ALICE MARTIN
I can see now why Bill wanted to name his yacht Pacific High. We've been playing at the southern edge of the 2nd High in our path home: seas are calm, dolphins abound and we have the perfect 10 - 12 knots for full sails and almost hull speed.
The direction hasn't been the best but improving. For the last 24 hours, we have been doing 020 - 050 M and when this takes us too high and the wind drops we've been motoring for pure VMG to the Golden Gate.
Fortunately, this high is moving west and we are moving east, so each time we hit these pleasant breezes the wind is just a little more from the north.
At the moment the engine is going, frig is charging and guys are looking into our little engine problem. We've had to bleed the fuel to start the engine since we used the small tank. Not sure what's different. Jaye is doing her part by holding the table securely on the settee.
greetings from the dissapating high.
What a show.
At 2200 PDT (just about sunset here), we started the engine to charge the battery and pick up our speed and were joined by dozens of spinner dolphins. We were going east. They came from behind us and both sides, jumping in formation as singles and riding right under our bow wake. I've never seen that many and especially converging from all directions. They stayed about 30 min and then it wasn't clear just what way they went. I think east and so are we.
The high is dissapating and a new one is forming. Its looking like our best chance for more wind are some northerlies from the east side of this high.
We had a fun day of sailing today and didn't lose the wind until about 2200. Looks like we'll be powering tomorrow--never quite as much fun, but should be good progress towards home.
We monitor KYC check in every evening. Ca Girl is home. Rainbow expects to make it tomorrow.
We're all well.
Bye Bye San Francisco. We've left you to the East and gone on by.
The current objective is to take advantage of good 12-18 Knot breezes circling a little stationary HIgh, hoping to sail to the side that will give us westerlies, while they are still there. Latest chart shows a cold front coming down on this high, might get some breeze (with rain and chop) a little sooner. Hope so!
We had a 1200 mile party at lunch. Homemade soup, Thai soba salad, thai wraps with peanut sauce, apple/pear salad and, last but not least, warm brownies. Yeah for Jaye!!
Not to be outdone, before we could do the dishes, Rudy caught a 7-8 lb. blue fin tuna. We'll be enjoying sushi at 8 PM.
On a comfy point of sail Starboard at 85. Following a strategy, but sure hurts to look at that VMG.
Hope all is well.
Its a beautiful warm and sunny afternoon in the northern pacific, It is also windy 16-20 jnots and the seas are pretty lumpy.
We are making good progress, lurching at quite an angle NorthWest. Speed over ground is a solid 7.
We are poring over point forecasts to decide if we will want a third reef for this evening or if the high will have found us and the engine will be needed.
Lots of time to think here. Glad I have so many wonderful friends and family to think about.
alice
This has been the best day yet. We found the wind and rain. Sailed into cooler sunshine and kept that wind and calm seas. Great sailing!!
Its just now getting a little rougher, but still a good steady 12-14 knots of breeze. Wish it was a taking us a bit further east, but VMG is better than its been. Yeah.
Just finished the Mahi Mahi we caught. Jaye kept 4 nice pieces and served them with a delightful Thai Curry. Yum. Rudy promises to put out the line again tomorrow.
Not sure any of our skymate blogs or emails are getting out. We aren't receiving any.
Hope you are all well and getting our news.
Just sent a newsy note, but think I lost it with electrical problems--did anyone see the 8/10 1400 entry?
Current Position: 35 46.228N 154 04.251W.
Thanks
This has been a gorgeous night.
We caught a Dorado just as the sun was setting and the full moon rising. Rudy handled the net and the fish. Jaye and Irwin pulled in the line and cleaned up the boat. I just tried to get pictures. We all agreed not to put out the line again until we had eaten all of this one. Sure was a pretty gold one.
The sea is calm and beautiful. Rudy saw a ship on his watch.
Turns out that the midnight PDT check in with KYC is the big event and we are all up. Tonight we shut down the engine at 11:45, had a few moments of quiet before the roll call and then a few more as Irwin checked the oil. It was breathtaking with the calm sea, full moon and a few fluffy clouds. Pretty soon, it will be just us checking in. Several boats expect to land tomorrow.
Hey you racers who wanted to see the compass-- the light works when the engine is running. I'm eager to see if all it takes is the engine switch. Now that the fuel pump is wired to the ignition, I think we could leave the switch on without the engine running.
