Wildflower - 37d 14m N, 127d 50m W steering 180T at a speed of 6 knots in winds from the north at 30 to 35 knots.
Harrier - 35d 44m N, 132d 47m W, steering 095T at a speed of 3.6 (?) knots.

Wildflower - 38d 38m N, 128d 08m W steering 160T at a speed of 6 knots in winds from the north at 30 to 35 knots.

Harrier - 36d 04m N, 134d 53m W, steering 096T at a speed of 5.5 knots.

Dream Chaser is now home safe and sound. The last 200 miles were quite "entertaining." Sounds like what Na Na was experiencing in his last report. I was seeing 29 to 35 true for about 24 hours and then it fell off gradually. Fell off a wave and caught another from a different direction at the same time and took green water over the portholes and blew out the starboard side of the dodger, but this and the pully's on the traveler car breaking off was the only damage. Everything down below was *really* wet though and this was not the type of sailing that normal people dream of.

Thanks to everyone for making it a wonderful trip! Thanks to Timo for all his efforts forwarding and posting. I do owe you a lunch sometime.

John on Dream Chaser

The evening 2100 HST rollcall has been canceled due to poor propagation and difficult e-mail pactor connection late at night.

Morning radio sked remains at 0900 HST on 8185.

~skip

This morning dawned bright and clear and crisp and absolutely stunning. I have 322 miles to go and should be in Wednesday evening?? The wind had picked up during the night and the room was tilting a little more than necessary, so I reefed the main and rolled in the Gennie a little and now things are more level and I'm going almost as fast. I sat out for over an hour watching the world go by and listening to the sounds of the diesel engine charging the batteries. The later is not the most peaceful and relaxing sound out here, but it's a wonderful sound if you are running low on juice and want to keep the refrigeration going. Everything with the bulkhead seems to be stabilized, so that is just a worry from the financial standpoint when I get home and is not going to interfere with my enjoyment of the remaining time I have before I get home. This has been a wonderful trip. The race was exciting and having the goal and tracking competitors and thinking if there is any way to squeak another half knot out of the boat was great fun. The trip home was a letdown initially because something that I had wanted to do all my life and had been preparing for for over two years was now done. Once that passed and I settled down to a routine then my mood swung with the amount of wind and the color of the sky. If I had wind and blue sky I was very happy. If it was gray, gloomy and raining and/or I was 2000 miles from home drifting on a mill pond, then I was less enthusiastic about life in general. Several of the guys talked about their moods being weather dependent on the trip across. I suspect the gloom affects all of us to one degree or another. But...... Today is crystal clear and sharp, I have about 15 kts apparent and I am close hauled heading for SF at about 6.5 kts. The wind is forecast to push up to 30 as the high and I approach the coast so that might be a little too much of a good thing. With 30 kts though, you have something to work with. You can reef and hunker down cause it's gonna be wet outside once the seas get churned up and go. With doldrums however, you have nothing to work with. No wind = no speed. I love sailing, but I think I'm not all that fond of drifting in the middle of the Pacific on a sailboat, no matter how comfortable I am or how well I am eating...... As it looks now, I will be in Wednesday evening, God willing and the creek don't rise. What a great adventure this has been! Both coming and going. Now to get a couple of little things dealt with like new radar, boom cracks, bulkhead refastened, HF radio repaired, toilet repaired, better solar panel installation, boom brake, outboard motor repaired and a number of smaller items that are not coming to mind right now. Sailing seems to me to be a really expensive way to get to HI for free!!!!

SeeYa,
John on Dream Chaser

TIME: 2008/08/25 18:11
LATITUDE: 37-44.58N
LONGITUDE: 129-14.51W
COURSE: 080T
SPEED: 6.5
COMMENT: Close hauled port tack. Probably like this till under the gate.

I am down to 466 miles out now (about the same as my run to Santa Cruz Island last summer) and reaching along at about 7.5 kts as I have been since my email of yesterday, so that's good. Getting close now. It is looking like Wednesday sometime now for arrival???? I don't need or want a lot of wind, but just enough to keep moving steadily and not drifting. It is totally overcast and drizzling this morning, so not a good day to have my tea in the cockpit and do my "watch the boat sail and fiddle with the sails thing." Actually, I watched most of a movie in bed last night, until the batteries on the computer got too low and then watched the rest of it in the cabin this morning. This is the first movie I have watched the entire trip. It was distracting and I needed to be distracted. I didn't mention it yesterday, but when I was sitting in the cockpit in the morning, I noticed the deck bulging around the area of the back two chainplates on the starboard side. Turns out, they are attached to a bulkhead that the nav station is a attached to and that bulkhead has separated from the hull. The fiberglass has torn, so yet another thing to fix when I get home. I was pretty upset when I noticed it and checked it out because of all the stuff on the right side of the boat that is attached to the bulkhead and will have to be removed to re-attach it to the hull (I think?)? Anyway, yet another thing to be dealt with when I get home. I have sailed for 24 hours now on starboard tack, broad reaching and there has been no change in the position of the bulkhead, so I think it moved as far as the rest of the cabintop will let it go. I was also pouting and nervous because I didn't know if it would keep moving and what I would do to brace it if it did??? I don't think I would want to be in a hurricane with it the way it is, but then again, I don't want to be in a hurricane even in a brand new boat......... I will be picking up northerlies here presently and the shrouds in question could be disconnected and the boat would sail just fine. Now it's just a matter of who will fix it and how much will it cost. Perhaps I can get some of the rot at the base of some of those cabinets dealt with at the same time. It was on the "interior cosmetics" list anyway, but I haven't gotten to any interior cosmetics issues yet. When I was pouting yesterday, I was wondering if the cost of repair would be more than the boat is worth, but now that I am less gloomy, I think that's probably unlikely. Sooooo, I sat around yesterday and pouted and was gloomy and was worried and had a little too much wine. I wan't goofy, just had more than I would usually have and I didn't venture out on deck at all. On the positive side, the day before, I made something like 98 miles and I was fiddling with the sails all day and yesterday and last night I made over 150 miles, so this might be a 170 mile day. Best!! Perhaps it's best if I leave things alone???? Well maybe 23 to 25 kt of winds off the stern quarter had something to do with it??? Sooo, today will be much like yesterday without the drinking and pouting. I am still on Starboard tack, broad reaching and the bulkhead still hasn't moved. I will, obviously, monitor it but it seems to be stable currently. Hopefully I will get to the northerlies before too long and it will cease to be an issue as far as getting home. The joys of owning a 33 year old boat that you don't know the history of. What the heck though, it got me to Kauai in respectable time and will put me back under the gate in several days, so the old girl has nothing to apologize for and she will be better than new after I have expended some time, effort and several boat bucks......... Gotta have her strong and ready to go for Mexico next winter and then, perhaps, the 2010 Transpac???????

Sooooo, that's pretty much what's happening on Dream Chaser for today. Not all good news or pleasant certainly, but it sure still beats working!!!!!!!!!!! The worst day sailing may not be better than the best day working, but odds are way in favor of the sailing side.

