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Dogbarkin the2004 Singlehanded TransPac Race |
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Log Number 126 Jun 2004 07:00 PDTLou Hughes reports: 
Al called at 7:00 am. He’s getting ready to get towed out to the starting line. They come on board and seal the shaft of every boat so there are no engines turning on underway…
Log Number 226 Jun 2004 14:30 PDTDogbark reports: Yee Hah, underway at last, currently bombing along on a beam reach off Pigeon Point, wind pretty steady at 25kt NW. Clean start about 30 seconds late. Led the fleet out the Gate. Started with full main and staysail in about 14 kt W and beat out the ship channel. Wind built to about 30 and double reefed the main. Wind dropped to about 20 kts at the sea buoy (SF) and after bearing off to a more southerly course, I unrolled the genoa and shook out the reefs. It has been a great day to start this race in a big boat. I am pretty wet and drained mostly emotionally. Hardest thing is keeping sunglasses clean. Log Number 326 Jun 2004 21:48 PDTDogbark reports: Nice half moon and clear night with still 25 K NW, the wind varies between 20 and 35. After hearing everyone's positions I definitely am the boat going south the most except for one guy who is following the coast it looks like. Still charging along at 10-12 knots with full main and staysail. Unfortunately the clew of the 150 has blown off. It just exploded at about 1930. Little disappointing and hard to change right now particularly without any sheets. I will just deal with it later. I guess I was pushing a little too hard. Weather fax is working just fine, I have all the forecasts on the timer and it just keeps spitting them out. Big key right now is how far south will the high pressure extend. We will all know in a couple of days. Mostly munchies today, trail mix, cheese and crackers, beef jerky and lots of water both salt and fresh! Al Log Number 427 Jun 2004 07:17 PDTDogbark reports: Well, its like a healthy dog's nose out here, cold and wet. Wind has not abated at all, still 25WNW. The boat is bombing along at about 11 kt, with rushes down waves up to 18. Autopilot is doing fine with only occasional minor swerves. It is sucking up the amps though. So far I have needed to run the engine about 1 hr every 9 hrs. Lots of water all over the place, spray from the bow and occasional dumps on the deck. About 4 this morning got one big one in the cockpit that left about 6 inches of water sloshing about. Forecast seems to have more of the same. Currently about 160 miles due west of Pt Conception, heading 220T. There is a change to the single-handed forecast being broadcast out of Santa Barbara at 1800PDT, it is now on ITU Channel 6D, 6.156.0. Hopefully some time today the wind will abate enough to get the remains of the genoa down and the 105 back up. Going to fix some oatmeal this am and get some warmth in this cold sailor. Al Update, now blowing steady 30, gusts to 35, dbl-reefed main and staysail. It's gnarly right now. Log Number 527 Jun 2004 12:10 PDTDogbark reports: Noon report. Sun has finally come out. This morning was pretty much dreary like the NW in spring. Low overcast, cold (for me now-about 50) and windy. We are still pressing south, much more than anybody else. Current position 33 34N 124 06W, still on course 200 True about 10 knots. Looks like the wind is easing just slightly, steady 24, but big seas. We will be at the latitude of Mexico by this afternoon, Ai carumba, Al Log Number 627 Jun 2004 16:18 PDTDogbark reports: Well, had a bowl of chili and fresh onions for lunch. Still trying to come up with a manageable way to get the 150 down without it or me over the side, so while I contemplate and hope for a half hour lull (not very likely) I am puttering around the boat. Pumping the bilge ( I think the stbd ballast tank must leak somewhere because it is slowly, about 2 gallons an hour, emptying), getting some sleep (all the racers were given an electronic digital timer), I set it for 15 mins, lay down, get up with the alarm and do a scan of the boat and the horizon, then back for another 15 mins, so far I feel rested and alert. I have probable had about twenty of those in the past day and half. That is one good thing about all this wind, it limits the decisions. Boat is very wet outside and some works it way in through leaks and some on me and my foulies. Conditions much the same about 25K NW, course 200T. Al Log Number 727 Jun 2004 22:03 PDTDogbark reports: Buenas noches everyone. We are now in Mexico, at least south of the