FINISH DAY - Sunday July 27, 2008 PART II

Hello Tiki Blue Fans,

Tiki Blue crossed the finish line at 3:45 pm. Below are some photos from the finish.

FINISH DAY - Sunday July 27, 2008 !!!

Hello Tiki Blue Fans!

Team Tiki Blue passed the 100 mile to finish mark this morning at just about 2 am (Hawaii time, which is Pacific Standard Time minus 3 hours).

Tiki Blue will be checking in at 25 and 5 miles before the finish.

Check out their final times to finish here.

July 27, 2008 Standings

** Cap'n G's final daily update **

Saturday (07-26-2008)

Track Tiki Blue's satellite transponder (Division C)




Listen to the last daily blog from Team Tiki Blue before their finish on Sunday, July 27, 2008.

Friday (07-25-2008)

Track Tiki Blue's satellite transponder (Division C)

*** Team Tiki Blue attempted to leave a voice message today, but nothing came through...only a few garbled words....They are, however, doing GREAT, up to 3rd Place in their Division!!! Go Tiki Blue!!

Thursday (07-24-2008)

Track Tiki Blue's satellite transponder (Division C)

Tiki Blue still does not have a solid internet connection, so this update was based on a voice mail via satellite phone. Please excuse any interpretation errors as the message was translated into text via the voice message.

The last 24 hours have been good sailing and as you may have noticed, we have passed the third place boat in our division. Torben has been calling the right tactics, with more strategic moves today. He is the wise man of the sea.

We are still focused on conserving what water we have and we've been capturing squall water at the stern of the boat and lee side of the sail. Ricky and Mikey are working hard on this project. This morning a squall came through and we all showered in the cockpit with fresh rainwater. Like a family of baboons, we picked eachother clean. Ha, ha.

We're expecting to finish around mid day on Sunday, so our plan has been refined based on this ETA. We're still eating plenty amounts of great food and are BBQing hamburgers tonight.

We just saw a beautiful double rainbow, which means more water on the way and an opportunity for us to capture it. Personally for me, the biggest challenge has been driving the boat at night with 30 knots of wind and the spinnaker up. It's a bit hairy like Mr. Toad's wild ride, surfing down waves like a powerboat. One wrong move and...crash! Thankfully, we have a very skilled group of sailors and in a dire predicament, I can scream for assistance when I'm on my watch. Amazingly, our 3/4 oz kite has taken a beating and remained in one piece. Praise the Lord and knock on wood! It's got to get us another 500 miles.

Right now, the charts indicate we're about 512 miles away from Kaneohe Bay, sailing 8-9 knots, making good on our course. Aloha to all.

**P.S. Go Tyler and run like a jackal at the meet(?). 'Kel', I called your cell and got a voice message and for some reason it could not accept. I will try again tomorrow.

Love, hugs, and kissess to all. --- Cap'n Gary.

~ Team Tiki Blue

Listen to Cap'n G's update.

Wednesday (07-23-2008)

Track Tiki Blue's satellite transponder (Division C)


Tiki Blue still does not have a solid internet connection, so this update was based on a voice mail via satelite phone. Please excuse any interpretation errors as the message was translated into text via the voice message.

Daily blog for Wednesday, July 23. Written by Judy and read by Torben.

Wednesday afternoon.....we've received some requests about what life is like on board Tiki Blue with 825 (?) miles to Hawaii. I can tell you we have pretty much established a routine. Our clocks stay on Pacific Standard Time, so it is light out until 10 pm. We keep watch with the same (schedule?). We have two positions with our watch system: a driver and standby (?). We're on for two and off for three. Consequently, there is a lot of sleep walking going on, which is always .... entertaining(?)...

These past few nights, we've been subject to squalls. Last night we had an 'all hands on deck' situation. In the middle of the night, the squall was approaching, bringing winds with it up to 29 knots. We had all crew members attend their stations in case we needed to quickly drop the spinnaker. All the squalls blew through without consequence and we were relieved to go back to bed and sleep.

I have finally obtained my sea legs and moving about the boat is second nature now. I have reduced the number of bruises considerably. However, cooking ....still presents a challenge as things are always sliding at in opportune times........................we are washing dishes using sea water and using our baby wipes. Other than that, not much to see. I saw this 'movie before' in 2006 (?)....I'm now adding to my list of eulogies (?) offshore. ---Signed Judy.


