The bird has landed!

I'll try to post photos on Facebook!

Going to the finish line!

A nice guy Kevin from Kaneohe Yacht Club is taking us to the finish to see them come in. Deb and John are with us! Wish I could post a photo... We see a sail in the distance! -Janna, Talia, Savai, Amy & Sol

Day 11 Evening from Al - last night!

Going to bed in Hawaii now that I've received Al's last evening post. We will see them tomorrow! Here's Al: After a another picture postcard day with sunny skies and 10-20 ENE trades again, it looks like a squally stormy final night.  Already had two spinnaker changes and the sun hasn't set.  Alex fixed his variation on the Tuna surprise with lentils and sun-dried tomatoes.  I know I can't wait for a nice fresh salad, and okay maybe a pizza.  We are trying to push pretty hard for our last night.  We are going to three hour watches to keep everyone on their toes.  Hoping for a good night but will know come morning, Al

Day 11 morning from Al

Good morning, Down to one day and change.  As I commented on watch, this was the most pleasant night of sailing in now almost four transpac crossings.  Winds 8-18 knots, no squalls, stars galore, 3/4 moon for most of the night, then enough light from Venus to see the spinnaker clearly, Air temp 72 degrees (better than daytime for me), near perfection.  Jupiter? maybe above Venus in the east this morning.  Sunrise not till well after 8 because of the drop in latitude and no change of ship time since SF.  We are hoping the roll call positions will be to our liking but I am sure Elan is hoping for the same thing. We shall hear soon at our 1000 check in.  Only on board crisis are we most assuredly will run out of Via (starbucks instant coffee) this morning and the toilet seat is now duct taped to the toilet bowl.  No details needed.  Janna and family are in the air so this may get posted late. Hope there were no worries and thanks to J for all the work she has put in keeping you and us up to date.  Aloha, Al

Day 10 Evening from Al

Too peaceful, we need miles.  Winds most of the day were around 10 knots, hot and sticky as we traversed a little wrinkle in the trades that some in the fleet were speculating was the result of an upper level low.  We hope we haven't bled too many miles to the competition.  Still appears like a Sunday finish for team Kotuku.  Saw some more white tailed tropic birds and our first blue faced boobies.  Lots of all size flying fish, including one that flew through the foretriangle up and over the bow last night for the sharks entertainment.  They also a bright white flash that was reported by several of the boats at children's hour today.  Speculation ran from lightning, to exploding meteor and on to government testing.  No thunder heard, light was bright white not yellow that some likened to a camera flash although it would have to be some camera.  There is now a sign on the companionway that started as 2 days, 7 people , 100% focused.  It didn't take long for it to be messed with and now reads 2 days, 1 pickle, 7 people, 100% focused.  So the yodeling pickle (who has previously made the crossing to hawaii by sailboat) from the halfway party is no on the job.  Mr T is temporarily on the sidelines with battery issues, Sucka.  Here's hoping tonight is kind to us, Al.

Um. Al. I think that's blue FOOTED booby.
As our 3-year-old Savai would say, "It's toe-kuku!"

So, folks. Janna here again, and I believe this will be my last act of post support from Seattle. I'm packing for Hawaii! We fly out early tomorrow. I hope to post their Day 11 morning update from my layover in California, but who knows. With the time difference, they've been sending 'em later, so maybe I won't be able to post till I'm in the land of luaus. Too bad the tracker isn't more [insert your own expletive + adjective here]. (Not that I'm complaining. No. No.)

Also, I just wanted to say that I read and re-read these updates from Al. And I don't understand half the references either. I think that's why I find them so delightful.

Off to Hawaii! Keep on trackin'!

-Janna

Day 10 Morning from Al (and Eli)

Good Morning,  All in all that was probably one of the best nights of the trip.  Moderate winds, lots of stars, no squalls until the sharks sunrise watch when things got a little cross eyed.  The day dawned with the end of the squalls and we had the first visible sunrise in a long time.  The day should bring more of the same (fingers crossed).  446 miles to go at 0800 so looks like Sunday daylight finish at Kaneohe.  Starting to stack the boat for a 400 mile port tack reach.  Hoping all is well with you, Al


From Eli (clipped from a personal email to his fam since this is a party line): All is well out here, we've had some exciting sailing over the last few days! We've also seen more and more flying fish, LOTS of bright stars, and I'm learning all about squalls. They can be dramatic and usually provide a welcome, if still cool, fresh water shower.

Getting close

This came in after bedtime last night:
Saw our first White tailed Tropic bird late today, must be getting close to the islands.

Since they can't send us a photo, here's one from the Internet. Land is close!

Day 9 Evening from Al

Splendid early evening meal of fresh caught baked mango mahi with rice, dining in the cockpit under tradewinds of 20 knots ENE, blue skies and puffy white clouds. We are hoping once again for an easy night but who knows.  Most of the rest of the day has been covered by earlier messages I think.  Be safe , I think Kotuku knows her way from here, having done the Transpac race early in her life.  Cheers, Al

Fish on! from Graeme and Nick

Hi Kotuku followers,


Janna here. Wanted to let you know that Graeme has been writing blog posts for a blog related to his work: Light My Fire. They're the folks who make sporks and other camping gear; Graeme's company is their US distributor. Good stuff! I haven't been double posting those updates here (for the most part) but thought this one was worth sharing directly. For other content, check out the Light My Fire adventure blog. Very cool.


Here's the latest update from Graeme:
We finally found the tradewinds.  Man, it was a tough road getting here.  We have had 3 straight squally nights, with high winds and confused seas.  Then we had a patch of light wind.  Then, this morning while I was driving the clouds seemed to organize themselves into marching marshmallow men and begin an orderly tromp toward Hawaii.  The water is very warm and very blue.  The wind is a steady 18 knots.  We moved up a spot in the standings and are currently 1st in our class and 6th overall.  And this afternoon we caught a beautiful Mahi Mahi, about 6kg (13lbs.)  She put up a good fight but was no match for our seasoned crew, and we are having ceviche for happy hour and baked mango mahi for dinner.  Care to join us?  We are living the dream out here.  I think about work occasionally, wonder if people are ready for the show in Salt Lake City.  I am sure they are, or that they will be.  In the meantime, we have a bit more work to do ourselves on Kotuku.  We have tough competition in our class just waiting for us to make a mistake.  And we would like to see if we could move up another place in the standings tomorrow.  Oh, we have a lot of fresh fish to eat too.  Better get to it then!


