A little bit to add - Valerie Day 6

Just as Bill called this morning they had completely unfurled the head sail and were making 7 kn. at 30 deg. True. The sound was so good - that of the boat sailing through, rather than crashing through the water that I couldn't stop smiling.
Word from Richard is that he is doing well and doesn't anticipate needing help. His plan at the moment is to sail in to the fuel dock at Ala Wai and get a dinghy tow when he is ready to move. I plan to try to be there with fresh food and cold drinks and will let you all know as soon as I do when that is anticipated to be.
That's it for today - Happy Father's Day to those to whom it applies!
Aloha, Valerie

WELL...............

It's certainly not yet the "Beginning of the End" or for that matter, it's not even the "End of the Beginning", but something is going on none the less. Latitude wise we will be in Long beach by this time tomorrow. A cold snap last night sent everyone below to put some clothes on. Who knows, if this keeps up the Skipper might even begin wearing shoes. another tell tale sign is the fact that our heading is starting to shift eastward. First 010, then 020 and ,at the moment, 035M.

Lindsey is starting to think about a half way party (and has pointed out that it's really a 1/4 way party) that we are all looking forward to. The GPS says that we've come 662 miles and have 1730 to go. It also says that it will take us another 12-13 days to get there. I think that might be close but a little pessimistic.

Our Sunday, June 17, 2007,0600HST position is 31N29, 152W46. Our course over the ground is 032M at a speed of 6.7 knots. We are close hauled and motoring into relatively light ENE breezes.

Yesterday we all had a Natural History observational first. We saw a rainbow. The geometry and the location of the afternoon sun all guaranteed that it was a real rainbow, located in the right place. However, there were no colors, just a narrow band of cloud arching up into the sky. "Cloud Rainbow" Sounds like a ship name. Maybe I'll reserve the name for my first PO (Personal Orbiter).

Bill

Note from Ulli & Valerie: the pictures were sent from Cirrus today, and we posted them manually, as this still can't be done via email

Less hectic today, but ...

Hi everyone.

The good news about the shredded dodger is that the gash over the right-hand window lets in a nice strong flow of cool fresh air while keeping out the direct air blast and most of the spray. On the other hand, if you see green water coming, it's "Duck yer haid Charlie!". How's that for a gratuitous literary reference (from the 50's?) that most of you will be too young to understand?

We spoke to Richard yesterday at 1730 and got the news that they had already turned back. Apparently they got knocked down again and blew out their last useful upwind jib. Aloha Richard, and fair winds. Funny, Bill said afterward, that once you make the decision to turn back, all turns to sweetness and light. The cacophony and chaos of beating upwind is replaced by the serenity and silence of the downwind romp. The dark skies lighten, and the angels sing. Instead of going over Niagara in a barrel, it's like Sunday morning on the porch. Good point.

Lindsey claims that she was the first to spot the albatross following us. We haven't seen much trash so far. But we remain optimistic.

I called Lou on 4B last night as scheduled, but did not hear him. He sent me an email today saying that he heard me loud and clear but I did not wait long enough for him to get his transmitter tuned before switching to a new channel. Sorry Lou. I look forward to trying again tonight.

Last night, just before dinner time, Donna noticed that the propane breaker was off. This was bad news, because she had put the ribs in the oven an hour or two earlier and now the oven was off. Upon investigation, she determined that the ribs were done, and hot, and the rice was done, but the stove would not light, and the breaker would not stay on; when she tried to switch it on, it would pop off immediately. So we ate our ribs and rice (yummy), but no green beans, and we discussed this propane situation more fully. You see, this is not the first time this has happened on Cirrus.

This problem is caused by a defective solenoid actuator, located in the propane locker, that is supposed to open the gas valve and allow propane to flow from the tank to the stove. But over time, apparently, these solenoids overheat and short out. In fact, the solenoid that failed last night was brand new last year; Bill installed a brand new valve after last year's Pacific Cup because the same thing happened to the previous solenoid during the race. Of course, this solenoid valve is an important safety feature designed to keep raw propane out of the boat, a very dangerous possibility. However, it needs to be more reliable. Hot food and beverage are critical components of a safe and successful ocean crossing. Can you imagine the night watch with no coffee? Talk about a dangerous possibility.