We're continuing to sail on to Hawaii through the Pacific...things are not going exactly as planned, but we're still on track (?). We are using a GPS (Global Positioning System) on board that uses a network of military sattelites to provide continuous latitude and longitude positions. It also gives us current heading and speed information. So finding Hawaii is as easy as setting up a waypoint (GPS target) and sailing towards it.

Our routing is more complicated. When we left home, we anticipated predicting weather patterns by accessing weather reports (?not sure about this?). We intended to use the satellite phone to download daily weather/wind reports, but the satellite phone has not worked well for that.

(without access to daily wind reports we)...........In preparing the routing plan for our trip to Hawaii we took the pacific high into consideration. The pacific high (resides) in the north pacific..............................................
Every morning at 9 am Ryan conducts the daily check-in and also listens for the positions of the other boats. He then inputs the coordinate information into a computer program that gives us everyone's daily runs, (positions) .........

In the beginning of the race ............ we decided to sail to the south to avoid the pacific high. We were concerned about being too close to the high and running out of wind. Going south and gaining some distance for the first couple days worked out pretty well. We're approaching the southern part of our route and the Captain is watching our angle and determining when to gybe for our final approach to Hawaii.

We've been gaining on our sister ship ( the "competition") Bequia for several days and are looking forward to Thursday's (07-24-2008) position report to see if we're ahead of them. Then we will start working on ......

It is presently 8:30 pm on Wednesday, the crew is having chicken and coleslaw for dinner.

We have the kite (spinnaker) up on starboard pole........we are 692 (?) nautical miles from the finish. It is warm, we're wearing shorts, and everyone is having a great time.

~ Team Tiki Blue


Listen to Torben's Update. PART I PART II

Tuesday (07-22-2008)

Track Tiki Blue's satellite transponder (Division C)

Tiki Blue still does not have a solid internet connection, so this update was based on a voice mail via satelite phone. Please excuse any interpretation errors as the message was translated into text via the voice message.

Daily blog for Tuesday, July 22...this is a special one, so "read" carefully!

Well, we have 850 miles to go until to Hawaii, we're on the downhill side of the race and all is going well, with one exception. We discovered today that our aft (rear) water tank leaked into the bilge (bottom of the boat) and thus it is now empty. We have already used most of the water in the forward tank, so we have set up a plan for the remaining water we have to last us to Hawaii. After taking careful inventory, and checking emergency water supplies, we have determined that we have enough water for our crew and may not require using emergency rations. This of course means no more taking showers or washing dishes. We have notified the race committee of our situation and alternate plans are available if we decide we need more water. Getting outside assistance would require us to drop out of the race.....so we will be taking ocean bucket baths on the stern platform, tethered to the boat of course, to keep everyone comfortable for the duration.

We have plenty of food and last night we had a terrific dinner of BBQ'd steak with mashed potatoes and green beans. Ricky was the BBQ meister and did a great job.

We also had a sunset ceremony under sail to scatter (some of) the ashes of my mother in law, who passed away one year ago and shared stories of loved each of us has lost and what they have meant to us in our lives. It was a special bonding experience out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that will be a life memory for us all.

The crew is a perfect team of form and function. Everyone has their special contribution to our shared goals and I'm forever grateful to be lent such a wonderful group of friends. I catch my son Ryan smiling for no reason and that means so much to me.

Speaking of smiling....this morning the crew sneaked into the V-berth (the queen-sized bed at the very front of the boat) with our mascot, a squawking rubber chicken and careully positioned it next to my head and then squeezed the chicken so it gave its now familiar squawk. This powerfully brought every nerve and connecting synapse in my body to full attention. As I clawed and tried to focus on who was attacking me, I found the entire crew laughing hysterically, and best of all, they got it on video. The video was passed around for follow up laughter every now and then.

Sailing has been a bit slower with lighter wind conditions than the first part of the race. However, we seem to be in the hunt for a trophy position. We are still in first place for the Team Trophy (Team Blue is made up of Tiki Blue, Morpheus, and Sapphire) and RYC (Richmond Yacht Club) Team Blue is working it's magic. We spoke with Sapphire, one of our Team members.....and they are kicking some fanny. Great job Dave and crew!

That's it for now, until tomorrow, conserve water and happy sailing to family and friends, we think of you often.

~ Team Tiki Blue

Listen to Capn' G's update by clicking here.

Monday (07-21-2008)

Track Tiki Blue's satellite transponder (Division C)

Tiki Blue still does not have a solid internet connection, so this update was based on a voice mail via satelite phone. Please excuse any interpretation errors as the message was translated into text via the voice message.