P.S.  Savai, you were right.  Green with tassels was the winner!  Big thanks to Kevin for providing the lure in the half way box, and to Savai for selecting it.  And will someone please tell us what happened to Ichiro...traded?  To who?  For what?

Mahi Mahi!

Nick here again. Looking forward to some good eating this afternoon with the big Mahi we caught. What a beautiful fish! We have all been busy these past few days with tricky conditions and many sail changes, but everyone is still as jovial as ever. I had a good view of the sunrise this morning from the top of the mast and lots of good surfing this afternoon. We are even doing quite well in the race standings, slowly picking our way through the overall standings while holding first in our class. What an adventure we are having. Life is good, hope all is well at home.

Day 9 Morning from Al

Well it was tale of two nights.  First until the 0200 shift change it was delightful, balmy 15-20, some stars then the bats left and the sharks took over.  Mother nature had something in store for the sharks.  Squalls, winds to 35, shifts but Alex was something for this duck to watch.  He assumed the Jedi master role and just kept Kotuku (mostly) on her feet and just motored forward on Lightspeed, doing steady burst of 12, 14 knots for minutes at a time.  Absolutely magnificent to watch.  The bats came back on at 0500 (we have shifted watches ahead one hour to try to keep a little sync with the daylight) and were prepped for their watch.  Mother Nature had other ideas.  About one hour into the watch a squall came through with winds over 35 and in a hurry to get the kite down things didn't quite go according to plan.  No harm, no foul in the end though other than a minor rope burn to Alex's hand.  We went along for almost an hour under main only through daybreak (still hit 16 knots) while we did some checking.  Sent Nick up the mast for a rig check with all the stress she has seen over the last few days we thought it would be prudent.  Eli did an adjustment to the steering pedestal which was making some unwanted noises and also causing concern.  We set the S4 and then changed to the A2 shortly thereafter as the winds continued to ease back to 15 knots.  600 miles to go, be safe, Al

Early morning watch from Al

While the rubber duck was up getting the latest weather gribs via the radio, I was talking with Graeme about how nice his children's artwork was and I was finally aware of how sophisticated Savai's drawing was.  I totally missed the significance of Tokuku's silver gray and rainbow wings.  It's the heavy air kites dummy, Doh!  We haven't seen any dolphins or whales lately but the probabilities should increase as we approach the islands a little closer.  Talia and Savai, we need your help with any fishing suggestions you have.  We seem totally inept.  What do you think the best colors are for catching a Mahi.  We have blue and white, red and white with feathers, green with some red and yellow tassels, grey white with silver specks or our homemade candy wrapper and red rag lures.  What should we use the most do you think?  Also, please remind your mom to bring another pair of shorts for your Dad along with two rolls of weather fax paper which should be in the garage (good luck with that search).  Ducky

Day 8 Evening from Al

Things have settled down a bit.  We are back to chasing Lightspeed ( 3mi ahead )with the 1.5 oz kite, 730 miles to go, winds ENE 15-25 with gusts to 30, but not 35 thank you very much.  Eli fixed Awesome Tuna Deluxe wraps for dinner.  Graeme made Tabouli and hummous wraps for lunch.  Crew and skipper are all well after this mornings adventure.  Lots of time spent cleaning, drying, and straightening up aboard Kotuku.  Hoping for an uneventful restful evening, Al

The Price of Speed

Quick update to Al's last email.  Last night we were very conservative with our sailing, changing down from the kite to the poled out jib.  This morning as Al mentioned, we were rocking out to Led Zeppelin and the Presidents (Little Blue Dune Buggy) and absolutely flying.  One of those "moments we all live for".  Unfortunately the wind continued to build and with yours truly at the helm (absolutely ripping it, by the way) we got caught sideways and ended up damaging our spinnaker pole.  This slowed us down a bit, in case you noticed that on the tracker.  We switched to our other pole and waited for the wind to die down to a more normal 15-20 knots and then set the kite again.  Wind is lighter now, so I expect that our boatspeed will be a little down.  We also put a governor on the speedometer, because when one is leading the race one should not take unnecessary risks.  I expect this will mean that the Bats have locked down the top speed for the trip--19.6 knots.  Go Bats!  G BTW we think we have video of the aforementioned incident  Al

Day 8 Morning from Al

Right now (0830) Alex and Nick are driving in a downpour with 33 knots with the S4 and a PORT pole (yes our first jibe) pointed at the finish line doing 9-12 knots boatspeed with Led Zeppelin cranked on the stereo and Emily cooking oatmeal for breakfast.  Life is good once again! Crew morale took a little sag when we decided to go to the poled out jib late last night.  I believe it was the right thing to do even though Lightspeed passed us back again.  We are just going to have to chase them down again.  I think Kotuku and crew is up to the task.   Thanks for all the comments, Al

Day 7 Evening from Al

After all the celebrating this morning it looks like another wild ride tonight, winds are shifty and gusting up to 35 knots, way different than forecast.  We are flying the S4 right now, but the call was just made to drop it and go wing on wing with the heavy one jib.  We will wait and see what the wind does later this morning.  Sorry for the late posting, I will send an update in the morning, Al A note from Janna: Sorry for the confusion with Day 7 post titles. I mistook all the halfway merriment for an official update, and Al's email didn't come through till after my bedtime (which is actually pretty late these days). Also, sorry about double posts, poor formatting, etc. Mobile technology is amazing...just not perfect. (Then again maybe it's that wine I'm drinking until that late bedtime. :)