Mexico-California border. Wind still over 20KT NW, but easing slightly every hour. Maybe tomorrow I can get the torn jib down and get back in top gear. Had some cheese and salsa wraps with a Pacifico for dinner. So far been getting good rest breaks, with not much changing on board with the WX and course pretty much the same. From the gist of what I pick up on roll call the fleet is spreading out all over the ocean. Dogbark is the furthest south but appears to be hotly chased by Surfinn. Had a big enough scare earlier this afternoon when I tried tuning the SSB to a new frequency and it totally discombobbled the autopilot and we did an emergency crash jibe. A rate gyro is what you need for a trip like this I think. Luckily nothing broke, I was very concerned about the boom and mainsail on the old runners. Much darker out here tonight with about 90% cloud cover and a few peeks at the moon and the rest of the night sky. Still lots of water on deck although the inside has dried out somewhat. Al Log Number 828 Jun 2004 08:21 PDTDogbark reports: I just spent the last two hours getting the genoa off the furler and stowed below. Wet and tired both me and the sail. Part of got in the water even though the plan worked pretty well. Then it started filling with water and I thought I would have to cut it loose. But I wrestled it into some form of submission. It's such a big sail just getting it in the hatch unfolded was a chore. But that's done. After roll call I will attempt to get the 105 back on the furler. I am just resting and having a little breakfast, juice and nutrigrain bars. Saw my first ships early last night, they looked like a couple of container vessels heading for Panama. Also saw one of those storm petrel or sooty shearwater birds like we saw on the trip down. Look in your bird book. Dark Brown looks like a small albatross( 4-5' wingspan). Conditions a little lighter but mostly the same, stbd tack on a beam reach in 25-25 NW. Al Log Number 928 Jun 2004 12:16 PDTDogbark reports: Difficult conditions right now, medium spinnaker up and draws nicely in about 15 kt, but then for about 5 min every fifteen minutes or so it drops right down to about 7 kt and everything flogs about in the big waves. Hard to keep any consistency going. Most of the rest of fleet has turned a little more south than their original courses. It sure is tempting to turn west a little bit but I have faith in the strategy. It just is hard at roll call when I am behind the middle of the fleet as far as distance to finish, even though Dogbark has sailed a lot more miles than everyone else. I understand we have had a couple of dropouts in the earlier nasty stuff. And Barbara is having sail and radio difficulties. So far so good here, the only real problem is the loss of the genoa, hopefully I won't need it anymore. I lost the whole clew patch, it just tore right off of the sail. Al Log Number 1028 Jun 2004 21:57 PDTDogbark reports: Spent the day from 1000 to 2000 under medium spinnaker. Wind was very shifty and puffy, lots of hand on wheel steering. I thought we had reached that point where the wind would start shifting towards the north then east along the isobar lines. We would have 15kt NW for about 10-15 min then it would die all of a sudden and be replaced by a lighter northerly, then it would repeat itself after about 5 -10 minutes. That went on all afternoon. Just when I got the boat set up spinny would collapse from either too light of wind to far aft or too much wind too far forward. Anyway, seas have died down a lot, much closer to normal ocean conditions. Got to dry out the boat and myself. Felt good to have the foulies off. Tonight the wind has picked back up out of the NW at about 15-20, so its back to headsail reaching. You'll notice I am trying to cut the corner of the gate. The boat just likes this close reaching better without the genoa. Al Log Number 1129 Jun 2004 06:37 PDTDogbark reports: The only competitor that worries me is Ryan Finn, he seems to be staying particularly close on my heels, which is pretty remarkable for a 30' boat. He seems to be almost following my track. We spent the night under full main and 110 jib doing anywhere from 5 -13 knots boat speed, that's how fluky the winds are. It does look like I am finally getting to the point where the wind starts bending. The temp is also finally climbing, up to 60's last night. Time for another pot of oatmeal, Al Log Number 1229 Jun 2004 13:21 PDTDogbark reports: Well I don't know about this wx. The guys further north have more wind right now. A short time ago it was down