ALOHA ALL. Tiki Blue crossed the half way point at 9:30 am this morning!! (Yay!) We're (excited) to have 50 percent of this great oceanic adventure completed, knowing that the boat and crew have performed exceptionally in a variety of conditions. This has (built the confidence) of the first time Pac Cup skipper (Cap'n G), who is going day by day and meeting every new challenge, from sail repairs to (diagnosing and repairing) the engine cooling system.

So what did we do for our half-way party? We opened gift bags from everyone (the list of names was garbled...)

****TRANSMISSION LOST****

~ Team Tiki Blue

Listen to Cap'n G's update by clicking here.

Sunday (07-20-2008)

Track Tiki Blue's satellite transponder (Division C)


Tiki Blue still does not have a solid internet connection, so this update was based on a voice mail via satelite phone. Please excuse any interpretation errors as the message was translated into text via the voice message.

Note: This was a two part report, with the part I daily report written by Ricky Driscoll and the Part II daily report written by Judy Bentsen, however, the transmission was interrupted/terminated in the Part I daily report, so no Part II was received. The message was reported by Capn' G.


Daily blog for Saturday/Sunday July 19/20, 2008. Greetings from behind the golden laptop aboard Tiki Blue, brought to you by the excellence in the boating network. Just a quick update from the crew. Day 6 finds us in great spirits, we are well fed and in an awesome position for the race. With almost half the race underway, we're only about 25 miles behind the leader (of our class). Considering the race is over 2,000 miles, this definitely puts is in contention.

We are eating amazing meals, that puts anything this reported has experienced in college to shame. Thanks to the efforts of our live-in chef Judy Bentsen, we have dined on meatloaf, lasagna, ribs, steak, and mashed potatoes.


Perhaps the most exciting news happened on the morning of the 20th, when the crew pulled in six 3-lb tuna aboard and were filleted to be BBQ'd. Ricky reeled the fish in faster than Mikie and Gary could fillet them on the transom. Never before have I stopped fisihing, not because of the lack of fish, but rather the weariness of the crew.

In other news, Ryan has assumed responsibility for keeping our coordinates and checking in daily with the race committee. In addition, he has been graphing the locations of our competition, so we can see their positions.

****TRANSMISSION LOST****

~ Team Tiki Blue

Listen to Capn' G's update by clicking here.

Saturday (07-19-2008)

Track Tiki Blue's satellite transponder (Division C)

Tiki Blue still does not have a solid internet connection, so this update was based on a voice mail via satelite phone. Please excuse any interpretation errors as the message was translated into text via the voice message.

It's 8 o'clock in the morning, we think we've gone over 200 miles today, this is obviously before roll-call, but we have a feeling we might have done really well and we're looking forward to receiving the results from the Saturday morning roll call and finding out how far ahead of (our competition) we are at this point.

Mike spoke with Extreme (Mike's brother Tom is on that boat) and was informed that they were having (communication) transmission problems, so if folks were wondering why they have not 'called back,' that's the reason.

Torben wanted to give a report of what it is like to be on Tiki Blue, for those who might not know what the boat is like. Up forward is the master state room, which has a queen sized bed and would be an obvious place for somebody to sleep. There are several people who have tried it, but we're moving at about 8 to 12 knots, and everytime we start to heel, you'll get thrown to the floor, so that doesn't work. In the main cabin, right in front of the navigation station is what we call the coffin. That's a bed that's about 5 feet long. No one's been really happy to be in the coffin. The only one who fits, might be Gary, but it's not the biggest sleeping station on the boat, so it's interesting to see arms, and knees, and such sticking out everywhere. On the starboard side is one of the best sleeping stations in the house. That's the long berth, where the table used to be. And then next to that is an area called the 'back and forth.' That's the mosh pit. People sleep there when I'm in the aft cabin because they can't stand the noise from my (Torben's) snoring. In the aft cabin we have two berths. There's a nice long one where you can stretch out and then there is a shorter one that's about 5 feet long and very low (several inches) ceiling clearance, so you feel like you're very (enclosed).

We've been fishing for the last day, yesterday all day. This morning we're switching out lures, but so far we have not caught any fish.

We have yet to receive any incoming calls from our fan base. Please feel free to contact us (Satellite Phone Number: 011 8806514 43649, phone is turned on between 0930 and 1130 PST daily. Note that your phone (especially cell phones) must be configured to make long distance calls. The fee runs about $1.5 to $2 per minute, depending on your carrier) and chat with us during (our time at sea).

