Vic-Maui wrap up...

It is September 27^th….. where has the past month and a half gone???  

To complete the VicMaui return story... 

We got into Victoria at 7:30 am on August 14^th after a long night of motoring through the fog, dodging ships and fishing boats down the Straight of Juan De Fuca.  Jason B from the race crew and Dave's family were at the docks to greet us and we all went for breakfast in Victoria. Elisa and I left Victoria on the boat by about 11am and had an uneventful motor to Vancouver arriving at about 7pm, where I loaded the dinghy and promptly left for Secret Cove.  

Two hours after leaving Vancouver, the sky totally covered over and there was a long lasting electrical storm. I guess the ocean gods figured I had too relaxing a trip home from Hawaii to let me off easy. The wind came up to about 25-30 south east and I ran under jib alone from Gibsons down to Merry Island hoping the storm would not take out the electronics.  I arrived in Secret Cove at 1:30 tired, but safe and a greating by my dad at the dock.  It was GREAT to be back J. 

A couple of days of tidying and converting the boat back to a cruiser (well… a comfort cruiser, I don't think it ever really turned into a racer;) and the family moved on.  The kids and I spent the next three weeks cruising up and down the coast with Catharine spending everyday she wasn't working on the boat with us. It was an amazing way to wrap up the summer. 

Catharine and I are currently anchored just on the east side of Gabriola pass spending a weekend with just the two of us out on the boat. We had a nice relaxing sail across from Vancouver today, and it looks like it will be a motor home tomorrow. 

The first rough version of a Vic Maui video has been posted to the channel (turnagain50) on Youtube.  There is hours of footage to still go through and there should be more videos coming.  

Catharine is working on a book of the entire trip, and I have been asked to speak at a couple of yacht clubs about our experience on the race. 

Again. Thanks to everyone for such an amazing experience. 

Travis

From the home front - Part 3 (Catharine)

Day ?

784 Nautical Miles to Maui...

They are moving along...getting closer and closer every day.  My parents, Travis' parents, Sylvia and Callum and I arrived in Maui a few days ago, and others will be arriving soon.  When the wind picked up this afternoon I couldn't help but think this wind is getting the guys closer and closer every minute.  The weather here is gorgeous...huge swell, blue windy skies, rainbows...I can only imagine what it's like out there on Turnagain right now...

From the sounds of the blog, they are still getting along (mostly), and using their big boy voices! Of course what they blog about and what everyone is ACTUALLY feeling on board could be two different things completely, but it certainly does seem like the time of their lives, and completely worth it.  For Travis it's been a year and a half of preparations...making sure they had a strong team, countless hours of preparation, boat work, practices etc.  And for every hour they've spent preparing, it's been an hour of supporting family (wives, girlfriends, grandmas and grandpas and nanas and papas and aunties and uncles and friends) picking up the slack.  It takes a village to get a Vic-Maui team off the docks!

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Just after the guys left the dock, my mom looked at the picture of the guys in their spiffy blue Helly Hansen Jackets and said 'I know that twinkle in his eyes.  It's exactly the same twinkle Sylvia had after her ballet performance'.

I'm going to call it the McGregor sparkle from now on.




Since arriving in Maui, the race has seemed much more real to Sylvia and Callum, but they haven't really had much clue about what's going on.  Maybe they are too young. No concept of time...no concept of distance. They think going to the basement is far away, never mind crossing an ocean!






The most in depth conversation we had about the whole situation went something like this:

Sylvia: "How's daddy going to get back from Maui"
Me: "He's sailing with the return crew.  Remember Carmanah's dad Dave-O?  He's on the return crew" (Carmanah is Sylvia's friend from the cabin).
Sylvia: "Oh yeah, Carmanah from Cotoria".  (Cotoria is what she calls Victoria) "Carmanah is allergic to eggs.  So if you are going to eat chips you have to check the ingredients for eggs.  And if the title of the bag says 'Egg Chips' then she probably shouldn't eat them".....and so the conversation digressed.

Anyway, I'm feeling really proud of the guys, and Travis.  It's no small feat to actually set sail and do this thing :)

Imagine if you were a dragon slayer and there were just no more dragons...by Catharine

Travis and I have a favourite movie we watch when we're away on the boat and the littles are in bed.
Have you seen Riding Giants?  It's a documentary about the origins of surfing, and chronicles everyone from Duke Kahanamoku to the more recent tow-in surfing people.

Anyway, there's this hilarious scene where Laird Hamilton's wife Gabrielle (Laird is basically the founder of modern tow-in surfing) talks about how depressed Laird gets where there aren't any waves.  She says something like "Imagine you are a dragon slayer, and one day there are just no more dragons" to describe how surfers feel when there are no waves.  Travis and I always kill ourselves laughing, and it's become an inside joke we refer to all the time when things don't go our way.  I guess you can see where I'm going with this right?

For those of us following the tracker, it looks like they've been drifting around quite a bit out there. And today's second start boats trying to get up Juan de Fuca are also looking like dragon slayers without any dragons :(

Hopefully things pick up for them.  Not too windy of course, just Goldilocks.