Halfway, baby! from Graeme

Wow, what a day.  Spent the night doing terrifying drops off of large waves in the pitch blackness of a cloudy, squally night with winds 25-35 knots.  Definitely some hero driving, Alex being the real hero of the day.  He put together three straight hours of surfs, cliff jumps, and non-stop acts of boat preservation.  Al and I got the rest of it done until it got light, but the whole crew battled the night through trimming and grinding frantically just to keep the boat from rounding up or rolling down as we flew through the darkness.  We were exhausted by the time the sun finally showed up.  But we were past the halfway point, and still in first place.  Matt then served up smoked salmon benedict and we opened the half way boxes.  A civilized ending to an otherwise brutal night. And what fun were they!  We played the wonderful CD prepared by Talia and Savai (and sung beautifully, it brought a tear to my eye!)  We fired off the poppers and the Canadian breath spray.  We admired the bacon salt, hung the aloha sign, the Hafway Kotuku picture with the smiling sun, and the Coconut air freshener in the head.  Then we ate the smoked herring, read our mail (Emily isn't sure what to do about the utility bill!) and generally had a great party which I later bragged about on the radio to the fleet during the evening check-in.  The image of Emily driving with the white boa streaming behind her in 25 knots of breeze will stick with me awhile.  Thank you so much friends and family for all the thoughtful gifts!  Not sure what do do with the reindeer, but we taped it to the steering pedestal with the Smile bracelet around its neck.  On Dasher, to Kaneohe!  

Halfway, baby! From Graeme

Wow, what a day.  Spent the night doing terrifying drops off of large waves in the pitch blackness of a cloudy, squally night with winds 25-35 knots.  Definitely some hero driving, Alex being the real hero of the day.  He put together three straight hours of surfs, cliff jumps, and non-stop acts of boat preservation.  Al and I got the rest of it done until it got light, but the whole crew battled the night through trimming and grinding frantically just to keep the boat from rounding up or rolling down as we flew through the darkness.  We were exhausted by the time the sun finally showed up.  But we were past the halfway point, and still in first place.  Matt then served up smoked salmon benedict and we opened the half way boxes.  A civilized ending to an otherwise brutal night. And what fun were they!  We played the wonderful CD prepared by Talia and Savai (and sung beautifully, it brought a tear to my eye!)  We fired off the poppers and the Canadian breath spray.  We admired the bacon salt, hung the aloha sign, the Hafway Kotuku picture with the smiling sun, and the Coconut air freshener in the head.  Then we ate the smoked herring, read our mail (Emily isn't sure what to do about the utility bill!) and generally had a great party which I later bragged about on the radio to the fleet during the evening check-in.  The image of Emily driving with the white boa streaming behind her in 25 knots of breeze will stick with me awhile.  Thank you so much friends and family for all the thoughtful gifts!  Not sure what do do with the reindeer, but we taped it to the steering pedestal with the Smile bracelet around its neck.  On Dasher, to Kaneohe!  

Halfway news

All right the decorations are up, the sole is swept and wiped down, the head is refreshed with its own wash down, disinfectant and coconut air freshener.  Emily in her white feather boa (we hope that is who it was for)is baking cookies (I thought this was a race boat)and we are ready for the last 950 miles.  We have a reindeer taped to the pedestal with with smile banner around her neck.  One of kind color drawings by Talia and Savai on the bulkheads, an Aloha banner from the mast to the portside lockers.  We had poppers and rocket poppers and squirt guns and a beachball.  Got candy and crackers and smoked herring.  A yodeling pickle (yes) and Mr T.  But best of all those special notes, wishes, good luck charms from friends, family and lovers. (Thanks Lou, love, Al) That is some bird, cheers from Kotuku. Flash, late this afternoon Graeme set the new speed record of 18.0 knots (true) and he said okay we are taking down the sails now while he is ahead (not true).  We spent all last night and today under the S4 heavy 1.5 oz. kite in winds from 20-30 knots plus.  A little bit more than forecast but Kotuku is trucking along.  Al

Day 7 Morning HALFWAY from Al (and the whole crew)

Yeah, we are more than halfway to Kaneohe.  After a stressful and somewhat stormy night, with winds over 30 knots, no stars and no moon we finally passed Lightspeed after they took their spinnaker down for awhile.  Thanks to an ironman performance by Alex, who drove for 3 hours straight, we were able to make it to our halfway party.  Matt fashioned up quite a feast of Eggs Kotuku (poached fresh eggs on homemade biscuits with smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce)  Then into the halfway gifts which were accompanied by the sweet sounds of the Esarey girls singing the Kotuku song (to the tune of You are my Sunshine) You are Kotuku, our one Kotuku You make us happy on windy days You'll always know, crew How much we love you 'cause we'll cheer for you everyday The other night, crew, on the computer We were tracking you across We lost connection And your direction And we feared that you were lost. But in the morning, wifi was working And you were sailing very fast From San Francisco To Hawaii closer to first than last (we hope!) [repeat chorus] I need to get this posted so that you all know we are safe and sound.  The rest of the gifts will be explained further in some later postings but to all of you, thanks from the whole crew, Graeme, Eli, Matt, Alex, Emily, Nick and Al

A note from Eli

To Blog, From Eli:  Have had another wonderful day out here with what I'm told are more typical conditions.   More wind is the highlight and we've been in a friendly drag race with Lightspeed for most of the day.  We had our first squid on deck this morning, a little guy who was quickly repatriated he or she got too ripe.  We also had flying fish, which actually fly better than I remember.   I've been enjoying learning to drive the boat better, especially under enough breeze to make her power through the lumpy waves we've been having.   Lighter winds are more of a challenge and feel like I'm weaving and bobbling around madly.   No fish caught today but we keep trying after the triumph of our Bonito Poke yesterday.  Tomorrow we expect to reach the half way point around mid day and there's talk of some kind of special meal.   I've also decided it might be a good occasion to bathe, and I think a few others may join suit.   The danger is that we'll be reacquainted with what it is to be clean and have to endure the transition phase to grimy again.  We continue to eat like kings.    Today's Happy Hour was smoked oysters and cheese on crackers, and dinner was a pretty durn good veggie chili.  