For instance, we (Judy and Torben) were wondering if the dog we dropped off in San Rafael found its way home. So if the dog's owner could call and give us an update, that would be great.

~ Team Tiki Blue

Listen toTorben's update by clicking here.

Updates

Hello Everyone,

I was out of town Saturday (07-19-2008) and was unable to post Team Tiki Blue updates...these updates will be posted by Sunday evening (07-20-2008).

~Rune

Friday (07-18-2008)

Tiki Blue still does not have a solid internet connection, so this update was based on a voice mail via satelite phone. Please excuse any interpretation errors as the message was translated into text via the voice message.

It is already day four of the Pacific Cup race. The crew is still in cheery spirits and looking to pass up the other Pac Cup boats. Yesterday morning, 'Mikie,' our defending sewing champ, was successfully able to sew the clew back onto the spinnaker and had it hoisted within the hour. Early on, we viewed an amazing sight to see...the opening of the clouds above our heads, with a beam of light running through it, which I'm sure was a sign of good luck. As the evening began to approach, we saw what we thought was a freighter in the distance. It was nice to see something besides the deep blue ocean for a change.

In the early evening, the crew hoisted the strong 3/4 oz spinnaker, allowing us to plow through the water and the waves.....and surely help us the other boats in our class and the fleet overall.

During one run, Mikie hit a speed of 14.3 knots (!) of speed when he was at the helm, giving himself more confidence and some excitement. He was also able to withstand a full 40 minutes of steering without collapsing the spinnaker. Way to go!

Food prepared in the oven and snacks has been very helpful in getting through the long night shift. Especially the cube blocks (?not sure about this?) that only Ryan and Mikie seem to enjoy. Things have been getting easier to adjust to as we're becoming more accustomed to .

I can't believe how vast the ocean really is, especially when you see absolutely nothing on the horizon for days. For the majority of the crew, this is a completely new experience, and we're definitely looking forward to hitting the trades.

~ Team Tiki Blue

Listen to Ryan's update by clicking here.

Thursday - 07-17-2008

Tiki Blue still does not have a solid internet connection, so this update was based on a voice mail via satelite phone. Please excuse any interpretation errors as the message was translated into text via the voice message.

Seems like we set a record yesterday, after blowing up the 1.5 oz spinnaker in the early hour morning hours. We changed between the 3/4 oz spinnaker and white sails several times, after the clew ripped out and the sail ripped from corner to corner. The 'repair team' is meeting this morning and will try to stitch it back together. We may have to use the collective inventory of repair supplies to fix the sail. With the spare 3/4 oz spinnaker left, we need to be conservative on the sail plan. We plan to sail south of the rhumb line, hoping it pays off in the long term of the race. We saw some great sailing today, in the afternoon and night. The wind kicked up to the low 20s, with some higher gusts. We were on port reach with 20-foot (?not sure about this?) waves. Ryan got a bit queasy, but managed to pull through and now he's fine. The maximum speed recorded was 12.3 knots (!), set during Judy's shift at the helm.

It's the third day now, and we're trying to decide where to passage through. Right now sleep, food, and sailing seems more important, might change tomorrow. Mike is casting out the fishing line in hopes of catching something to go with the wasabi.

Our schedule is two on, four off, which seems to be working well. Cap'n G is on shift from 1-3 am, 7-9 am, and 1-3 pm. The Chris Parr (?not sure about this?) double espresso works great. Overall, great sailing in the first three days, other than the sail (spinnaker) blowing up.

~ Team Tiki Blue

Listen to Torben's update by clicking here.

Day One (07-16-2008)

There were no official 'updates' from Team Tiki Blue (as of 1:30 pm PST). They are probably fully engaged in offshore sailing.















Track Tiki Blue and get daily race updates by clicking here. Click on the markers to get summary information from the day.

And They're Off!!

Team Tiki Blue was cheered by an extensive group of friends and family as the final preparations were made to Tiki Blue and the last provisions were brought on board. A courtesy tow was provided by Dave and Jackie Liggett (on Jackrabbit) from the Richmond Yacht Club to the Start Line in San Francisco. Following close on Tiki Blue's heels to the Start Line was the Ay Caliente! support team. The race officially started at 1:40 PM (PST) at the St. Francis Yacht Club and team Tiki Blue was off to a fast and furious start today (Tuesday, July 15, 2008). All systems were a go and the Tiki Blue Crew was all smiles as they crossed under the Golden Gate Bridge, entering the great Pacific Ocean.

