Back at the beach - "Long" that is.

I have received notification that Narrow Escape is back dockside in Long Beach Downtown Marina.

At Narrow Escape World Headquarters we echo Doug and Chuggy's comments and thanks to the Race Committee who watched our boys get safely all the way home too!

The LONG Road Home

There is not much new to report. They have been boring as hell on the way back to the mainland.

Typically the winds have been strong (NOW of course now!) and unfortunately adverse of angle as well - for coming back!

Like a mini Transpac they started back heading back a little low of course anticipating a lift as they approached the shore. Reaching with a reefed main and number three they managed some 17 and 18 knots surfs - so getting back quickly - at first.

But the wind angle has not fully cooperated and now they find themselves at a tighter angle and still lots of wind. Doug notes that this would have been an excellent time to use the second reef if the sail had been built that way! They are presently sailing on the Number 3 alone and making decent progress.

They expect to be back on the mainland sometime this afternoon - I would say about 1600PDT.

All's Well

But I am sorry to report that at 1625PDT today I was notified that Narrow Escape has withdrawn from the Transpacific Ocean Race.

The most recent news describes the Autohelm as being completely unable to keep up with required tiller response in the now windy and perfect conditions under spinnaker.

The course ahead also looks perfect and they could not imagine hand steering 24 hours a day for the next 8 plus days.

They report making good progress back towards the mainland.

More information will follow as I get it.

Heavy Hearted Blogmeister

Manglish

I am sorry to be so long publishing this. I only just barely stopped laughing now.

So I am going to speculate a bit here. Down in the LBC they speak the language with a slightly different vernacular. I expect that Chuggy and Doug picked up on some of that local accent and have taken it to a new level.

I am going to call it Manglish - short for Mangled English! And Chuggy speaks it to you here!

This report came from Cap't Chuggy off the boat, only coincidentally, around Happy Hour yesterday. As is my custom for reports going on the blog I usually try to tidy up spelling and grammatical issues but with this one I didn't know even where to start so it is here for you in original format.

I can just picture Cap't Chuggy and those big sausage fingers pecking away at some key board in those now pitching seas!

I might otherwise have titled this Post: "Chuggy put your glasses on "!

Stealth Mode

Conditions for sailing are much improved on the patch of the Pacific that Narrow Escape is presently transiting. Or have they?

Well we don't know for sure. Because not exactly going to plan our team has switched to Stealth Mode. This morning they failed to provide the Communications Vessel, Alaska Eagle with a position report.

Maybe they are about to undertake a bold tactical maneuver and don't want their fleet to know it. Or maybe it's because they are so relishing the sailing (finally) they just forgot. Or maybe they are both nappytime and "Billy the Stick" is driving (quite well actually). But more likely there is some problem with that haywire, unreliable, glorified Cell Phone, pile of junk Sat Phone!

Here is a teaser from my latest book "Behind the Blog", to be released soon:

"You might be wondering why we have been incommunicado. It turns out that when you go to use the Sat Phone if you enter the wrongy password three times the whole thing locks up you have to return the thing to an authorized reseller to have it reset"! (Evil, what's that password again, Webster).

There has been a running debate between your Blogmeister and the onboard crew as to the merits of new technology. Being old school I advocate SSB Transceiver with a Pactor Modem as the most reliable method of communication not to mention, all important, GRIB file collection. Are those chickens coming home to roost?

Anyways (not actually a word according to Hammer) because of the Transpac Tracker we do know that they are ripping along down the course now.

And what a difference a day makes:

At Narrow Escape World Headquarters we think things out there are near perfect now. The wind is aft of the beam and like Chuggy predicted maybe it is spinnaker time onboard.

Bonne Chance Oh Canada!

2011JUL08, 1300PDT

While enjoying now fabulous conditions, sailing the majestic waters of the Pacific Ocean, Chuggy and Doug take this moment to wish Kevy McMeel and the rest of their fellow Canudians Good Luck and Fair Winds for a fast and safe crossing!

Barn Door In Jeopardy?

I wanted to start a whole new Post to present the only flicker of Bad News resulting from today's communications and weather forecasts.

All that good news for wind coming inshore to get NE moving today will, unfortunately, also stay around to kick start the big boys who start tomorrow at 1300.

With such a slow start for the Monday starters and a fast one, out of the gate for the faster boats Friday, Narrow Escape's chance of winning the Barn Door for the fastest elapsed time now appears difficult.