A note from Graeme

Thanks Janna for all the comm work.  I know it's a big project but we really appreciate the news.  Helps keep us connected in the tiny little world we are living in.  Speaking of connected, we are the offshore equivalent of stern-to-bow with Lightspeed, an old Wylie with a friend of ours, Jacob aboard.  Lots of chatter on the VHF, mostly about the bottle of rum we have bet on who wins this drag race.  Also have Warrior, another PNW boat just off the beam.  So two days in a row with two boats in the neighborhood.  Feels a little like we are on the freeway. Just finished the 8-12 watch, and it was a frustrating one.  Not quite as much wind as we had last night, and we aren't gaining on LIghtspeed as fast as we'd like.  Nick, Eli and I drove hard, trimmed hard, tried every trick we could think of, but weren't satisfied with our performance.  So it was a pleasant surprise to do the logbook entry and find we had been averaging over 8 knots, topspeed in the 14s.  Not so bad, considering.  Then I come downstairs to write this and the Sharks have just logged 15.9 on the speedo.  Bastards, but glad they are actually on our side.  Love you, love to the girls, thanks to everyone for all their support!  Graeme

A note from Graeme

Day 6 Evening from Al

Greetings, Sort of holding our own here in the middle of the race, pacing ourselves.  Trying to keep the powder dry as they say.  We have been following Lightspeed incessantly all day with little to show for it.  We are slowly closing in but it is measured in feet/hour I think.  Had some smoked oysters, parmesan cheese and crackers for happy hour today with chili on the menu for this evening.  Conditions are kind of un-tradewind like with pretty steady 15- 25 knots NE winds but random light showers during the day and evening.  They don't seem to be fully developed traditional squall like cells.  Maybe later on.  No fish caught today but lots more flying fish seen.  Still running along under the trusty A2 kite having a 200 mile DTF day which is pretty pleasing.  Crew is in good spirits and looking forward to our halfway party which should happen sometime tomorrow.  Matt grabbed the boat speed lead today with a 16.3 knot posting  Talk to you tomorrow, Al Tatia, good to hear from you, are you going to Hawaii?  Charles, thanks for all the support,  Al

Day 6 Morning from Al (and Alex)

Good morning, we almost had a repeat last night, S4 up around midnight, fly it through the night and back to A2 come morning.  But last night we had our first good star show of the trip.  Nick broke out the sky view app and we had some fun.  Thought we could see a planet low in the western sky in the early evening.  Nicks phone only has the free app w/o planets so who knows?  anybody?  First squid on deck this morning and first sighting of a flying fish.  Must be getting to the warmer waters.  Also a few more albatross.  Got the fishing line out again in hopes of more bounty.  Talked with Lightspeed on the vhf yesterday, saw their running lights last night, and now their spinnaker is visible about 5 miles in front of us as I write this.  Slowly grinding them down we think.  The crew says thanks for all the messages, Al

Good morning all,
What a gorgeous night of sailing we had. Stars, Squalls, consistent wind.
The Sharks have been taking turns driving, and have been doing up to 36 miles in our 4 hour watches.
Emily had the top speed of 14.3 kts, until matt finally broke that last night with a 15.3. The boat is moving well and morale is even better.
Special props to Matt and Graeme for our awesome afternoon Poki yesterday. It was a special treat. We have been making good ground at night with our outstanding driving skills. We are all anxiously awaiting role call this morning.
Thanks for cheering us on, it is way cool.
Alex and Team Shark Attack out.

Scratch that last picture of sushi. This is what tuna poke actually looks like. Yum!

So this morning they should hear that they've held on to first place in their division and moved up one slot to 8th overall (bumping Icon). That should make them pretty happy.You can monitor the Daily Standings. Notice how they're slowly bumping people off. But then Elan and others are certainly trying to bump them!


Happy tracking!
-Janna

Day 5 Evening from Al (and Matt)

Ahoy, Kotuku passed the 1/3 distance traveled today almost exactly at the four day mark.  At almost the same time we caught our first fish, a small 3 lb. bonito, that was expertly cleaned by Matt, and prepared poke style with guidance from Graeme, and served up as a happy hour appetizer for all, delicious.  Saw our first two race boats today (after the first day) with both California Condor and Medusa sliding by slightly to leeward.  I also had the first sea shower on the transom after gutting the fish, water not too bad at 68 degrees.  No takers from the rest of the crew.  Air temp and water temp are almost the same out here, with water turning that deep sea blue.  Still not that many birds though.  The Sharks went on attack today with a 14.3 knot max and 32.3 four hour run that puts them firmly in the lead for watches.  Graeme and Alex are still negotiating some kind of reward for fishes caught though, and there is still 2/3's of the race still to go.  Al

I asked Al about what sort of information they receive re: standings since, of course, we all want to tell them how well they're doing. Here's his response:

Janna, we get a daily position update at 1000 via ssb that includes all the boats 0800 positions but not fleet standings.  Only 10 or so boats are reporting positions via SSB, the vast majority being email or satphone but those are read off by Valis, the comms boat.  Then sometime in the early afternoon the race committee sends an email that has all the boats positions, class and fleet standings, along with distance to finish.  The exact time of the email posting varies so we never know when to try the radio/sailmail thing.  So far it has been before 1500.  Al

So it sounds like they're getting the same update we see on the Daily Standings. Phew. Also a snippet from Matt that I stole from his email to Katy (this is a party line after all):

We are having a wonderful time out here going super fast and enjoying the weather getting warmer, sunnier, and windier by the day.  We caught our first fish(bonita) today which I got to fillet for poke for the crew.  Everyone is very happy with the food, though I'm finding that I got way too much, for which I get a lot of grief from Graeme for having too much weight on the boat, but too much is definitely better than too little. Send my love to everyone...wish us some breeze!

I should also mention that Graeme is writing great updates for Light My Fire's adventure blog here.