to 3 knots true, still from the NNW. Not what I was expecting, but maybe I am just rushing ahead of myself. Had some fresh ahi on a bed of fettucini noodles and alfredo sauce for lunch, seriously pasta roni with a can of tuna. Nobletec locked up for a while. I don't know why and I didn't notice for how long. The log might have some voids though. Trying to work south and west as the wind permits. right now back to medium spinnaker close reaching at about 8 knots in about 10 knots of breeze. Weather fax is back working. Don't know why I couldn't get anything yesterday. The 48 hr forecast high looks depressing, although it should be better for me being the southern boat. Nothing broken today (yet) Al Log Number 1329 Jun 2004 20:46 PDTDogbark reports: It was a very pleasant day on the water if not very productive in terms of mileage. Spent most of the day flying or trying to fly the same medium spinnaker on about a tight a reach as I could. Finally just before this evening I took the kite down and am using the 110 jib. I couldn't maintain a course to Hawaii with the spinnaker. I seem to be as far south as I am going to get. This is where I could sorely use the genoa, alas it is no more. Wind is continuing its up and down motif, frustrating me (and I am sure others) no end. Sailboat racing with only the computer to gripe to. Had the last of the tortillas with some refried beans, cheese and salsa. Hoping for more wind and action tomorrow. Haven't heard the evening positions but they've got to better than mine I think. Weather was overcast all day with light N winds 4-10 KT. Al Log Number 1430 Jun 2004 07:33 PDTDogbark reports: What a beautiful morning! Pink clouds all about, some minor squalls, first school of porpoises, spinnaker flying and on course in 8-10 kt NNE, woo hoo!. Had first minor squall last night with a little more wind and tiny bit of rain and then becalmed on its backside. Slatting about for about one hour before the wind returned. Ugh! Log Number 1530 Jun 2004 11:10 PDTDogbark reports: Put up the spin this morning with only one leg as the other one has that pain in the kneecap and it was a hassle. It looks like a typical tropics day without the wind. Almost all the clouds have disappeared and the sun is out. Wind is 8-12 NE as expected. The water has an iridescent purple color. Still on stbd pole. My track probably looks odd because I am staying low or south with expectation of a further shift to the east. The further west I get allows me to reach up in front of the fleet running DDW. Shooting for Lat 25 or so. The thing that surprises me the most so far is the amounts of plastic. An air cleaner snorkel from a car, trays, buckets, lids, and that is just what I see. Yesterday by luck I just missed a large log about 2' by 20' barely afloat. It has been out here a while. It was covered by those gooseneck barnacles. I first though it was a sleeping whale. This evening the check-in will be on 8185.0 and will follow that the rest of the race. So you should be able to listen in particularly the evening one. Hanging in there, Al Log Number 1630 Jun 2004 15:31 PDTDogbark reports: Showers had by all hands aft on the Lido deck. Somebody said the water was seventy, brriskkk seventy if you ask me. Spent the whole sailing in 8-12 kt NE on the road to Kauai. So far it does not look like the loop has paid any dividends. The rest of the fleet has pretty much the same conditions, I just sailed 200 miles further to get them. Also in the to do next time, some kind of wind input to the pilot would be nice. Flying the spin in particular takes to much attention and not enough for sleep etc, I had a big corned beef hash and four egg with salsa lunch today, great. The leaders of the Vic Maui fleet are passing in front of us now, The B fleet should pass right through us in the next couple of days. Let's hope they keep better lookouts than the single-handers. Al Log Number 1701 Jul 2004 00:45 PDTDogbark reports: Well here goes, I am trying to fly the spin through the night. Conditions right now are perfect. Full moon, squalls have already passed by, wind 15 -20 out of NE and we are truckin. Averaged over 10 kt for the last 4 hrs. Hope I am not pressing too hard again. Remember the genoa! Had a delightful afternoon with building NE breezes pushing us right along. Clear skies this afternoon and saw my first flying fish. Had an Indian feast tonight with Navratan Kurma on a bed of rice. Thanks to Ken for providing the Indian MRE. Had dinner alfresco in the cockpit while sailing along sitting in Ken's fold up canvas chair. It