Squall. He was using two poles to fly his two headsails. A wind gust managed to overpower his Windvane and his boat headed up into the wind. As a consequence I believe his port pole dipped into the ocean causing it to snap in two. half the pole went flying over head and wrapped in his outer shroud. The other end flew up and smashed his radar dome. Where all the pieces ultimately landed I'm not sure. The Radar is useless. Skip has a whisker pole and is doing some repairs on other damaged goods. So it's 03:00, raining, wind gusts to 30 knots, seas are like a roller coaster, your all alone, and all H-ll has broken loose on your boat. Hmmmmmmmm....are we having fun yet? Oh....I forgot one important little ditty....while all this is happening Skip was struck by a flying fish. Come Again....while all this was happening Skip was hit by a flying fish. Now I know I'm having fun!

This is my first ocean passage, single handed or otherwise...I don't like squalls.

Joshua
Sunquest

While at 1900 hours last night he reported being on deck in a bathing suit, going 6.2 knots.... it was fortuitous he also happened to be on deck when a surge began at 10 pm lat night. He found himself going 10 knots even after reefing down to almost no sail and almost bare pole. It was raining and pitch dark. It wasn't too cold, but he did have on polar tech pants and a windbreaker.

This morning it is still blowing hard, with the wiind whistling and his boat going 7.8 knots as we spoke. At time of taking coordinates the Feral was going 5.7 knots, but he said it fluctuates constantly. He said that with the twin sails on in his boat, you don't jib through a surge, you just let the lines out. He agreed with some of the other racers, who have commented that when you do get a surge and end up increasing your speed momentarily, it doesn't always give you a boost or edge, pushing you on you on ahead.. The increased speed can be a false progress. He also added that if the latest surge hadn't happened in the middle of the night and if you didn't have over 600 miles to go, it would be a lot of fun! It is clear that at this point, he is definitely looking forward to arriving in Hanalei.

Gayle
Tom did see a spectacular moonrise last night!

There is a Tom Petty Song, I think its "Major Tom" thats starts out, "Is anybody out there?". Thats I felt today. Great day in the trades, 159 miles covered with only the mainsail up, and one gybe early this morning. Not exactly hard work. I have not seen a sole though. Not that I am complaining, its just that usually you see a freighter go by, or an airplane contrail. Nothing, ain't it great?

I have now finished my seventh book of the trip and down to the last one (With the Old Breed, thank you Dennis). I need to stretch it at least two days. I think tonight I will stretch out in the cockpit on the bean bag and let the ipod do the entertaining. Something real smooth to set the tone of the evening. Hopefully midnight won't bring a bunch of squalls, some of the guys have been talking about some big ones.

For you Ragtime fans, Bob had some autopilot issues this morning but has been able to repair both units.

Guess thats it from the Wish. Shout out to Kyle and Jordan and the Manning Clan, sorry I missed your Birthday Kyle.

Don

Today is the end of week 2 - bringing better daily runs averaging a hair over 140 miles per day (noon-to-noon). A vast improvement on the first 3 days of the race, that's for sure!!!

Well into the tradewinds now, and bearing down (relentlessly??) on the island of Kauai, I am projecting an ETA in Hanalei Bay sometime between 9:00 pm and midnight Pacific Daylight Time Tuesday July 29. Even with the 3 hour time difference between the west coast and Hawaii, this still makes it a night-time entrance into the Bay, not my favourite thing to do, but I have the advantage of having been there 3 times previously.

As long as I don't blow out any sails between here and the finish, I am looking good.

A few of the faster, lighter boats have finished already, but the bulk of the fleet is still out here, with new arrivals in Hanalei now expected daily. As usual I am looking forward to landfall, although right now, I would be just as happy if it were another week or two further west. These are very pleasant sailing conditions along this latitude and in this part of the ocean. I think this last week or so of the race is one of the reasons people keep returning time and again every couple of years to do the Singlehanded Transpac. Once you leave the coast of California well behind, there are few ocean passages that provide such near-perfect conditions.

Sad to admit this, but fishing has not been going quite well. That is to say, that the actual 'catching' part has not been as successful as the 'fishing' part. I have indeed been doing lots of fishing, but no actual catching. So far.....

Fair winds and straight wakes.....

Bye for now........Jim

I know it's been a couple of days since I wrote. I continue to be plagued with autopilot problems and somehow steering the boat towards Hanalei takes first priority.

My last backup A/P unit got me through a very rough and windy night but broke this morning. Hand-steering the last 30 hours appeared inevitable. I decided to attempt to revive the primary pilot, if only to give me temporary steering so I could perhaps repair the broken backup. This worked. In fact, at this writing the primary pilot (still with broken pin) is driving the boat and I have taken apart and repaired the little backup unit. This is a big relief. Realistically, it is very difficult to drive through the squalls and stay on the helm for that many hours.

Alchera finished this morning but if my math is right, nothing else breaks, the wind and skipper hold up, etc., I still might be able to nip him for third. I think I have to finish by 1124 HST tomorrow (Sunday).