Happy fishing, eating, and racing!
-Janna

Day 5 Morning from Al (and Graeme and Nick)

Good morning, busy night on Kotuku, we went to the S4 (Savai's kite, 1.5 oz symmetrical) at midnight as the winds built to 25 knots and carried it until the wind lightened this morning and now we are back to the A2(.75 oz asymmetric).  Had a couple of heavy rain showers along with the wind and a thick cloud cover so it was dark.  Winds appear to be filling in across the race course so our southerly position probably doesn't hold much of an advantage anymore.  The crew is so full they opted for no mid rats last night so food is not a problem out here.  A

We are seeing a fair amount of flotsam, but it is mostly the sort of thing you would expect--plastic bottles, styrofoam, a cocktail glass encrusted with gooseneck barnacles.  Fishing opportunities have been a little sparse, but we have moved from the blue and white jig to a red feathered "tuna candy."  Maybe today is sushi day...we'll keep you posted.  G

And we thought they had racing on their minds...

Nick here again. A little more action for me as we have finally gotten to do some sail changes. The breeze filling in over the last day and a half has raised everyone's spirits. It has been fun charging along with the big kites up. At night, it is a little disorienting since there has been no moon out. To give you an idea, try running around in your closet with the lights off. Everyone seems to be getting a hang of it though. Got to take the camera with me up the mast the other day and got some nice panorama shots. The video collection is coming along pretty well. My only disappointment thus far in the race is missing second helpings on the Salmon Queso on day three. I guess things are going pretty well out here.


Janna here. Wanted to say thank you for all the comments and support. FYI, they're not allowed to receive any "outside assistance" so we can't give them information from the tracker, the positions of other boats, advice on where to sail, etc. (Though I appreciate the sentiment of trying to help!) But all "Go Kotukus" get passed on and Al says those are much enjoyed.


I think they'd also really enjoy some sushi!


Keep on trackin'!
-Janna

Day 4 Evening from Al (Alex and Eli)

We are pretty happy campers so far, we moved into first place in our division (touch wood), and the guys are fighting to do the dishes.  Okay fighting might be a little strong but to show how this crew in particular has everyone pulling, there has been a queue for both cooking and cleanup duties onboard Kotuku.  Pole is squared back and we are running deep with the A2 along the rhumbline in the start of maybe trades, NNE at almost 20 knots.  Nice to have a mostly level boat for a change from the first three days.  Haven't seen much wildlife today, just a few shearwaters and storm petrels, no albatross or marine mammals.  A few very light misty showers that leave some wind holes after they pass.  We also passed the 1/4 way point this afternoon and the bats pulled an 11.8 knots to take the lead back from the sharks.  That's all for now and thanks for listening, Al Having a beautiful time surfing the waves with the wind behind us. I am really admiring our handiwork with the New A2 (Tali's Sail) (Shameless Ballard Sails plug) Looking forward to the breeze building even more and get to try out the S4. Want to shout out to Elishia, I love you so much. Miss you tons. We all wish you were here. -Alex BTW how did teddy bear and absolutely do at race week? we need some results... Hi Amy & Solomon (& anyone who might be listening in!):  We're wrapping up another beautiful day today, with some slow times and some very fast stretches.  It's getting a bit warmer and feels very different from sailing around Seattle.   We have been fishing sometimes, mostly for Albacore Tuna.  With no luck.  Even when we used a lure called "Tuna Candy" - go figure.   It's about Sol's bedtime and I'm going to go to bed too - we have shifts of 3 or 4hrs at a time and we rest as much as possible other times.   I hope you guys are having fun.  I'm thinking about you and send lots of love!  Eli

Day 4 Morning from Al

Good morning everyone, we carried the A2 all night long, doing mostly 7s and 8s, under NNW winds from 5-15 knots, mostly around 10.  Not much to see with pretty thick marine layer obscuring all but the very brightest stars that we can occasionally see the loom of.  Around 0300 we were visited by a small pod of dolphins/porpoises.  For about 10 minutes they did the torpedo show back and forth in the bio-luminescence.  Later this morning he sharks went back on the attack with a new speed record of 11.6 knots recorded by Alex.  Bats replied with "its just a new target".  Stay tuned.  Waves are also turning more westerly instead of northerly so we are getting minor surfing in.  Forecast appears to show a little more wind and a more westerly flow over the next 24 hours. Cheers, Al


Incidentally, I asked Al about his various references to rubber duckies in previous updates. Apparently, that's what he's calling his own team (consisting of he, himself, and Al). Al is our floater/navigator. I endearingly called him the "floatie" in one of my emails, so he's now Team Rubber Duckie!

Do you think Al is this one?

Or this one?

I also asked about his references to the morning roll call and what they can surmise about the standings. Here was his reply:

Regarding check-in being our only time to know where other boats are.  We do not have access to the tracker data, delayed or not.  So unless another is broadcasting AIS data (a small percentage of boats are) and we are close enough to be able to receive the data ( generally less than 10 miles) we are flying blind with regards to the location of the competition.  We have not seen another racer since then end of the first night.

If you have any questions, leave and comment here or on Facebook and I'll pass it on.


Oh, and look what I found...

Definitely THIS one.

Go Duckies! Go Sharks! Go Bats!
-Janna

Day 3 Evening from Al (and Alex)

Fear the Horns!
Greetings, we swapped out the trusty A2 kite for the A3 after lunch as the winds continue to move in a more northerly direction, now almost due north.  The new A3 was made by Ballard Sails own Alex(yes, our Alex)and Joe.  Thanks guys.  Saw a magnificent green glass ball (Japanese fishing float) roughly 12" in diameter with netting still attached go right by the port side today.  Started grabbing for the fishing net but things happened too fast at 7 knots. It was tempting for this sailor to turn around and go back since in three previous Seattle, SF, Hawaii round trips that was only the second one I have seen.  Probably a good thing in the end though as there was so much growth on the bottom of it it would have cost us the net almost for sure.  The crew might have thrown me in after it as well since we are supposed to be racing.  The bats had a very good morning setting a new four hour distance standard of 30.4 miles, so Graeme is feeling a lot better.  The sharks were dealt a couple of light spots that hurt them.  Happy hour appetizers of fresh (almost) baguette slices with olive tapenade and a slice of parmesan cheese.  Cheesy salmon s**t on the menu for this evening.  Saw one car ship from afar and a few black footed albatrosses but nothing else of consequence.  Good night , Al

It has been a pleasure sailing with everyone on board. By Day 3 we have seemed to settle into a nice rhythm of trimming,`driving, cooking, cleaning, and sleeping. Life on board is alright. Matt and Myself (Alex) stood our 1st afternoon watch in shorts today, a good sign for sure.
We have just deployed the stays'l and gained .5 kts of boat speed. We are trying hard to reel in Andromeda, the Big Swan 59. our Rabbit.
Dinner was awesome, and we are settling in for our evening watch. Looking forward to another productive night.
-Alex

We have deployed the Kite!