sure was great today even though I had previously discouraged about bringing it. Al Log Number 1801 Jul 2004 10:14 PDTDogbark reports: Good morning, well the end of June went out with a bang. I carried the spin all night till I finally had to crash. The trades are not here or not as I expect. There is wind but it goes from 20 to 3 to 15 to 8 to 21 from about a 60 degree arc of directions. Without the steer to wind feature the autopilot doesn't cut it for more than about 10 minutes max. So without sleep I finally had to turn in about 0530. Down came the chute and I unrolled the jib to the pole and got some shut-eye for about and hour and a half in spurts. I set the alarm for 20 minutes, get up a look around and go back to sleep. Last night also the boom vang decided to start puking the guts of the spring assembly out all over the deck. It must be a plain steel spring that just gave up finally after lots of slatting and banging. The deck behind the mast is littered with metal bits and rust and dirt. It appears it's just the hold the boom up feature that is affected The vang tackle works fine. About 7 am put up the medium chute. In the process of opening up the sock after it was hoisted a gust of wind said I am opening now whether you puny man wants to or not. So open it went, unfortunately the retrieval line went with it. So it was a trip to the middle spreaders to grab the snuffer line and bring it back down. Been sailing under spin since the between 3 and 10 kts. Very tired so will try and get some zz's somewhere. Al Log Number 1901 Jul 2004 16:37 PDTDogbark reports: Right now without a doubt this is the most frustrating race I have done in a long time. I am in what is supposed to be by all accounts the windy Tradewind stretch home to Hawaii. Instead I have spent the day gybing three times trying to get up above 6 kts. We were looking pretty good this morning and then the wind kept lifting us and lifting us until I was going behind those other boats. So I gybe, after 45 minutes getting squared away. We get lifted on that gybe till we heading well south of Hawaii. Gybe back, well you can see the routine, currently we are on port pole actually heading somewhat toward Kauai at about 6 kts. I am sure that the lack of sleep and ability to get sleep with the spinnaker up is starting to take its toll. I hope Lou had a successful trip to PT in her new Scion. The knee feels just fine. Remember there's still 1300 miles to go, at least six days but at this stretch who knows. Lunch was pears and canned spaghetti. Almost to paradise, Al Log Number 19.501 Jul 2004 22:46 PDTDogbark reports: I almost forgot. Happy Canada Day. Today has been one of ups (currently) and downs (earlier). Really a beautiful evening 15 kt NE breeze Dogbark moving at close to 9 knot average for the last 4 hrs on a great line for Kauai. Had a nice bowl of clam chowder and pretzels for dinner and enjoyed the sunset. Lots of flying fish this afternoon, and they can really cover some ground. Some of the flights were almost 50 yds. A couple of people in the fleet caught fish. I am still racing, so fishing will have to wait. Al Log Number 2002 Jul 2004 08:13 PDTDogbark reports: Dogbark had a great night, we carried the chute until about 0200 and then it was lights out for this sailor. Went wing on wing through the rest of the night with the 110. Some of these guys are still so relaxed they go to sleep the whole night that way. Me I still set the alarm for 20 minutes and get up and check outside, radar and see we are okay. But I did get about four hours decent sleep, best of the trip. Probably going to be hump day late this evening (oops just had the first cooking casualty, my oatmeal hit the deck on a big roll) so got to get on a roll. In reading this I realize I have changed to the plural. Don't know when that point was but it is we in the best sense of boat and I as well as all the shore support. Thanks. Spinnaker up after roll call, wind is 15 - 20 NE, trades? who knows, certainly not me. The WX in the tropics is kind of funny to me, with the clouds forming every evening and lasting well in to the late morning, standard? Definite diurnal shift in direction to the wind between day and night, the WX guy out of Santa Barbara said something about the relationship of the air temp to the sea temp. But that could describe all WX. I will have to do some research upon return. Al Log Number 2102 Jul 2004 14:02 PDTDogbark reports: Slow start to the morning with the nice evening breeze dying off to about 8 KT before returning nicely at about eleven. Sometimes too