I'm pretty beat and not feeling very creative, so this will have to do it.

Tree-time, here I come!

Tom said that sailing his boat last night was like being on a thriller roller coaster. It was also very, very dark and dismal; darker than ever before. He traveled 130 miles again. He did slow a bit and took in some of the main sail so as not to put the boat in overdrive and to catch some rest. He continues to call in coordinates on Calif time, but his actual coordinates put him at Hawaii time now, so when he calls in during the morning, it is really 4am for him.

At 1900 hours, he feels fine but the sky is overcast. He anticipates arriving in Hanalei within the deadline, but in the wee hours of the morning.

Concerned about Wen on Wenlemir. Hope he's ok and returning to port under his own power. Can only listen in the evenings as nobody can hear me when I talk - not sure why we switched from 8 mhz back down to 4 but whatever. They can hear me in the mornings and LD sends my evening reports. Rolling a bit as I'm DDW now but otherwise life is great!

Yesterday was a beautiful day of sailing, mostly sunny and steady winds. Many more birds were seen as I came closer to the island, though thankfully none tried to land on me. I had finally gotten a workable spinnaker halyard chafe management program and had some nice long runs with that, but with Dogbark already over the line there was no chance of reeling him in! While line honors would have been nice, my top goal has been met, to get a SHTP belt buckle. While simple financial analysis shows I could have gotten a dinner plate size diamond studded buckle for less money than the modest SSS buckle, that was not the point. As the saying goes, "there is only one way to get one of these." The rigorous preparation required, under the well crafted SSS race safety rules, gave me a boat well found for a singlehanded passage. Best of all is the successful execution of the very complex process of singlehanded ocean racing.

The night time landfall was very beautiful. At sunset, about 35 miles out, I still could not see the island because of clouds, but if clear the volcanic island should have stood out. Then at 20 miles, under a brilliantly clear sky and stunning Milky Way, the first blink of the lighthouse light became visible. Gradually more shore lights came into view, and by the time I crossed the finish line there were so many confusing shore lights I had to generally block them out and steer by GPS. Shortly thereafter the race committee came on board, and with their help and Al on Dogbark giving steering advice on the radio, we navigated the many unlit anchored boats to a safe spot. In the morning it looked so easy, sure did not feel that way last night.

And yes my hands are fit for holding a beer glass, and I will join my first "tree time" social in an hour from now.

Cheers! Jeff

Trade wind sailing, what can you say. 20 plus on the stern, not touching a sail for hours. Havana Day Dreaming!!!

I have chosen not to put my one remaining spinnaker up since its was built as a light air reacher (note to Mark I am refering to the old UK Code 0)and I have had enough fun blowing up kites this trip. Although when the speedo climbs above 12 and you only have a main up damn you get tempted. Flip Wilson use to use the line, " The Devil made me do it" Well he was wispering in my ear today. Eric on board Polar Bear said he saw 17+ on one surf, get some Eric.

Skip Allan skipper of Wildflower, wrote an article in practical sailer about equipment for single handed sailing. He mentioned bean bag chairs and I thought good idea. Note to Skip, fantastic idea!! Think about it high side, low side or down below they conform to any nook and cranny comfortable and safe. Its rock and roll city on board today and I sit in my bean back chair writing on a lap top. Bring back the 50's or where they popular in the 60's?

Need to keep this short, those sat phone minutes are not cheap. Let me say Hi to the family I know my mother must be wonderng whats going on out here. Call Michael he can interpret. Dad I finished Jim Webbs book today, good stuff. Linda I am sure this bores you but at least you have something to talk about at work. Hi to Jenn and the kids, I hope they are following the Wish. Sprae hope your having fun in Sac, will call tomorrow night.

Warriors Wish

Had an interesting experience last night. Sometime around 4 in the morning I got up, noticed the wind had shifted slightly, so I decided to gybe the boat to put it on a more favorable course to the finish. I put on my headlamp and went into the cockpit, keeping my head down so as to shine the light on the various lines I needed to avoid tripping over to get behind the wheel. As I got behind the wheel, head still down with the light still pointed down, I noticed an incredible stench, so foul it startled me. I raised up my head and came face to face with a Booby bird sitting on the stern pushpit, looking at me with an expression which clearly said 'What's your problem?'

It's not the first time I've had a Booby hitch a ride during a TransPac. They seem to be quite fearless. This one maintained his position all through the gybe, even though I was working within feet of him. Eventually I think he tired of me shining the light in his face, and he flew off. But I could still smell the stench from him on my clothes after I went back down below. This morning I noticed he must have made a tour of the entire cockpit before settling in on the pushpit, because he left little 'presents' all around.

I've started running the radar at night now to watch for ships. Up to now, I've relied mainly on AIS to notify me of any nearby ship traffic. But I recalled from previous TransPacs that the US Navy often does fleet maneuvers in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands, and I'm pretty sure they don't use AIS, since they typically don't want anyone to know where they are. Several times during past trips I've found myself in the middle of a fleet of 5 or 10 US Navy ships in the dark, and it's been really useful to have the radar to be able to keep clear of them.

