Tuesday, July 26, 2011

2nd half opener...

We raced Saturday only...DFL, not far from the previous three boats...

and it's all about Nat's driving really. It took a good third of the upwind leg to find the right groove(s), between the backstay, the traveler, the main sheet, the outhaul and the cunningham...once she found it, the boat was doing some really nice 6.4 / 6.6 knots over water...but before then, it was 6 knots...or half a knot less than the other boats in the fleet. We made up some ground but not enough to get in front of other boats...

There were some constant adjustments of course because the wind speed kept changing, but for any given wind speed, Nat finally got the hang of things and managed to get the boat going.

Really nice crew work.

Was fun though - and we mourn a winch handle which disappeared in the glory of a tack.

It felt good to be back on the water. Really good and fast downwind. I feel that I just need to sail her again upwind, and get back into this groove much much faster. This isn't going to be winning form if I keep it up! Weather conditions were awesome. There was wind in the delta, a good 14-15 knots around Bonita and the usual 20 gusting 25 knots near the bridge in the slot. The fog lifted up toward lunch and it was just a beautiful summer day out there. Nice and warm. Just gorgeous to be out there.

Believe it or not, I forgot my camera...

 

Friday, July 22, 2011

'Tabarly' - the movie

Affiche miniature du film Tabarly      note from Nat: Eric Tabarly said that boats had to be fast, sea-worthy and beautiful. 'Multihulls are not beautiful and I regret that'.

He had introduced the spinnaker socks: he was doing a lot of single-handed sailing and this was one fo the ways he had thought of to allow him to take down spinnakers in heavy weather, alone and without getting too tired...

 

In the movie, you can see that some of the boats do not even have winches...

He also tried to use a tiller instead of a wheel because it allowed a better connection with the element. 

It is pretty crazy to see that alone or with a crew, there was no lifejackets, no harness...definitely totally crazy...

The man seemed to be so modest...never losing his cool...One of the greatest sailors to have ever lived I think.

 

Movie Review: Sailing film ‘Tabarly’ suits Newport fest well

 

01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, June 6, 2009

 

By Michael Janusonis

Journal Arts Writer

 

Tabarly documents the career of yachtsman Eric Tabarly, including footage of him arriving in Newport after winning the original Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race in 1976.


AccuSoft Inc.

The Newport International Film Festival ends its five-day run Sunday with the screening of a movie that, fittingly, begins in Newport and revolves around sailing.

Pierre Marcel’s documentary Tabarly is the story of legendary French sailor Eric Tabarly who we first see arriving in triumph in Newport Harbor in 1964 after having just won the single-handed North Atlantic sailboat race from Plymouth, England, to Newport. Overnight he becomes the toast of France, awarded the Legion of Honor, getting a parade down the Champs Elysees and being congratulated by Gen. Charles DeGaulle.

Tabarly became one of the world’s winningest sailors, always in black-hulled boats that were all named after his first boat, the Pen Duick. Because of his many victories, there’s a lot of film footage of Tabarly, including interviews with this modest man who seems most at home on the ocean. (He later confesses that reporters regarded him as aloof, but he maintains it was because they knew little about sailing and asked him inane questions.) There’s even footage of him when he was a French Navy pilot in Saigon, presented during a brief biographical background segment

Most of the footage, however, finds Tabarly sailing aboard the various Pen Duicks as he takes one world championship after another. It has been edited in a brisk, no-nonsense style. It includes thrilling shots of tremendous waves washing over the boat during storms.

Even when things go badly, such as a race cut short after Tabarly’s boat is slammed by a cargo ship in fog, he shows perseverance and resilience. On an around-the-world race he loses a mast, effectively putting him out of a win. But he doesn’t quit, pressing on after repairs to compete in the remaining three legs of the race. Handsome, charismatic and looking remarkably fit, at one point he climbs up the sails in a bathing suit in rough seas to make adjustments.

On June 29, 1976, we again see him arriving triumphantly in Newport Harbor after winning another solo North Atlantic race, beating the odds by skippering a boat designed for a 14-man crew. Out of contact for days, he was feared lost at sea, but managed to come in ahead of his one-time star pupil and despite having to pass through the worst storm in the history of the race. But it’s hardly the end of Tabarly’s career. There is still a 75-year-old world record to be broken on a sail from New York to England in 1980.