nicely. The pucker factor becomes uncomfortable for me at 20 KT under full main and spin. It is all right when hand steering but the autopilots have some work to do. Lots of mini death rolls and stuff that I don't like. I did steer for about the first half hour but even then could feel the build up in the right knee. So it is just bear it with auto. At 19 just fine, 24 yikes. Speed is good though around 10 kt average. Passed on official lunch, going with snacks between typing and jumping back to the cockpit. Looks like this should hold for a while which is good for the mileage. Al Log Number 2202 Jul 2004 23:30 PDTDogbark reports: Well best day so far, moderate trades 12-18, learning how to get the boat moving well and under control. Had a half day's run of over 100 miles, which is good. Catching the rest of the fleet. Sometime tonight is the halfway point. In some ways is seems like its only halfway - aren't we there yet. And in others its already halfway over, wait there's more I want to do. Had a good dinner of potatoes, carrots and peas, with butter and grated parmesan cheese. Good and filling. Getting late still have to get the spin down and jib set before too long. I wish I could figure how the other guys sail all night long with their's up? Not everyone but some do. Al Log Number 2303 Jul 2004 08:18 PDTDogbark reports: Well one week at sea and everything is fine. Just need a little more practice and I could get the hang of this. I like the passage making, the long distance solo racer, not on my list anymore. Done it, thoroughly loved it (so far) but not anything more than this. I might have to try this one again though :) . It is just the right speed. By that I mean fun first then racing. If you take your spin down at night no one laughs. Have been in tee shirt weather for about 3-4 days, maybe a fleece in the early morning but only outside. Inside its nice but I think at anchor I am going to wish for more openings. Sailmail has been either busy or not the right propagation for the time. Notice this one went through Honolulu. Had to program in the new freqs in to the radio. Took the spin down about midnight last night and went back to the poled out jib so I could get some zzzzs. Went from 10-11 to 8-9. Not bad and much easier on the nerves. This morning was very squally. Dodge left left, yes. Dodge right, yes. Put up spinnaker in an attempt to generate some speed. After each squall passes, it is very light and sloppy. So another one, dodge right again, no so fast little man, squall must teach you a lesson. Bang 9/16" Kevlar guy explodes and then trying to get the spin down in the pouring rain and wind. What did I say, fun? Suffice it to say I will try and be a little more cautious next time. Had my morning shower though, Al Log Number 2403 Jul 2004 14:12 PDTDogbark reports: Well good afternoon. The trades just aren't happening at this time. All morning and early afternoon is 5-10 Kt downwind polars, courses all over the place just trying to make the best VMG to Hanalei Bay. Less than 1000 miles to go. Celebrated with a hearty brunch of eggs, ham, home fried potatoes and onions and orange juice. Lots of squall activity in the area making radio comms difficult particularly during the day. Boat does darn well in this stuff. Sea showers this PM. Al Log Number 2504 Jul 2004 08:33 PDTDogbark reports: Happy Fourth, I am really tired, 833 miles to go, any ideas on how to find the missing airmail message w/log bits? The time shift is getting to me as well, staying on PDT now that we are really starting to move west is changing the cadence of when things get done in relation to the sun. Every day we gain a little on Joe, but it will be nip and tuck I think. I have not been able to push as hard as I would like because of the sleep thing. I mean I can sleep no problem, it is where to fit it in a busy day with racing, watch standing, cooking, sail changing, roll calls, emails. It sometimes is amazing just how big and how small the ocean is. Yesterday I was listening to the Vic Maui roll call and all these boats are all around us and yet no one sees anybody. Then all of a sudden, bingo someone is there. Not for me but one our fleet, during last night's roll call looked out and said hey that's Bill but it turned out to be someone from Vic Maui. The chart is very cluttered with positions of all these boats and with the exception of the radio 99% would not have a clue as to how many are actually out here. Enjoy the fireworks, Al Log Number 2604 Jul 2004 19:21 PDTDogbark reports: Weirdness everywhere, SE trades 5-15 