Mark/Alchera

The mission was to clean up a bit but I found some remnants of the monster cookies my sister sent out with me weeks ago and I had to stop and eat the rest of them, then on to cleaning. Well I found yet another dried italian salami! I still have triscuits so more use of the rigging knife, bless the guys who built this boat with a cutting board. Now for a question to my brother in law Ted, If the family size italian salami says "refrigerate after opening" on the package must one eat the entire salami without delay when on a boat with no icebox?

I got through about half the salami, I will likely have a sodium nitrate hangover for days.

Took a bath and washed some clothes this am felt pretty clean, then took a full on wave while steering this afternoon and am again a damp salted nut.

Water temp is 85.1 this evening

Eric

Still managed to get his 60 miles in today!!! What a guy.

Jeanne

Since I passed the halfway mark some time in the night, I opened the big box LaDonna brought on board the day before the race started. She said I could open it whenever I wanted, and I did dip into it (thanks for all the great stuff, Chris - I've been reading a couple of the books you sent!) early on, but then decided to wait till I got over the 'hump'. It took me a couple of hours to open all the little packages and read all the notes from friends and family. But I have to say that I had a very surreal moment when I read a note from Lin & Larry Pardey - I'm sitting here in the middle of the Pacific on a borrowed boat eating freeze dried ice cream from friends Rich & Edie while reading a personal note from my sailing heroes! Totally surreal!

I'm still wing on wing, averaging about 5.5 knots, having a great ride. Nobeltec puts me into Hanalei sometime around the 1st but a lot can happen in a week!

Nice day aboard the Wish today. Awoke to a small squall that left a great rainbow. Not much of a rainbow guy here but I don't think I have ever seen both ends of a rainbow before. Colors were pretty cool looked like it came off a computer, Ma nature can really knock you down sometimes. Last night I relaxed in cthe cockpit cruising along listening to the rush of the water off the boat and looking at the sky, alive with stars. I wish I had a star guide on board. When I used celestial navigation I kept up with knowing the stars and constellations. Now I just look at the gps, not as awe inspiring but a lot safer and easier. Note to Lee: When you come to visit your Dad and if you have time would you pick up a star guide. Another note for Lee, the General had some halyard, spinnaker wrap problems on board. Last night he said he had them halfway sorted out and could now fly a kite. I am surprised he didn't order the messed cleaned up.

This week is the gathering of G 2/7 my unit from Vietnam. This is a time for the guys and their families to gather and appreciate being home, remember those that did not come home and kill what few remaining brain cells they have left. I haven't missed one in a while and will do some remembering on my own out here. Nothing like being alone like this for a couple of weeks to be able to reflect on the past. I have truly been a very fortunate person in the people I have known and my family.

Thats it for today, thanks for reading.

Semper Fi Marines

Eric

Nice sailing today, have a workable plan on spinnaker halyard maintenance that lets me fly it 8 or more hours per day. Hard on my hands though, but after tonight I only need them to sign for the bar tab.

Looks like I have drawn a black card from the finish time card deck; nothing like a midnight instrument landing into an unfamiliar anchorage to top off a great adventure.

Kim called this morning and wondered what the other human voice was that she heard. I thought only I was seeing and hearing phantoms! Actually it was Jim Dale, narrator of the great Harry Potter books on tape series.

Some of you gathered from my writing yesterday that I was tired; yup. So last night I took a bit of a sleep penalty, putting the boat in "squall-safe" mode and got good sleep. Squall-safe for this boat in these conditions is one reef in the main, no head sails, set autopilot to near DDW steering. The ride is good, the VMG penalty is only 20%, and the boat will steer around as necessary with squall wind shifts to stay pointed down-wind. Sleep safe to over 30 knots wind. Go ahead, ask me how I know.

Now with Dogbark finished, there is no other boat I can reach reliably by radio. It was always enjoyable to chat for a bit with Al. I did manage to connect with morning check in

This is probably my last post while underway. I will add another one tomorrow with a wrap-up.

Cheers, Jeff

They call Kauai the "Garden Isle." It is indeed lush, and it stays that way because of the never-ending parade of trade wind squalls that march directly down our race course to the island. You can usually see a squall coming and despite the sudden veering of the wind and increase in its strength, squalls aren't too bad. Some fully-crewed Transpac boats even gybe to stay in front of them, benefitting from the extra wind for several hours if their boat is fast enough.

The downside to a squall is that it usually leaves no wind behind it, leaving you in a lurch(ing boat). This is especially true at dawn. So at 0500 HST I look aft to see this big squall bearing down on me. I'd had several pass over during the night with no consequence, but I knew once this one passed, the oxygen masks would be falling out of the overhead compartments and I would face the ultimate ridicule - having to report at check-in (an hour hence) that my speed was way down. So I gybed over (moving the sails to the other side of the boat by changing direction), and attempted to reach away from the gathering gloom. It worked and my pride at roll-call was salvaged.