Above appears the Optimum Route that Raytech Performance Software generates based on the current long range NOAA Weather Predictions as parsed by Saildocs.com. You get full marks for noticing how the recommended route has changed to an almost classic Transpac Race Route from the atypical one output by the program since before the start.

Please note that the route now begins at their 0600 position and that we have returned to normal 6 hour Isochrones. Raytech estimates that the next 10 Isochrones will average 58 miles each or 580 miles VMC.

According to Raytech, as it interprets the wind speeds and angles embedded in the GRIB File, and applies the Target Boat Speeds contained in Narrow Escape's Polars file, they will be 426.37 miles (approximately!) from the start line when the big boats start at 1300 tomorrow. That means for any Friday starter to beat Narrow Escape they will need to average 24 % faster over the entire course.

And while I am at it Raytech also calculates that Chuggy and Doug will arrive alongside Diamond Head at 1402 HST on Saturday the 16th. So nice another fast afternoon trip down the Molokai Channel and a daytime finish. I'll tell Helen so she can make some dinner reservations - say about 1900 sound OK?

Shootin Hoops?

2011JUL07 - 0600, 32.54N - 122.33W, Bar 1014, Wind 8 knots @ 310, Sea 1 meter - long N swell, Cloud - 100%, DOC 98 miles.
This Message, containing some hilarity just received from the boat:

I replied how You try to think of everything but Murphy always has some other trick you didn't consider up his sleeve.And I scrutinized every possible bit of information I could discovered and I have developed a surprising theory:

They were faster with the Basketball attached!Actually that is probably not true. But as it turns out, over the last 24 hours they either lost very little, in some cases held their own and in others they and actually gained back ground on some of the Monday starters. Based on the light upwind race so far I was worried it would be much worse. And they shaved more than 100 hours from Transpacs Estimated Corrected Ttime - which means little this early in the race!

The longest days runs came from boats in the Aloha Division.

My research has lead me to conclude that in a rich get poorer kind of NHL Draft sort of way the wind out west was not as good for the leaders and progressively improved the closer you got to the shore. Our boy cleverly positioned themselves at the back of the pack to take most advantage of those conditions. I also have to wonder how things might have worked out yesterday without the basketball too.

And still more good news all of the weather gurus are predicting that the light winds of yesterday are a memory today so I hope NE will not have to endure that pain ahead.

In another message I received from the boat Doug observed how the better breeze offshore - which moves around - could move away from them faster than they could move towards it. In keeping with the good news nature of this report I am pleased to report that it appears that situation is also reversed. Over the course of this afternoon and evening the synoptic wind is forecast to move shoreward scooping up the Monday fleet and hurrying them along toward Hawaii in earnest.

Report from onboard

This just in:

The Allure of Southern California. . .

. . . apparently still has a hold on our boys at sea.

2011Jul07-0600, 33.37N-119.55W, Bar 1012, Wind 6 knots at 270, 24 hr. DOC 78, Sea 1 meter (comment @ 360), Cloud 100 percent.

No records were broken last night. Narrow Escape continued to move west however earning an I bet hard fought 78 miles in the last 24 hours. Their relative performance continues negative compared with many of the July 4th starters however.

The "boat for boat" leaders have extended to about 50 miles in front of NE. But that is not the bad news. The bad news is they still need to get about 175 miles further west before reaching any kind of reliable and stronger winds. The good news is they are predicted to be sailing in generally improving conditions all that way.

There is forecast to be more wind this afternoon and early evening than yesterday and while the wind will lighten again tonight there should still be some. And maybe some more good news. Depending somewhat on whose forecast you believe if the improving wind does not move further east, or stay on later tonight, the current scenario seems to suggest that none of the leaders will quite have the legs to get far enough west, before the wind lightens again overnight, to be able to break out into the more reliable and stronger synoptic wind. Such wind still forecast to prevail over most of the course for an extended period into the future. That means it now appears less possible that they will be sailing away in 15 knots of wind at a better angle while NE languishes for another overnight in 4 to 6 knots of wind. It is likely that the entire fleet of Monday starters should encounter the offshore winds over the course of Thursday's already improving trend even closer to shore.

It's all about damage control until then. Unfortunately we expect NE to continue to lose ground on her fleet for the next 24 hours. Limiting the amount will play a pivotal role in the catch up game when things improve.