 

Tabarly, the story of one man’s obsession and his dreams, is an exciting film that even those who don’t go to sea will find inspirational.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Autopilot Update

worked this morning - I just 'touched' the wires...

Great stuff. the first autopilot that only works when we don't need it...

Friday, July 15, 2011

Boat Work Day - Serge's Photos

Serge has transformed himself into a one-person boat yard...

Swapping the lifelines back to the small Bay ones (LongPac had the high offshore ones, same as Pac Cup)
[[posterous-content:pid___5]]The tools and the cables[[posterous-content:pid___7]]Removing the stanchions
[[posterous-content:pid___6]][[posterous-content:pid___9]]last man standing[[posterous-content:pid___2]]Protecting the work area[[posterous-content:pid___3]]nice and clean and the little round device to help the sail over the lifeline is in the right position :)[[posterous-content:pid___4]][[posterous-content:pid___1]][[posterous-content:pid___8]]Serge stealing Elise's motor :-) Just kidding, we had lost the key to the lock so we had to break into our own lock!

La Longue Route

'The Long Way' is the English translation.

Bernard Moitessier's account of his round the world sail, nonstop, for the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race (now Vendee Globe, and not leaving from Plymouth but from Les Sables D'Olonnes in France)

The race took place in 1968-1969, at a time when there were no GPS, no SSBs, no EPIRB, no regular weather faxes via satellite during the long offshore periods. Sailing alone meant not hearing from anyone for months. And reading the weather patterns meant looking at wave pattern, stars, clouds and barometer.

When he was about to head for the finish, he decided to do another half circumvigation to end up in Tahiti and sailed past the Cape of Good Hope and Leeuwin once more.

A pretty amazing feat.

Great article on 'Weather at sea' - and how to actively sail away/around and in a storm based on where you are.

 

La longue route (French Edition)


From Wikipedia 


 
 
Robin Knox-Johnston finishing his circumnavigation of the world in Suhaili as the winner of the Golden Globe Race

 
 
 
 
 
 

Nine sailors started the race; four retired before leaving the Atlantic Ocean. Of the five remaining, Chay Blyth, who had set off with absolutely no sailing experience, sailed past the Cape of Good Hope before retiring; Nigel Tetley sank with 1,100 nautical miles (2,000 km) to go while leading; Donald Crowhurst, who attempted to fake a round-the-world voyage, began to show signs of mental illness, and then committed suicide; and Bernard Moitessier, who rejected the philosophy behind a commercialised competition, abandoned the race while in a strong position to win and kept sailing non-stop until he reached Tahiti after circling the globe one and a half times. Robin Knox-Johnston was the only entrant to complete the race, becoming the first person to sail single-handed and non-stop around the world. He was awarded both prizes, and later donated the £5,000 to a fund supporting Crowhurst's family.

La Longue Route

'The Long Way' is the English translation.

Bernard Moitessier's account of his round the world sail, nonstop, for the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race (now Vendee Globe, and not leaving from Plymouth but from Les Sables D'Olonnes in France)

The race took place in 1968-1969, at a time when there were no GPS, no SSBs, no EPIRB, no regular weather faxes via satellite during the long offshore periods. Sailing alone meant not hearing from anyone for months. And reading the weather patterns meant looking at wave pattern, stars, clouds and barometer.

When he was about to head for the finish, he decided to do another half circumvigation to end up in Tahiti and sailed past the Cape of Good Hope and Leeuwin once more.

A pretty amazing feat.

Great article on 'Weather at sea' - and how to actively sail away/around and in a storm based on where you are.

 

La longue route (French Edition)

 

From Wikipedia 
Robin Knox-Johnston finishing his circumnavigation of the world in Suhaili as the winner of the Golden Globe Race

 

Nine sailors started the race; four retired before leaving the Atlantic Ocean. Of the five remaining, Chay Blyth, who had set off with absolutely no sailing experience, sailed past the Cape of Good Hope before retiring; Nigel Tetley sank with 1,100 nautical miles (2,000 km) to go while leading; Donald Crowhurst, who attempted to fake a round-the-world voyage, began to show signs of mental illness, and then committed suicide; and Bernard Moitessier, who rejected the philosophy behind a commercialised competition, abandoned the race while in a strong position to win and kept sailing non-stop until he reached Tahiti after circling the globe one and a half times. Robin Knox-Johnston was the only entrant to complete the race, becoming the first person to sail single-handed and non-stop around the world. He was awarded both prizes, and later donated the £5,000 to a fund supporting Crowhurst's family.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Wikipedia agrees with me