So you think it's ironic that the same failure occurred on Cirrus two years in a row? How about this: I have had the exact same failure on my boat, and she was only five years old at the time. What makes it hard to diagnose is that the problem can be extremely intermittent, and sometimes you think it's an empty tank or a clogged line. Fortunately for me, once I decided to take action on my boat, True North was sitting at the dock in Santa Cruz and the nearest West Marine store was only two miles away. The parts were in stock (I replaced the regulator at the same time), and after a few hours working scrunched up in the lazarette, I was good to go. But, wait, there's more. Since my boat is in a charter fleet, I always keep the charter company owner apprised about problems and solutions. When I mentioned what I had done, he exclaimed, "No ****?! We have three other boats in the fleet with the exact same problem but we did not know how to fix it!"

So, next morning, back on Cirrus with no gas, after a night with no coffee, what did we do? Well, when this happened during the race last year, Bill modified the valve to make it work without electricity. Using his electric (twist) drill, he drilled the center of the valve out from top to bottom, bypassing the actual valve path completely. Basically, he converted the valve into a straight piece of pipe, but with the correct fittings to go into the system. Then, when he got back to Honolulu, and replaced his drilled-out gizmo with a new valve, what did he do with his magic adapter? Did he throw it away? Negative! He put it in the spare parts box on the boat. Where he found it this morning.

So, picture this: Bill and Lindsey sitting facing each other in the cockpit, with the propane locker open between them, with Bill reaching down into the locker and Lindsey holding an aluminum foil casserole pan full of tools and parts. Like a scene from ER, Lindsey hands an instrument to Bill and Bill removes a part. And so on until the magic gas adapter is installed and Bill calls down for me to light the stove. Woo-hoo! Fire in the hole! And we didn't have to get the drill out. After all the tools and parts are put away, Bill says, "Anyone want coffee?"

I have lots more to tell you about today, but that's enough for now. Stay tuned.

Our position at 1620 HST: 30N33, 153W26. Course 010 M at 6.0 knots.

Fair winds ...
Chris

Day 5 from Valerie

Bill became engrossed in fixing the solenoid (still a work in progress) and didn't call me until about 8:30HST. I knew he was ok but hate the waiting for the phone to ring. One certainly does become spoiled by technology. I'd have never made it in the 18th century with a seaman for a husband!
We are sad to report that Richard has decided to turn back and drop out of the race. He had chosen a more easterly course and was really getting pounded. Should be back in Hawaii in 2-3 days. I'll keep you posted.
Cirrus could also be taking a more easterly course but has opted for a little more conservative course in the interest of comfort for the boat and the crew. Weather systems look like the wind will become lighter tomorrow and somewhat confused. They should be able to point more towards Long Beach but may have to motor for a day or two. That makes it noisy and hot but worth it to get going in the right direction.
Absent any more excitement, that's it for today. Aloha!

Let's see this must be Day ???

After fixing the chafed thru furling line we let the jib out 10-12 feet. That combined with a reefed main is letting us make about 5 knots at 015M. That seems to be ok in these bumpy seas. Our 0600 HST position is 29N43, 153W50. We are reaching northward with a relative wind 10 knots at 70 degrees relative. Next item on the fix list is the propane solenoid, which has failed. So nothing hot until we figure it out.

Bill

It's been a busy day.

First off, Captain Lindsey sends this note to Gabby:

Gabby, I would love to see you in Long Beach. Keep your eye on the blog so you'll know when we're coming in. My race starts on the 9th of July. Give my love to Bunny. LG

Yesterday, Donna noticed that the halyard on the radar reflector was chafing badly. So that led to an all-hands exercise to get the reflector down and replace the halyard. It took a little work with the boat hook for Bill to get it unsnarled. My contribution was to notice that the reflector apparently has a pair of circular guides (like smooth washers) in the middle, perhaps to lead the halyard through the middle of the reflector with no danger of chafing. As opposed to most installations I've seen, including my own boat, where the halyard goes down beside the reflector, leading almost inevitably to chafe.

Today, the dodger took a direct hit from a huge wave. The wave came through the front right corner, blowing the whole window inwards, destroying the two big zippers and tearing a gash along the upper edge. Then, like a giant wet cannonball, it blasted away the left side panel too. That panel disappeared overboard and out of sight before anyone knew what had happened. In the process, this wave filled the cockpit to overflowing, leading to some wetness below. The computer was completely spared, but my bunk got sprayed a little. It's OK, I wasn't in it, and I was already wet anyway. Since the dodger frame is normally supported by the tension of the fabric, and the fabric is now shredded, the whole thing was a limp mess. So Bill and Lindsey rigged some guys from the dodger frame to the traveler anchors. The shredded dodger continues to provide some protection from wind and spray, but anything solid comes right through. I'm afraid we'll be wearing our foulie tops on deck pretty much all the time from now on, especially if we plan to spend any time under the dodger.