Further offshore the wind all across the course presently ranges from 15 to 20 knots and at an angle Narrow Escape likes.

We remain on the edge of our seats here at the Narrow Escape Home Office.

The Food is Still Holding Out!

This report just in from the boat.

I told him that they were going to talk nicer about Narrow Escape when they arrived at the Classic Transpac conditions that are waiting just offshore!

Slow Going

2011JUL05-0600, 33.40N-119.15W, Bar 1011, Wind 200-240, TWS 2-6, SOC 2.8, DMG 48, Sea Calm, Cloud < 10 Percent.

Well there is no getting far in conditions like these! Overnight the fleet was impacted by a small and very local low pressure cell nearly right on top of them.

Predictably Chuggy and Doug had a slow night.

Narrow Escape's design does not make much compromise for light wind sailing. It is long and flat with very little rocker resulting in a lot of wetted surface compared to its sail area. Since 2009 Chuggy has added a, roll up, Code Zero (badly trimmed picture above) to the inventory which they hope to use like a giant Genoa in the light windward work. But compared with other designs in their fleet, no matter what, Narrow Escape struggles in conditions like these.

Today better pressure (8 knots TWS) is estimated to stretch nearer inshore reaching it's apex at about 1500 today. This could be the play of the race - already. To reach it, and a rich get richer scenario of steadily increasing wind, Chuggy and Doug need to reach into their bag of tricks and find another 50 miles of offing before that time. Otherwise the area of increased wind retracts seaward again overnight.

Some of the boats in their division are 15 miles closer to getting there and those who do will sail away rolling up the (wind) carpet behind them. Those boats who escape will be sailing in progressively stronger winds and building a lead that may be difficult for those left behind to recover in the great weather pattern that has developed across the rest of the course.

Nothing interesting is forecast to happen after that until about dinnertime on Wednesday when the northwesterly wind 10 knots TWS is predicted to fill in over the area.

In the worst case scenario at least they will be well rested when things finally improve!

Above is a picture produced by Raytech showing Narrow Escape's 0600 position and the optimum route generated at that time.

The optimum route calculation is less than ideally reliable when wind strength predictions get into these low values and I don't think anyone wants to take a run up to Cape Concepcion.

The blue lines are Isochrones that Raytech explores when developing the optimum track. They are set in this picture at 4 hours. The Isochones show runs of just 12 to 16 miles for a while into the future but out on the west end of this picture they are averaging about 42 miles - so the trick is to get there!

Chuggy's Second Best Start Ever?

Getting in position for the start!

These 24 Hours

Racing to Hawaii has evolved since the first race in 1906. Then just finding the islands was a sort of victory.

Now, using vast technology it is all about finding the fastest way to the islands. A key consideration in this pursuit is sailing in stronger wind and/or a more favourable angle. Other than Axle Fox no one I know can actually see the wind in front of his boat never mind miles into the future. Getting that right really impacts on the duration and enjoyment of your race.

Weather forecasting has come a long way in the intervening 100 years and now Meteorologists estimate the weather long into the future. These estimates are based on series of pressure predictions which they develop anticipating what might develop. They become less reliable the further out they go but still a useful tool. Now you can receive these weather charts on board and software, often found on board, can animate the charts to give a flowing picture of conditions expected.

And there are a lot of offshore weather routing services available to help sailors extract the nuances from the charts.

Reputedly one of the best for detailed inshore work around the Catalina Basin is Sailing Weather Service http://www.sailwx.com/. And I have reviewed it closely.

Presently the conditions down the course are near perfect. And they continue that way in the forecasts for the entire time our team should be on the water - so really good news except for the next 24 hours or 100 miles however you want to look at it.

The time tested, past the West End of Catalina and then head a little south, method has not looked good for more than a week because of some weird little High spinning near shore and another one further south.

In every scenario a course (scary) north of the great circle route is indicated at first and then a very near circle route the rest of the way. The Great Circle route is the shortest distance but it rarely pays. With the circle route you run a good chance of having the High come down and park on top of you - which means no wind.

The RayTech and Expedition Software, which read the GRIB Files (animated interpretation of the Weather Charts) are not nostalgic however and both suggest a course north after the start through Santa Barbara Channel all the way to Cape Conception - like 125 miles up the coast!

The time tested, getting past Catalina and then bearing off a little south approach has not looked good for more than a week with some weird little high spinning near shore and another further south.

