The Hunter Becomes the Hunted

Yesterday was the last day in a series of very challenging conditions, moderate winds over highly variable seas slamming us from the rear had made for a very lumpy ride through a string of wicked storms. Our collective lack of experience in open ocean weather had positioned us as the victim in all of our interactions with boat-hunting storm cells. It was time to turn the tables on these terrifying columns of gray death and rain. 

While the rest of the crew slept yesterday afternoon, Steve T., Ty, and Adam decided it was time to do something stupid. We had heard that if you get in front of one of these monster storm cells and zig-zag back and forth in a taunting manner, you can get a huge bump in speed as you ride the squalls that they throw off. If you find a storm heading in the direction you want to go, it can be ridden indefinitely. 

If Travis were on deck he surely would have 86'ed this idea as soon as it was suggested. The boat had its brand-new monster kite up so we made an agreement to drop the sail as soon as things were looking like they were going to get expensive. 

We were surrounded by storms in all directions, so it wasn't hard to find one heading toward us. As the boat got within about a mile of the front storm the winds kicked up and the storm sprayed our faces with light rain in otherwise clear blue skies. It was beginning to seem like it might be a stupid idea but we had already committed to it and none of us were going to be the one that pulled the plug. We zigged our sails into the wind and the boat took off, well upwind of our previous course. We rode the storm for about an hour and we kicked back into it several times as we reached too far ahead of it. We got a huge bump to the south without having to slog through trailing seas. 

Travis slept through all of this so please don't tell him about it. We will laugh about it over Mai Tais on Maui. Until then, zip it. 

As dinner approached the wind kicked up and the waves died down. We had some of the best sailing of the trip that evening as the boat took off like a shot. After days of rough nights and long days in scorching sun and heavy downpours, the team was exhausted but highly enthusiastic to get their hands on the wheel. 

The sunset after dinner was one of the best I've ever seen. It bathed the boat and surrounding clouds in a rich deep orange-red. The surrounding storm cells had rainbows nested on their crowns and looked much less terrifying. 

Without thinking about it, we have retired our foul weather gear in favor of shorts and t-shirts, even on night-shift as the temperatures stay well in the high twenties and the evening fills the sails with warm breeze. Last night's night-shift (Jason, Darin, and Steve C.) was treated to a show by some local wildlife. Around midnight, as the boat hummed along at full bore, at least fifty tiny dolphins (much smaller than the ones we see back home) jumped and bobbed along beside the boat doing all sorts of jumps and flips. It was a great night for sailing! 

Today's wind has been less than ideal (pretty much zip). However the sun is out, we have a freezer full of fresh tuna, and our laundry has been piling up. The boys are enjoying a well-earned day of rest, baking in sun and swimming in a part of the ocean that is so clear and blue it truly defies words. 

In addition to rest, today is Mid-Trip Mail Day! Prior to our departure Ty prompted the loved ones of those aboard to write a letter for them to open at the half-way mark. The crew opened their letters together on the back deck and read in silence that quickly erupted into a choir of laughs and awwww's. Needless to say, we all feel very loved and miss everyone at home dearly. 

From what we have heard, the whole fleet is stuck in zero wind and we are not sure how long this lull will last. The forecast seems to indicate it will push through until tomorrow so we will be well rested as we dive into the second half of this epic journey. 

To occupy ourselves (and keep from going insane) while we drift around we have started to create some lists. The first is a tally of sea garbage that we have driven past or has floated by us. Here it is:

"    Buckets (dozens of them)
"    Red light bulbs
"    VHS Cassette Cases
"    Shampoo bottles
"    Japanese glass floats
"    Milk crates
"    Fishing netting and floats (dozens)  

In addition to our lists, we have started to put together some business ideas to recoup the cost of the trip. The first of which is a CD compilation of our favorite shower music that we have been putting on to make the shower-ee feel uncomfortable while showering on the back deck in front of the group. We are titling this highly provocative mix "From Our Shower to Yours" and we will be selling it off of the back of the boat at Marinas around the Pacific Northwest. The playlist is as follows: 

Justin Timberlake - Sexy Back 

Right Said Fred - I'm Too Sexy 

Def Leopard - Pour Some Sugar on Me 

ABBA - Dancing Queen 

Prince - When Doves Cry 

Montel Jordan - This is How We Do It

Plus Many More… 

Expect a Christmas album to follow in November.  