Now about beeps. I seem to have a lot of them aboard and they are the enemy - I hate them and say bad words when they go off. There is the beep from the AIS, which means there is a big moving wall of steel in the vicinity (ship). There is the beep from the autopilot, which means the wind has shifted more than 15 degrees. There is the beep from the CARD, which means there is a radar transmitting nearby (usually from a smaller vessel) - I usually keep it off until closer to shore, but still. Then there is the self-induced beep from the kitchen timer.

One might think that these devices work independently, each alerting me to its own little area of worry, but I have determined that this is not so. They conspire. Through their little wires they tell each other when I am just drifting off to sleep and they take an electronic straw poll to see whose turn it is to jar me awake. This happened several times last night. I want to rip their little wires out of the boat! But then I would be laying awake worrying if a ship was bearing down on me, or if the autopilot was working, or if I might awaken after too long to some calamity on deck.

I need to sleep.

Well I did put up my spiffy new UK AirX spinnaker yesterday and played cat and mouse with the squalls for about 6 hours. I think we topped out at about 14 knots, on a long surf. We were certainly going ast enough to blow the chute back into the mast, many times. In six hours we only had two round-ups despite the stiff breeze and not a drop of water int he cockpit, what an adrrenaline rush.

But.

It takes 45 minutes to get the chute set up, and 45 minutes to drop it and then get the #2 genoa poled out again. Everything takes forever when you're singlehanded. I also got a snotty spinnaker wrap in the morning during a gybe that took another 45 minutes to sail out of. So for all that adrenalin, I didn't make up one single mile Dream Chaser. Harrumph!

Still and all, I feel lucky, my little spinnaker wrap is nothing compared to what The General is dealing weith: 2/3rd of his spinnker wrapped up around the halyards, spinnaker sock lines and so on....and little hope of getting it unwound before Hanalei. He's still bombing along, though, the guy is amazing.

We had some breakage last night. It was Pretty Darned Windy, probablly 20-25. It was e nough to get Ankle Biter surfing with just the @3 genoa poled out and a single-reefed main. Anyway, sometime during the night I broke the lower batten in the mainsail, which I discovered this morning after the SSB check-in. So now the sail is lashed to the boom, half of it is in the cabin, and I'm waiting for the 5-minute epoxy to completely cure on the repaired batten. I had a number of dinghy battens on the boat....they came with the boat I don't know why they're here, but I sistered two of them on to the real batten, eposied it all together, put a gob of epoxy in the gap where the original battens "filler" was and we shall see. I won't stress it at first.

The batten pocket was ripped, but not too baadly. Two layers of sticky-back dacron tape are on that right now. We're bombing along under #2 genoa, smaack-cab on course for Hanalei and doing 5.5 - 6 knots. I don't even NEED the mainsail up!

I was pretty darned tired this morning, didn't get going until 8:30, since I didn't get much sleep during Mr Toads Wild Ride last night. George, time to readjust Gwens Wind Dance settings back down to 15 knots.

Every day, Hanalei is a little bit closer!

Alan

He misses not hearing all the racers communicate on the radio; still no reception, but he is holding his own.

He described one moment last night that was striking. It was pitch black on the water and its surroundings, and it felt as if one was sailing through a dark tunnel, but it was open on top to a gorgeous, immense, milky way.

A gourmet dinner tonight...calamari!

I understand other boat's have been 'practicing' their fishing for the last couple days. That must be why I haven't caught anything today - I'm practicing! A squid did land on deck during the night but it was pretty dried up by the time I found it. And that albatross was back today.

The rest of the fleet doesn't seem to be able to hear me on the evening check ins so I just listen at night since LaDonna sends in my position. Dwight on NaNa is really rolling up the track, making up for his two lost days at the beginning. I guess The General had a spinnaker wrap this morning and was 'flying bald'. I'm sure he's sorted it all out by now.

I'll be passing my halfway mark sometime tonight. I've dipped into the package LD sent along but haven't touched it for about a week. I've been waiting so tomorrow will open all the little packages and notes friends and family sent along. There must be 100 of them! Meanwhile, I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing and get to Hanalei as quickly as I can.

A get a few hours of smooth sailing and think, "Ahhhhh, it will be like this for the next 5 days." Then I snap to and wonder what the next challenge is going to be. This morning it arrived on schedule. A rain Squall caused the wind to shift quickly and strongly...rendering my sails a hazard rather then friends. I jumped right to and reduced the sails when I noticed my Aries Wind Vane had broken just as the additional wind forces applied more stress. Well, all hell broke loose...boat out of control swinging through a 120 degree arc and bouncing like a bronco. One hour later...wind vane repaired, sails restored and all is well....until next time. I should have taken a picture of my boats cabin. Looked like a hurricane went through it as I raced around for tools and spare parts.