I think our team will find their way near or slightly north of the great circle route on the shortest distance to the consistent wind.

You don't start to get into it at all until you are out past the islands - about 65 miles and complicating things greatly the consistent winds modeled pull out further offshore tonight meaning a potential night of drifting after midnight.

So here is what we think we know: The wind at the start was about 10 knots out of the NW. SailWX did not have that angle showing up until sometime between 1400 and 1700. If we begin to believe them at that point the wind still starts getting lighter before the West End.

There is an area of 4 to 6 knots TWS predicted out to past the islands but anything south of west is death.

It looks like there might be a bald spot with less than 4 knots TWS between the outer islands and about 85 miles offshore where things start to get better (8 knots TWS). But even then they must continue to apply themselves because that better wind pattern is predicted to retreat offshore in the wee hours around 0400 Tuesday morning.

The wild cards are catabatic effect wind near shore and islands and wind direction which I neglected to mention predicts fair amount of westerly flow between Catalina and the outer islands.

We must be mindful that there are newer designs that do much better that Narrow Escape in light wind and upwind and especially in light upwind.

If the predictions come true Chuggy and Dougie need to find a way to get out offshore about 85 miles in the about first 15 hours of the race. After that things get easier for our team.

Switching to Live

Your correspondent has just spoken with Doug and Chuggy by Cell Phone from the boat. This is expected to be the last live communication received here at Narrow Escape World Headquarters (NEWH)

The fleet are assembled and the wind in the starting area is about 10 knots out of the west.

Because the sail plan (even the upwind configuration) has been vastly increased and because Chuggy and Doug have been on a weight loss campaign - not to mention they are short a couple of princesses on the rail for optimum upwind performance - it turns out that this wind strength is roughly idea if you have to go upwind. They hope to not go upwind for long if at all possible. Anyone who remembers the boat will know that upwind was not it's favourite.

A discussion of the first part of the race, based on considerable input, will follow

In 15 short minutes they will be on the course racing.

Even more live!

1145 PDT Message from the boat:

"We are underway. Cruising around in the starting area and enjoying the sun and ten knots of wind.

Can't lay Catalina at the moment about 30 degrees shy."

Nearly Live

At a little after 1000 PDT this message was received from the boat:

"The bottom is clean and we are heading for the start line."

All going well the next time Narrow Escape is tethered to land will be after cheating 3 hours of a days earth rotation in the Ala Wai Basin in Waikiki!

Bottie Duty

The race crew are a little paranoid about the robust, and fast moving/growing, Barnacles of the LBC.

Even though they lifted the boat only a few days ago, and polished the bottom to a high lustre, in this shot DCB is making sure there were no survivors of that process - or any new speed robbing Cirripedia attached.

Groceries Come on Board

And it was a good thing that Evil and Roscoe are not racing this year otherwise there would be no room for all this food.

You might remember that the reason for the abbreviated crew and massive boat weight reductions was to travel light and fast to Hawaii - what I call the sprint assault.

The trouble is that with only too on board, running everything, the crew needed to budget 6000 calories daily!

There is no truth to the rumour that the weight of the groceries will completely offset every go fast measure undertaken to date!

Wilson Comes on Deck

Race Preparations are really getting down to the last details now.

My audience might remember in 2009 that they took along a Good Luck Charm and the named him Wilson. He was supposed to be a fair winds Tiki. Well, we all know how that turned out. The crew is nothing if not loyal I guess!

Skippers meeting/Send Off Party part three

And later that night they met up with friend, fellow Canudian and Weather Guru, Kevy McDinner - sometimes know as Doc Holiday.

Kevy has conducted several weather briefings and follow ups for the crew. In the picture above it looks like he is just putting the finishing touches on a routing strategy with Chuggy.

Kevy is sailing on Oh Canada which is an Open 60 Ocean Greyhound and the fastest rated boat on the course so there is high expectations for their results. Kevy and Oh Canada start on the 8th of July.

Skippers Meeting/Send Off Party part two

Er. . . sorry here is Chuggy soaking up the Race Instructions!

Skipper's Meeting/Send Off Party

Welcome back sports fans - actually it is me who has been offline but I am back now!

They really do it up right at Transpac don't they?

Here are pictures of our Leader Chuggy soaking up the instructions.

How to Practice Safe Sailing!