SeeYa,
John on Dream Chaser

LATER THE SAME DAY - Before I got to mail this, the wind has shifted and now I am on port tack, close hauled and should remain there until I pass under the bridge. I may have 35 kts as I get closer, but it should all be port tack..... Never seen the wind shift 180 that quickly before. J.

TIME: 2008/08/24 20:21
LATITUDE: 37-55.16N
LONGITUDE: 131-51.47W
COURSE: 080T
SPEED: 5.0
COMMENT: Close hauled port tack. Probably like this till under the gate.

Haulback is 38 miles from the entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, so this will probably be my last check-in. As always it has been great fun to share a bit of the ocean with all the other guys in the race, and the return as well. Not to mention the stories under the tree......

thank you all, for making it such a memorable summer.

Bye for now...Jim/Haulback

This will be Suquest's last check-in .... Dave had Cape Disappointment in sight at time of this report.

A cold front and associated strong wind is passing across the course of the boats furtherto the south and west. Wildflower and Harrier had 35 knot winds and rough seas last night - this morning it is Na Na's turn.

Onverra broke their Monitor windvane yesterday, so are now handsteering. Working with bungee cords and inner tube strips to help with steering as well. Good Luck Onverra - 950 miles to go with no self-steering does not sound like a lot of fun.

Ran into light air about dusk last evening and am still plagued with it. Using the electric autopilot to keep pointed towards SF and take the progress over the ground that I get. Pleasant down below in these conditions, but, all in all, I would rather the boat be moving and the conditions down below less pleasant.

John on Dream Chaser

It is rather overcast and dreary here, but I am headed to SF and have been making good time for about 3 days now, knock on wood. It is still looking like arrival on Wed or Thu or next week if things hold close to where they are. As of this instant (10:56 AM) I have 847 miles left to go. Drop in the bucket! There have been no major wind shifts or changes in velocity, so there has been very little to do sailing wise except the occasional heading correction on the Monitor. Down below, I read, nap, fix meals, clean up and so on. If it's not toooo overcast this afternoon, I might even take a couple of sun shots and try my hand at celestial navigation again??? I might have put a boat line together, but Dogbark's Albatross experience made me a little hesitant even though I haven't seen an Albatross in several days. Several day ago, the Black Footed Albatrosses were everywhere. Pretty cool, but I never saw anything that looked like anywhere near a 7 foot wingspan..... I have also been thinking about new homes for Dream Chaser. She is currently homeless as I gave up my slip in Sausalito when I left July 10th. I don't know what I will do when I arrive, but can always go to Andy's for a while as a fall back position. I might just do that anyway so I can go home and get some proper sleep and, hopefully, make some better decisions. It is still my intent to end up at the Richmond YC when they have a space for me, but I will probably have to spend some time at another marina until a space opens up. I don't know yet which one this will be.

Until my next message,
John on Dream Chaser

TIME: 2008/08/21 17:50
LATITUDE: 36-39.38N
LONGITUDE: 140-07.55W
COURSE: 075T
SPEED: 7.0
COMMENT: Close reach, heading for SF....

This will be Alchera's last check-in - he is running slow for daylight arrival in San Francisco. Good sailing with you Mark - as always it has been a pleasure racing against you.

It is about 1 PM here, partly cloudy, beam reach port tack doing about 7.5 knots for the first time in 3+ days. Well, I did well over 7.5 kts occasionally yesterday flying the spinnaker for the third time in my life. In fact, when you are flying a reaching spinnaker in 6-8 kts close reaching, and the wind goes to 15, things get *really* interesting, *really* quickly. Think rounding up, rails underwater and other ugly stuff like that. I have learned a lot about raising and lowering spinnakers and flying spinnakers on this trip even though this was only the second time I have used it this trip. I set it about noon and took it down about 9 PM and saw everything from doing 3 kts in 3 apparent to 9+ (briefly, before rounding up) in 15. The spinnaker in this boat should not be used close reaching in anything over 5-6 kts. At 12, I can sail almost as fast with the white sails and it's much easier on both me and the boat. Also, when things get "ugly" close reaching at 15, the thing to do is go to a broad reach as quickly as is feasable and things get manageable pretty quickly. Roland said I could use it up to 18. I think perhaps he's right on a broad reach with cajones larger than mine. I decided that doing the "teach yourself spinnakers in 10 easly lessons 1000 miles offahore" was best kept on the conservative side. I suppose I knew, but had never really experienced it directly, spinnakers are kinda "on-off" sails. When it stops flying if makes an awful racket and when it starts flying again it makes a huge bang that rocks the boat. Not pleasant wine and snacks day sailing! I am still working on improving techniques for dousing it too. Getting down a sail the size of Rhode Island, by yourself, is something well approached with caution this far offshore alone. I picked up about a 12 knot breeze off the beam about the time I doused the spinnaker last night and am still riding it. It's just about perfect. Seas are 3-4 feet, and I'm doing about 7.5 kts. I didn't do email yesterday (spinnaker required toooo much attention) and didn't get to bed until 1 AM this morning. I got up about 9:40 this morning, made tea and sat in the cockpit watching the boat sail itself in perfect conditions until Mr. Sun went away and I ran into some rain showers at which time I came below and started whacking out email on Mr. Computer. The sun in out again, and I will poke my head up and see what's what when I send/receive my emails for today. Today is a "day of rest" for me. I don't plan to do anything that isn't necessary. I will probably take some Advil here presently, but not for the neck, just for muscles strained yesterday. I haven't taken Advil for the neck in 3 or 4 days (best!) and think it's essentially well. I can still feel the sore muscles, but not enough to matter and not giving me the nasty headaches anymore.

Dream Chaser is doing great! I have learned a *lot* about sailing and sail handling this trip. This trip is probably more about dealing with everyday things alone in a rolling and pitching sailboat for weeks on end than it is about "sailing" persae. I will pass the halfway point, distance wise, sometime today, God willing and the creek don't rise. Hopefully, I am at least at the halfway point time wise, but it's less of a sure thing than it was on the way to Kauai because I'm not headed into the trade winds that are really constant. Am I glad I chose to sail back vs. ship back, YES! Am I glad I chose to sail back alone, YES TOO! It is very different, both from the planning standpoint and also because there isn't the "race" to focus on and the comradarie and the twice a day "chats" and the "excitement" of completing the race and getting to HI. This is the "letdown" side of the trip as you are not going to someplace wonderful and exciting, you are just "going home." Rather like the letdown coming home from a wonderful vacation except usually getting home from vacation doesn't take 3 weeks. Especially with a busted HF, I am pretty much alone on the trip home and under no time pressure because I'm not racing and not working and so I'm just focusing on sailing and, no matter what happens during the day, one day just rolls into the next and I have a real problem remembering if something happened yesterday or 4 days ago. Actually I have that problem at the ranch, since I retired, come to think of it.