Blog updates from the crew will be posted daily. Track the progress of Tiki Blue by clicking here.

Thanks ''Ola Loa" and "Clif Bar" and MORE

Thanks Greg from "Ola Loa" who has provided his Energy Orange packets for the entire crew so we can keep our robust energy levels to the max. Also a big thanks to Randy at Clif Bar who has provided a variety of health bars, chews and double espresso shots for those late 12 to 4am shifts.

Its 10:45 pm and one more night on solid ground before we head out. We've got everything loaded except for some frozen food that will go on the boat first thing in the morning. Kelly and Judy have done a terrific job on the provisions and I think we have enough food for a circumnavigation. Torben gave me the high five at 9pm telling me that all software systems are a go.... yeah Torbie.... I mean Commodore Bentsen. We have a small contingent of friends and family coming to the dock to see us off tomorrow. Mark and Sue are bringing our crew lunch.. thanks so much! Rosemary/Mike thanks for the gift which will keep the young minds active. Dave/Betty thanks for the red vines, Karen/Tim/Del/Gail thanks for the halfway gift bag, Bruce/Lina thanks for the exotic dried fruits especially the spicy mango, Gary S. thanks for the Champagne for the finish line. Thanks Bob, Kurs for the BBQ dinner tonight... it hit the spot after a long day. Jim thanks for getting the flag to me and Team Blue support. Dave/Jackie thanks for the tow out of the club tomorrow. Rune/Anne thanks for computer support and pictures tomorrow. As Lyle said their is so much activity and energy with the prep work that he is getting a contact high by just being at RYC seeing 13 boats in full preparation mode. Yes, RYC has the largest group of boats participating in this race but more impressive is the support from so many. Its a really fantastic club!

Tomorrow its all about sailing and the wind..... yeah!! Capt'n G

4 divisions will have started and then C class is 5th division at 1:45 pm/start- Tuesday

Ok time to reboot...

The last few days have been pretty jam packed with last minute tasks. We are still having problems with the computer and communication/navigation software and may have to go to plan C. In fact my last day at work my computer could not connect to server or Internet for most of the day. Torben, Judy, Mike have been working dilligently on remaining prep which I'm so thankful for. Weather looks very light for our start on Tuesday which means we will probably add a day to our ETA. Looks like divisions starting behind us will have better conditions and we are hoping for 15-17 knots of wind which may fill in wed/thursday. Skipper's meeting and bon-voyage dinner last night was fun and talking with all our competition and sailing friends brings the sailing community together with a common purpose...enjoy the adventure and respect the power of the ocean.

We picked up our transponder so will mount it on the stern rail today and turn it on to make sure the web site is tracking us. My sailing friend Rune will be managing the TIKI BLUE blog. Also he is lending us a laptop to try and solve our computer issues. If we are able to send an email once a day to him he will post it with pictures to the blog. Also he may have some commentary on our progress, course ETA etc... So a few more days and Ryan gets to spend 13/14 days of uninterrupted quality time with dad out on the pacific with the only distance of 42 feet possible. Our bond will grow as this first time adventure unfolds for both of us.

Tyler (my 14 yr old) qualified for the National Junior Olympics/Track and Field, in the 3000 meter yesterday and I'm so proud of him!! he competes against 15/16 year olds. So he (with mom) will be heading to Omaha just prior to flying to Hawaii for the opening ceremony and his race! Good luck Ty and I will be thinking about you and sending you my oceanic best wishes...big hug and kiss when we arrive in Koneohe. Also thanks to all the friends who have called and left messages of good luck and sailing friends who have left goodie bags on Tiki Blue. I will have plenty of pictures and stories to share with all....cheers Capt'n Gary

7 days to go to the start for Division C

A week to go and looks like the forecasted high pressure may shift south by the 15th which means we may have to dive south to stay on the edge of the high pressure. This means a longer trip and provisions may need to be extended for added days on the pacific. Kelly and Judy have been cooking, vacuum packing and freezing a fantastic variety of food to sustain us for 14 days. after that freeze dried food or fresh fish sushi style or grilled on the BBQ :)

Single Side Band radio

We tested the SSB radio with Gorden down south and got the sign off, so looks like the install was done correctly. We will be able to communicate with the communication vessel. Mike made a special mounting cabinet for the SSB and did a terrific job! There is Mike relaxing after a nap during the Spinnaker cup race to Monterey. Also thanks to Jim, Jonathan, Lucy and Mark for lending me Pac Cup stuff which will all be returned when Tiki Blue is back in its slip at RYC late August.