Hello All!

SoCal Ben reporting from beautiful Long Beach. The lads from Nanaimo are becoming quite self sufficient. For the 2009 race, I was asked for help locating everything from parts to fresh food. This year, nary a request until two days ago. So imagine my amazement when the first request was from Doug asking for help locating an 18" condom for Greg. Now I know that Greg is a humble man, but this brings humility to an entirely new level!

It turned out that the condom wasn't for Greg after all, but it was for "Billy the Stick." Billy the Stick is the hydraulic arm that connects the autopilot to the tiller. Billy will be doing a lot of the work and the condom is for protection against salt water. I didn't want to give up any of my personal stash. So I found an old innertube from my daughter's bicycle and presto Billy was practicing safe sailing.

The picture above is from our test sail on Friday, 7/1/11. It didn't take long to discover that Billy (like all sailors) tends to exaggerate a wee bit and that he really didn't need the entire 18 inches. Later Doug trimmed off a few inches. I understand Billy is now quite comfortable and ready for the 2,225 mile voyage.

Game Face

Just the right blend of calm and confidence!

Re-Launch sans Banacles!

Barnacle Hunter

Nanaimo Yacht Club Plans Gala Send Off Celebration

Today they lifted the boat to polish the underwater hull to a fine lustre one last time before departing.

But here at Narrow Escape World Headquarters we are already counting down until Chuggy and Dougie's start next Monday at 1300 PDT.

The Nanaimo Yacht Club is hosting a Dock Reception on Friday afternoon and a Sailing Regatta this weekend honouring our doublehanders. Because of the festivities this may be my last post until next Monday morning where we will watch or team get away with near real time reporting.

In reply to "Enquiring's" question below I didn't forget to publish the computers time on course estimate I did not publish it on purpose because; I have been sworn to secrecy, I don't want to jinx things and I may use it for my guess in the Arrival Pool Draw - check back here later to be involved.

When that Optimum Course was developed the weather window was positive and so I will say that the time estimate was faster than Narrow Escape has ever crossed that patch of water before!

Technology Part no.3

And now we are getting to the good stuff!

If you have done your home work you now know that for every wind speed and angle there is a matching boat speed target.

We know we can get plenty of reliable, far into the future, weather predictions on the boat which include wind speed and angle estimates.

So based on these two known components is it that big a stretch to ask the computer to develop an optimum route for us based on a from here to there course? It is not.

The picture you are looking at above is such a route. This is a moment in time and that moment was NOAA's estimate for conditions prevailing across the course at 1300 PDT on the 4th of July - Narrow Escape's start time. The Optimum Route, all those little red dots represent the best course in 6 hours increments, was output yesterday and the little yellow dot, about 1/2 way across is where Narrow Escape was supposed to be based on all the weather up to that point if she had started then.

Now to pull it all together the computer can direct the autopilot to steer the optimum route and Chuggy and Dougie could be sipping Mai Tais the whole way across.

But in reality the software is just another tool - another point of view. The weather forecasts can be vastly wrong, the instruments could be out of alignment or the targets could prove to not be completely accurate. But it is all roses when it confirms the course the sailors have decided!

Still in 2013 I propose pushing the boat away from the dock in the direction of Diamond Head with no one on it as the penultimate weight savings measure!

Technology Part no. 2

But wait there is more.

As you may know a number of government organizations publish weather forecasts based on predicted weather charts developed by meteorologists. These predictions go a long way out into the future (12 days currently) in 6 hour increments. Naturally the further out you try to predict the less accurate is the estimate.

NOAA is a biggy in the Excited States of Merica and our boys will be relying on them all the way across. You might wonder how they will access these and I'm glad you asked.

In the old days these could be received by a weather fax machine and interpreted by Dougie or Navigator on board. More lately they can be bundled into a number of 6 hour segments called GRIB files that can then be animated by compatible software. Doug has two, different, compatible softwares' to compare. It used to be that these GRIB files were sent automatically by an e-mail responder service like Saildocs and downloaded by a pactor modem connected to a Single Sideband (SSB) Receiver. Because of serious bandwidth restrictions SSB had size and online time limits.

In the modern age GRIB files are received by Iridium Satellite Phone and I am led to believe this is a marvel compared to the old way.

The now animated weather forecasts are displayed on the same chartplotter screen which also shows the GPS reported boat's position.