Well, time to make lunch/brunch and do sailing sthuff.

Take care all.

SeeYa,
John on Dream Chaser

From Na Na...Dwight reports seeing a double green flash last night!!! He saw the first one, then as the boat rose on a swell, he got to see it again as the sun 'dipped' once more, from his new vantage point. He also informed Alchera that he had driven past SEVEN!!!! glass balls in the last day or so, but had left them for Mark 'next time'.....It appears Mark in somewhat skeptical and is not 'buying' this story at all.

Skip had to stop Wildflower up at daylight, and go for a swim over the side to clear a trash bag that had wrapped around his prop during the night.

Feolena made repair to SSB with a pair of vice-grips. The same pair of vice-grips are also being used to repair the Monitor windvane, so they have to hand-steer during roll-call. Good thing the have 2 people on board - also good there are 2 of them because they reported landing a 20 pound (9 kilo) mahi-mahi. Hope they like fish!!

As so often happens, the subject of Glass balls came up again after rollcall. Dave on Sunquest reports that he once picked up a plastic fishing float, with eyelets on it for tying to a net, that had a glass ball inside it. Amazing news!!! Mark, who had not had any luck in 4 previous returns in finding glass balls, wonders how many he may have, in the past, missed by mistaking them for an plain old plastic ball. Interesting.....

Wildflower is motoring in no-wind conditions in the High. Worried about rope winding around his prop shaft while asleep he has rigged a line from the throttle lever to his bunk, which he then ties around his wrist...in the hope that should he run into a bunch of floating rope, he will wake up quickly enough to disengage transmission and not damage either prop or the shaft. Good Luck, Skip....

Haulback rolling along nicely in 25+ knots over the stern quarter. Limited visibility in low overcast with mixed rain and fog.

I just updated my position on Winlink and the Spot Messenger is working occasionally (I hit it 2-4 times a day, pretty sure they are not all getting through). It is almost 1PM here. I don't know where the time goes. Lets see. This morning I got up and made tea. The sun was trying to come out, so I thought I would sit in the cockpit and enjoy my tea. While there, the wind died a bit, the boat was heeled over less, so I decided I would check the oil which I had to do before charging the batteries again. It didn't register on the dipstick, so I added about 3/4 Qt. Still nothing on the dipstick so added the rest of the quart. Just a touch of black oil on the bottom of the stick. This seemed odd, so I hove too, which heeled it slightly in the other direction and guess what??? It was *way* overful!!! Sooooo, I have no idea exactly how much oil is there vs. what should be there, but it seems to be charging the batteries just fine and hasn't blown up yet. Since the toilet fresh water side hadn't been working properly, I decided to see if it worked better hove too. Wonder of wonders, I had taken the pump apart for nothing, it was just sucking air when I was heeled over on port tack. However, the pump was leaking like a sieve, so I had to work on getting that taken care of. At this point, I have had about 2 sips of my tea. With that taken care of and the engine buttoned up, I went to get sailing again. When I engaged the lines from the Monitor to the wheel, I noticed that they were loose!! I checked and the swivel on one of the blocks had disintegrated. I cogitated on this for a while as I didn't have another swivel block of any size. I finally ended up just running about 20 loops of safety wire through it and it seems fine. It would probably work for another decade or longer that way (and might). While I was fixing this I moved the liferaft canister and the port tie came loose. Soooo, I redid the port tie and then I GOT MY THIRD SIP OF TEA (which by now was luke warm). Then I listened to HF (it lasted about 3 minutes) and heard everybody saying goodbye to Al. Guess he must almost be home. Crewed Open 60's go way faster than singlehanded Valiant 40's. Then I had the left over chicken from last nights dinner and then decided to do email for today and here I am. That's how I spent the morning. That's actually how I spend most of my days. I don't do anything really interesting, but just keep things going and manage to stay busy enough that I often don't start dinner until 10 PM and have to force myself to eat something before I go to bed so I don't wither away (a little withering would be OK). Last night, about 10 PM, I decided I needed to cook the 2 chicken breasts I had thawed or use them for fish food. Not feeling particularly creative, I just pan fried them with Wesson Oil and a little cajun seasoning (Tony's) and pepper. They were great and the leftover half was great for breakfast this morning.

It is mostly sunny right now. The wind has clocked around ever so slightly, so I am going almost due East. I am not going North at all, but not giving up the Northward progress I have already made like I did for the last 36 hours. I am now plotting direct to the GGB and I have 1341 miles to go. The bad side of this is I am close hauled and only doing about 5 knots at best, so slow going. The wind should keep clocking to the west (hopefully) and I should be able to pick up some speed and not pound so much. The up side of an Open 60 is you get there faster, the down side of an Open 60 is you don't get to sail as long. Dream Chaser has seemed to be a perfect boat for me from day one. In this instance it's moving about the right speed. Dogbark would be too fast and Sparky or Black Feathers would be too slow (too much of a good thing).

It is still looking like I will arrive around the 28th, plus or minus depending on the wind gods. I might even get to crew for Andy on the 5th before I have to head back to FL and round up my dad. Then I get to start on the list of busted stuff on Dream Chaser to make her ready for Mexico in 2009 and, perhaps, the transpac again in 2010. If Jim and the General don't show up, who knows, I might even take my division............

With that, I guess I will sign off and fire up the satellite phone and mail this.

SeeYa,
John on Dream Chaser

Positions at 0900 17 August, Lat, Lon, course and speed
Dogbark 48 00 N, 125 28 W, 060, 8.0
Sunquest 42 50 N, 142 36 W, 080, 5.2
Chesapeake 44 55 N, 138 31 W, 060, 6.7
Alchera 38 34 N, 131 05 W, 096, 7.0
Warrior's Wish 36 51 N, 134 21 W, 065, 6.5
Haulback 43 21 N, 147 42 W, 060, 6.2
Na Na no contact
Wildflower 31 15 N, 158 55 W, 010, 6.3
Harrier 29 26 N, 158 21 W, 000, 4.1
Feolina no contact
Marika Violet 47 56 N, 131 37 W, 060, 8.0

Positions at 2100 Hawaii time, Lat, Lon, course and speed
Dogbark 47 39 N, 127 57 W, 080, 10.0
Sunquest 42 20 N, 143 94 W, 065, 6.4
Chesapeake 44 19 N, 140 00 W, 054, 6.4
Alchera 38 39 N, 132 43 W, 094, 6.0 motoring
Warrior's Wish 36 42 N, 135 56 N, 067, 6.0
Haulback 42 39 N, 148 57 W, 040, 6.0
Na Na 31 42 N, 152 51 W, 335, 4.6
Wildflower 30 13 159 11 015 5.0 motoring
Harrier 2840 N, 158 34 W, 355, 3.5
Feolina no contact
Hecla reports one hour from Golden Gate
Marika Violet 47 27 N, 133 30 W, 060, 7.0
Seeker 48 26 N, 124 59 W, 064, 5.4, final check in as they are inside Buoy J

Alchera reports finding his "daily" glass ball, this time one of the large ones, basketball size.

