Fwd: Day 2 - Passing the Farallones!!

What a change of pace bobbing around the Farallones most of the night and a maybe all day today. The incredible thing about being our here with no wind and flat seas is you see and hear all of the ocean life in this sancutary. Its very unnerving to be ghosting along in the wee hours of the night hearing whales breathing and snorting right along side the boat. It reminded Mark Howe of a story about a previous Pacific cup race where in similar conditions a whale come along side and sneezed! Yes spewing green lung matter 20 feet in the air with perfect trajectory to land right on the boat... Can you imagine being sneezed on by a whale. He said it took them 7 days to get rid of the stench and slime. Splitting the north and south Islands also this reminded us of the Low Speed Chase tragedy and we took a moment to pay our respects and ask for guidance and safe passage. We were greeted with 3.5 knots of breeze that allowed us to sail through the islands without incidence.

We did have some electrical issues last night. The tri color mast lights flickered on and off so we used the back-up deck lights (which consume more power). Rune thinks its a bad connection in the power panel as a result of a lot of work being done over the last few months to hook up new equipment. He is going to work on it today. I may have to go up the mast if he can't fix it. Or maybe one of the unsuspecting younger spry youngsters.

We hope everyone is doing the Tiki wind dance at home because we need it badly. Right now we don't see any significant wind in our coordinates and know that it maybe until Thursday before the wind fills in. This could be a long race or should I say ocean passage in these conditions... good news is Aloha spirit is alive and well. The young guys are playing a thumb piano creating music that is well matched to our becalmed ocean playground.

Love and hugs to Kelly, family and friends. Thanks for the e-mail messages.

PS. I know the race standings looks bad for Tiki stuck in the windless death hole zone. We will get our mojo going once we get out of here! We might get a whale to tow us out of here :)

Cheers for now Cap't G and crew

 

Day 1 - Aloha Magic

After many months of preparation the grand Pacific Cup 2012 (Division B)
was off to a grand start. The fleet was off to a breezy start (with
only one minor non-serious boat collision incident that we heard of).
The fleet worked their way through the Golden Gate and then split off
into a northerly bunch and a southerly bunch. Winds quickly calmed down
and the bulk of the day was spent slowly tacking back and forth in light
winds (3-7kts). As the sun set we crossed tacks with Tiki J and sailed
side by side framed in a beautiful back drop that only the ocean can
provide. Tea leaves and flower lei still intact on the bow of Tiki Blue
keeps the aloha spirit alive and well. We know that we have challenging
light air days ahead and hope to keep the boat moving until the wind
fills in on Thursday. The good thing about current conditions is nobody
is sick, wet and cold. In fact some of us had shorts and T shirts on.
The boats on the Thursday start will most likely have a great shot at
catching the other fleets if forecast stays intact. Its getting dark and
now the chill is in the air. A pod of whales swam up to us at sunset,
guiding us toward the open ocean and more wind. Time for some rest
while I'm off duty. Tyler and Alex sailing the boat. Cheers for now. Gary

The Beauty of Madness - Day One

Madness is a funny word to describe a sailboat race. But this is more
than that. We have been surrounded by whales, exhaling all night in
absolutely no wind - And mean NO wind -- just five miles from the
infamous Farallones Islands after 20 hours at sea.

We ordinarily come out here in horrendous, survival conditions to round
the this island as our weather mark and come home to the safety of the
little bay we call home.

But today it is a peaceful as a bathtub. I like the ordinary conditions
better. And therin lies the madness. Some call in Anarchy. We call it
sailing.

TWS 3 Knots
TWD 154
BS 2 Knots

Tiki Blue B division start 1:30 pm Tuesday July 17th 2012

This tracking device should keep tabs on Tiki Blue as we make our way across the pacific. We have the boat loaded and tomorrow the frozen food goes on and we shove off! We are headed into some light wind conditions and a number of family and friends are doing the Tiki wind dance to over come the southerly effects of tropical storm Fabio. We hope to sneak through the light wind and get to the northerly pressure that will take us to the Islands. Saw Dennis roll in to RYC on Bequia, getting staged for the start tomorrow. We are both planning to shove off around 11:30am. He is the wise mentor for Pac Cuppers and I'm very pleased to be sailing in division B with him again!

RYC Bon Voyage Party for RYC Pac Cuppers --Aloha

Captain and crew enjoying RYC festivities

Unveiling of new RYC club trophy for Pacific Cup fastest corrected time. Prediction-Team RYC Condor, Sapphire, Moonshine will win Pac Cup team trophy!

We will sleep in comfort on Tiki Blue-Thanks Rune

Nice design and construction by Rune

The young guys approve with 4 inches of foam

Looks good too!

Yep this will work

Re: Hurricane Season is Upon Us

It certainly looks active out there.  We will be fine.  The last Hurrican to hit Hawaii was Kauii 20 years ago or so.  They peter out by the time they get up to 20 degrees north.

 

Mark Howe

MSH Group

201 W. Richmond Ave., Ste. C  |  Point Richmond CA 94801

(510) 215-5134 (Office)  | (510) 932-4435 (Cell)

(510) 215-5163 (Fax)

www.mshproperties.com

 

 

From: Rune Storesund <rune@storesundconsulting.com>
To: gtroxel.paccup2012@blogger.com
Cc: Gary Troxel <gtroxel@tikiblue.net>; Mark Howe <howefam2@pacbell.net>
Sent: Monday, July 9, 2012 1:55 PM
Subject: Hurricane Season is Upon Us