Having weather predictions, including wind speed and angle, onboard is helpful when trying to develop the shortest course while avoiding bad weather and calms.

Technology part no. 1

It was not that long ago that you had to steer the boat and figure out where you were and where you wanted to be long hand. Those days are a fleeting memory for our dream team however!

First off they have a comprehensive set of integrated instruments that record and output, back and forth, all sorts of environmental and boat generated information.

By integrated I mean that several different components are connected and talking to each other.

For instance there are myriad sensors and transducers onboard that record wind speed and angle, depth, boat speed, heading, speed over the ground, course over the ground, water temperature and the boats actual position on the face of the earth. The instrument system generates a tremendous amount of secondary information based on the sensor information - things like true wind speed and true wind angle, velocity made good.

All this information is shared into an onboard laptop computer. The computer crunches the numbers constantly and using wanded averages develops optimum speeds and courses for various wind strengths and angles. Upwind and downwind we call these speeds and angles targets. They represent the best angle to sail in the prevailing wind to get upwind or downwind the fastest. If you are making the angles but not the speeds then sail adjustments are indicated. Even when not sailing upwind or down wind the computer will still estimate how fast the boat should be going and these are called polar speeds.

In the plot above the wind direction is from the left side of the screen and each roughly modified circle represents a different wind speed and the computer's estimate of the boat's speed on each of those angles. This information is useful in a racing situation because it tells you pretty quickly how close you are to getting all the performance out of the boat.

Sailing tomorrow!

Apparently your correspondent has been unduly concerned about the quality of the race boats bottom for Chuggy and Dougies upcoming junket across to Waikiki.

I am now assuming that this problem has been resolved since they are out testing equipment and sailing in Hurricane Gulch - what local sailors call the northern area behind the LA Harbor Breakwater.

Hurricane Gulch where testing and sailing will occur is noted on the chartlet above. Also indicated are Rainbow Harbor where the Transpac fleet stages from, the starting area and the Historic Angel's Gate Lighthouse.

Perspectives (part two)

This is how it looks from Chuggy's point of view.

"Hello Helen? Can you please transfer another $ 20,000.00 from my Chequing Account to my Visa?"

Perspectives (part one)

Race preparations continue in the LBC.

Here is how it looks from Doug's point of view.

Comms staging,in Rainbow Harbour

1337PDT-33.45.500N, 118.11.500W-, BS=0.00, Heading=315, Pressure1016, Cloud Cover=50 percent (comments: marine layer - burning off), Sea State=Rippled, Calm,

"This is an e-mail from the boat. We are using an Iridium Product called XGate - which is slicker' n snot. This email is being sent using MarinaNet Internet connection but the next one you receive should come from the Iridium Phone itself."

"All's good down here. Chuggy is dropping of the trailer. We picked up the raft this morning and should get our Safety Inspection from Roby tomorrow afternoon."

"More to come Doug"

Here is the translation: In the old days we used to send e-mail in "packets" using the SSB radio and a Pactor Modem. It was slow like an old 2400 rate fax and you could not send much either. Now a days they use Iridium Satellite telephones that do the job about 4 time faster and you can send bigger files too. Iridium use costs more however but there is not budget for this endeavour so full speed ahead down the Technology Superhighway I say!

They need to move the trailer over San Pedro Harbour on the industrial side of the LBC. Shipping company Matson will ship the empty (well except for a change of clothes, a mickey of Fireball, and Chuggy's acceptance speech) trailer over to Honolulu and Greg and Chuggy will load the boat on it for shipping back to the mainland after the race.

Life Rafts are like Cell Phones. It is a safety requirement that the life raft needs to be certified by an accredited life raft inspector every two years (at the longest). This usually costs about 20 percent of the value of the new raft! So like Cell Phones they might as well give you the raft because they make it on the service!

Roby is the head of the Safety Committee and every boat is inspected for compliance - before the race - what a concept huh? We became fast friends with him when we began racing across to Hawaii in 2001. That is him on the right in the picture above next to Pacific Alumni, Roscoe and current candidate for greatness Doug at the Kanehoe after party.

Mai Tais are an important component of Transpac racing. Among many other wisdoms Roby taught all of us the fine points and where to find the best Mai Tais. Patron Benefactor Emeritus Alf Tait bought for all of them that year I recall!

Barnacles!

Many things develop more quickly in the fertile growing environment we know as Southern California. Not surprisingly under the water as well as above.