But things could be much more uncomfortable. Take Richard for example. We talked to him again today. He's about 80 miles ESE of us, aboard his J-35 Addiction en route to Long Beach, without any dodger at all. Oh, and a total crew of two. Oh, and his cutlass bearing just went out. So, they're very wet and extremely tired, and cannot propel the boat with the engine. The good news is that they can run the engine to charge batteries, and there's lots (!!) of wind to keep his boat moving fast. We think he's actually slightly closer to Long Beach than we are. His 0900 position was: 28N16 152W42. He was moving north at about 7 knots.

Back here on Cirrus, Lindsey happened to look at the jib furling line and notice that, holy cow, it was almost completely chafed through. Fortunately, due to the strong winds, we had the jib completely furled at the time, so there wasn't much pressure on the line. But a loose jib would be a disaster, so something had to be done quickly. So she and Bill found a way to use a sail tie to lock the furler drum down until we could replace the line. Later in the day, Bill found a brand new chunk of line and got it installed pretty easily. I say easily because all I had to do was pus buttons on the autopilot; he's the one who had to crawl up to the bow and kneel in the pulpit with the boat flying over big swells like a blue whale. Most importantly, he remembered to remove the sail tie locking the drum. The next time we use the jib, which should be in a few minutes now, we intend to keep a close eye on the furling line to see what's causing the chafe.

What else? Oh yeah, one of the hinges (plastic) on the toilet seat broke on one of the previous deliveries. I guess that happens when the boat inverts with someone on the head. Anyway, we had been living with it, being extremely ginger. Then Bill mentioned today that he had fixed it with duct tape and cable ties. I had a tough time believing it, but after a close inspection, I have to agree that it's probably better than new now. Still, that's a critical part, so I think somebody needs to go shopping for spares in Long Beach.

Oh yeah, speaking of the autopilot, while Bill was changing out the furling line, I was driving the boat downwind to keep her somewhat flat when the autopilot remote control screen went blank. All the buttons still work, but it's pretty tricky to do anything complex with no display. We do not know what the problem is, but since we had pizza for lunch (thanks Donna), the oven was on anyway, so the remote is now in the oven. If the problem was water infiltration, it might come back. Otherwise, hello Raymarine.

I don't know what will happen tomorrow.

Current position at 1415 HST;
Lat: 28N21
Lon: 154W17

fair winds, ...
Chris

It's never dull no matter what they say! Valerie - day 4

Bill's call this morning came with another wonderful description of being out in the deep ocean. There is no moon right now and he described the almost primitive sense of being in the dark with the large waves and lurching vessel, overcast skies and the amazing solitude and ancient aloneness (if there is such a word) one can feel out there.
Then, drama on the high seas! Bill was reporting the same position, the same conditions, the same course as they were struggling to gain headway to California. They had been talking with Richard who was doing well under even more difficult circumstances (he has a smaller boat, more open cockpit, less freeboard) but was having some difficulty with his cutlass bearing (the apparatus that keeps the water out of the boat at the junction where the shaft of the propeller enters the boat to connect to the engine). He may decide to turn back and they will let us all know after they talk with him. At this point the transmission crackled loudly and squealed and went dead. I assumed the satellites had gone out of alignment or some such and went about my business.
An hour later a brief, business-like call from Bill. "We were really creamed. Almost ripped the dodger off. Everyone is ok. The boat is ok. We are putting things back together and will try to email later." Wow!! Check the blog again in a couple of hours. I'm sure they will have tales to tell. Aloha for now.

Day Four (Really!)

Seems like we've been out here for ever. Ploughing along into 10-15 foot high swells, 15-20 knot winds. Reefed main, furled jib. Position at 0600, Friday, 15 June 2007 is 27N46, 154W24. Course is 017, speed 4 knots. Still kind of stormy looking as the sun comes out and the day brightens up. It is 1874 miles to Long Beach and 425 miles back to Oahu. Just got up but already thinking about a nap.