Positions at 0900 Hawaii time, Lat, Lon, course and speed
Dogbark 47 19 N, 130 35 W, 075, 9.0
Sunquest 41 51 N, 145 13 W, 075, 5.8
Chesapeake 43 35 N, 141 31 W, 070, 7.7
Alchera 38 44 N, 134 15 W, 094, 6.0 motoring
Warrior's Wish 36 48 N, 137 38 W, 070, 6.5
Hecla 37 58 N, 124 56 W, 080, 9.0 motoring, final check-in as ETA at SF is this evening
Haulback 41 53 N, 149 55 W, 050, 5.5
Na Na 30 33 N, 153 10 W, 010, 3.7
Wildflower 29 09 N, 159 30 W, 355, 6.0
Harrier 28 03 N, 158 57 W, 325, 5.9
Feolina no contact
Dreamchaser 34 33 N, 153 54 W, 110, 5.5 at 1600 PDT, 15 Aug
Marika Violet 46 51 N, 135 24 W, 050, 7.5
Seeker no contact

Positions at 2100 Hawaii time, Lat, Lon, course and speed
Dogbark 46 44 N, 132 34 W, 045, 7.5
Sunquest 41 28 N, 146 38 W, 080, 5.4
Chesapeake 43 09 N, 142 51 W, 060, 5.0
Alchera 38 48 N, 135 47 W, 093, 6.0 motoring
Warrior's Wish 36 48 N, 139 07 W, 070, 5.0 motorsailing
Hecla 38 14 N, 127 21 W, 085, 11.0
Haulback 41 07 N, 151 03 W, 065, 5.8
Na Na 29 43 N, 153 40 W, 014, 5.0 motoring
Wildflower 28 03 N, 159 05 W, 345, 5.1
Harrier 27 10 N, 158 26 W, 350, 5.6
Feolina no contact
Marika Violet 46 15 N, 137 12 W, 050, 8.0
Seeker 48 00 N, 128 56 W, 055, 6.7

Alchera found another glass ball, the jinx is definitely broken.
Wildflower found a glass ball that turned out to be a light bulb.

Well, here I sit heading about the same as yesterday but now I'm close hauled. The wind has shifted about 180 in the last 24 hours. It's not supposed to do that out here. I should still be on the west side of the high, wind flows clockwise around a high and so on. If the truth be known, the GRIB files showed it, but I missed it. I saw the lines all pointing in the same direction, but didn't notice that the heads and tails had shifted position. This is precisely the reason I prefer weatherfax because I could see not only what's happening but why it's happening. Weatherfax is out of the question though as the HF is probably permanently busted until it goes back to it's maker for repairs. The temps are down to about 72 now (I popped on a jacket this morning when I got up until the blood got circulating and the tea was ready) so if that was gonna help the HF I think it would have by now. Anyway, getting back to the weather, I don't know what the heck's going on but I have the choice of heading a little South of the GGB or for the tail end of the Aleutian Islands, so I chose the GGB heading. The danger here is if the high reforms and resumes it's normal position, I could sit in it for a while. Rather be there than the tail end of the Aleutian's though, I guess??? Actually, I just looked again and now I'm headed to Cabo. Now it's Cabo or Anchorage. What the heck is this??? I am supposed to be running with the wind behind me at this stage???? If I was going to beat my way home, I might just as well have started in Kauai and saved myself a week running North. The winds have not been "normal" coming or going as far as I can tell. One of the disadvantages of sailing I suppose. Tom's powerboat he just sets the heading, engages the autopilot and goes about his other business. It will alert him when he has arrived. For a long part of the trip across, the winds were out of Kauai, so we had to tack back and forth, and now, the winds are clocking around so as to be out of SF, so I will get to tack back and forth again. I will wait an hour and see what's happening then before doing anything. Things are changing. Last evening, I tried everything to keep the boat moving and couldn't so, tiring of hearing sails flap back and forth, I lowered all of them and just lay ahull. This lasted almost an hour and they ramped up to about 15 instantly making the mainsail which was just laying around not tied go every which way. Rather a pain to get it back up, actually.

What's happening with the weather has been bugging me and so I stopped typing and looked at the GRIB's again. I am pretty sure what's happening is the high I was clocking around dissipated and a new stronger high formed above and West of it. The new high is long and skinny West to East and I am trapped below it. Had I left 2 days earlier I would be OK but..... Sooooo, it looks like I will be giving back a lot of the Northward progress which was done solely to avoid just what has happened to me now, in spite of it. Ahhhh, the joys of being at the mercy of the wind..... I suppose I should look at the bright side of things. It's not a hurricane, I'm not on a deadline, I have plenty of food and water, it's just part of life's rich pageant I suppose. Like they say in the Northeast sometimes, perhaps I just can't get there from here??? I am the ocean equivalent of the Simon and Garfunkel song about the guy trapped going back and forth endlessly in the subway.

Enough of this drivel.... I am currently at 34 33 153 54 110T 5.5 This is 1570 miles from the GGB but, unfortunately, I am headed to Cabo............... I am trying to get home Jan, honest!!! One things certain, 3 or 4 days from now the weather picture will have changed again. Hope it's better for me!!!! No "good" options right at this instant.

It's still overcast and gloomy. It looks like the two flexible solar panels I got with the boat were destroyed by water intrusion. The plastic coating must have had multiple cracks and the water (rain and salt spray over the bow) got in and so they are toast. I don't know if they are working partially or not. I would probably be more upset but I have seen so little of the sun that even if they were perfect, I would still be having to run the engine about the same amount of time to generate electricity.

It may sound as if all is doom and gloom, it's not. This is all part of the race/trip to me. I wanted, not only to go to HI singlehanded, but to come home that way, so here I am and I will take/handle whatever comes and enjoy as much of it as I can. Yes, I would like to have made it to 40N (my original goal) before the new high formed, but didn't make it. Yes, I would like to have had a *lot* more sun. But, you know what, I'm still having fun and I will get there when I get there. I have had "some" of the perfect sailing conditions, just not nearly as high a percentage as I would have liked, so far......

I have seen what I think are a number of Albatrosses. I still have to get out the book and check. I didn't see any on the way down. No whales yet, but certainly don't want to see them as close as Jim on Chesapeake did. He hit one and damaged all the interior cabinetry when the hull flexed. Least he didn't sink. Hope he didn't hurt the whale!

Other than that, I can't think of anything else to report. I will still update my position on Winlink even though I gave it here.