Just after lunch we launched the A2, Talia's kite as we call it.  Tali, did you know the water out here is the prettiest blue in the world?  A deep, infinite blue color that once you have seen, you never forget.

Then we put on our Hawaiian shorts, cleaned the boat up, and decided we are on vacation.  (We are still sailing fiercely with focus, of course.  But now we have T-shirts and shorts on!)

A note from Nick

Nick here, just wanting to say hi to all family and friends following. Thanks for all the good wishes and support. It sure is beautiful out here. We are sailing fast and I am sure we are having more fun than anyone else out here. Fishing was a bust yesterday, but I'm sure there will be more to come. We had a good run last night and this morning, so it is off to bed for me. Cheers

Day 3 Morning from Al

Twenty four hours straight with A3 up doing 7.5 knot average, we think its good but roll call will tell the truth.  Pretty nice night with winds again varying from 5 -15 knots from the northwest. A few misty showers about.  Barometer is rising as we climb into the high pressure.  The center of the high seems far enough north and west so for the time being there is limited danger in getting too close.  The sharks set a big max velocity number early this morning at 10.4 but it appears the bats have found a stride for a better four hour distance.  Rubber duck still trails but what are you going to do with only an hour to hour and half a day.  Driving in the total darkness at night is tough on everyone with one person calling wind angles and pressure while the driver is going cross eyed staring at the compass.  Eli did a nice job repairing the compass light yesterday as the first night saw it inoperable and a headlamp strapped in its place.  Matt is starting to hear nice grumblings about the food being too plentiful and good, we will just have to suffer through. Al

Day 2 Evening from Al

Spent the whole day under the A3 reaching kite, AWA 60, with from 5 to 15 knots of wind out of the northwest. speeds varying from 5 - 9 knots.  We think we have done well but the morning roll call is when we find out for sure.  All in all a very pleasant day with some sun, some clouds, no rain on us but showers visible around.  We tried our hands at fishing a couple of times but no catching.  Nick fixed Matt's Awesome Tuna Deluxe for dinner.  Tuna, cranberries, walnuts, seaweed and a blend of grains.  We saw no boats or ships today, with only a few shearwaters and some tuna being the only other visible life out here.  Sharks still leading the bats with the rubber duckie way back.  Talked with Icon this evening during children's hour after they started this afternoon.  Hopeful it will take a couple of days for them to pass us.  We have a couple of Ti leaves taped to the bow pulpit for some Hawaiian good luck.  Have a good night, Al

Also, can't help quoting a bit of a note from Eli to his wife and son (forgive me for the infringement of privacy, Secors, but this is a party line!). Eli says:

We're having a beautiful sail, with nice weather and wind that's pointing us straight at Hawaii.   We saw lots of porpoises going out under the Golden Gate, just like we did (Amy) from the Blue Banana way back when.   There were a lot of Humpback whales off of the Farallone Islands, and we got to see fins, tails, and one whale surfacing a few boat lengths from the boat.    We can't do any crabbing out here because it's too deep, and Graeme wouldn't go back to check the pots anyway.   I'm having a great time and looking forward to all of us doing this together sometime!

Leave a comment or well wishes here or on Facebook and I will forward to the boat. Al says the crew loves hearing from everyone!


Best,
Janna

Some photos of the start in SF

Eli's sister, Zana, watched the start down in San Francisco and passed on this great note and photos through the grapevine. Thanks, Zana!

Didn't get any great pics, but Bill and I went down and watched the start yesterday. Was fun to see them go and a little strange to think how long they will be out there!

Attached is right after they started. They are the boat in the middle with the red bird on the flag (next to the one with the yellow sail). I am no sailor, but Bill said they got a good tack to start and they were definitely out towards the front going under the bridge.

-Janna (FYI, even though sometimes I'm logged in as Graeme, it's really me.)

Day 2 Morning from Al

Greetings from the north east Pacific, Kotuku had a good night. Winds remained from the west northwest but varied from 3 to 12 knots. Boat speeds from 3 -8 knots.  We think we held our own against the competition but roll call later this morning will tell.  Better conditions than anyone onboard had even hoped for given our forecasts.  Looks like more of the same to come with a gradual lifting ahead.  Remarkable stars in the early evening before the marine layer settled in.  Could hear the storm petrels chattering away last night but with the masthead tricolor light you can't see them as one could with a normal stern light.

The crew has settled in nicely and some early stumbles with driving at night with a dark sky and no visual references overcome, things look good (touch wood). Unlike a lot of the other boats we haven't sighted any garbage/debris yet.

The sharks are leading the bats in the mileage race so far but only by a small amount.  It has been mostly luck with with the winds more than anything else.

Aloha, Al

I feel like we should make a comment on our last second (literally) rating change.  We had been griping amongst ourselves about a recent change from 57 to 42, but were ready to take on the 42 handed down.  Quite different from the 81 we have sailed with in the PNW.  Granted this is downwind race and we should expect some changes.  Thanks to some steady pressure from Alex and Graeme to the YRA some examination of the secret formulae revealed a wrong number put in for our spinnaker luff length with something like an extra meter added somehow.  I am sure there may be some griping in the rest of the fleet, what race doesn't have that.

Finally, a big congrats to fellow sloop tavern yacht, Terremoto for finishing second in the Vic-Maui! we hope for some of the big speeds they saw later in the race.


[Note from Janna: So I think this means Kotuku's back to the 57 rating. Phew! Remember as you watch the race on the tracker that we don't have to beat our competitors boat for boat. Some owe us time; some we owe time. Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to see ratings on the tracker. If anyone does, leave a comment!]

