Why I want to do the singlehanded transpac

[haulback]

Reading through another bunch of notes elsewhere on the forum I started thinking that this may be a suitable time for us all to dredge up some of the reasons (real or imagined) on why we are putting ourselves through the excitement and anticipation - along with associated pain and suffering - of getting to the start line for this year's race.

Although I am certain there will be many who are more eloquent than myself, I will start off with a few submissions

1) I really like offshore sailing and this is a perfect excuse to go again, even if it is only for a couple of months.

2) Sailing from the mainland to Hawaii is truly one of the great passages of all. Following winds, following seas and every day is a bit better than the one before as the miles roll under the keel.

3) The experience of making landfall after a couple weeks at sea is one of life's special moments. And one that is reserved only for sailors.

4) I have seldom worked so hard, or been rewarded as much, as I have from sailing this race. You will be amazed at what you CAN do.

5) You will never again have to say 'I was thinking of doing it'.

6) I like the people I meet doing the race - although I have no idea what they are like in any other context apart from sailing - and count them as good friends.

7) Although everybody sails as well and as hard as they can, and each covets the thought of a 'win' at the finish, the level of pure sportsmanship displayed during the race is second to none. I think this becomes part of the rather special feeling of fellowship amongst the competitors that they go on about.


To all those first-timers considering whether or not to participate this year - There is the rest of your life to be spent doing the 'sensible thing' and only one chance to cross the start line in July.......Your life will be the richer for doing so.

Jim/Haulback

[nereida]

Excellent contribution, Jim - you have a great way of putting it & I'm sure many of us will go along with all you've said!
You've probably given people thinking that maybe they can't manage the race this year a set of excellent reasons to make sure they do...
I know I gained a lot from doing the race in '06 - both from enjoying meeting the people involved - both racers & non-racers - and learning a lot from the experience of trying to sail "Nereida" to go better/faster than we'd done before - for which I thank all concerned with the race.

Jeanne
"Nereida"

[Alchera]

Nicely put, Jim. It's difficult to explain to those who haven't done the race why this one is special, but you've come close. Whenever I get discouraged about the work involved in doing the race 'just one more time' all I have to do is reread some of the old logs and posts in the archives and it brings those great feelings back again, and I'm good to go again!

- Mark

[cr1]

Hi Jim and all,

Thanks for the motivational input. I know for me, any worthwhile goal that I've had to work up to has been by myself. Meaning either single handed or climbing a mountain. You can't explain what it's like when you get on top of the peak even though there's only time for a look and an apple. But the getting in shape, prepariation and anticipation of the journey are a fair percentage of the whole undertaking. My mind's obviously been focused on mainly this event since I committed to it.

Rich
Horizon

[SSSForumAdmin]

I have reasons, but they're not really happy ones any more. I have a job to do....self respect to sail for.

However, I know what it will be like to sail for fifteen or sixteen days and not do anything else. That in itself is a reward beyond most rewards anywhere else in this world. I will treasure that.

I am looking forward to the smell of Kauai after two weeks at sea. i am looking forward to being 60 miles out and watching the birds show me the way to the island. I am looking forward to hearing the voice on the radio telling me that I have finished. I am looking forward to strapping on the belt buckle that says that after all these years I have done what I set out to do. My belt buckle...that I earned. I've waited long enough.

Those are my reasons. I know this post is a little bit of a downer...sorry for that.

Oh, Alan H here....logged on as Administrator..

[cr1]

Alan,

Not a downer at all. I'm a first timer and any insight I can get is valued.

Thanks,

Rich
Horizon

[blighbaum]

No, Alan, it's not a downer. I also have personal demons that need to be slain. This may sound maudlin, but ever since 4th grade when Mrs. Fleming assigned Captain Slocum's "Sailing Alone Around the World" (it may have been a condensed version), I've been thinking that someday, someday, I'd make an ocean passage in a small boat alone. And remember the great conditions on the first two days of the 2003 Long Pac? It was my first offshore venture alone, and I was too anxious to enjoy it fully. I hope we can have some good conditions, and that I will have the right mental state - watchful but not nervous - to enjoy them. (Not to mention not screwing up and going aground after finishing!) Apart from the demons, your post also brought back some memories of my brief and long-ago career as a merchant seaman -- the smell of land when you've been at sea for a while! I think it will be great to spend two weeks and more sailing along, with nobody on my case, answering to nobody, and then arive in beautiful Hanalei!

