Archive for May, 2007

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Travel Details

Friday, May 18th, 2007

The crew (both boat and shore) need to do quite a bit of travel in support of the race.

  1. Return flight from Santa Barbara to home Sunday June 24 (Garth and Jon and Colin)
  2. Flight to Santa Barbara on Saturday June 30 (Bob and Jon)
  3. Flight from Long Beach on Sunday July 1 (Bob and Jon)
    • Or maybe I rent a car in SB and drive up with whoever wants to drive, then drive back down a week later with all the HI-CA return trip delivery gear. That will eliminate a SF-LB trip in July to load the container, since Bob and I can shuttle the delivery gear down with the boat.
  4. Flight to Long Beach July Friday July 6 or EARLY July 7
  5. Flight from Honolulu around July 25-27
    • The cheapest HI return flights seem to be on ATA. Around $480 from Oakland.
    • Bob and Shana have bought their tickets and are returning July 25
    • Jon and Heather have bought their tickets and are returning July 27

In Hawaii, the hotel of choice seems to be the Hilton Hawaiian, where we can get Garden Rooms in the Kalia Tower (at the $160 or $200/night double occupancy Transpac rate).

  • I think that it’s possible for crew to stay on the boat, which is a less costly option
  • Heather and Jon will probably stay on the boat from the 25th-27th

No research has been done on the Long Beach hotel situation.

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Surveyor’s list

Friday, May 18th, 2007

When I bought the boat from Dave, I had it surveyed in and out of the water by Brendan Schmidt, CMS. He was thorough, and really reassured me that this was the right boat. He did find a list of things that I should repair (of course). These are his “first priority” items:

  • Repair 3″ decrapitated engine vent hose
  • Secure/Strap batteries
  • Replace fuel tank shutoff valve

Posted in countless, tasks, transpac | Comments Closed

Countless tasks

Friday, May 18th, 2007

Hopefully this list will start shrinking faster than it grows, and soon. I like how things that would have been “huge” last year are now just countless.

Interior:

  • Lee cloths
  • Handrails by companionway
  • Install auto bilge pump
  • 4 overpriced white sort-of-SOLAS-approved handflares
  • Regular engine service
  • Medical kit and medical guide
  • Seasure gimballed stove
  • Replace cabin lights with LED puck lights
  • Drawer guide in head
  • Quarterberth cushion rail
  • Torches and spotlight
  • Install liferaft
  • Bulkhead mounted barometer

Exterior

  • Move foreguy padeyes forward, install bullet guides
  • Tether attachment points
  • Shim tiller
  • Shim MOM8 outward 1″
  • Install driver’s cockpit toerails
  • Upper and lower halyard exit boxes
  • Mount epirb
  • “unbreakable” spare tiller
  • radar reflector (and “data”)
  • MOB hoisting device
  • washboard retaining device
  • 2nd bulkhead compass (Plastimo 101 or 130?)
  • Fix tiller extension or replace

Rigging and sails

  • Re-do spinn halyards with heavier shackles
  • New spinn sheets (ordered)
  • New upwind halyards (ordered)
  • Backstay bungee for the running backs
  • New lifelines
  • New Lewmar 43 jaws, or install sheet cleats

Posted in countless, tasks, transpac | Comments Closed

Huge Tasks

Friday, May 18th, 2007

I’ve been actively prepping the boat since late February, so I’ve got lists coming out my proverbial yingyang. Basically, there are two catagories: Huge and Countless.

I’m concentrating particularly on the tasks that are required for the ISAF cat 1 inspection coming up in the beginning/middle of June.

To make myself feel good, I’m going to add a few huge tasks that I’ve already completed, just so I can cross them out.

Huge:

  • Life Raft (bought from Sal’s Inflatables in Alameda)
  • EPIRB (bought through KDP arrived yesterday)
  • Alternate navigation lights + alternate power
  • Emergency Steering
  • Storm sails
  • Heavy weather sail (i.e. #4 jib)
  • Single Sideband Radio (look at used SGC on Monday May 21)
  • Measurement and ORR certification (application + freeboard measurement + sail measurement)
  • Spinnaker net
  • Possible standing rigging replacement

Posted in huge, tasks, transpac | Comments Closed

Downwind MOB practice

Saturday, May 12th, 2007

Regarding this honking Saturday, Latitude 38 said “With winds touching 30 knots at times and an ebb tide of more than 3 knots, it was a sailmaker’s dream.” The 105s were racing, and it looked like a shrimp and shred fest from where we were sailing.

We picked today for our downwind MOB practice, and to introduce Colin to bay sailing. Up to the gate, working the runners and getting the #3 dialed in. Big arc in front of the bridge and head toward the rock. Garth on the foredeck, hoist in 20kts, work in a few gybes. Get a couple wraps and unwind them successfully by sailing in the lee.

As we rip by one of the yellow olympic circle marks, I yell MOB and wait to see what happens. Considering that we’ve never run a drill with the entire crew, it worked great. Colin yells that he’s got eyes on the MOB, someone else yells that they’ve deployed the MOM8. Pole forward and locked 1′ off the forestay. Driver rounds up, somebody dumps the halyard and the chute just plops down. Not pretty, but fast fast, and the boat just stops. The first time Bob needed to really muscle the sheet into the boat , but we figured out that the guy can get let go after the chute is mostly in the boat. But not too early with the guy or it’s a real grovel getting the sail in the boat.

After that, about an hour of circle and recovering a 1 liter nalgene bottle, which is basically impossible in a 30′ boat. Then back to the gate and another run down in the big air, back behind angel, and Colin drives us home through racoon while we enjoy a well deserved frosty.

Posted in safety, sailing, transpac | Comments Closed

Hello cold, wet world.

Friday, May 11th, 2007

Welcome to yet another blog. This one was suggested by Jerry, the first person to tell me that boat polars were actually useful below 66′ latitude.

Hopefully this blog will help me keep track of all the tasks, both huge and small, that I have to complete for the 2007 Transpacific Yacht Race, AKA, the transpac.

Posted in sailing, transpac | Comments Closed

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