Made it to morning "Roll Call." My night was easy compared to Harrier, skippered by Ken Roper, aka, "The General" Retired General US Army, Age 78 and sailor with 100 gazillion sea miles under his keel. We should all be so stout at his age. He wrapped his spinnaker sail around his forestay ( the cable in front of the mast), the mast, and all the ropes used to haul up the sails. A total mess. He hadn't untangled them by roll call. He enjoys talking but cut it short to attend to his sails. How can I describe what it's like being on the deck of a boat, bouncing around, wind blowing, massive sails snapping in the wind making a horrific screaming noise. And there you are...no choice...hold on with one hand and start untangling...maybe it will take 20 minutes, maybe it will take 3 hours. No choice. No help. Got to get it done.

This morning everyone sounded a bit weary at roll call. There has been little sun and few stars; the things one looks forward to crossing the Eastern Pacific in the summer. Everyone, best I can tell, spends countless hours dealing with innumerable problems. Skip Allen...the most experienced sailor in the fleet seems to roll on effortlessly. I'm curious to know what difficulties he faced, if any. For a guy with his experience perhaps it's ..."been there, done that"... I doubt it.

Well, there was a bit of a lull in the winds but they've started to pick up. Back up on deck.

Love to the family and friends.

Joshua

Today though, is another sparkling sunny day with puffy clouds - very upbeat. The wind has been in the 18-20 knot range all afternoon, higher than what was forecast. Alchera is grinding down the miles at a steady 8-9 knots of boatspeed with occasional surfs in the 10-11 range. What I would *really* like to see would be sustained winds in the 25 knot range, that would kick things up a notch and keep the surfing constant. But I'm happy for what we have.

I'm definitely looking forward to finishing the race though, and then hanging out under 'the tree' and greeting each of the skippers as they arrive each day. Should be another 2-3 days roughly. I hope I cross the finish in the daylight - anchoring in beautiful Hanalei Bay with its backdrop of mountains, rainbows, and waterfalls is a sight not to miss.

Mark/Alchera

Alchera, Ragtime and I are in agreement that all of our moods shift with the sun, clouds and dark.

For those back in the far North one observation I just made while looking for some shade is that the sun is just about directly overhead down here at Latitude 25 working our way down to 22.

Time for a late lunch of dry salami and tricuits. Have to laugh the big old rigging knife on my waist mainly gets used to cut string and salami.

No ship taffic, same white bird with a long white straw for a tail that flies slow and watches the wake.

One very small dried out flying fish on the deck about 1"

ET

In the home stretch here, happy for that. My hands look and feel like lobster claws, and are nearly as stiff as my salty shorts. The weather is fair today and the sailing is dry, but it is a bit of a struggle to make good time directly downwind with limited use of the spinnaker. I have a mix of emotions, certainly exacerbated by lack of sleep. Some nights are good for sleepinng, others not so. Now down nere closer to Hawaii I try to shift more sleep to the daytime, since nights usually have a number of squalls that usually require a lookout and reaction. But it is hot in the cabin, so sleep is never easy.

I saw 5 magnificent birds today, dark brown with long slender wings, I guess these must be albatross, so far from land. Also flying fish are plentiful, and they are always entertaining.

It does not look like I can finish in the daytime tomorrow, but at least Dogbark will be in and can help me to find a good anchorage.

Best for now, Jeff

I was talking on the SSB with Mark (Alchera) and Eric (Polar Bear) this morning. We agreed that we are much affected by the mostly-overcast skies. But there have been several nice days and now that we're farther South, the air has warmed up. I have also enjoyed a couple of spectacular nights looking at the endless stars. With all the lights on land, you don't see them like this!

The night before last as I was enjoying the stars, a couple of bright lights appeared off my starboard bow, close together. There was no target on the AIS indicating a large ship and at over 900 miles from nearest land it didn't seem likely to be a fishing boat. Whatever it was, I wanted to know which way it was going and at what speed! I was able to raise them on the VHF - it turned out they were in fact fishing and wanted to know if I was too. I told them no, I was racing a sailboat solo to Hawaii. After a long pause to which I've become accustomed, the fisherman called back and wished me luck.

Speaking of fishing, I'm sure you've heard it here already but Haulback and Alchera continue to "practice." Neither one is ready to move on to actually fishing - both keep saying they need more practice first.

Yesterday I had a more serious autopilot failure, one that could not be resolved by simply dropping in a spare drive unit. All the drive units attach to the tiller (steering arm) the same way - by dropping onto a steel pin that acts as a universal joint. The usual installation is to drill a hole in the wooden tiller and then epoxy the pin into the hole. Due to the stresses involved in offshore racing, I had the pin welded into a steel plate and then attached to the tiller with four large screws. It was robust and very unlikely to break - but it did.

I put the pilot on standby and started hand-steering, giving myself time to figure out what to do. The stresses on this pin are remarkable and a cobbled-together repair with duct tape wasn't going to work. After about an hour I had fashioned a repair out of a short length of tubing, two hose clamps and a length of spectra. So far it has held. Because of the A/P's weakened state I should no longer fly a spinnaker and will have to finish the race under non-free-flying sails.

I think there is no better example of what this race is all about.

I hope to hold off Alchera for third place, and my current ETA is Sunday afternoon.