John on Dream Chaser

Positions at 0900 Hawaii time, Lat, Lon, course and speed
Dogbark 46 38 N, 134 24 W, 090, 8.0
Sunquest 41 26 N, 147 27 W, 100, 4.5
Chesapeake 42 54 N, 144 29 W, 074, 7.1
Alchera 38 49 N, 137 19 W, 090, 6.0 motoring
Warrior's Wish 36 31 N, 140 38 W, 065, 7.0
Hecla 38 32 N, 129 27 W, 080, 8.5
Haulback 40 42 N, 152 22 W, 070, 5.4
Na Na 28 46 N, 154 55 W, 012, 5.2
Wildflower 26 59 N, 158 56 W, 355, 6.1
Harrier 26 06 N, 158 29 W, 015, 5.6
Feolina, 26 34 N, 158 11 W, 010, 5.5
Marika Violet 45 23 N, 138 45 W, 000, 8.0

Hecla reports strong 25 knot winds and large seas approaching SF
Feolina reported two boobies on board last night but one was conked by the wind generator
Dream Chaser reported position 33 20 N, 157 23 W, 052, 6.5 via satphone at 1400 PDT 14 August

Positions at 2100 Hawaii time, Lat, Lon, course and speed
Dogbark 46 17 N, 136 36 W, 060, 8.0
Sunquest 41 21 N, 148 37 W, 350, 5.2
Chesapeake 42 59 N, 146 07 W, 090, 5.8
Alchera 38 50 N, 138 55 W, 091, 6.5 motoring
Warrior's Wish 36 17 N, 142 26 W, 060, 6.7
Hecla 38 44 N, 131 48 W, 080, 9.0
Haulback 40 23 N, 153 32 W, 050, 4.2
Na Na 27 58 N, 155 09 W, 026, 6.9
Wildflower 25 57 N, 159 01 W, 020, 5.8
Harrier 25 04 N, 158 46 W, 000, 5.9
Marika Violet 44 55 N, 139 57 W, 050, 6.0
Seeker 47 11 N, 132 02 W, 045, 6.0 motoring
Feolina 1700 email report via Haulback 25 N, 158 W, 5.0

Harrier reports Red-footed Booby on his bow pulpit from 1400 until check-in, it doesn't want to leave despite encouragement.

Positions at 0900 Hawaii time, Lat, Lon, course and speed
Dogbark 45 18 N, 138 22 W, 040, 9.0
Sunquest 40 42 N, 148 38 W, 085, 4.5
Chesapeake 42 54 N, 147 29 W, 064, 7.0
Alchera 38 50 N, 140 31 W, 090, 7.8
Warrior's Wish 35 58 N, 144 05 W,060, 7.7
Hecla 38 50 N, 134 16 W, 070, 9.0
Haulback 39 36 N, 153 40 W, 350, 4.8
Na Na 27 03 N, 155 46 W, 017, 3.7
Wildflower 24 46 N, 159 09 W, 035, 6.1
Harrier 24 00 N, 158 53 W, 015, 5.3
Marika Violet 44 27 N, 141 45 W, 050, 7.5

Sunquest wants to pass on that her computer is not operational so no email is available from David.

Wildflower had six boobies on board last night and was trying to chase them off with a broom. Skip recommended to Haulback to add a pitchfork to his kit for the next passage.

Positions at 2100 Hawaii time, Lat, Lon, course and speed
Dogbark 44 08 N, 140 14 W, 050, 9.0
Sunquest 40 35 N, 145 46 W, 075, 5.8
Chesapeake 42 21 N, 149 00 W, 054, 6.3
Alchera 38 45 N, 142 27 W, 087, 7.5
Warrior's Wish 35 27 N, 145 45 W, 055, 6.5
Hecla 38 51 N, 136 09 W, 070, 7.5 motoring
Haulback 38 54 N, 153 28 W, 090, 3.5
Na Na 26 04 N, 156 28 W, 029, 6.5
Wildflower 23 39 N, 159 26 W, 355, 6.1
Harrier 23 04 N, 159 14 W, 025, 5.7
Marika Violet 43 56 N, 143 28 W, 020, 7.0
Seeker 46 16 N, 134 43 W, 045, 6.5

Positions at 0900 Hawaii time, Lat, Lon, course and speed
Dogbark 43 07 N, 142 07 W, 060, 9.5
Sunquest 40 10 N, 151 01 W, 060, 5.0
Chesapeake 41 47 N, 150 10 W, 050, 2.6 motoring while cleaning fresh albacore
Alchera 38 41 N, 144 20 W, 081, 7.5
Warrior's Wish 35 10 N, 147 33 W, 057, 8.0
Hecla 38 56 N, 138 11 W, 070, 8.0
Haulback no contact
Na Na 25 04 N, 157 27 W, 024, 5.5
Wildflower contact but no position, has left Hanalei
Harrier contact leaving Hanalei @ 1000
Dreamchaser has departed all is well but SSB has preblems, sat phone message via Timo
Marika Violet 43 15 N, 144 39 W, 050, 6.0

Positions at 2100 Hawaii time, Lat, Lon, course and speed
Dogbark 42 08 N, 144 03 W 040, 9.5
Sunquest 39 40 N, 152 06 W, 060, 5.8
Chesapeake 41 09 N, 151 13 W, 066, 7.0
Alchera 38 15 N, 146 17 W, 074, 7.5
Warrior's Wish 34 27 N, 149 00 W, 057, 5.4
Hecla 38 56 N, 140 30 W, 070, 12.0
Haulback 38 10 N, 155 39 W, 040, 6.4
Na Na 24 18 N, 158 05 W, 025, 6.1
Marika Violet 43 01 N, 145 53 W, 040, 6.0
Seeker 44 51 N, 137 54 W, 040, 7.0

My HF radio is still on the fritz so I still cannot connect with any of the other returning boats. I hope it will work again when it gets cooler, but it's still well into the 80's during the day here.

Well, it seems I have found the western edge of the Pacific high. I motored last night for about 4.5 hours when the wind quit altogether both because the batteries needed to be charged and because I was approaching a wind shift. I got past the wind shift and am now screaming along at 3 kts. on a reach to a run. I have to use the electric autopilot as there is not enough relative wind for the wind vane, even with the bigger light air paddle. The sea is not a mirror, but pretty flat. I am still headed due north (albiet slowly) and according to the GRIB files, the good winds are dropping south faster than I am going north. The geography out here is enormous and my fuel tank is not, so I am conserving fuel and not blindly motoring until I am low on fuel. I still have 3/4's of a 90 gallon tank, so no danger of having to turn off the fridge yet...... I am on no schedule so will see what the weather patterns look like and hope the wind is still coming down to get me. I started Ken Follets "Eye of the Needle" last night and have spent most of today reading when I was not tweaking sails and headings and so on. When you have 3 knots over the ground and the relative wind is 2 kts. you have to pretty much have everything set properly to make any headway at all, but there is still a lot of flapping. On the other hand, not much worry of the rig coming down. If things didn't change, I would be home by Christmas and would have turned off the refrigeration and would be conserving and collecting water and rationing food. WOW, I just felt the breeze freshen and I'm up to 4.5 kts. I hope it lasts and builds. Since it's calm and flat, I think I will make a salad and fix up some honey sesame chicken for dinner. Last time I made the the honey sesame chicken, I was in the trades and slicing and marinating the chicken was a pain, to say nothing of keeping it on the stove which was rocking stop to stop. The way the GRIB files look I may start arcing off East at 35N. I will still have to go over 40N, but can arc up to it rather than the 90 degree angles I had thought I would have to do. I may have to deal with light winds at 40N again, but that's still more than a week off, so we will see what happens between now and then. No change in arrival estimates as I still have over 2000 nm to go, anyway I look at it. I am rather hooked on reading Eye of the Needle now, so other activities like practicing celestial navigation will have to wait. It is still over 80 in the cabin but is cooling down more at night so I "must" be getting further north?? Progress appears really slow on a sailboat traveling over 2000 miles when in the middle of the ocean. It all looks the same.