Travis sent this quick up date today.

"Well, it has been a bit better today.  The wind has been up...from the SE though...not like the brochure! :) So we have been pounding along trying to get South.  The boat has been doing well...even though it is not an upwind machine.  Looks like we may start to get some NW later in the weekend."

Vic-Maui 2014, by Catharine

As per his post, Travis left the dock this morning for Victoria, to do final prep on the boat.  We picked up vintage Hawaiian shirts from a store on Main St for the guys on arrival in Maui :)

The kids said goodbye, and won't be seeing Dad until he arrives in Lahaina.  I'm not sure they really get it... They've spent a lot of time on boats in their short lives, but have no concept of time or distance, or how far Travis, Darin, Ty, Adam, Steve and Steve, and Jason will be sailing before we see them again.
Even I have trouble imagining how far it is!

I know some of us are heading to Victoria to see them off.  After so much anticipation, I know I'm looking forward to getting this show on the road :)

I'll be posting to this blog anytime I hear news of how they are doing, and I'm sure we'll all be following them closely on the tracker.  There will be a certain amount of email traffic coming out through Turnagain's SSB mail, or via Sat phone if needed.  If there's anything important to communicate with friends and family, I'll be sending out emails or calling people directly.  

For those of us heading to Maui to welcome them, we'll be in touch!

Catharine

It Starts

I have just left the dock in Coal Harbour to begin the delivery to Victoria.  The last week has been even busier than the previous months of prep. Moving food onto the boat. Final equipment setup and stowage of all the spares etc.

The boat is about as ready as it will get (once we pack the fresh foods in Victoria) and has lowered down closer and closer to the waterline with every trip down to the boat.

The whole trip is really starting to hit home. It is way different talking about sailing to Maui for two years than actually untying and leaving.     There have been many people that have helped get Turnagain ready for this trip including (but not limited to) Catharine – my VERY supportive wife, the team at First Yachts (Brad and Adam mostly, but the rest of the team supporting them), the Turnagain team with a TON of hours from Darin, and the crew at Xprt who have taken a lot of work off of my plate to allow me to focus on this prep, and a lot of support from David and Gaylean Sutcliffe with the VicMaui committee.

We will be in Victoria early Monday am and I hope to have at least once daily updates to this blog from now until Maui and then again on the return.

Travis

Long Overdue Update

After sailing in the Swiftsure 2013 Light Ship Classic race from May 24-27 weekend, it was time to setup the boat for summer family cruising. The Swiftsure was a very light wind race, with much of the fleet not finishing the race.  After a trying trip out to the mark, the wind did pickup for the next 4-6 hours and allowed us to make it down towards Race Rocks before turning off again.  The crew stuck it out until there was absolutely no way for us to finish the race in the allotted time.  We called in and retired from the race about 4 miles west of Race Rocks.  Returning to Victoria, we cleaned up, dropped off crew  then Declan, Steve C and I started out for Vancouver. The wind came up to about 18kts from the south east and gave us great sailing almost out to Active Pass. After this the wind dropped and we motored the rest of the way.

Turnagain in Prideaux Haven

The summer consisted of many great days on the boat with the family. We got a couple of weeks in the early summer heat of July and made our way up to Desolation Sound. 

Anchored in Pendrell Sound

There were days in Pendrell Sound, Squirrel Cove, and Prideaux Haven with swimming, crabbing and exploring around. 

Sunset in Buccaneer Bay

Our next extended trip on the boat was mostly spent on the Sunshine Coast and Hornby Island.  There was the weekend in Secret Cove with the Sacre’s and Marchand’s, then three or four days in Buccaneer Bay with all of our GREAT friends there.  

Goofing around with SUPs

Morning Cocktails with friends

Travis and Steve

Then off to Hornby for 3 or 4 days with a surprise visit from Grandma and Grandpa in the Chris Craft. 

Sylvia catching jellies

Catharine up the mast

After Hornby, a quick night or two in Pender Harbour before heading back down to Secret Cove for another night.  We then wrapped up the holiday anchored in Buccaneer Bay.

Sylvia and Keelan at the Rendezvous

There were many weekend trips before, in between and after these extended trips which included the Beneteau Rendevouz at Thetis, Buccaneer Bay Sports day, Elliott Bay among others.

Callum at the Rendezvous, Thetis

Elliott Bay

Once the summer was wrapped up, it was time to start removing “family” gear and making the very long final push to VicMaui 2014.  We have stripped the bottom paint and repainted with VC Offshore, made changes to the SSB system, worked on routing software, made arrangements for “racing” cushions and had a few chances to have most of the crew out on the boat for some practicing.  The crew has not been finalized, but everyone is keen and eager to participate in the event.  Crew selection for the return trip looks to be more of a challenge, with currently only having one additional crew member having signed on. I hope to have 4-5 total for the return.

I hope to make more posts through the winter leading up to the VM and the prep races. As always, please check out our YouTube channel (turnagain50) for some videos of the boat and some of the family.  More will be posted as I edit and get them ready.

Travis