'One of the greatest challenges facing a lone sailor is sleep, since a good watch must be kept at all times while at sea. Most single-handers use the technique of napping for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, using a timer to wake them up for periodic look-arounds; with the relatively slow speed of a sailboat, this allows most hazards to be seen in time. Again the challenge is greater for racers, given their higher speeds and more intense activity, and some racers have carried out considerable research into getting the maximum benefit from short cat-naps'

With AIS, Elise had an electronic lookout for big ships, but small vessels or anything that could be hit by the boat while sailing could definitely not been seen. It is really hard to sleep for only 20 min at a time...Sleeping was definitely my personal challenge, in a race with no reliable autopilot.

Legality of single-handed sailing?

From wikipedia

Questionable Legality

The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) is the international agreement between 168 UN member nations forming the 'rules-of-the-road' to be followed by ships and other vessels at sea. Any citizen of a signing nation is bound by these rules when in international waters. As they pertain to single-handed sailing:

Rule #1(a) -- These Rules shall apply to all vessels upon the high seas and in all waters connected therewith navigable by seagoing vessels.

Rule #5 -- Every vessel must at all times keep a proper look-out by sight, hearing, and all available means in order to judge if risk of collision exists.

Since a single-handed, long-distance sailor will need to sleep at some point, the activity is in violation of international law. Currently there is no evidence of authorities pro-actively enforcing the look-out rule on non-commercial craft. However, in the event of an incident at sea, if the master of a vessel is found to have violated one or more COLREGS, they may be found completely liable for the costs of rescue efforts, property damages or loss, loss of income, salvage costs, environmental cleanup costs, and so on. In the event of loss of life, criminal gross negligence charges are possible.

LongPac food photos

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Serge cleaning up the boat: rinsing it off, and airing things out while Nat was catching up on sleep
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and cooking for LongPac!
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Nat taking Serge to a Thai place to thank him for his key role in the LongPac preparation. and evidently liking what's on the menu
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The good news...

After a good day's rest, other positive thoughts about LongPac come to mind.
  • I had never done long-distance (eg. over several days) single-handed sailing and I loved it - I feel that I need to do a lot more of this going forward...particularly if I want to prepare my next LongPac and potentially TransPac.
  • Learned the importance of 'banking' sleep, you never know when a storm might hit and when you won't be able to sleep for a while - so I will better managed to strength/sleep next time. Also, single-handed sailors I noticed were not driving all the time, even when they were not sleeping which allows for more endurance (which is what I lacked this race because of the lack of autopilot), maneuvres go smoother, etc...
  • Have two tasks in front of me: figure out a way to get power at night for the autopilot to run at least for 4 hours and figure out alternative ways of self-steering Elise if the main autopilot fails
  • I had more spinnaker/surfing downwind fun this time around even though I didn't go all the way than with Heather when we did go all the way because of some flimsy winds last time
  • I got to learn how to steer her upwind with no weight on the rail (I was about to take down the #3 and put the storm jib in place) and how she behaved in 25-30 knots of wind - pretty well, I was able to keep her pretty flat but in gusts the headsail would still make her round up a little
  • Nathan's suggestion to have a 3rd reefing point in the cruising main (the one we take of short-handed races) is a great one
  • I realize how tiring single-handed racing is (I already had developed a lot of admiration for single-handed racers, so there's much room for me to admire them even more!) and how much physical preparation beforehand is helpful. It's really about endurance. The sailing was OK this time around. The sailor was not. And you need both to win a race.
  • I saw dolphins and two whales...and God, it was such a beautiful starry night the second night out there. Just beautiful.

Elise before the start of the LongPac 2011

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Photos courtesy of Nathan
2
Right after the gun went off

LongPac 2011 short write-up

I wanted to thank the LongPac shore team though - and I felt really bad about them after I had turned around. Serge and Nathan have put some much time into prepping the boat for this race that I  seemed to be betraying them by turning around so early. I could not have done this race without them, and it makes me reiterate the importance of a great shore crew whenever you do offshore sailing.

I decided to have the #3 up for the start. Wind was about 10 to 15 knots and the #1 could probably have been up, however it it a pain to tack it, particularly single-handed when there is no one to help it around at the bow, it gets caught in a million things so I figured that for the relatively short tacks up to Point Bonita a smaller sail would be OK.