Soooo, Dream Chaser is heading back to SF Bay, albeit slowly......

John

Positions at 0900 Hawaii time, Lat, Lon, course and speed
Dogbark 40 44 N, 145 36 W, 030, 8.0
Sunquest 38 56 N, 152 54 W, 000, 6.0
Chesapeake 40 22 N, 152 44 W, 046, 7.0
Alchera 37 49 N, 148 05 W, 071, 8.0
Warrior's Wish 34 09 N, 150 34 W, 065, 7.5
Hecla 38 49 N, 143 20 W, 070, 14.0
Haulback 37 08 N, 156 34 W, 030, 5.9
Marika Violet 42 15 N, 147 17 W, 040, 7.0, reporting some problems with the SSB, not to worry if they miss a future check in
Na Na 23 17 N, 158 37 W, 000, 6.2 departed Hanalei yesterday morning

News from Wildflower is that Rueben/Sparky and Robbie got engaged at Kilauea Lighthouse yesterday, Congratulations!

As part of the halfway celebration I opened the halfway box packed at home by lots of my friends for the race that got packed onboard along with the crew's bags unfortunately not to be found until Hanalei. I decided to wait to open it until now. Late thank you's to all who contributed thoughts and gifts and apologies on my part for misplacing it. Special kudos to Lou and Sandy and Uncle Archie for assembling it all.

Cheers, Al

Positions at 2100 Hawaii time, Lat, Lon, course and speed
Dogbark 40 07 N, 147 20 W, 015, 7.5
Sunquest 37 44 N, 153 13 W, 020, 5.0
Chesapeake 39 08 N, 154 01 W, 050, 7.5
Alchera 37 13 N, 149 45 W, 034, 6.3
Warrior's Wish 33 35 N, 151 42 W, 013, 4.5
Hecla 38 40 N, 145 28 W, 068, 8.5
Haulback 36 11 N, 157 21 W, 030, 5.2
Marika Violet 41 34 N, 148 38 W, 030, 5.0
Seeker 43 33 N, 141 15 W, 060, 6.5

My HF radio is out, which is a little frustrating, but that's the main reason I bought the satellite phone. I had this same problem last summer and then it went away until right before I left. It worked fine on the way down, especially when I was the comm boat, but now it's dead on receive. Well, it will work for about a minute or so and then quit. Sooo, I don't get to talk to the other boats heading home and that would have been fun. We will see if it starts working as I go north and the temps start falling. Not sure I am anxious to wish for this, it's pretty comfortable right now!!!!

I left Hanalei last Friday and I was not feeling well and not enjoying the trip. I don't know if it was all the advil I had been taking for the neck injury tearing up my stomach or if I just got a bug or ????? Anyway I was nauseous and achy all over, but I am back to my normal obnoxious self now, thankfully. The neck is about 90% It still hurts, especially doing this for instance, but I can do some stretching exercises and it's ok again for a while. A friend suggested in Kauai that a massage would certainly help, but Jan probably would have objected to my taking a pretty young masseuse with me on the trip home....... I have come about 420 miles so far. I am heading due North out of Kauai and will continue North until I reach 40N or higher before turning East some 1000 miles north in total. I am trying to avoid the center of the Pacific high as I don't want to drift for weeks and don't have enough fuel to motor through it. I didn't get water or fuel prior to leaving HI, so I want to sail the entire time, if possible. I should be able to, but I might sail in in really light air for a while. I am currently close hauled in about 8 kts true, doing about 6.5 kts over the ground sitting on the port settee with the computer on my lap whacking out emails. If I could average this the entire trip, life would indeed be good. It is a beautiful day here. Seas are pretty quiet, light wind, but from a good direction and temperature in the cabin, all opened up, is about 79 degrees. It is a little frustrating to be sailing parallel to the west coast, 2000 miles offshore, but that's how it's done they tell me. If I kept going straight, I would end up back in Adak. I didn't like it enough there to want to return!!! It's at the end of the Alutians and there are birds and a Navy airbase there and that's it. Fortunately I don't have a job to go back to and sailing doesn't get any better than it is today (even Jan would really like it except for the distance to land thing)!!!

Using my expected track and figuring 140 miles per day, I will arrive back in SF Bay on the 28th, but don't make any firm plans based on this since I have 2311 miles to go, which is further than I sailed total getting to Kauai and I have covered over 420 miles already.

For those interested in my position, you can use the following link: http://www.aprs.net/cgi-bin/winlink.cgi?KM6LE

Soooo, that's what's happening on Dream Chaser for today (and tomorrow and the next day and so on most likely).

Cheers,
John

Positions at 0900 Hawaii time, Lat, Lon, course and speed
Dogbark 38 50 N, 148 09 W, 035, 7.5
Sunquest 36 42 N, 153 53 W, 030, 6.2
Chesapeake 38 17 N, 155 21 W, 327, 4.3
Alchera 36 24 N, 151 15 W, 063, 7.6
Warrior's Wish 33 00 N, 152 33 W, 060 4.5 motorsailing
Hecla 38 31 N, 147 19 W, 068, 6.5
Haulback 35 17 N, 157 52 W, 030, 6.0
Marka Violet 40 40 N, 149 48 W, 030, 6.5

Wildflower plans on leaving Hanalei on Wednesday

Positions at 2100 Hawaii time, lat, lon, course and speed
Dogbark 37 52 N, 149 33 W, 065, 8.5
Sunquest 35 33 N, 154 35 W, 025, 5.5
Chesapeake 37 37 N, 155 37 W, 100, 3.5
Alchera 35 21 N, 152 20 W, 035, 6.5
Warrior's Wish 32 44 N, 153 31 W, 080, 4.5
Hecla 38 10 N, 149 03 W, 068, 9.5
Haulback 34 13 N, 158 26 W, 010, 5.0 motoring
Marika Violet 39 45 N, 151 00 W, 040, 7.0
Seeker 42 35 N, 144 30 W, 045, 6.5

The winds continued to lighten over the course of the day. The boat moved slower, but the waves continued smooth out as well. Alchera glided along quietly. Then the occasional squall would come up and the boat would rocket off for 20 minutes until it passed, and then resume its slow peaceful pace. Late afternoon the winds died down to where they could no longer keep the sails filled and the boat moving. It was time to start motoring. The Pacific High Pressure Zone had been reached.