Better mood on board the Wish today. Sun came out shortly after noon and I spent the afternoon in 6-10 knots of wind under spinnaker and beautiful sky's. Not a typo we now have a new spinnaker halyard and if fate be with us and the skipper doesn't screw up it will stay with us till Hanelei Bay. How you ask, duct tape, clothes hanger, electrical tape, seal repeller formerly known as boat hook, a little pre wax and a couple of wire ties, and one new halyard. No bailing wire (Jimmy Buffet doesn't sing about farmers) and no chewing gum (pirates don't chew gum).

Looking forward to nice sail tonight. Getting in the area of night time squalls so will sleep in the cockpit.

Time to check on the radio so need to go.

Found the water in my spare water tank tastes alot like the rubber tank it is in so it has been sealed off to use for emergency only, should go well with the freeze dried food. I have plenty of water in sealed jugs that is still good. I sarted the race with nearly double the required amount, I am used to dipping it out of the lake along the way and was pretty worried about that.

Just finished roll call, lost a little gained a little, just sailing. Many people have had some sort of break down or scare at this point. Some are starting to be more conservative relising how far from anywhere they are and the consequences that has. I was doing all those calculations in my head a few days ago and it really gets you down. Not that they are bad, they are real. So one has to calculate the risks in all actions. I always where my harness, I sleep in the damn thing. I am clipped on whenever I am out of the cabin. My big worry has been the rig and the fact that losing it would make this a really long down wind race, Black Feathers would eat me for lunch! Luckily the wind blows towards Hawaii and one would eventually get there. Enough rambling time to tighten the tiller head fitting on the rudder post, its starting to work loose. got to get done before dark and do a general scout around the deck before night fall to remember where the halyards are and straighten up for the coming squalls.

622 miles to go

Eric

Sorry about no report earlier today, things are going pretty well and I am working things as best I can without overdriving the machine, so lots of hand steering in these big seas. It is a wild ride now, with seas towering over my head at times and salt water spray everywhere. I continue to be impressed with the Hammerhead, learning new ways to go fast and the boat never gets out of control. I surf regularly to 17 and occasionally 20. I did pull a pull a mainsheet vang block out of the beam earlier, had to repair that at speed, which was under constant deluge water flying through the nets. Since the air and water are warm enough I just took my clothes off and got a pressure bath at the same time (tied in of course). I have kept my spinnaker on deck all day, and many others are having spinnaker problems, too.

I am looking at a Thursday tree-time finish, can't wait to see other humans.

I had a scare the other day coming on deck, thinking someone was standing in my cockpit, when it was just my foul weather pants hanging to dry.

Cheers, Jeff

At dawn this morning, right after experiencing a squall, there was a gorgeous,large rainbow. Looked as if you were going to go right through it, though it was obviously far away.

Tuesday July 22 - sometime after morning roll-call.

This morning finds us rolling along quite nicely, having passed the mythical 'half-way barge' sometime during the night. This is where all racers who stop there get ice cream, pizza, hot showers and other not-to-be-mentioned worldly delights. I, of course, slept through the opportunity!!! Ahhh well, Hanalei awaits....

Won another round of Russian Roulette this morning. I have been told (but have never put it to the test) that yogurt keeps for long period without refrigeration, which sort of makes sense as it is created by bacterial growth in the first place. Anyway, I tossed a bunch of small containers of it into the bilge (this is a no-refrigerator boat) before I left, to use on my Red River Cereal for breakfast. I have since made it a point of honour NOT to check before dumping in on and stirring it in, so would not know until the first bite if it had 'gone off' or not - So far have begun every day with a small victory..... Way to go , Jim!!!!

A couple nights ago, went on deck sometime during the wee hours to check on things. A clear, warm night; really, the first one of the trip, there were few clouds drifting across a sky that was otherwise full of brilliant, bright pin-pricks of stars. I stood there overcome by the wonder of it all. You know, how you see the same thing all the time and after a while, begin to take it for granted - then for one moment of time it all somehow gets suspended and you can only say 'WOW' at the beauty of it all?? Well this was one of those times.

Then to cap off this absolutely perfect moment, a meteor went blazing across the exact center of my field of vision. A bright white/orange head dragging a long tapering tail across the night sky - the whole length of the tail was sending off little points of light, sort of like the wick of a firecracker when you first light it. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, it passed behind a cloud and was seen no more..... A few seconds of pure magic that will stay with me for many years to come.

..Well over an hour later......Had to go on deck for some sail-drill.

Looks like another great day - how quickly we adapt to not wearing layers of damp clothes - blue sky, light to moderate breeze and smooth seas. Nice going!!! While not breaking any speed records as far as daily runs are concerned, Haulback is doing OK - but things would be a bit better if I could gain a few more miles on Harrier. It looks like the General and I are in the running for first place in our division. He owes me a bit of time, but I still need to pick up a few more miles on him before we get to the islands. We have been 'trading ' 3 or 4 miles between each other every check-in for the last few days - I get a couple up on him, then he takes them back later on. Keeps it interesting.

Talking about interesting...now have aboard a glass ball - about 4 inches in diameter - found floating in the Pacific. Who says they're not out here, Mark??