Good Samaritans

Yesterday before the race, Graeme relayed a story that could have ended much worse. A couple hours before the race they went to put on the steering wheel but, lo and behold, the nut was stripped. They ran up to West Marine to get another. No luck. The cashier, knowing their start time was looming, grabbed his car keys and drove them to two different hardware stores before they found the right nut. Phew! A huge thanks to John Foster at Alameda West Marine for helping Kotuku get off the dock!

I received a sweet text from Graeme last night since they still have cell service: "Can't talk about tracker but I can say I love you Big girl, medium girl and small girl. Big Thanks to Tom and Marie too!"

I think Talia is his big girl; I'll take medium thankyouverymuch. ;) My folks, Tom and Marie, have been watching the girls--a huge help.

Also got these awesome photos from Eli.

Emily, Matt, Eli, Alex, Graeme...and the Golden Gate

Matt, Nick, Emily, Alex

Alex and Graeme

Go, Kotuku. Go, go, Kotuku!

-Janna

Day 1 Evening from Al

Yeah, we finally are underway.  Enough preparation and waiting even if the forecast is for a day of light winds.  Thanks Graeme and all the shore support of families, wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, now down to business.  Started in good breeze and at the beginning of an ebb tide off of St Francis YC this afternoon.  We beat our way out under the gate right behind Andromeda.  We took a few hitches north along the Marin shore and then headed west.  Winds west northwest about 15 knots and slowly easing  as we are approaching the Farallones.  Seeing a number of whales (probably humpbacks)  Having Quinoa Dish Delish with salmon, sun-dried tomatoes, almonds and raisins for our first dinner.  Matt has done an extraordinary job with meal plans and provisioning for the boats whole circuit from Seattle to SF, the race and the return trip.  Crew is all well and getting settled into watches.  We have Graeme, Eli and Nick on one watch (Bats out of Hell) and Alex, Emily and Matt on the other (Shark Attack) and yours truly as floater/navigator.  Cheers, Al

Pre-start photos

The calm before the race

Boat is ready - This is the same battle flag the girls made last year. Our red Kotuku bird has an extra appendage in just the right spot from when Savai colored outside the lines. Fortunately, (or alas) you can't see it in this photo.

Ti Leaves - These were blessed by Hawaiian ladies for luck and are supposed to help us find our way to the islands. I hope they work!

Pac Cup started today

Pac Cup started today! This morning Graeme went to fetch two last things: a sun shower and a tube of 5200. Classic. Their start is 2pm. Tracker has a delay of up to four hours (!) between updates, so be patient. On the upside, at least we tracker addicts might be able to get something done between updates.


Here's a link to the tracker:
http://pacificcup.org/track.html

I will be posting news I receive from the boat here and on Kotuku's Facebook page. Graeme's first update: "Had a great start, good pressure, boat is moving nicely toward Hawaii." FYI, as of this post, the tracker doesn't show them having started even though they have. See what I mean about that delay?


You can subscribe to this blog if you scroll to the link at the veeeery bottom. That way you'll know when I update. If I don't post something on any given day, it probably has more to do with my being away from Internet (camping!) than that they've sunk.


If you post comments here or on Facebook I'll do my best to pass them on to the crew.


Let's see. What else. They expect the crossing to take 10-15 days. We're hoping to see them in Oahu around July 1 (I'm voting for earlier!).


Go, Kotuku!
-Janna

The Bird Has Landed

Kotuku arrived yesterday and the crew is happily spread around San Francisco. Thanks everybody and great job getting down. 5 days is a nice run!

Salmon Fromage with 100 miles to go to the Gate

Had a delightful dinner of Cheesy Salmon S**t, now known as Le Salmon Fromage as we dined with the sounds of Edith Pilaf on the stereo courtesy of Monear's ipod. We followed up with a dice game of 10000 won by old age and treachery over youthful exuberance, at least for one game. It was nice to have all the crew up together finally. Winds then built to 30 after dark and we went down to a double reefed main only for a time, then back up through the sail plan before finally succumbing to the motor around 0530, then fog from 6-730 this morning. Currently Kotuku is motoring south about 10 miles due south of Pt Cabrillo, with around 100 miles to the gate. Contemplating an overnight stop at Pt Reyes, or late into Richardson Bay before an expected arrival in Alameda tomorrow. Cheers, A

Smooth Sailing

Here is the post from Al. What he doesn't mention is that Wes sounds much better. So everybody is breathing a big sigh of relief. Hopefully it was just a stomach bug. The evening report:

Very peaceful day sailing along the Northern California coast, no ship traffic, some birds and more white sided dolphins. Then late in the day we were visited by some Dahl's porpoise for about 20 minutes. Saw one shark cruising along the surfaceWinds continue in the 10-20 range from astern, with no rain, mostly sunshine but a little marine layer early and and late. Forecast is for more of the same. Currently we are about 8 miles off of Cape Mendocino with about 165 miles to go to the gate. Spent some time listening to the fleet check in from the Singlehanded Transpac currently going on now. It sure brought back some fond memories. Have a good night, Al

Wes is under the weather

Sorry I haven't been posting. I have been in regular communication today with the boat, but unfortunately that is because Wes isn't feeling well. Nausea that they originally thought was seasickness, but now looks like it might be something else, perhaps GI related. Not sure if it is serious but they are taking no chances. They are closing with the shore, and are going to get in touch with his mom via cell phone. (She is a nurse). So think good thoughts for Wes. The good news is that they are south of Mendocino now, so the Bay is a long day away, maybe less than 30 hours, depending on their progress. Here's hoping they have a safe and comfortable last leg!

Fireworks in Southern Oregon

Very nice night aboard Kotuku. Saw quite a few whales (humpbacks it appeared) around Cape Blanco. We watched fireworks at three towns at once, Bandon, Port Orford and Brookings which was capped by an impressive rising of the almost full moon over the coastal range. Continued sailing wing and wing all night until 0500 when the wind had died to about 8 knots and with the leftover sea the rig was bouncing around a bit. We motored for about 90 minutes, enough to charge the batteries and the wind is back more westerly about 15 knots so we are broad reaching down the coast. Impressive display of Venus and Jupiter? in the early morning sky to the east. At 0700 we were about 15 miles west of Crescent City with about 255 miles to go to the gate. Cheers, Al

P.S. I talked to Al via cell phone yesterday as they were close enough to the coast to have signal. Morale seems great, sounded like they were having fun and taking lots of pictures--so much that they are already out of space on their memory cards!

