News
July 3, 1030
Quick update from the Triumph. As you might see from the YB Tracker, we are barely holding off Deception but as we enter the downwind leg it will be a dog fight as they are a much lighter boat. Westerly has got something we don't and I am not sure what that is. Perhaps an upwind sail. They continue to outpace us. We continue to push.
We have seen alot of debris today including a large chunk of foam with a 2 inch piece of rebar. Then we wrapped some plastic bag or something around the keel requiring us to back down (under sail of course). We quickly got back underway.
We saw another mysterious military vessel floating out here last night. No call sign and no registered MMSI number. We can only surmise the Chinese or Russians are probing our defenses. The allowed us to pass without incident. Phewww.
Although, the typical program is that Day 3 showers are highly recommended and Day 4 mandatory and Day 5 Code Red, we are finding that the overcast sky and cold water due to our high latitudes. So only young Davis Hanscom took the transom shower which is a salt water shower with prell followed by a quick fresh rinse. The rest of us stinky pirates are using baby wipes and Axe body spray - normally, this is used only by 15 year olds on the prowl but it brings a powerful overwhelming aroma that we need. I don't reommend it in any other circumstance.
A big Happy Birthday to Greta Schlageter! Eric sends his love and is one heck of a driver and sailor. That's all for now.
July 2, 1600 hours
We have entered Day 4 (counting days as 24 hour periods). We are 1557 nautical miles to Honolulu. Approximately 31 03 N and 131 36 W. Finally put up a kite and have started to rip. High speed so far is Michael at 16.5 knots - pretty good for a rookie! But the day is young.
It's warming up and the foul weather gear is off and shorts and tee shirts are the style of the day. The boat is flattened out and the fun has begun. I have no mysterious military vessels or anything of note to report. This is what we signed up for!
For the moms - don't worry, the kids are eating well and staying hydrated. Everyone is wearing their harness and PFDs.
July 1, 1900 hours
Update from Triumph on Transpac 2023. We are roughly 500 miles offshore. The sea state is turbulent and we are seeing 12-18 knots of breeze at around 90-100 True Wind Angle.
It has been an eventful 78 hours of sailing. At this point we are settling in to our routine of 4 hour watches. The boat is on constant heal of roughly 22 degrees making everything a bit more challenging. Everything we do must take this in to account. Food preparation, sleeping, even using the head. We are getting the hang of it.
3 hours ago, we ran in to something, some onboard thought it was a log others a large sea animal. Perhaps a whale. We have had several close encounters with whales so far. I don't like these encounters. I am not sure I like whales but I do respect them.
Last night we encountered a large military vessel that hailed us and hit us with their spot light and told us to go around. Easier said then done. They had their AIS beacon and then off. Why, we do not know. Maybe the Chinese reading to launch another spy balloon.
As is often the case there is always a couple of sea sickness issues and especially on this one as we are sailing upwind in big swells and confused sea state. Even this skipper had to pitch one over the stern after drinking a cup of joe with what may have been bad creamer - does dry creamer go bad - I think I just found out.
Everyone is in great spirits. We are sailing as fast and hard as we can with the tools we have aboard.
I will send you another report tomorrow or the next day.
Best wishes,
Steve & Crew
JUNE 27, 2023
Transpac T-2 Days. Our final preparation event was The SoCal 300. The SoCal 300 Race starts in Santa Barbara, goes around Santa Cruz Island and San Nicolas, then roughly 50 miles of west of Catalina and San Clemente Islands and finishes at San Diego. It’s a great event, often with opportunities for fast jib top and spinnaker reaching in big winds. The forecast called for 15-22 knots before dawn and in this case weather the gods delivered. Our team this year was a combination of young kite surfers, dinghy sailors, old guys and veteran sailors. We added some newbies to offshore big boat sailing to the team which added much needed muscle and energy to the program. Their ability to grasp unique big boat offshore racing concepts like coordinated 8 person gybing, in-line sail changes, sail crossovers, polar percentag, driving at night, 4-hour watch rotations, jet-boil operation, etc. was amazing, And thankfully they picked up quickly because we were limited in our preparation opportunities after the Islands Race was canceled due to stronger wind conditions that the race organizers felt would not be safe. This was only our 3rd outing as a team. Other than the Newport 2 Ensenada Race this was only our second race. We needed to make the most of it!
As I wrapped up our pre-race safety briefing at the Santa Barbara dock before the start of the SoCal 300, I decided to dedicate the race to my dad who was my inspiration for sailing and my inspiration for the Transpac Yacht Race. My dad passed away on May 22nd at the ripe old age of 90, just a few days prior to the race. I told the team the story of his 2005 Transpac and shared the photo of Roy Pat Disney handing my dad an unsanctioned award for the oldest crew. I am not sure if that record still stands. As I finished the story, I stood up and just then there was a Cal 40 crossing our bow on their way out and I yelled “what number Cal 40 are you?” - the response was “number 141”. It took my breath away for a moment as that was my dad’s Cal 40 which I had just been talking about and had spent my youth on, and they were headed out to start this race! Was this a sign??
We ended up 5th overall and 3rd in our class. The Cal 40 retired.
Part of my reason for doing the Transpac is the joy of developing a team of motivated sailors that work well together and solve problems. Sure, everyone loves driving the downwind in the warm trade winds ending up in the tropical paradise of Waikiki - and I get tremendous joy from that for sure. But some of the extra joy I get is seeing the younger guys blossoming into offshore big boat sailors. The smile on one of the 23 year old’s face as he surfed down his first 8 -10 ft wave in 20 knots or the joy the other kid trimming the boat for optimum speed can’t be understated. We should all do what we can to bring these kids along.
The Transpac is not just another racing event. It’s an adventure of a lifetime. I have been super fortunate to have participated in three already and looking forward to this one next week as well. How many more I can only hope many…
Aloha!