today, strange voices from in the boat. Honestly are auditory hallucinations part of a single hander's disease? Even the squalls don't have much punch. I took the spin down for one and unrolled the jib for nothing about 2 knots more breeze. The rain was nice though cooled off for about a half hour. Ditto for lunch as yesterday, finishing off the refrigerator. It is good and hearty though. Left a salutation on "Antares" message list. They are from Shilshole on the Vic Maui. Hope you are celebrating a safe and sane fourth. I seriously need some sleep. I don't get jealous of the other racers and their mind games of ice cream and steaks, but when they say I got 4 hours last night I just want to throttle them. Charge, Al Log Number 2704 Jul 2004 23:41 PDTDogbark reports: Still 20 miles behind, he is tough, I am trying all nighter with spinnaker, fingers crossed. Conditions still light with weak squalls so I am keeping spinnaker up in them. Log Number 2805 Jul 2004 08:00 PDTDogbark reports: Well I survived the night. Don't know if it will do any good until an hour from now at check-in. It was generally a good night. Very up and down with lots of squalls. Spin then poled out jib then spin then finally poled out jib with staysail unrolled as sort of mini twins. Wind still ESE anywhere from 4 - 30 knots. Can't do many more of those. Sort of falling asleep at the wheel. As long as I was doing something okay but give me a minute to think about sleep and I am there. Al Log Number 2905 Jul 2004 12:20 PDTDogbark reports: Now I am depressed, all that work last night and I lost mileage not only to the leader but No 3 as well. This boat is not that slow. I must be so messed up in the head that I just can't see it. I forgot to tell you that last night I saw my first moonbow if that's the right term. Big arching white ring in the light rain because of the full moon. You could even make out some variations in color. First flying fish on the deck last night. Alas not found until this morning and that by stepping on it. Poor guy. Put the spin back up first thing this am right in front of a squall where you know you'll get the wind. Unfortunately it was a squall with lots of rain but no wind. Where is the manual on squalls? Spirits are still good although not where I would like them to be obviously. Still it has been a tremendous trip and hey there are still three and little days left, fight on, Al Log Number 3005 Jul 2004 18:32 PDTDogbark reports: This extra edition is because I tried my hand at fishing since the sailing wasn't doing much for me. I caught about a 7 lb Mahi Mahi before I even got the line tied down. So he/she volunteered for dinner duty. Very Good! Winds are light for the trades and expecting them to remain that way for the near future (2-3 days), 8-15 ESE, running downwind with the medium chute. Some people have asked about the big light chute. I have decided not to fly it unless it gets really light for two reasons it is BIG (3600 sqft) and the boat still bounces around a lot and I was afraid of damaging it. I did take a picture of the fish. Al Log Number 30.505 Jul 2004 22:45 PDTDogbark reports: Emergency. At 2220 PDT at 24 06N 149 44W I sighted what appeared to be a white aerial distress flare. Not a parachute flare. No VHF or SSB radio contact with any party USCG or not. Sighted flare in approximate direction of Joe but not as far away as Joe. It came up out of the top of a low cloud so I did not see the origin point. It did look like a non parachute aerial flare but definite white in color. Tried VHF 16 and got nothing. Saw nothing further. [Message was passed along to USCG and an alert was put out around Monday midnight to all vessels in the area to be on the alert and report any sightings]. [Joe checked in with his position at the roll call the following AM and calmed nerves of those who knew of this. Coast Guard withdrew their alert]. Log Number 3106 Jul 2004 14:01 PDTDogbark reports: Well had good two one hour sleep periods this morning. Ready to go on with living. Gained a paltry eight miles last night. Really thought i might have done better. It was one of those periods where I said I couldn't have done anything different and gotten any better for the conditions. But if I do get eight miles per 12 hrs I do get there ahead. So keep pushing. Joe blew out his 1.5 oz spinnaker last night. A crack in the armor, maybe. Looks like finish sometime Thurs afternoon or early evening. Gonna be exciting! Latitude 38 said of all the races they monitor around the world the best finish place is Hanalei Bay. Right now