Still heading north, eager to go east. Hope the wind agrees with Don on Summer Passage rather than the skymate point forecast, but have my doubts. We'll see soon enough.
Enjoying this relaxing cruise. Thinking of you.
alice
Course over ground dropped to 3 and we decided to use the engine to get through the horse latitudes at 1800.
At 1500 RPM and full sails, we're doing 6+ knots due north. The plan is to find westerlies at lat 37 and then head east.
Rudy rigged the fishing line. Excitement at 1930 when he hooked a Dorado. It wriggled free. We waved good bye with mixed emotions. Jaye says they mate for life.
Hoping for a noisy, but relaxing 240 miles north. More tomorrow.
Beautiful day. Calm, winds from 7-10 from 040.
Ran the engine for quite awhile this morning while we charged batteries and changed from the 80 to the 155 jib. Had to put some sail tape on the luff of the 155 jib, just where it comes out of the track when it is hoisted. Looks like it will hold and it goes up the track--yeah!
Meals are still great, Jaye is using up the fresh food almost as fast as the warm boat destroys it. Today was actually calm enough to open the hatches and dry some clothes.
Sally Sailomat doesn't like this fluky breeze, but Rudy got some good boat speed driving. What a concept--cruisers don't steer.
The Ray Marine auto helm is great at holding a course when the engine is running. We haven't tried to tune it for sailing yet. Rudy is still counting on teaching Sally Sailomat to deal with light air.
Both Rudy and Irwin managed to save a flying fish that boarded during their watch last night.
Irwin saw a sea turtle. The rest of us settled for little "Man of War". Pretty purple critters.
Hope all is well in SF. Not projecting an ETA yet.
alice
We went on port tack briefly and got a little east. We were all having trouble getting around after all these days on starboard. We're back on starboard now. The cruisers weather guru says we are on the south edge of the horse latitudes which extend from 32-36N, says we'll get down to zero wind, but find westerlies at about 36--hope he is right.
 Monday August 07, 2006 @ 12:21 PM GMT-08:00
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| 08/07/2006 |
Wind: W 12.0 kt | Temp:30° | 
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Another beautiful day. Still have wind from 050, but it is down to a gentle 15 knots true. Sally Sailomat is still doing the steering ably. Seas are gentler too.
Skipper's tummy is back on track. Irwin and Rudy are still being careful about what they eat.
We logged 500 miles on Jaye's 0800 PDT watch. We've gotten quite interested in the weather, so we can choose when to tack.
KYC check in was quite optomistic about improving weather for all boats heading for SF including Hooligan. We were the last to leave; had the worst seas and strongest winds coming out, but may miss the doldrrums that some of the other boats motored or sat through.
Hope all is well at home.
alice
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Sunday August 06, 2006 @ 09:17 PM GMT-08:00
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| day 4 |
Wind: WNN 6.5 kt | Temp:31° | 
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Welcome to squall "land"!!!
Last night we had lots of squalls- winds up to 32 or so. Rudy had to get up and readjust the wind vane which he did and it performed great. We have had a bit of wind shift so that we are now able to head slightly east and the winds have moderated a bit in the last hour.
We are all doing better- except we still haven't found anything that Alice can eat - any suggestions? She is such a trooper and her mind is always on the task at hand!
The other excitement was the alternator belt was burning and set off the alarm when we went to charge the batteries this am. Irwin managed to wire in a switch to the regulator to slow the charging down and put less strain on the belt at charging..yeah! It worked.
hope all is well and thanks to marty for checking into Don's times for us.
love jaye
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Saturday August 05, 2006 @ 02:25 PM GMT-08:00
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| We're on our way home !(slowly) |
| Wind: SE 11.0 kt | Temp:32° |
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Hi All
We finally left Nawilliwilli Harbor on Thursday morning in clear weather. It took us awhile to get the right sails set in the sloppy seas near the island channel. We needed a smaller jib and two reefs in the main for comfortable sailing in the 20-25 knot winds and 3-8 foot seas- We have been sailing close hauled as possible in east north east winds ever since. Lots of squalls last night. We are all fine, though everyone is a bit seasick- we are all doing our watches and jobs (right now mine is simple as no one wants to eat)and trying to settle in to the rough motion on board. Our boat speeds have been varying between 5 and 8 knots, but the wave action seems to be slowing down our overall speed to around 5. then take into condieration that we are heading basically north for now until we get out of the trades. Rudy got our wind vane working the first night and she is steering us well with no power usage- so that has made life extremely better!