Happy fourth of July, Kotuku had a wonderful day sailing wing on wing w/o even one gybe while averaging 7 knots. Had a couple of visits by White sided dolphins, one that lasted nearly 20 minutes. Brendan got some good shots and ran out of camera memory. Then he laid down on the bow with his hand over the side and came very close to touching a dorsal fin. One other close passage with a whale, minke or smaller humpback? Another close call with a huge old log covered with weed and barely floating. It would have left a big mark. Crew is coming around with everybody eating something at least, maybe getting their sea legs. At 1830 we are about 10 miles off Coquille River, 340 miles to go to the Gate. Enjoy the fireworks, we are close enough to shore to hope to be able to see them.

Happy 4th of July from Kotuku

Happy Independence Day from Kotuku about 30 miles west of Yaquina Bay. Gorgeous night with a full moon and some building breeze. We were gybing downwind in about 6 knots or northerly breeze since around 2000 which has built to 15 knots this morning. Now running wing on wing under autopilot averaging 6.5 knots down the rhumbline with 420 miles to go to the Gate. Brendan asleep in the forepeak on top of all the sails. He seems to like it up there. There probably is an old sailor buried under all that gardening. Interesting that we both grew up sailing on Wianno seniors (old gaffers still popular there, check Wikipedia) in the Cape Cod area. Modean and Wes asleep in the salon. Somerset had the morning watch and I am typing. Three hour shifts for the 3 watchstanders from 2100 to 0600 seems to work well. During the day we seem to have someone up anyways. Cheers and enjoy the Fourth, Al

questions, results from Volvo Galway?
From our gribs it looks like less than gales close in to the CA coast. Agree? (yes, that's what I see too)
-------------------------------------------------

Tuesday Morning Brings Wind!

Big changes last night. Wind went from Southerly 15 knots to Northwesterly 20 knots in under a minute in big downpour. Quick tack then on our way south as winds continued to build quickly to 30 knots. Down came the main and we spent the rest of the night under jib and autopilot which was easier on the crew and allowed some rest. Still averaging 7 knots currently about 40 miles west of Willipa Bay. It turned we must have quite a leak from the full bow locker as the head floorboard was floating. Took about a half hour with the little bilge pump to get some what dry. Forecast appears to show these conditions continuing but easing slightly, we are trying to keep going as fast as possible to stay south of a low that should influence the Washington coast tomorrow. Cheers from the North Pacific, Al

(The good news is that the head floorboard was floating in clear water...the last time this happened it was brown...)

Hope everybody is having fun out there! 7 knots running off the breeze with just the jib up is a nice way to get to San Francisco.

Sounds like a sloppy evening on Kotuku

From the Boat:


Its been a day of good and bad.  Good the engine was turned off around noon because we are sailing.  The bad we are beating south into 15 knot southeasterly.  Good, lots of marine mammals, humpbacks galore, scores of white-sided dolphins and lots of bird.  Bad it is damn cold for the 2nd of July.  Good, the dodger rules.  Bad a majority of the crew is seasick.  Good the forecast for tomorrow is calling for a shift to SW then west then NW.  Bad the anchor locker is full of water, seems the rode wants to plug the drain persistently.  Had some chili as a late lunch which has helped morale.   Location about 40 miles sw of LaPush.  Al


Hope the wind shifts round like it's supposed to!

Morning Update: Slow go in the Straits, with Fireworks

Here is the latest update from the Crew:


Clallam bay at 0600.  Uneventful but cold night, continued motoring into dying westerly, down to almost calm this morning.  SSB voice check on 4A and 8A last night with John Weller at Shilshole was moderately successful.  He could hear us just fine and he was readable but scratchy on our end.  We are scheduled to repeat the test again tonight when he will be anchored out in Poulsbo.  Saw Canada Day fireworks at Victoria last night, normal ship traffic and a few blackfish off of Point Wilson.  Forecast is for showers and light winds from the south until around midnight then turning westerly.  Al

Kotuku is underway and headed west (then south)

Boat left the dock today around 4:30pm after a tremendous effort by the race crew to get her ready.  She passed her inspection last week, we added the refrigerator hatch latch and the dust bin bungee that the inspector asked for, as well as a couple of barrel bolts to hold down the settee seats, and then Matt started loading on food.  A whole year of boat prep, weeks of sailing, 2 years of planning, training, and finally we are headed to the Pacific Cup.  With 2 carloads worth of food!

Sails are bricked, med kit inspected, dodger is on, SSB antenna checked, food is stowed, the boat is ready.  So off she went.  Nice send off from friends and family too!

Here is their first update, via SSB (this is very low bandwidth radio based email--so brevity is key):

All is good.  Greetings from Al, Brendan, Somerset, Monear and Wes, we are currently motoring out past double bluff into about 8 knots from the nw but with 1 knot of current behind us.  Cruising at 2600 RPM doing 6.3 through the water but 7.4 GPS.  Trying 6 hours on and 9 off as a watch rotation with 2 on at any one time at least until we get out on the ocean.  Having Quinoa Dish Delish with fresh albacore tuna for dinner and Lemon meringue pie for dessert.  No it won't be like this the whole trip because of no refrigeration we are eating the fresh stuff first.  Thanks to everyone on the race crew for the clean prepared boat for the five of us to at least start the trip.  Al

If you need to get a message to the crew, their cell phones will work for another 12-24 hours, depending on how far offshore they get.  After that, try texting, it tends to get through better when they do have a signal.  Then try emailing us here at kotukusailing (at) gmail. com, and we will help you forward a message on via SSB radio.  We will post every update we get here, so follow the blog, and you will have the most up-to-date reports at your fingertips.

Thanks for supporting our dreams!