bombing along still under medium kite with ESE trades at about 14-18 KT, boat is averaged almost 9 kts last 12 hrs. Boiling hot outside though, need shoes just to walk on deck it is so hot. Lots of water and sunscreen and stay in the shade. Al Log Number 3206 Jul 2004 22:12 PDTDogbark reports: Time for a little rehash of the events so far. I think I got a little overconfident after the roaring start. I knew it was pretty much hopeless as far as corrected time. In the back of my mind was Ray Thayer's record. I was thinking if going south paid off then maybe, if it doesn't I am so much faster oh well still first to finish. It comes back to bite you big time. Most of the boats in the race strong point is plodding, that is they just keep moving in the right direction maybe not the fastest but no wasted miles or effort. In hindsight I would have done lots better and maybe come close to the record just going down the pike like has proven almost every race. I also probably had the wrong impression of the boats capabilities. Which are vastly clearer now, believe me. It is a very good all around boat, but does nothing really well, except take care of her skipper. It is a heavy by today's standards normal design that is nothing fancy but is big. Events like sail changes, jibes, reefs take a lot of time and effort which has an extraordinarily large effect on the performance of the boat and the endurance of the crew, me. Much more so than smaller vessels. So hats can hung all around, I made the ultimate decisions and will live with them as well as the tremendous sense of accomplishing that monumental task in the last 5 months. In no small part to the help of many many others. Now on to the race. Winds have lightened throughout the afternoon down to 10-12. Looks like another great evening sail but trickier than last night. Distance to Joe down to 13 miles at 2100, still hope. Al Log Number 3307 Jul 2004 11:06 PDTDogbark reports: Delta to Joe down to 10 miles with 262 to go. Close but? One more night of fighting then its all over. Another beautiful day, a few squalls last night but not anything dramatic. Can start to pick up Hawaiian radio stations and VHF WX. Passed the M/V Phoenix Alpha, a tanker bound for SF from Kauai. He sounded Russian and not much interested in the goings on of a handful of wacko single handed sailors out on his ocean. A little sleep beckons, I keep expecting someone, anyone to come up and relieve the watch. Where are those guys? Al Log Number 3407 Jul 2004 15:27 PDTDogbark reports: Well first round of cleanup has commenced with showers for the crew and bucket was down for the boat. Persistent light ESE trades that go up and down from 8-15 knots. I find it remarkable that the medium kite has been up on the same port pole for more than 72 hrs. NO jibes no takedowns for squalls no headsails, I mean yes I have trimmed the sheet and pole back and forth but very weird after the earlier parts of the race. Fixing the last of the fresh veggies (potatoes and cabbage with some canned tomatoes) as a veggie stew. There is some concern about showing up in Hawaii with fresh stuff. It's a little weird just thinking about being back in civilization again, Al Log Number 3507 Jul 2004 22:03 PDTDogbark reports: Alright, all the chips on the table, two miles separates the top dogs, we have each other in sight and there are 175 miles to go. I should have no problem staying awake tonight. I will be pulling strings like a madman. seriously, I thought i had lost all hope this afternoon about 4 pm when I was just sailing along at 7 kts and went below to get a drink and came up with the kite plastered against the rig and no wind anywhere. it was like it just evaporated. Puffs would come into this hole and I would get moving again and the bam up against this sort invisible wall. Finally after much cursing and about seven more tries I finally got around it and I thought well there you go idiot, hope the drink was good. But maybe Joe got the same treatment, because at roll call I was the most surprised. I will send news as soon as it happens believe me. Again thanks a lot to you, Steve and Bern. Al Log Number 3608 Jul 2004 10:10 PDTDogbark reports: Dead man walking but Dogbark is in front. 