I sailed alongside Taz! for the most part who had a genoa up and I could keep up. I tacked my way to Point Bonita staying in the ebb. Nick was working OK (Nick is the primary race autopilot). I was driving though for most of the time. I took down the #3 and put up the #1 (genoa) as the wind kept dropping as the evening approached.

The fog settled in and visibility was less than half a mile. I could hear ship everywhere and I turned on the AIS for it to be my lookout since my eyes were useless. VTS (Vessel Traffic) broadcast a traffic situation every half hour at 15 and 45min past the hour. I kept listening to this. My AIS system kept going off all the time, as I was in heavy fog with no maneuvrability and in the middle of the friggin' shipping lane. So I was on the radio to ships the whole night. And when I wasn't on the radio I was trying to keep the boat going and stay clear of the Northern Farallon islands so that they didn't become a problem for Elise.

Some ships passed a few feet away from my stern (while I was on the radio and they were telling me that they could see me and were steering clear of me...), pretty scary!!! Fog, no wind and ships all around me is my sailing nightmare scenario!!

By morning, things were better. Still foggy and the wind was very light. Nick was still dead - I rigged 'Ray' and tried to figure out if it could steer effectively. It couldn't as the wind was too finicky. I hadn't slept since departure and I decided to heave-to for a couple of hours with AIS on 'nuclear' (as the real 'Nick' recommended) - since the wind was very very light in the early hours of the morning, I figured I wasn't losing too much ground by heaving-to. I was just out of the shipping channel so it felt OK to go to sleep. I hove-to and went below.

I woke up to some shipping alarm for what seemed to be another LongPac competitor (I went up on deck and could see the boat). It was foggy still, but lifting up and visibility was much improved.

Ray drove for a little bit since the wind was light enough which allowed me to get a good meal prepared, to clean things up inside the cabin (things had moved a little bit) and do a bit of toiletry. I came back up on deck and the wind picked up again. Ray couldn't keep up and was starting to break things. I couldn't repair as it would involve some fiberglass job and the deck was too wet for that. So I just took the helm.

the headsail took quite a beating in the lack of wind, flapping around, catching the radar reflector that was up in the rig. It might be its last short-handed trip!

Bungee worked for a few hours and I tried to take another couple of sleep. However all I could manage was a half hour. I stayed below as I could, but once the AIS system went off which woke me up and the conditions kept changing (the wind dropped for half an hour forcing me up on deck to take the reefs out and switched to the genoa (it was a race after all!!) - I could sense the change from below, the heel angle changed quite dramatically and the sound of water alongside the hull was quite different. So I was resting below under the bungee watch but I wasn't unable to really sleep.

The wind kept picking up so I took a reef in the main. It kept climbing and I took a second reef in the main. It was by then between 25 to 30 knots and I was beating up on my way to the mark, doing almost due west (I was heading North of west to account for leeway). While I was steering, things were OK., It just required some active mainsail trim in the gusts. The seas were not any worse than what I had seen on the roughest lightship races and it was just the usual roller-coaster with  Elise slamming down some steep waves and me hurting my butt (the boat woudl fall faster than I would...) - thank God for Serge's cushions!!

I was thinking of taking the #3 down and put up the storm jib (which is a #4, so a smaller sail) to keep the boat flater and competitive. I knew that I would have no autopilot for the night (wind was too strong for bungee) and looking at the boat speed (5.8 knots upwind!!!) - taking a nap hove-to sounded just unbearably expensive for this race...Maybe turning around was one way for me to express my disapointment, maybe this is what I need to do better next time: just accept that things will break and sail the boat as best as I can given the circumstances. I was also worried that it would just take me forever to get to the mark and back as downwind I would have no autopilot either and would need to heave-to or keep driving the boat...this is when a lot of the questions of whether I could keep myself safe while racing occurred. I could keep myself safe while sailing, but if I wasn't going to be competitive, should I continue?

All in all, I decided to turn around under very tired state of mind, which may have been the wrong decision. I won't know.

As soon as I turned around (in 25-30 knots), I could put the spinnaker up (I set everything up at the bow while the boat was going upwind as for a short period of time the bungee was doing a fine job) - and since all the lines were led back to the cockpit, I could hoist it and trim it without the need for an autopilot. Elise jumped forward and started to surf big time in the waves. The wind stayed strong all night and I drove her all night under spinnaker - we broached once as a wave kicked Elise's butt the wrong way, but easy recovery and we were gone again. It was a beautiful starry night and I was doing my favorite thing on Elise: surfing in 25 to 30 knots of wind, in big waves. The boat was doing great and really eager to move forward.

