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Pacific Cup


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I was going to put this in the power kiting section.

My sister is running in the Pacific Cup sailboat race from San Francisco to Hawaii. It started on the 8th for their boat. Here's what she wrote.

Hey there,

Just a quick note to say that I'm doing that crazy sailin' to Hawaii thing, AGAIN. But not alone, and not on my boat. I'm going with 2 other fellows, very experienced sailors, on a Hobie 33 named AERO. We start Tuesday July 8th at 11:45 PDT and we hope to finish in around 11 days plus or minus a few hours. You can follow our progress on the race web site: pacificcup.com

Aloha & mahalo

I put her daily report in a spreadsheet so I could better track her progress. It shows the date, how many miles to the finish line, how many miles they sailed that day, their speed, what place they are in, for the different groups. And how far back they are from the first place boat in their division.

They ran into light winds leaving the golden gate and ended up 8+ days behind. Apparently they found the wind they were looking for and have been gaining ground each day. Last report had them 6 hrs 3 minutes 3 seconds behind first with 641 miles to go.

One thing my sis knows is how to trim a sail to get that extra 1/2 knot or 1 knot more speed out of the boat. And she's driving on this trip. A few years ago she single handed a 28' Hawkfarm to Hawaii and took first in her division and second overall.

They should reach Hawaii in a few days. Anyways, I thought you power kiters would be interested in this.

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From the skippers wife :

Date: Thu, Jul 17, 2014 at 7:28 PM

Subject: Day 10 - Gnarly night at sea

To:

As we all witnessed via the tracker, Aero was screaming along all day yesterday and into the night. Flying the BIG kite in high winds and surfing the waves is exhausting. As the night wore on, the shifts changed to one hour on / one hour off. The crew were sleeping in their coats, barely dropping into the bunks. The night was pitch black. Sailing in these conditions brings a new meaning to sailing by touch and instinct. You can't read the swells. There were many wipeouts, or round ups, when the spinnaker fills with too much air driving the boat up which completely fills the sail. The rudder has no steerage at this point as the boat is getting pinned down by too much wind in the sails. To get out of a wipeout you need to release the wind pressure by popping the vang and letting the sails spill the wind. Well, the reaching strut finally cried "uncle" and broke. The reaching strut is a short pole attached to the mast on one end and spinnaker sheet on the other. It helps keep the full shape of the sail, and prevents a collapsing pocket.

At that point, Aero cried "Uncle" too. They pulled down the Big Kite, put up the Genoa, and settled down. Speeds were a bit slower, but crew was able to sleep and repair shot nerves. New plan of attack: continue to sail BIG kite during the day, switch to medium kite at night. While more conservative, it will pay off in better boat handling and less costly mistakes. Also, there is only one back up reaching strut. Joe estimates that nightly speed may slow a bit, but he feels Aero will hit land Tuesday. ( I will go on record and say sometime Monday-11:59 pm still counts.)

The crew are all happy, and continue to have fun in the challenging conditions. The Half Way party yesterday was very memorable. Synthia decorated the boat with streamers ( if I heard correctly). Each had a capful of rum. Gifts were exchanged. Joe's favorite was from Synthia. She soaked wash cloths in lavender oil and water, then chilled with those first aid ice packs. Joe said he never felt anything better. (You can tell she has done this before!)

Keep a watch on the tracker as we are rumored to go live sometime this afternoon. Take care and be safe little Aero!

D

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The race is going to be close. Last report had them 1.5 hrs behind the first place boat with 52 miles to go. The 225 miles they did yesterday has put first place within reach. They should be finished shortly. Go Aero!

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I'm not sure how the ETA is calculated. This is the results from the 10th, after 2 days of sailing. 1944 miles remaining. It shows Aero 8+ days behind. With Synthias estimated finish at Aug 7th. I can't figure it out either.

She's going to send some pics which I'll post when they arrive.

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