Some paint is fast and some paint is poison. Unfortunately there is no such thing as fast, poison paint.

Does anyone remember what it was we used to call Barnacle Blaster that dissolves the barnacles right off the bottom of the boat?

So much for spending the afternoon on Venice Beach!

Memo: Chuggy will be having a conversation with Mookey the diver who was supposed to be keeping the bottom in pristine racing trim this last month!

Free Chuggy

In light of recent travel difficulties, and in contemplation that Chuggy may not be allowed back into Canada, Helen has established a new Foundation for the assistance of "Not Fully Documented Travellers".

Contributors of $ 50.00 or more will receive a tax deductible receipt and this tasteful tee shirt depicted above.

(Yes it's been a slow news day so far and sometimes your correspondent has to make it up!)

Over the Wall and on to Freedom!

This report filed by an anonymous source in Richmond:

As dawns early light bathed the Fairmont Vancouver Airport Hotel Detention Facility, with the aid of an accomplice, Chuggy slipped out a service entrance and made good his escape.

He has now joined Doug in the LBC.

Interdiction

This news in from YVR Security.

As predicted previously - see *ALERT* below - Chuggy, the leader and spiritual mentor of team Narrow Escape, has been detained by Border Services while attempting departure using someone else's Passport. It turns out that Chuggy looks nothing like his Daughter and then there was the whole age discrepancy thing too.

Chuggy's Bag (his luggage that is!) Tagged

I have received this report from Doug (who is presently alone - see following post) in the LBC.

Doug is concerned that Chuggy's bag tilted the overweight alarm just getting on the seaplane to YVR!

Doug Says: "I thought this trip was all about taking weight off!"

A message from the Commodore:

"Cap't Billy,

Please pass on my kind regards and best wishes to Chuggy and Dougie on behalf of all the members of the Nanaimo Yacht Club.

The Transpacific Ocean Race can be a demanding test of endurance for both man and vessel and the NYC is very proud to support these sailors.

Most of us can only dream of doing this race, these guys are living it!!

Good for them and Godspeed them on their journey!!

Regards,
Basil Hobbs
Commodore NYC"

**ALERT**

In less than 24 hours Homeland Security are expected to raise their Threat Assessment Level.

Tomorrow around 1500 Chuggy and Dougie will begin their trip to Diamond Head - via a short stop in the LBC and a more extended splash in the Pacific Ocean!

Just 11 sleeps now before they push away from the dock and point Narrow Escape towards the heart of the Pacific and sun soaked paradise Hawiian Style!

First ever Narrow Escape "Caption Contest"

I am going to post a picture of on location reporter, SoCal Ben, that defies description to see if my loyal Blog Followers can come up with a suitable caption in their "comments".

Here you Go!

Race Prep Three

But it wasn't all play either (just most of it).

Even from miles away Chuggy still has to keep the big machine running or Helen will close the funding tap that makes these Ocean Junkets possible.

Race Prep Two

But that kind of work is child's play from Roscoe and in no time the boat was as good as new and ready to go!

Race Prep

After racing to Cabo last spring our intrepid crew just dumped the boat at the storage lot in the LBC and forgot about it. This form of care is what has become known as Twammer maintenance.

So after a long haul up the Baha Peninsula and more than a years wait in the blistering SoCal sun the boat was a bit of a mess.

Getting the systems back up and the boat in shape for the upcoming Pacific Crossing was a concern. So Chuggy and Dougie pressed Roscoe and Evil into service for the tune up in late May.

Transition

To carry on and join up 2011 here are some excerpts from the last post of the 2009 version of this blog.

"A terrific amount of work and sacrifice goes into putting a boat from Nanaimo on the starting line in Long Beach.

. . . measuring the experience and estimating the value of fulfilling a lifelong dream.

So I am not surprised to hear the race crew express how they have quenched their ocean racing thirst.

After all that work and time there is a bit of PRS that sets in and that is natural.

But about a month after completing the race - back home - the momentum started to grow. . .

As time goes the power of the experience and the wonder of the ocean grows in our memories. . . I will be surprised if we don't find each of our race crew back out there on that ocean seeking victory on the course and harmony in their world.

Since I wrote those words Doug and his family have sailed back from Hawaii to Vancouver (the hard way) on Kinetic a Beneteau 47 and Chuggy and Evil and Roscoe and Doug have raced Narrow Escape from Newport to Cabo in 2010. I'm keeping that story a secret for publication in my forthcoming book!