The wind dropped in the very early hours of the morning about half way between the Farallones and the lightship - I decided that I wouldn't put the engine on. I had turned around because I couldn't manage my sleep properly and after a night of sheer fun, I started to wonder if that had been the right solution since it wasn't like I was in trouble or anything like that. Maybe it will serve for future choices...maybe I didn't push myself enough? in any case, I had turned around but I would sail the boat the whole way. So I bubbled around for a bit. I tidied up the spinnaker lines and packed 'reverse France'. I had a good breakfast. It was impossible to get some sleep so close to the shipping channel but I had trouble keeping my eyes open. I drank of the Red Bulls to help with that.

A light breeze picked up and I sailed her home. I was too tired to hoist the spinnaker (I would fall asleep for a few seconds at a time which would be impossible with that sail up) so I sailed back under main + jib. No reef in the main of course by then.

I called Nathan and AJ - feeling very tired and sad. Nathan told me that pretty much everyone but one boat in my division had turned around. Wow - I had no idea. What a weird race this year. Nathan welcome me at the dock and helped put the minimum away. He drove me home as I was in no state to drive. I could barely dock the boat correctly even though the wind was very light.

 

Anyway, this is the story of my LongPac. I will remember that race and I have work items and lessons that I will carry with me:

  • Figure out a way to get more power (either a third battery to charge up during the day, or a wind-based system) for single-handed so the autopilot can be run at night - it is really really hard to stay up all night, even if you get enough sleep during the day. It is also better to sleep whenever the wind is light if you can. You are less competitive with the autopilot but if the wind is light, your loss isn't as great as if you could be doing 6 knots and you're doing only 3.
  • Figure out better ways to backup 'Nick' - maybe install a small windvane system that doesn't require drilling holes and that could be removed when not needed? It is tricky downwind because it causes round down as it uses the apparent wind as its main input (and that wind goes forward when you accelerate down a wave)...in any case, more research is required there.
  • Find a way to make Nick more reliable: protecting its wiring some more would be good. It looks like one of the wires may have been pulled out by the gear that was in the port quarterberth
  • Tend to the sailor as well as the boat: bank on sleep and i you need 6 hours to operate well and sustainably and the conditions allow you to get that sleep, take it. I didn't do that because it just felt wrong to park the boat in a race. I should have. I really need to work on my sleep management.

 

LongPac - turning around

When I realized that I would have no auto-pilot and that I was relegated to the cruising division (I had no idea about what other boats were doing), I wondered what to do. I also had Nathan's advice in mind, with me being a little over optimistic most of the time and over-confident in my own abilities. I was wondering if the lack of sleep which I would no doubt keep accumulating would keep me safe. I was still feeling super guilty to just heave-to and feeling bummed and disappointed in my ability to do well in the race. My judgement was probably a little altered.

Would have I been OK? Probably. if I was falling asleep at the helm, I could have hove-to again and get some sleep. Would have I been comeptitive? Probably not, but then I wasn't sure. I decided not to second guess things and I turned around. I think that if I had been in the Transpac, I may have carried on - going somewhere instead of an imaginary line was maybe less motivating? I don't know. In hindsight, I do not know if it was the right decision.

In any case, I turned around at about 10pm that night. I set up the kite and surfed down waves in 25 to 30 knots all night until I was between the Farallones and the Lightship. I didn't have to gybe at all (I would not have trusted the bungee for that, so I would have had to take down the spinnaker, gybe the main, fixed the lines and hoist the spinnaker again. all possible, but remember that sleep deprived, Nathan had warned me about making stupid mistakes. I also remembered the story of a LongPac sailor in past year who nearly crashed his boat on rock, thinking he was heading at the Golden Gate bridge.

This race was about managing my sleep time and I didn't do this too well.

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Nathan helping Nat tie up Elise back at the dock on Friday mid morning.

I slept for over 12 hours after my return...

LongPac Autopilot issues

I had autopilot problems the whole time...

The first day Nick worked great and I could do a couple of sail changes under his watch. I didn't sleep as I was in a heavy traffic passage, with very low wind, fog, no visibility and not past the Farallones Islands yet.

