The saga continues...

July 10, 2010

It is morning and we are 932 nm from Maui. Conditions are boisterous and we have just lost a guy line attached to the spinnaker when the sheet and guy blew off simultaneously flying the symmetrical spinnaker called Green Meanie. This unleashed a series of problems beginning with the spinnaker flying out in front of Turicum uncontrolled. Corrective actions were taken promptly by all hands and the spinnaker was brought back on board without further mishap.

We ran on a poled-out A sail for the morning and are now back to the #1 with full main. The main sheet then had a minor failure that required further repairs. No voyage is devoid of adversity and we are confident that we will regroup in the coming hours. After all, it was a tale of overcoming tremendous challenges just to get Turicum to the start line for the race.

Some weeks before Swiftsure, Turicum hit a rock on the bottom of the keel. The boat was hauled and inspected for Swiftsure. A few days after Swiftsure she was hauled for pre-Maui paint and necessary repairs at Strait Marine in Steveston and the nature of the structural problems began to be discovered. The unexpectedly severe damage fore and aft of the keel turned out to be much more extensive than the previous inspection showed and extended out to the sides as well. Andrew, the owner of Strait put an awesome crew of skilled tradesmen together with a commitment to work as necessary to effect the repairs in time for the start of Vic Maui. Even with such a commitment, there were lingering doubts that such a massive undertaking could be done in such a short period of time.

During the repair process, the exterior glass, fore and aft was ground away, and in one area, clear through. At the same time, all electrical and plumbing was carefully removed and marked for reinstallation. The damage was such that on the interior of the hull several structural ribs had to be cut away, replaced and retabbed to the hull. The rig had been removed upon arrival at the yard in order to inspect the hull to keel join and to inspect the condition of the keel bolts. Doug, Dave, Marcus and Malcolm, all skilled craftsmen of the highest order, worked tirelessly and meticulously reconstructing much of the bottom, the join and refairing the keel to a standard far above that employed in the original construction. At 3:30 p.m. on June 28, 2010 the rig was put back in the boat and it was lowered into the river. Paul and his crew at Ocean Rigging were on the job when needed and put the finishing touches into the rigging job in time for us to leave on an ebb tide just after midnight on the 28th. Special recognition must also go to Gunnar, John and Don for their involvement and efforts in readying the boat in two weeks. Don flew in from Edmonton on short notice in order to render much needed assistance. Naomi Roddick (misspelled yesterday – sorry Naomi) and Les spent the weekend helping to feather out irregularities in the bottom and polish the hull. In order to ensure that we would be able to leave to Victoria, we began loading stores for the race onto the boat while she was still on the hard using Strait’s forklift. It was only in the late morning of June 28th that we were able to begin the process of cleaning out massive amounts of fibreglass dust from the interior. Of course, Hale as the owner of Turicum was an ever present participant in the entire process. As I write this, we are now less than 900 miles from the finish line. In long distance races such as this, there are often innumerable problems that can call into doubt the ability of a vessel simply getting to the start line. Today, the same spirit of commitment and cooperation that got Turicum to the start line kept us moving toward the finish line with the shortest possible delay.

Tonight is the belated mid-point meal provided courtesy of Don and Maggie. To one and all who read this we send you our greetings from one of the most magnificent places on the planet.

Over and out,
Turicum 74257