For me, it looks like a quick turnaround in Hanalei Bay this year, no more than a week, possibly less, due to a slower than anticipated passage across. But I am looking better than the boats who are at the back of the fleet, I just hope they can all make it in time for the big wind-up awards dinner on August 2nd. Go Guy.......and Islander!!!!!

Bye for now...Jim/Haulback

All eyes are on the barometer. The risk with sailing the rhumb line has been made all too apparent given the distances made good over the past several days. The High has been relatively strong with a central pressure of 1030mb, we've been trying to stay below the 1024mb iso-contour line. It's a slippery slope: sail too high North and the High may expand, taking your wind; sail South to find wind, you sail extra miles and lose VMG. I anticipate the morning weather faxes like the morning paper. "The only news I need is the weather report" ~ Paul Simon.

These past several, "cruising" days have been somewhat of a blessing in disguise. Saturday I banged up my arm pretty well, I think a couple tendons shy of dislocation. A squall caught us off guard sailing dead-down-wind with all canvas up, full main and twin 150% genoas poled out, forcing the boat to round up and then down as I over compensated on the tiller. Stupidly I grabbed the main sheet where it loops between the boom bale and fiddle block on the traveler thinking I could dampen the load as the boat crashed jybed, sending the whole lot headed for leeward at mach 10; not succesful, OUCH. On the bright side I've discovered that generic ibuprofin works and that I CAN sail the boat singlehanded, literally.

As I write this, the arm is feeling 80% better, the boats moving along nicely at 5.5 kts dead-down-wind under twin head sails, and the fishing lurer is trailing the boat just below the surface. We'll see what, if any thing, comes to the surface....fish, weather and all.

Bye for now.

Chris on Carroll E

With the Olympics only days away, we remember the ex-Olympic sport of "Club Swinging" was retired in 1909. No, this was not gay chasing by royal princes through Olympic Village pubs. Rather, Club Swinging is described in the history books as rhythmic gymnastics with a large bat/club twirling around your head. Exactly akin to our SHTP fleet acrobatics on the foredeck each time we jibe. Just don't hit yourself in the head with your spinnnaker pole or main boom, errr "club."

Or maybe "dead" comes from the deal that with enough midnight jibes, we are "dead" on our feet. Stan didn't touch on this at the weather briefing, but this is where he and Robbie win the Race by calling up the off watch and jibing, on average, every six minutes, 13 seconds, on shifts of 4.7 degrees or greater, as registered on PYEWACKET computers.

In the real world of single handed Transpacking, DDW means successfully getting to Hanalei without accidently jibing and hurting something. May all our jibes be intentional. Use those boom preventers, team.

~sleddog

No wildlife to report found on the deck this morning, there is a stain from some squid ink on the port rail as it looks like it got caught in the the toerail before washing away. Yesterday had a dozen little flying fish that were slightly larger than minnows glued to things all over. Lots of them in the water still jumping about.

Mark on Alchera asked me yesterday if I herd voices yet attached to boat noices. I replied yes that I had Prince the 80's rocker in the back of the boat continuously doing the same bass and trebble line over and over and over ( the autopilot ) which sounds like a continuous drill reversing over and over and over lets see every 3 seconds it does a full cycle along with little adjustments throuwn in to the bass line. He said he has a subway station I think and a ticket taker in the bow.

Salt Crystals are growing on everything on the deck that does not get continuously dowsed. Pretty good ones on the spin blocks at the back end of the boat. Still have to keep the hatch slid shut as every now and then we auger into the back of a wave and take it over the deck all the way into the cockpit, this tends to wake one up a bit from a cat nap.

Chased down the source of a small leak, the old bow eye on the stem of the boat from its former life on a mooring leaks a bit when the bow buries (every wave) so I pump about a gallon out a day.

Last nights radio call in had me rolling in laughter as Haulback and Harrier were disusing cutting the heads off chickens, technique, tools consequences. It was the first good hard laugh in quite a while.

Just set out the spare solar panel so I have enough power to run the blender and the George Foreman grill master for lunch!