That evening, Nick started to complain about connectivity issues and

The wind was very light at night, but not completely dead, by actively trimming the main and the number 1, Elies was managing 3 to 4 knots of boat speed, so not so bad. I could not use 'Ray' at night because of the power consumption, I nearly used up all the power I had as I had to have the GPS+AIS on all night, calling ships every half hour or so

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In the morning, the wind was between 5 to 10 for a while and 'Ray' managed to do a good job. It was eating up a lot of power though, even during the day, and particularly with 50% less UV due to the fog. It was depleting the batteries. By 9ish, the wind had increased and Ray was not up to the task anymore. It took its little mount with it trying to keep up with a compass course. So I put Ray aside and sailed without it.

I had tried the sheet-based system but it would take me 10 to 15 min to set it up and then try it (by sitting in the cockpit just not driving) but the conditions would change too often for it to actually be able to work for more than 10 minutes...Maybe Elise is a little too sensitive for this kind of system.

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Bungee worked great at wind speed below 18 knots and above 10 knots. There was enough wind to keep enough pressure in the sails and I could take a 2-hr nap under its watch. Unfortunately, above 18 knots, and even with a reef in the main, the boat required a little too much hand-holding for bungee to do a good job. Nick would have been able to handle these changes as it is built for that, but the bungee is too 'unchanging', so I had to take the helm again. Nick was OK for a few minutes at a time though, without making the boat round up or tack (that's how I realized I could not sleep any longer. I tried going below but would have to get back on deck every 15 minutes to a tacked boat and fix up the mess.
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My most faithful autopilot - when the wind conditions were right, it did a great job, so very happy to have had the bungee!

When the night closed on on day 2, my autopilot situation was:

  • no autopilot during the night (wind was too high for bungee to work)
  • no autopilot downwind (sheet-based or bungee was quite incapable of doing this)
  • no 'Ray' (wind was too much for it)
  • no 'Nick' - I tried to fix it and pushed one wire back in, started instrument/pilot in different orders but couldn't get it to work and only made myself seasick in the process

The wind was between 25 to 30 knots. I had two reefs in the main and was considering moving to the storm jib. I would have to drive all night and I was running only on a couple of hours sleep.

The only way to get some sleep would then be to heave-to (and I did so to get one hour of sleep), however I was feeling way too guilty to do so because I would just be drifting when that would happen...I felt really uncompetitive...

The forecast indicated that I would be sailing in above 30 knots for the next day and night - which would be fine when not tired and safe if I could sleep even hove-to - the downwind would have to have me drive the entire time too because of the lack of self-steering mechanism.

LongPac 2011 Marine Wild Life

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Competition!
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This was trying to capture the dolphins I saw that seemed to be playing in Elise's wake, however, the series of photos I took seemed to have all missed them...It was so hard to figure out where they would resurface.

I also saw two whales, one on each day. First one was quietly swimming by and I could hear it before I could see it.

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A frog.

LongPac: living aboard

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The 'bucket' was kept on deck as it was much more pleasant...and my garbage bag...also stored in the cockpit as it was easily within reach
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My local food bag, there was loads of water, ginger ale cans and I kept one red bull which I drank the second night

LongPac Photos - Keeping the boat going

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Going strong the second morning
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Actively trimming the #3
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The view from the bow while I was changing headsail, bungee is driving the boat. About 15 knots of wind, the #1 was getting too much for Elise so I switched down to the #3

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The first day was very wet and foggy with very very limited visibility, I had put up the dodger as there was starting to be spray on the boat (wind speed ~ 15 knots)

LongPac Last Prep photo I have

Serge preparing the meals for the trip.

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Each meal was in a ziploc bag and each day was packed in one plastic bags.

Fastnet Force 10

Fastnet, Force 10: The Deadliest Storm in the History of Modern Sailing

 

By John Rousmaniere. Highly recommend the book - it shows how lethal the sea can be, even for very experienced sailors and how localized weather conditions are - boats sailed a few miles from each other and some saw a force 8 to 9 with wind below 50 knots, others a force 12 storm with wind well aboe 60 knots.