85 miles to go still and Joe took off on a flyer after I passed him. Won't really know until finish, but as long as the winds stay somewhat constant I should be okay. The pass came at a "lucky break" in a squall he went right and I went left. Mostly because I didn't want to jibe. Left one out. I had passed once earlier in the evening but he passed me back on another squall. It was nip and tuck and very tense as well as exciting. There were lots of people to share the moment with as I am hearing or seeing people all the time now. Full report this evening about 9-10 pm. AL Log Number 3708 Jul 2004 21:14 PDTDogbark reports: Dogbark first to finish at 1913 PDT. Almost blew it at the last minute. The second guy, JOE, went way off somewhere meanwhile I am merrily sailing away to Kauai. Then I hit the doldrums and something quirks up in my mind about don't go near the island because of foul currents and no wind. I am literally stuck there , the spinnaker is jammed at the masthead, it hasn't been down in three and half days. I start to panic, and go up the mast to clear the spinnaker, try setting all sorts of sails and finally get moving and by now think what have I just done. So I am dawdleing to the finish, when I get the brain flash to call them on the radio, Doh, No Joe and no call. So I get it together and finish about 45 minutes before Joe. Currently anchored in Hanalei Bay, lots of cruising boats of all nationalities. Right now a little food and sleep my precious sleep awaits, my precious, Al Log Number 3809 Jul 2004 15:27 PDTDogbark reports: One o clock and Al has awaken, a little unsteady, hungry but feeling better. Still hard to get brain back in gear, feels a little bit like a hangover without a headache. No one has finished since Joe. Based on my calculations of relative positions when we finished I think he has won the race. I feel a little regret (yeah right, no really) about working so hard to pass him the last few days, that he might have had the grand slam, but then maybe my pushing helped him do so well because we did start opening up on the rest of the fleet at the end. I am very proud and elated to have come back and been first to finish. It really meant a lot to me. Thanks again to all who helped along the way and those who followed along for the ride. The last two days in particular I was talking to all kinds of people on board Dogbark who weren't steering correctly or trimming the sails right or made such stupid decisions. I am sure glad they did not throw me overboard. And now at anchor I wonder where they all went. There is no green buoy any more just a purple sail on the beach and a bearing from it and a maximum and minimum distance off. A little hard to judge during the daytime but I would think very hazardous at night for those vessels without radar to judge the distance off. There is a reef just inshore of the finish. There is a chartlet of the finish line in the SSS website, TransPac info, chartlet 3, pdf file. The wind really picked up at the finish to about 22 and there is such little sea room for a 60' boat doing 12 knots with the spinnaker up that I really messed up the take down. It was kind of funny to look over at Bill and Rich in their little Livingston (like ours) trying to figure out how they were going to get onboard to help as I went screaming past. The sock was jammed, I knew it would as it was fouled when I put it up to make the last scramble to the finish. So for the first time I got to see what it was like to take down such a big kite, 2600 sqft, without a sock. No easy task in 20+ as the green cliffs of Kauai and surf off of the beach get closer and closer. Mission accomplished somewhat, then I get back to Hanalei under main a little wet with polyester spaghetti everywhere, then Bill get's aboard and checks the shaft seal and we are under way under power for the first time in 12 days. He seems a little intimidated by the size of the boat so I give him the wheel and I get the main down. Good thing the race was over and I have the delivery main, four broken slides and the headboard slide, all stainless steel have sheared off where the flat plate is welded to the slide hoop. I honestly don't know what would have happened if I had tried to reef. But the sail came down easier! I dug out the anchor and chain from under the forward berth. Moved aft for better weight distribution in Tiburon. We anchored and Rich came on board with the goodie bag of a lei and a Longboard Lager. They took a couple of pics with the lei on and then went to do the same thing for Joe. The Manson (NZ copy of CQR) anchor doesn't hold for a damn in the sand bottom here. I have anchored three times before sleep. Last one was way out in the middle of the bay. Good thing for an electric windlass. I will probably dig out the larger "storm" anchor this afternoon and see if it is any better. Al |
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