The crew has been shortened up this year with Roscoe and Evil relegated to the healthy reserve list. If the crew (and associated weight) reduction works out this time I'll suggest for 2013 they just push the boat away from the dock, in the direction of Hawaii with no one on it, and see how that goes!

I've already told them to expect Fireworks, Bunting and Fan Fare for their send off celebration. Chuggy and Dougie's excellent adventure begins on July 4th.

Check back here often for all the skinny!

You just had to know it would not take me that long to remember how to gain access and take right over control of this blog again!

So like you have probably already guessed it's Cap't Billy - I'm back - along with able, on location correspondent, SoCal Ben.

So stay tuned Sports Fans and check back often for some action on the water starting soon but more important some civil discourse right here starting now!

Visit the Transpac 2009 Archive Blog

To see the story of Narrow Escape's 2009 Transpac Race click here. In 2009 the crew included Ross 'Roscoe that Rascal' Cutler, Webster 'Evil' Kimmerly, Greg 'Chuggy' Constable, and Doug 'Barkmulch' Backhouse. The ups and downs of that campaign were relayed by our publist and mentor, Bill 'Grinder' Allan.

Long Beach Harbour



Narrow Escape sails upwind in Long Beach Harbour

Visiting Catalina



Leaving the Harbor at Avalon.

Well today was another great day in paradise. We started the day in Avalon on Santa Catalina Island. This was our brief tune-up cruise with Web and Ross, representing a little unfinished business from the 2009 race when we ran out of time to make this stopover.

This was a an important trip for us this time around as it gave a chance to see how the new Autohelm responded. The tiller fitted Autohelm now known as "Billy the Stick" guided us flawlessly and effortlessly in a 22 knot breeze on a close reach without incident. There is a series of manouevers required for the helm to 'autolearn' which requires a sequence of abrupt manourvers. Recognizing that this would have looked like a drunken sailor we soon all felt comfortable and at home with our new crewmate.

On the return trip this morning the wind was much lighter and with big sloppy waves the autohelm had a bit more difficulty finding its way. Slight adjustments to the tiller's response time and 'the Stick' was sailing like a pro again.

This evening we said thanks to our tuneup crew Web and Roscoe. We have had a great deal of fun this past couple of days and it is very clear how much they have helped us get the boat together. There have been quite a few conversations about figuring out how to bring these guys with us. Thanks for the help guys! We hope you have a safe journey back up the highway.

Webster ordered the 'petite' prime rib -- only 16 oz. a full portion is 24 oz.

Autohelm

Installing the Autohelm

A big piece of the race prep is getting the autohelm installed. After an extended 'planning' period we got to work on the installation. Web is the master plumber and made sure that all the plumbing worked out. We haven't sparked the new unit up yet but we remain confident.

Touching up the Foils

Touching up the bottom paint

Roscoe has taken the time for a little light fairing and repainting the keel and rudder. Although generally in good shape these are much better now. There has been considerable discussion about cutting the keel bulb off but we have decided not to do that this weekend. Web is quite keen of lifting the keel during the race.

Sunday at the SeaPort Boatyard

As each day starts, management assigns tasks for all the workers.

Seaport is the name of the hotel we are staying at. It is a lovely place built in about the 1960's. It must have been well built because there haven't been any renovations since it was new. The boys were in bed by 10:00 last night after a hard day and very little disturbance from the normal Saturday night crowd that comes home around 2:30.

Boat Prep in Long Beach

If you need some water, send an electrician...

So today was the first day of the boat prep in California. Web found a handy water supply with sufficient pressure to wash the dust off the boat. This is not a small matter because the boat has been pulled through the Mexican outback for 1000 miles on the way back from Cabo. Once that job was done we waxed the boat sides and Roscoe prepped a couple of scratches on the keel bulb and trapdoor for the outboard. Everyone is feeling pretty good about the way the boat looks and we are amazed at how ready the boat is for an offshore race.

On the inside we sponged out the haylon residue and even cleaned out under sink and nav station. This included some Kung Pow Chicken from 2003...

All this got done even with a touch of hte 'Fish Bowl' Flu. We are not sure, but we think we might have caught something from the large beverages called 'Hurricanes'. One of the great things about the hotel location is that we can walk home.