A very humbling experience - and offshore sailors can only benefit from that kind of reading.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Forecast for LongPac

  • San Francisco Bay

WED  W WINDS 5 TO 15 KT...INCREASING TO 15 TO 25 KT IN THE  AFTERNOON.  WED NIGHT  W WINDS 15 TO 25 KT...BECOMING SW 5 TO 15 KT AFTER  MIDNIGHT.  THU  SW WINDS 10 KT.  THU NIGHT  SW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT...DECREASING TO 10 KT AFTER  MIDNIGHT.  FRI  SW WINDS 5 TO 15 KT. PATCHY FOG.  SAT  SW WINDS 5 TO 15 KT. PATCHY FOG.  SUN  SW WINDS 5 TO 15 KT. PATCHY FOG.

10 miles out

 POINT REYES TO PIGEON POINT TO 10 NM-  252 PM PDT TUE JUL 5 2011    TONIGHT  SW WINDS 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT.  NW SWELL 3 TO 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS.  WED  SW WINDS 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT.  NW SWELL 3 TO 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS. PATCHY FOG.  WED NIGHT  SW WINDS 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT.  NW SWELL 4 TO 6 FT AT 9 SECONDS. PATCHY FOG.  THU  W WINDS 10 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS.  NW SWELL 3 TO 5 FT. PATCHY FOG.  THU NIGHT  W WINDS 5 TO 15 KT...INCREASING TO 15 TO 25 KT AFTER  MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 4 FT. NW SWELL 4 TO 6 FT. PATCHY FOG.  FRI  W WINDS 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT.  NW SWELL 5 TO 7 FT. PATCHY FOG.  SAT  W WINDS 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT.  NW SWELL 5 TO 7 FT. PATCHY FOG.  SUN  W WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT.  NW SWELL 4 TO 6 FT. PATCHY FOG.    ..SAN FRANCISCO BAR/FOURFATHOM BANK FORECAST    IN THE DEEP WATER CHANNEL...COMBINED SEAS 4 TO 6 FEET WITH A  DOMINANT SWELL PERIOD OF 9 SECONDS.    ACROSS THE BAR...COMBINED SEAS 5 TO 7 FEET WITH A DOMINANT SWELL  PERIOD OF 9 SECONDS. MAXIMUM EBB CURRENT OF 1.6 KNOTS AT 8:01 PM  THIS EVENING AND 2.2 KNOTS AT 7:19 AM WEDNESDAY MORNING.60 miles out

 POINT ARENA TO PIGEON POINT 10 TO 60 NM OFFSHORE-  252 PM PDT TUE JUL 5 2011    SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT    TONIGHT  NW WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT.  NW SWELL 6 TO 8 FT AT 9 SECONDS.  WED  NW WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT.  NW SWELL 6 TO 8 FT AT 9 SECONDS. PATCHY FOG.  WED NIGHT  NW WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT.  NW SWELL 7 TO 9 FT AT 9 SECONDS. PATCHY FOG.  THU  NW WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT.  NW SWELL 7 TO 9 FT. PATCHY FOG.  THU NIGHT  NW WINDS 20 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 6 FT.  NW SWELL 8 TO 10 FT. PATCHY FOG.  FRI  NW WINDS 20 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 6 FT.  NW SWELL 7 TO 9 FT. PATCHY FOG.  SAT  NW WINDS 20 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 6 FT.  NW SWELL 8 TO 10 FT. PATCHY FOG.  SUN  NW WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT.  NW SWELL 8 TO 10 FT. PATCHY FOG.  OffshoreHIGH SEAS FORECAST NWS OCEAN PREDICTION CENTER WASHINGTON DC 2345 UTC TUE JUL 05 2011 SUPERSEDED BY NEXT ISSUANCE IN 6 HOURS SEAS GIVEN AS SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT WHICH IS THE AVERAGE HEIGHT OF THE HIGHEST 1/3 OF THE WAVES. INDIVIDUAL WAVES MAY BE MORE THAN TWICE THE SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT. SECURITE PACIFIC N OF 30N AND S OF 67N E OF A LINE FROM BERING STRAIT TO 50N 160E SYNOPSIS VALID 1800 UTC JUL 05. 24 HOUR FORECAST VALID 1800 UTC JUL 06. 48 HOUR FORECAST VALID 1800 UTC JUL 07. .WARNINGS. GALE WARNING .FROM 37N TO 43N BETWEEN 125W AND 128W N WINDS 25 TO 35 KT. SEAS 9 TO 13 FT. ELSEWHERE FROM 30N TO 45N BETWEEN 122W AND 130W AND FROM 30N TO 32N BETWEEN 132W AND 138W N TO NE WINDS 20 TO 30 KT. SEAS 8 TO 10 FT.