Eric

Well, yet another Monday on my self inflicted 24/7 work schedule. Still no time for reading. In fact, not enough time for the things I *want* to do......... How could this be, you ask???? I am just sitting here watching the boat sail itself, right??????? WRONG!!!!!! This morning is pretty much indicative of how "my" life at sea has been so far. I got up a little before 7 AM and made tea and went out to check the sails, wind, etc. since I made almost no progress last night even after adjusting things twice for an hour or so each in the middle of the night. Winds were light, so I tried different headings, sail trims, to no avail. Then it was time to try to catch Jan on the Ham Radio. This too was to no avail. We heard each other but the band was really noisy so we couldn't "talk." This took about a half hour. Then it was time to check email and download the reports for morning roll call received by the shore station via satellite phone and prepare for the morning roll call, since I am currently the comm boat and the person responsible for that. Roll call and typing up and emailing the report to the shore station took over an hour. Then back outside to see about getting some speed on so I didn't arrive in HI after everybody I know that came to see me has already left. This is what I have been doing since then and it's now 12:40 PM. What's the big deal, just trim and go, right??? Wrong again!! The seas are pretty lumpy and the swells are from a really bad direction. I was trying to run DDW (dead downwind) wing on wing (jib on one side, main on the other) and the winds are really light, so the tip of the mast when the boat rocks side to side was moving faster than the winds around it and this made sail trim problematic, to say the least. About this time there was a Pacific Cup boat that came up dead behind me, flying their spinnaker, and motivated me. (What is a sailboat race? Two boats going roughly the same direction) Well, I decided two can play this spinnaker game, so I got ready to fly mine and switched on the autopilot. Well, I tried to switch on the autopilot, but it didn't come on. I wiggled wires here and there and finally two big ones going to the brain came off in my hand. Could this be my problem??? Perhaps???? I knew this could turn into a can of worms, so I decided to go to plan B. I decided to try again to go wing on wing. No good, the seas were too lumpy and the jib just wouldn't stay filled, so I had no choice but to try the Evil Whisker Pole. The Whisker Pole is "evil" because the last time I tried to use it, a support line holding it up came loose and it came down on my head. I didn't lose consciousness, but it screwed up my neck, big time, and I spent most of the next 36 hours sleeping as much as I could. It still hurts a lot and I am still taking Advil. I am sure that continuing to do things like fly spinnakers and deploy whisker poles doesn't help the recovery process, but one thing about singlehanding; no one to delegate to.......... Back to the Evil Whisker Pole. I went forward (carefully) and managed to deploy the whisker pole safely and much more easily this time using a different technique. Then there was a good 30 minutes of tweaking settings and then I came down below and had a beer and grabbed the camera and took pictures of the boat I am racing. I just looked and they must "hate it". They are flying a spinnaker and I am wing on wing. I am headed directly to Hanalei and they are going quite a bit South and I am going faster than they are!!!! A couple more advil and here we are at 1 PM and I haven't managed to eat anything yet. I originally planned to send this to my family alone, but as I reread it, I thought it is pretty indicative of what it's like out here, for many of us anyway. Remember too, I haven't even emptied the lazarette so I can get down into it and investigate the wiring to see if I can get my autopilot going again. This is not to mention re-hanging the radar detector that came crashing down about 3 AM. Then there's plotting everybodies positions from last night and this morning, down loading weatherfaxes and a host of other things. Reading???? Not anytime soon.........

Yesterday was really slow. I think I averaged about 2-3 knots all day. I tried hard for hours to get south and away from the North Pacific High, but it was just impossible. I wound up going wing and wing towards Hanalei ( course 235). Last night we had wind and got run over by a couple of squalls. I even got up and gybed over at the end of one of them and exited left, which kept us int he wind longer. But this morning has turned into another sail-slatter. The boom is smacking around again and the GPS says I'm doing 2.6 knots.

This is going to be a 20-day race for me. I'm not even at the halfway point and there are boats 200 miles behind me, so it will be 22-23 days for them if things don't change Even Dogbark has several hundred miles to go, he's going to finish in 15 or 16 days. That's what the usual time is for the 30-35 footers. From some stuff Jim on Haulback has said on the morning chat, according to the GRIB files, we're looking at the same stuff for the next couple of days. I've sent in a request for more GRIBs myself t his morning, so I'll see. . It's time to start rationing the last of the peanuts and ginger cookies.

Pete R., if you're reading this, please readjust plans accordingly. George, get Gwen dancing her wind dance ASAP. Adjust Gwens settings to 15 knots.

Signs of the times, climate-wise?

One very good thing is that my solar array is doing a great job of keeping up with the power demands on board. I run the batteries down to about 12.35 - 12.5 volts by the end of the nights run. By 7:00 PM after a day of charging they're usually up to 13 or close to it. If that keeps up I won't ever have to run my generator.

Anyway, tonight if I'm lucky I'll get to open my halfway present, which will be fun. Hopefully there will be a charm in it for some breeze.

Now, another big thing....

Now , Synthia's the ChairWoman of the Race;
about which she turns red in the face.
She was born on this day,
how many years past, don't say.
But the fleet is buying Synthia an herbal wrap, nine gallons of sweet iced tea shaved ice, a week in the Caribbean
and a gallon of good rum, just in case.

Happy Birthday Synthia!

Hey, look...a little breeze just came up. I'm reaching south-ish-west-ish at 4.5 knots and the sails have stopped slatting!

Alan

On a more intelligent level, the ocean surface is covered with Vellela Vellela, also called "By the Wind Sailors." These 3" gelatinous jellies sport a vertical fathead membrane sail. They all seem to be on starboard tack at the moment, and sailing towards an unknown destination over the horizon.

All well aboard. I found the missing spoon under the bunk cushion, but the stove clicker has gone MIA.

Post rollcall chat was off the mark last night, with a discussion how best to dispatch a chicken for the cooking pot. Perhaps there is a need to schedule an appointment with the fleet psychiatrist.

~sleddog, FLEUR, and kitty too.