The High has been a very special place to me ever since I first experienced it during the return home in '96. The 'seascapes' can be incredibly beautiful. Sometimes the water is so flat that the sky is reflected as a perfect mirror. There are puffy white clouds that stretch off to infinity. The ones in the far distance seem to be rising out of the ocean like huge icebergs. The sea takes on this deep clear blue, and if you look down into the depths you can see the rays of the sun vanishing into the depths. The sunsets are some of the most incredible I have ever seen, and at night the sky is ablaze with stars. If there is a moon, the light is reflected off the clouds and the sea like something out of a painting. It almost seems unreal, it's so breathtaking.

The calm conditions make it a perfect hunting ground for the much sought-after glass fishing floats, which are said to come from fishing villages in the islands around Japan. During my previous 4 Transpacs, I have never found one of these 'glass balls', though it seemed my fellow skippers were finding them everywhere. Today that would finally change. Late in the afternoon I saw pass by the boat what I first thought was a piece of fruit floating in the water. Something made me turn the boat around and go back for a closer look. When I fished it out of the water it was indeed a little glass ball, complete with a Japanese character stamped into the pontil at the base. Not very big, only about 2.5 inches. It's cute, and I don't care that it's not big. When you think about the circumstances required to bring me and Alchera and that ball together at the same time and place in the middle of the Pacific, it's kind of mind boggling. To me anyway.

Mark/Alchera

Positions at 0900 Hawaii time, Lat, Lon, course and speed
Dogbark 37 20 N, 151 26 W, 040, 8.5
Sunquest 34 36 N, 155 13 W, 020, 4.2
Chesapeake 37 12 N, 156 21 W, 050, 7.6
Alchera 34 21 N, 153 12 W, 035, 6.5 motoring
Warrior's Wish no contact
Hecla 37 32 N, 151 08 W, 040, 10.0
Haulback 33 13 N, 158 42 W, 010, 4.5
Marika Violet 38 52 N, 152 15 W, 040, 6.0 motoring

Contact with Carroll E sailing towards Keahi lagoon this afternoon for haulout tomorrow morning
Wildflower confirms that Islander is safely in Hanalei.

Positions @ 2100 Hawaii time, Lat, Lon, course and speed
Dogbark 37 00 N, 153 28 W, 075, 7.5
Sunquest 33 39 N, 155 41 W, 015, 4.7 motoring
Chesapeake 35 54 N, 157 02 W, 021, 6.9
Alchera 33 31 N, 154 15 W, 047, 6.3 motoring
Warrior's Wish 31 18 N, 155 10 W, 028, 6.0
Hecla 36 07 N, 153 06 W, 050, 7.2 motoring
Haulback 32 15 N, 158 51 W, 010, 5.5 motoring
Marika Violet 38 30 N, 153 30 W, 040, 6.0

Alchera reports finding a glass ball today and catching a 34" dorado

No report from Islander

Current positions 0900 Hawaii time, Lat, Lon, course and speed
Dogbark 36 40 N, 155 30 W, 070, 8.5
Sunquest 32 46 N, 156 13 W, 020, 5.0
Chesapeake 34 53 N, 157 23 W, 034, 4.6
Alchera 32 39 N, 155 17 W, 035, 6.5
Warrior's Wish 30 14 N, 155 45 W, 005, 6.7
Hecla 35 11 N, 153 38 W, 020, 8.5 motorsailing,
Haulback 31 11 N, 158 57 W, 008, 4.0
Islander no report
Marika Violet 37 56 N, 154 46 W, 040, 4.5
Carroll E 25 miles from Barber's Point all is well

Haulback found another glass ball this morning
Hecla snagged a portion of netting on their prop, George dove in this morning and cut it loose, subsequently no vibration so they think no damage

Positions at 2100 Hawaii time, Lat, Lon, course and speed
Dogbark 36 22 N, 157 18 W, 075, 6.5
Sunquest 31 56 N, 156 25 W, 000, 4.8
Chesapeake 34 11 N, 157 41 W, 000, 5.9 and motoring
Alchera 31 15N, 155 49 W, 025, 7.4
Warrior's Wish 29 14 N, 156 01 W, 002, 6.2
Hecla 34 01 N, 154 26 W, 020, 7.0 and motoring
Islander 22 50 N, 158 56 W, 200, 6.5, Returning to Hanalei with water ingress from an unknown source and non-working bilge pump, no immediate danger
Marika Violet 37 09 N, 155 58 W, 040, 6.5 and motoring
Seeker no contact

Carroll E checked in and reports 25 knots in Mid Kauai Channel and expects to be at Barber's Point around noon tomorrow, Chris and Justine are doing fine.

We are continuing on to the San Juans where we will do a more thorough examination. I am hopeful that the only thing that needs to be fixed is the cabinetry.

If anybody knows a good woodworking shop up there, please let me know. My land email address is jamesafair@aol.com

Jim Fair
Chesapeake
Outbound 46

Positions at 0900 Hawaii time, Lat, Lon, course and speed
Dogbark 35 45 N, 159 01 W, 060, 9.0
Sunquest 30 47 N, 156 45 W, 015, 5.5
Chesapeake 33 11 N, 157 55 W, 000, 7.3
Alchera 29 54 N, 156 34 W, 038, 7.2
Warrior's Wish 28 05 N, 156 31 W, 027, 6.8
Hecla 32 45 N, 154 51 W, 010, 9.5
Haulback 28 49 N, 159 02 W, 000, 5.9
Islander heard but no numbers were able to be copied
Marika Violet 35 48 N, 159 00 W, 040, 5.5
Seeker only on evening roll call

Half moon and loads of stars and a fleece top to start the evening watch Cheers, Al

Positions at 2100 Hawaii time, Lat, Lon, course and speed
Dogbark 34 20 N, 159 51 W, 010, 8.0
Sunquest 29 43 N, 157 13 W, 015, 6.2
Chesapeake 31 48 N, 158 01 W, 000, 7.5
Alchera 28 33 N, 157 05 W, 012, 7.5
Warrior's Wish 27 01 N, 157 09 W, 014, 6.0
Hecla 31 08 N, 155 15 W, 010, 9.0
Haulback 27 41 N, 159 01 W, 357, 6.2
Islander 23 04 N, 159 16 W, 005, 4.4
Marika Violet 35 42 N, 157 55 W, 010, 5.5
Seaker 39 27 N, 153 13 W, return voyage from Victoria - Maui race

As some of you know I lost some dear friends and work-mates in a recent airplane crash on Vancouver Island. I heard of this the day before my departure from Hanalei Bay. I am dedicating my return passage to their memory.

Here's to you, Woody, Terry and Scotty. Thoughts of you will fill my solitude. My life is richer for having had you as friends.

Although I did not know Mark or the Pilot, my deepest sympathy and sorrow to their families. Something like this should not happen on the way to work.