Bill

Valerie - day 3

Managed a quick visit with Bill while on my way to the Flint, MI airport (Flint to Chicago to LA to, finally at 11:30 PM HST, Honolulu). When I asked why they were only making 2-3 knots headway in a 20 knot wind I was told that they could, easily, go faster but would be headed straight for Japan. If they want to get to Long Beach they have to put up with the banging into waves and slow but seady progress. All were well. I suspect that this is going to feel like a very long trip.
I already miss the Dunkel-Jones clan but we had a wonderful visit and it was great to be picked up by Nicholas, here on a business/pleasure trip. And it is always good to be home. Aloha for now.

Corrections

Yesterday I mentioned that our position-reporting software was called Explorer. Well no, that's not right. It's called Reporter and it's part of the YOTREPS "Offshore Toolkit".

And Lindsey says olives, and wants a certain person to know that she saw four satellites last night.

If you checked our YOTREPS position report web page, you probably thought our track looked a little strange. The explanation is that all of our position reports from last year's delivery are in the same database, so the plotting software just strings them all together and it looks like we already went to Point Richmond and then zoomed back to Hawaii. It would be somewhat complex to try and get it changed from where we are, so hopefully you can just ignore the extraneous positions and enjoy this year's story.

By the way, it may surprise you to know that one of the issues we deal with daily aboard Cirrus is radio interference. We have an Icom IC-M710 marine radio transceiver that we use for contacting the Pacific Seafarers net, as well as Richard aboard Addiction, and Lou and Kim ashore in Kaneohe Bay. If you think about it, you realize that this radio has to listen for tiny radio signals from thousands of miles away, so it's pretty sensitive, and any local interference would make it very hard to hear those tiny signals.

We have at least three sources of interference: the alternator, the inverter, and the autopilot. Obviously, we use the alternator to charge the boat batteries, including the "house" battery that powers the radio. But it creates a tremendously loud buzz in the radio, rendering it (the radio) useless. So, if we want to have a fully charged house battery in time to call Richard at 5:30, we have to plan ahead so that we can run the engine, charge up the batteries completely, and then shut it down so that we can use the radio without alternator interference.

We use the inverter to charge the computer battery. Again, causing tremendous static in the radio. So, same deal. We use the computer to prepare our position reports, but we can't run the inverter during the reporting session starting around 6:00. So we plan ahead and run the inverter long enough to charge the computer, and then shut it down before our 5:30 call to Richard.

But wait! You say the autopilot also causes interference? Yes, and apparently lots of boats have this same problem. Since joining Cirrus last year, I have seen lots of references to this problem on the internet, but no solution until recently. Every time the autopilot controller commands the rudder servo to move, every second or so, we get a loud BEEE-EEE-EEP in the radio, but only on certain frequencies. Guess what frequencies. Well, for one, 14.300 MHz, the exact frequency of the Pacific Seafarers net. So what's the solution? Turn off the autopilot when you want to use the radio. No, not seriously. That's what we do because we have no option. Whoever is on watch gets to hand-steer the boat for about a half-hour while I play radio operator.

But the real solution involves changing the way autopilots are installed. I recently saw an online installation manual that states specifically, but in the fine print at the back of the book, that the autopilot controller and certain related cables must be installed at least seven feet away from radios and certain radio cables. Now they tell us. I think our autopilot cable goes through the same hole as the antenna cable under Bill's bunk. The two cables might even be taped together with a gigantic bundle of other miscellaneous cables.

So now you know the finely-tuned ballet we go through every day to be able to use the radio.

Just an update on the sailing. We are reaching off a little in strong winds and steep seas. The plan is to keep the boat moving north even if we lose some of our easting. We are seeing gusts to 20 knots and the occasional 12-foot seas. Lots of blowing foam. Current position: 26N23, 154W38. Course 340M at 4.5 knots. That's all for now. Please keep your comments coming. Fair winds ...

Chris

Day Three

Dawn to stormy seas, 6-8 foot swells, white caps everywhere, and really bumpy. Wind 16-18 and gusting over 20. We just took it easy last night. Reefed main and furled jib. Made a little more headway when we ran the engine for an hour or so to charge the batteries.
Our 0600 HST position is 25N54, 154w43 and we are going north 010M at about 5.4 knots. It is overcast but seems to be clearing.
Venus is quite a light in the evening sky these days. Super bright. Lights up the landscape just like the moon often does. No moon just now and for a few more days.
We still have 1930 miles to go. Plugging along. Spoke to Richard Blackburn again last night on 8A at 1730 HST. He seems to be quite a bit south and east of us. We will check his position again this evening when we talk to him. We also have been talking to Lou Ickler, mostly on 4B and 8B. We are also connected to the Pacific Seafarer's Net, so our position data should start showing up on the Pangolin, YOTREPS website.