We have been checking in on the pac cup radio scheds at midnight PST on 8 alpha or bravo every night, and noting the weather encoutered by the boats ahead. California Girl reported last night that they found "the slot" to make it back to SF...
That's about all to report from the bouncy seas-oh except Happy Birthday to my mom- Julie!!!
more tomorrow
love to all
jaye and the rest ot the crew
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Tuesday July 18, 2006 @ 08:55 PM GMT-08:00
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| The Epilog |
| Wind: WNN 5.0 kt | Temp:33° |
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This has been a great experience.
I write this at the dock at Kaneohe Yacht Club. Rene picked me up and took me to the Wilsons for Breakfast and that long awaited shower.
My experience....
We all got along in a 39 foot boat, sharing bunks, working to a rigid watch system, eating, drinking, sailing for 2 whole weeks. No-one lost their temper! No-one publicly criticized another, no-one refused to help another or take their turn - it was truly a great experience.
Will I do this again? Well now it is more that 24 hours since we finished, and the parties at KYC are in full swing - yes I would like to. I feel more confident about my abilities to handle sailing problems in difficult conditions - so yes.
Would I sail with this crew? - MOST DEFINITELY. I can't believe how we all got along.
Would I sail on Hooligan? - YES if Alice asked me again. She is a fine boat - well behaved and comfortable. Well equipped and a joy to sail.
So I look forward to another Pacific Cup race.
Signing off
Ian (one of the Hooligans)
Sorry to make you wait - we finished and of course we were not going to be deprived of our Mai Tai's, showers, sleep (lots to catch up on) and generally socializing at KYC with those boats that had already finished.
So enough of the preamble - what happened you all ask?
The last 100 miles was nervy! At the 100 mile check in we were 17 miles behind Green Buffalo. We had good wind and things were looking good.
Then the wind died....
So what - well think about this - Green Buffalo gives us 4 hrs 36 minutes time. So we must finish not more than 4 hours and 36 minutes after she finishes if we are to beat her! 17 miles is 2 hours at 8.5 knots - Green buffalo checked in at the 100 mile circle 2 hours ahead of us. If the wind dies so that we can only average 4 knots - 17 miles is more than 4 hours - see why we were nervous!
As we approached 50 miles to the finish we turned on the radio to listen in for Green Buffalo's 25 mile check in. She did so as we were 46 miles to go - she had pulled out 4 more miles - getting tense! We checked in 3 hrs 15 minutes after Green Buffalo. The Buffalo had given her eta as 11:00pm - we gave our eta as 3:00am - close. The wind started to freshen - would it hold?
With 22 miles to go we heard Green Buffalo give her 5 mile check-in and then we estimated her finish at 11:10pm. We MUST finish by 3:46am. The wind was holding!
At 2:01am Hooligan crossed the finish line. 2 hours and 51 minutes after the Green Buffalo - WE DID IT!
Division A (unofficial results):
1 - California Girl
2 - Hooligan
3 - Green Buffalo
The crew of Green Buffalo was at the dock to greet us and congratulate us - the Mai Tai's were there too - job done!
The Hooligans
At 12:00 noon (PDT) we are 110 miles from the finish. Green Buffalo did their 100 check in at 11:05am (PDT) so by our estimation we are 2 hrs 30 mins behind them. They give us 4 hrs and 36 mins - so this is a very tight race between us to the finish.
Last night was exciting! We had wind then almost nothing, then wind.... Rudy and Irwin had a heck of a ride after midnight - I slept through it!
At this morning's roll call - California Girl had already finished - congratulations on a great race - well thought out strategy and well executed. - Green Buffalo had sailed 153 miles and was 111 miles from the finish. Hooligan sailed 159 miles in the same period and was 131 miles from the finish. That moved Hooligan up from 3rd in Division A to 2nd - somthing that I am sure was not unnoticed by the Buffalo.
So now we are set for the final drag - we believe we have a better angle to the finish line - we will know in about 16 hours time! Our ETA at the finish is approx 2:00am HST. If we finish within 4 1/2 hours of the Buffalo, then we got it - otherwise it is theirs - still lots to race for
The Hooligans
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