AIS system

Familiarized myself with the AIS system this morning (well the important part) I can set up a Close Position Alarm, as well as a Time to position alarm...but I haven't figured out how to turn them off when they go off (which is all the time when you're in the Bay...given that ferries carry AIS transponders) - I can see the vessel's details though which is cool as I can then easily make a call and I can send off my position report to a specific ship.

The only workaround I have found to reset the alarm and move away from the AIS display mode (and actually make a regular radio call) is to unplug the GPS...probably not the right way, but the radio doesn't seem to be behaving the way the manual says it should...

Anyway, it is stuck in a 'safe' position so it's not really a concern, just annoying to keep hearing a 'beep beep' until you switch off another instrument...
I may turn on the AIS signal only when I am below deck for extended periods of time or in very heavy fog. Otherwise, I will keep a lookout, just like I would on San Francisco Bay or sailing to the Farallones.

Transponders seem to be working!!

Monday, July 4, 2011

LongPac Prep

Summary of tasks done for LongPac

  • remove malware from boat computer and test
  • Change jib halyard into non stretchy line
  • Add jackstays and offshore gear
  • Install big solar panel
  • Add diamond to lifelines
  • Fix connectors for small solar panel
  • Fix second instrument panel
  • Radar reflector up in rig
  • Update deviation card for 2nd compass
  • Install big solar panel
  • Test tiller autopilot
  • Fix NKE autopilot
  • Set up external spare halyard
  • Set up turning block so one person can hoist themselves up the mast
  • Service winches
  • Set up dodger

Still to do:

  • Set up big engine with new lock
  • Shop for food and water
  • clean up, set up and test computer
  • Remove offshore gear that is not required for single-handed longpac
  • Set up liferaft on boat
  • Learn to use the AIS system (some of it will be done at home)

 

Trying 'Nick' downwind

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We actually lowered the jib to build the deviation table for Elise's 2nd boat compass (we had a table only for one, and even though it was not a required item, we took the few minutes it took to build it as we could see land (thus landmarks...) all around us.
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Nat then set up the spinnaker and hoisted it
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This is Nick driving downwind and doing a good job. We had about 17 knots after we ended up in Racoon Straits...

And everything went well until the wind died on us in the lee of Angel Island. 'Nick' didn't react fast enough and a droopy spinnaker got wrapped around the forestay. Nat set up to take down the spinnaker since a heavier headsail would have better chances of carrying us through in light air...however, it wouldn't come down! The halyard was jammed somewhere, not quite sure how as both lines (jib and spinnaker) went up clear. In any case, after many attemps, we found ourselves a little close to Angel Island so I pulled out the engine. It wouldn't start...so we tried paddling a little bit, tough act against the current though! - we were getting ready to drop and anchor to secure the boat away from the rocks and have time to go aloft to unstuck things if need be)

Instead, we hailed a boat and got towed into Angel Island.

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Serge holding on the spinnaker to make sure it doesn't fill up. Interesting, the halyard just came down once the wind filled the sail from forward.
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Our towing boat set of saviors!

We met up w/ Nathan at Sam's for dinner (just across from Angel Island), the wind had dropped a bit to 14-15 knots in the Straight. It took us forever to cross back to the Saint Francis because of a heavy flood and a dying wind. It took a lot of tacking and good midwinter practice on the boat but we made it..finally. We were ready to drive home at 2:45am...

Trying 'Nick' on a reach

Gusts (up to 32 knots near the bridge) and sailing up then on a reach in 30 knots of wind was probably a good trial for Nick. It did OK in compass mode.

sailing_025-320.mp4 Watch on Posterous
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There was a kitesurfer that followed us across (it looks like they do mostly reaching), it sailed by close enough to touch as boom (which was a little outside the boat)
sailing_016-320.mp4 Watch on Posterous
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Testing the autopilot upwind

On Sunday, Serge and Nat went out on a test sail to double-check that 'Nick' could drive the boat.

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LongPac Work Day - various setups

Elise_boat_work_day_042
Serge set up the dodger
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Serge replaced the rail padding with blue noodles
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Nat and Serge installing the large solar panel for LongPac
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Serge serviced both primary winches (one of them had gotten too salty to work), rinsed off in fresh water and then added winch oil to the mechanism.
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Just reminding folks of the role the French played in the Independence War :)

Photos courtesy of Serge and his camera