We definitely missed the 200 mile mark on the odometer today but it was a great rest day to get all of our laundry sorted out. The boat is looking a lot more like a gypsy caravan than a thoroughbred racing machine with our laundry littered all over the rig but a dedicated laundry day was well overdue! 

Missing you all like crazy, 

The boys on Turnagain

Storm cells like goons with socks full of batteries...

Turnagain Update 3pm July 9th, 2014

Street Justice

We left you yesterday heading south in sunny skies and smooth seas with laundry drying on the life lines and everyone relatively relaxed. 

Shortly after finishing typing up the day's summary, two large storm cells to the North rolled up behind us like goons with socks full of batteries. The storm cells appeared as walls of dark storm cloud and rain radiating black squalls towards us. We had our full monster kite up which we use for light winds to get the boat screaming well beyond its design speed.  

An emergency "all hands on deck" was called to get the kite down as quickly as possible. If a squall hit that kite it would surely shred it and severely impact our long-term performance and short-term morale. The crew's response to the pending emergency was stellar with everyone jumping into action and getting it stowed in under a minute. A celebratory tuna sashimi feast was held while everyone was awake but the battle we avoided was the first of many we would face that evening. 

By the time we had narrowly escaped the first two storm systems the sky above had filled with thick cloud as far as the eye could see. As the sun set, our grey ceiling darkened to the rawest blackest night we have had to sail under yet. Running blind to our surroundings meant that we would not be able to see approaching storm cells and squalls. It was decided that we would go back to a more conservative sail plan to ride out the night with crew manning each sail in the event we needed an emergency release if we were hit by a surprise squall. 

The night sail was our rockiest yet, with fog and heavily variable wind rolling over three meter waves from passing storms on all sides. Every few hours we would walk around a corner into a parking lot full of goons and take a hell of a beating in the dark. As they say in boxing, "It's the ones you don't see coming that hurt the most".  

In addition to dodging storms, we passed through several lanes of heavy commercial shipping traffic bound for southern California. This kept the night watch busy on the radio coordinating passes with tankers and container ships, some over a mile long with only a single light to locate them in dense fog. The rain and fog kept us from spotting them at a distance and forced us to make significant deviations from our planned course to create huge allowances for error in avoiding them. 

Although we could not see them, our nearest competitors on Passepartout could be heard radioing in to the same traffic we were dodging about an hour after we had passed through. It was good to hear signs from someone else in our race as we have not had any contact with other boats in a few days. 

When morning came there were a lot of heavy eyes and deep sighs. Steering through the storms was exhausting and everyone took their lumps at the helm from Mother Nature. Many high fives were exchanged over coffees as day broke. The team survived their most adverse weather to date and more favorable wind and waves have made today a good day to catch up on rest. 

From what we have heard, all of the competing boats seem to be chasing the same weather system that will be flowing to the South West. We look forward to bumping heads with familiar faces as we converge on a narrow bridge of wind to Maui with doldrums on both sides. The current forecast leaves few alternative course options. Our plan is to get there fast and get through it before it collapses! 

Today's downwind drag race results:
Under Kite: Steve Corcoran - 15.3 knots with a silver medal to Jason Bowman at 12.6 knots 

Today I took a survey of what everyone was looking forward to most upon arrival in Maui, here are the results: 

Steve C. - I'm looking forward to shaving off my nasty "Magnum P.I." moustache (though, it's quite lovely in my opinion), and having a beer
Travis - an ice cold drink
Steve T. - an ice cold beer
Adam - a Gin Caesar and a beer
Ty - an ice cold pitcher of beer
Darin - two ice cold pitchers of beer
After they gave their answers it was suggested, "How about we grab a burger and go get pissed?" and everyone agreed that was also their answer.  

As we continue to log over 200 miles per day, enthusiasm is high and we will continue to do our best against Mother Nature's goon squad. The water is warming up enough for Mahi Mahi, so stay tuned for round two of The Invitational. 

Missing you all like crazy, 

The boys on Turnagain