- Tom Kirschbaum, Feral

[Ergo]

I did my first SHTP just to do it. I'd never been offshore except for the LongPac, didn't know how to fly a spinnaker, didn’t really know any of the other skippers and had no idea what I was getting into. I did the second because the first one was one of the most satisfying experiences of my life. Others have identified some of the specific bests like the bliss of sailing in the trades, just sailing for days and days, figuring out how to fix things I didn't expect to break and being a part of something that was truly extraordinary. Making some friends I'll be proud to know for the rest of my life. All of these things are profoundly meaningful to me.

My second SHTP was nothing like the first. I had higher expectations. I'd done it already. I'd made my bones. I knew and had raced against some of the other skippers. I liked the recognition of having done it. I knew how to fly a spinnaker. I was a “vet”. I even harbo(u)red aspirations of beating Phil (the '04 winner). Ergo had a heavy cargo of ego. In short, I'd copped a little attitude and lost part of the pure wonder of the experience; big mistake.

The race, however, is a great leveler. In some ways it's an easy race; I've heard it said that you can probably get from SF to Hawaii on a bail of hay and there's some truth in that. In my opinion, most of the regular SSS races are technically more difficult than the SHTP. The SHTP is just much longer, things break and you have to fix them or do without. I know the experience of sailing alone for 21 ('06) or 16 days ('04) changed me in ways that I’m still trying to understand.

After the first race, a cousin of mine was asking me about it. After a few minutes, she looked at me and asked who I was talking about because I kept saying “we did this” or “we did that.” It startled me. I was talking about me and Ergo. I was also talking the other skippers. It occurred to me that I’d never really felt like I was alone out there.

Last month I decided to sit out '08. I'm helping Synthia on the race committee. I told Synthia that I'd do anything but be on the race deck for the start. I don't know if I want to watch the fleet leave and not be with it. First time racers should be aware that the SHTP is a very addictive behavior.

[BobJ]

Speaking of addictive behavior, the first two posters in this very thread have gone on to circumnavigate. Jim "went on around" after SHTP04 and was waiting for us in Hanalei two years later.

Jeanne is currently in Cape Town, preparing Nereida for the sail back up and across the Atlantic. (You can follow her progress at svnereida.com)

Somewhere there's an old Rand McNally World Atlas with my planned circumnavigation marked in purple felt-tip pen. I marked it in there when I was 12 . . .

[John Hayward]

Simple really………. When I was going to college in San Diego and sailing my tubby little Columbia 22, I was often out in the ocean alone and thought “there is nothing between me and Hawaii but water and willpower.” Thirty years later I still have the same thought only now I am preparing to make it happen. I think the call of long ocean passages, especially singlehanded, is something that it’s impossible to explain. Sky diving, mountain climbing, all the same. If somebody asks you “why” then you are probably wasting breath and time trying to explain it to them. Other reasons include things like it will make you a better sailor and it will help you learn how to make your boat as seaworthy as possible. There is also the challenge of being self-sufficient a thousand miles from the nearest West Marine. As stated before, if something breaks you fix it, jury patch it or do without it. Before I did my qualifier last summer I had never been offshore alone overnight. I had been offshore overnight yes, but alone, no. I thought I would like it, I was wrong. I loved it! I am hoping the trip to HI will be less busy, warmer and give me more time to just enjoy “being there.” The challenge for me will not be to win the race (although this would be nice) but to sail my boat as fast as it’s capable of and to try to make good tactical decisions. If I do this, then I will have “won” personally. As a side note, I am really enjoying the process of getting the boat ready. I try not to think about the cost because I know that crossing the finish line in Kauai will make the effort and expense seem trivial. I know that the wonderful memories will last much longer than the pain of writing all those checks…….

See you all there.

John H