The 'trades picked up a bit for the final run to the finish, getting me there not long after daylight on July 29, for an elapsed time of 16 days 23 hours 44 minutes (or thereabouts). Haulback won her division, not only on corrected time, but on elapsed time as well. Not bad going considering the pain and suffering of the first few days of very light breeze.

Wildflower and the lighter boats dominated the top end of the corrected time finishes, leaving us a spot in 5th place - still not bad, all things considered. Possibly some wise and thoughtful analogy to life in general, but I can't come up wit hone just now. All in all though, a good race against some worthy competitors.

I had a week to while away in Hanalei before heading for home. The first couple days were spent jerry-jugging fuel and water out to the boat for the return trip - always best to get the toughest jobs over with first. Evenings were spent under the tree with my fellow competitors recalling battles fought on the way across, trading stories of years past and other general tomfoolery.

Every day would bring a new arrival to add to the mix.... the only sad part being that I had to leave before Reuben on 'Sparky', the 22 foot Pearson Electra, made his arrival. He lost his mast 650 miles out and had to jury-rig a replacement out of the broken bits and pieces he recovered, to make the finish. I think he was supposed to get there today sometime. Good on ya' Reuben....A big job for a little boat!!!

The wind-up dinner was a great success, with Skip Allen on 'Wildflower' taking home the big prize - First-Place, Corrected Time - for a flawless job of driving his boat across the course. Congratulations, Skip..... We could all learn a whole lot from your example.

All good things must come to an end, and although my stay there seemed longer than the week it was, all too soon it was time to root the anchor out of the clean white sand of Hanalei Bay and leave to head back to the somewhat chillier waters of British Columbia.

I am never at my best the first day of a passage, but this one was worse than normal. I spent almost all of the first 36 hours in the bunk, getting up only to check that we were still headed more-or-less in the right direction, or when it was time to tuck in, or shake out a reef in the sails. Not a fun time, but pretty well forgotten once it has passed.

On radio check-in this morning Jim on Chesapeake reported a collision with a whale somewhere off up ahead of me. The collision 'sprung' and splintered some cabinetry away from the hull, but there was no ingress of water after collision, nor any visible damage to the hull. This is a good thing!!! Let's hope this continues to be the case!!

Jim reports seeing the whale swim off leaving a trail of blood in it's wake. He did not know what kind of whale it was, nor surprisingly did he seem at all sympathetic to the whale's plight. I asked what course the wounded beast headed off in, as the last thing I want to see out here is a pissed-off whale looking for revenge!!!

I have spent today trying to catch up on emails so hopefully I should have most people covered by now. If I missed you - my apologies. Not all letters got forwarded to the boat's computer - some are left somewhere on the internet.

So, here's hoping for a quick trip home, but one never knows, I have taken anywhere from

17and1/2 to 31 days to do this passage in the past. Am hoping to be docked in False Creek by the end of August, but we shall see.

Bye for now.....Jim/Haulback

Cheers, Al

Positions at 2100 Hawaii time
Dogbark 30 40 N, 159 58 W, 000, 9.0
Sunquest 27 23 N, 158 01 W, 005, 6.5
Chesapeake 28 48 N, 158 30 W, 352, 8.1
Alchera 25 46 N, 158 10 W, 008, 7.2
Warrior's Wish 24 53 N, 158 10 W, 009, 6.4
Hecla 28 15 N, 156 39 W, 015, 9.5
Haulback no contact
Islander leaving Hanalei tomorrow morning
Marika Violet 33 41 N, 159 15 W, 000, 7.0

Sparky ETA in Hanalei 0600 Hawaii time according to Wildflower.

Jupiter is very prominent in the sky high and astern of us. The stars were very bright early in the evening but gave way to clouds and squalls by morning. Winds back into the low twenties so it was back to a double reef in the main and staysail by morning as well.

Positions at 0900 Hawaii time
Dogbark 28 55 N, 159 55 W, 000, 8.5 kts
Sunquest 26 07 N, 158 19 W, 030, 6.1
Chesapeake 27 11 N, 158 35 W, 019, 7.8
Alchera 24 26 N, 158 30 W, 018, 7.2
Warrior's Wish 23 50 N, 158 49 W, 020, 5.3
Hecla 26 42 N, 157 15 W, 035, 8.5
Haulback 24 13 N, 159 07 W, 012, 5.7
Marika Violet 32 17 N, 159 32 W, 000, 7.0, schooner left Hanalei before the fleet bound for BC
Ragtime 21 36 N, 158 33 W, 057, 5.0, 30 miles from Barber's Point
Polar Bear 21 16 N, 158 11 W

Heavy squall during check-in for Dogbark with winds to 35 knots and lots of rain. Over in about 10 minutes.

Wildflower at anchor in Hanalei reports Sparky 80 miles out making 5 knots, way to go Ruben!, and Islander is repaired and scheduled to depart later today or tomorrow.

Cheers, Al

Some more of the fleet have departed Hanalei today and Alchera chatted with Wildflower and Dream Chaser still at anchor for awhile longer.

Aloha, Al

2100 Hawaii time positions
Dogbark 27 07 N, 159 57 W, 000, 9.0
Sunquest 25 01 N, 158 34 W, 005, 6.2
Chesapeake 25 47 N, 159 02 W, 016, 7.0
Alchera 23 26 N, 159 02 W, 010, 6.0
Warrior's Wish, 22 48 N, 159 23 W, 010, 6.0
Ragtime, 22 21 N, 159 06 W, 057, 6.5 Heading to Honolulu
Hecla 25 18 N, 157 56 W, 005, 8.5
Polar Bear 21 56 N, 158 56 W, 145, 6.7 Heading to Honolulu
Haulback was reported to have departed also but no check-in this evening

Dogbark's position at 0900 Hawaii time was 25 22N, 159 46W, course 000T, spd 8.5
Cheers, Al

We had an outstanding dinner and awards ceremony had the Princeville resort on Saturday. Particularly noteworthy for me was Skip Allan's victory, Alan Hebert's acceptance of his belt buckle, and the rousing group cheer and support for Ruben Gabriel/Sparky's quest for the finish line. Thanks again for the magnificent job done by the Race Committee with this and everything this year. Synthia, Sylvia, Rich, Jeanne, Timo and Bill. You all are the greatest!

During the afternoon we saw boobies, hawaiian petrels, storm petrels and a tropic bird. We had two boobies visit at sunset. One landed at the4 masthead for about 3 minutes before being ejected and again at the upper spreaders for another minute. The motion proved to be too much. They returned about an hour later and spent some time scoping out the radar mast and stern pulpit before finally flying away. Jon prepared ginger and garlic pork and tofu over rice with a fresh garden salad for our first evening. He is now baking fresh gingerbread. Gotta love good cooks!

At evening check-in we heard from Chesapeake who also left late today so that is three boats underway for the Northwest.

Dogbark's position at 2100 Hawaii time was 23 39 N, 158 53 W, course 000, speed 10 kt, wind 20 E

Aloha, Al and the crew.