Bill

MySpace? We don't need no MySpace.

Greetings, friends of Cirrus. The reason we don't need no MySpace is that we have YOTREPS, the ocean navigator's equivalent. Through the miracle of the Internet and ham radio, and a bunch of neat people, you can read about our daily position and other personal details on a web site called YOTREPS. Here's how it works. Every day around 5:00 pm HST (8:00 pm PDT), we run a program called Explorer. It prompts us to fill in a bunch of information in a NOAA standard format. Information like our position, course and speed, plus wind and sea conditions, plus cloud cover and visibility, plus barometric pressure and trend. Then we save the info in a file that includes the UTC date and time.

Later, around 5:25, we turn on the radio and tune to the Pacific Seafarers' Net on 14.300 MHz. It's hard to believe, but there are ham radio operators who monitor this frequency 24 hours a day, ready to help sailors all over the Pacific. But at 5:25, they bring in a few more guys so that they can get radio coverage of the entire Pacific, North and South. The main guy, the net control operator, could be as far away as Minnesota, but they also have stations in California, Hawaii, and various other places, including, I think, Montreal. At about 5:25, net control announces the start of the roll-call of reporting vessels. Since we are the most recent addition to the list, we are last, around number 15. One by one, vessels are called and, if they can respond, they read out their entire formatted position report to the net control operator, or one of the other operators. Then the operator reads it back in its entirety to check for errors. Then the reporting vessel is given the option to talk to other stations, on land or sea, and the net control will help them make their calls. Once the smoke clears, they move on to the next vessel. If you are listening, you will here them call us around 6:15 HST. Our call sign is KG6SKO (kilo golf six sierra kilo oscar). After the last vessel reports, if all goes well, the net operators finish off the daily net activities by emailing every position report to YOTREPS where they appear within a few hours. http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/tracker.php?ident=KG6SKO Note that last year's track is already there. Hopefully there will be no confusion.

By the way, we have lots of cool technology here on the boat, but we do not have normal Internet access, so we can't see our own blog. However, if you write a comment on the blog, the text of your comment is automatically sent to us as a radio email. We can usually access our email account once or twice a day. So, please, feel free.

Last night, we talked to Donna's husband Richard on the radio. He is aboard Addiction, not far from us, and sailing to Long Beach too, but double-handed. He is fine, but extremely sleepy. Later on, we talked to Lou Ickler back in Kaneohe. He was clear as a bell and we gave him our position and news.

Now, it's Wednesday morning, and it's another beautiful day in paradise. According to the GPS, we are sailing at over 6 knots (for some reason, the knotmeter has been hitting 9.5; maybe it was the rain squalls we blasted through last night - woo hoo!). We get the occasional big swell, but mostly it's pretty mellow out here. We are still heading mostly north, heading for the top edge of the Pacific high where she should be able to turn east. It's been really warm at night; we wear foulies on night watch because it can be wet, but no thermal underwear underneath; just shorts and a t-shirt. Sweet.

Current position:
Lat: 24d 52.893' N
Lon: 155d 20.370' W

Miles to go: 1984
By for now.

Valerie's report - day 2

7 AM HST. Bill reported a "beautiful day" - blue skies with just a fringe of clouds. No motoring with the exception of turning engine on to charge batteries. It is pretty mellow out there.
They were able to communicate with Richard again and finally had success communicating with Lou Ickler. It is a great feeling to be 200 miles from land and be able to touch base with friends both on land and at sea. They are going to post latitude and longitude on YOTREPS (http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/reporter_list.php) and that should start showing up in the next day or two.
Lindsey's bunk is "getting better" (guess that means it is still wet) and they have another 2000 miles to go.
I will be traveling tomorrow - sadly leaving Brian, Kimmerie and Nicholas Edward but it will also be good to be home. I'll post again in a couple of days.

Day Two

As of 0600 this morning we have come about 213 miles,but there are still more than 2000 to go. We are still just getting started. We still have a reef in the main, and we sailed very conservatively during the night, with the jib partly furled. It's not as stormy as the last time out. Our 0600 position was 24N24, 155W47 and we are doing 5.4 knots at 020M. The wind is 9 knots at 045 relative. It was mostly clear last night, no moon, with a beautiful Milky Way. During my whole watch this morning (0000-0300) there was a glow lighting up the horizon to the north. It is some sort of fishing operation that we have seen out here before. Bill