Southern Straits here we come!
After a pretty busy week Turicum is ready to go for Straits.
We will have a mixed crew with several vets and a few rookies. The progress of the race can be followed on http://tracker.southernstraits.ca/ and with any luck I should be able to send in some reports from the race course.
For the last several days the weather forecasts have been for very light wind but things seem to be improving. It looks like a High pressure system is going to pass right over the course and produce some very fickle wind.
It's going to be interesting.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Safety at Sea
Wow! Still winding down after a very intensive week preparing for and being part of presenting BC's first Safety at Sea course.
A fantastic experience working with an outstanding group of very high level sailors. I think we convinced people that PFDs are very good things to have on all the time as well as it is worth while to take time to plan for situations in advance rather than just react.
Particularly after the pool sessions with everyone swimming around in full gear, there were lots of grins. Fantastic to see how quickly groups worked as high functioning teams to solve problems and help fellow team members.
You can see that on Turicum everyone has a PFD and we even have the rookie on a safety harness.
While it took a bit of work to put the course together -- mostly done by David Sutcliffe -- I found it a great learning experience talking with other sailors, sharing their experiences and getting ideas from them how we can do things better on Turicum.
One of the things that made me very happy was to see a bunch of people buy into the idea of wearing PFDs al the time.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Van Isle!
We are now starting to ramp up for Van Isle.
This year we will be doing the Van Isle 360 race and following that with a Van Isle cruise.
We have our 360 Race crew together and have had some practices. We have more practices scheduled and then it will be off to Straits and Swiftsure for our Final tune-ups.
Our next practice will be April 9/10 and the big step will be using our Spinnakers -- hopefully we can get some photos.
For both the race and cruise we will be using SPOT to provide ongoing course track and try to provide a daily blog with photos.
Van Isle 360 site --- http://www.vanisle360.com/
Only 2 places left on our July cruise --- http://www.vanisle360.com/
Cheers
This year we will be doing the Van Isle 360 race and following that with a Van Isle cruise.
We have our 360 Race crew together and have had some practices. We have more practices scheduled and then it will be off to Straits and Swiftsure for our Final tune-ups.
Our next practice will be April 9/10 and the big step will be using our Spinnakers -- hopefully we can get some photos.
For both the race and cruise we will be using SPOT to provide ongoing course track and try to provide a daily blog with photos.
Van Isle 360 site --- http://www.vanisle360.com/
Only 2 places left on our July cruise --- http://www.vanisle360.com/
Cheers
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Oops! Missed blog entry - July 11th
(Sorry -- missed posting this blog entry and don't know how to insert in sequence!)
Sunday, July11/10 0500 hours:
Dawn watch, the sky is just getting light…the best part of the day. No, the best part is knowing that in one hour, I am off watch and have 6 hours to sleep!
The countdown to the finish has begun. We are less than 800 nm from Maui now, still fighting the rolling 2 metre waves that have knocked us around for the entire voyage. We are just socks in the washing machine…still…Our characteristic staggering gait across the cabin has been named “The Turicum Twostep”. Hale said it best, when he said “I’m done with trying not to fall down, unless it’s from my barstool at the yacht club!”
Yesterday seemed like Friday the 13th: everything that could go wrong, went wrong. Just little thngs like broken shackles, chafed lines, out of control spinnakers, but so many of them that it took both watch crews from 0600 to 1130 to sort them all out. Weird. Impressive, though, is the way the 8 very different people on the crew have brought together their various skills and have formed a strong team.
Fast forward to 1330: Had first shower of trip!! Cold water, but clean hair is worth it.
Have been seeing flying fish since yesterday….and the weather is finally warm, with that soft hint of the tropics in the air. Aaahh, finally we get to ditch the fleece and foulies! We had our halfway party last night, complete with 4 course meal and wine, courtesy of Don. Never, have I had such a sumptious meal at sea. Thanks Don!
Well, better get back up on deck, the sun awaits!
Naomi
SV Turicum
July 11, 2010
Last night was our somewhat belated mid-point dinner hosted by Don. Don’s entire family contributed to the feast of Gazpacho, crab cakes in a roasted red pepper aioli and salmon on a bed of wild rice. Desert was a sherbet, (as in frozen!) roll and your choice of red or white wine. This was truly a grand offering for the occasion. It was especially welcome after such a difficult day.
All of our thoughts are beginning to now focus on the next few days that are the end game to this race. Boats have committed to courses based on their interpretation of the best information available to them and the navigators’ inclinations as to what the wind may do over the next few days. Many boats are pursuing a course selection similar to ours, some have stayed well east expecting the trades to fill in and one boat has already committed to a far westerly course. We shall see.
The winds are now north easterly, which are the hallmark of the trade winds in the northern hemisphere. The seawater is now tepid and is still an array of brilliant blues. Flying fish have become more abundant and the albatrosses skim the waves in search of their prey. Although I had read about the Pacific Gyre, an area roughly the size of Texas where the currents conspire to collect huge amounts of plastic debris fatal to sea life and sea birds, our course did not take us through this human induced tragedy. The ocean we have been travelling through is pristine. I feel privileged to experience its grandeur and hope that succeeding generations will have these beautiful waters and more as their legacy.
One thing that has struck me over the past 11 days is how different the sea state can be after only a four hour period off watch. In particular, a certain pattern of waves that held over the period of an entire watch can be rearranged both in terms of period and direction, without any apparent influence coming to bear on them. This is but one demonstration of the complex interrelations that make up global weather patterns.
I have five hours left on watch on this warm and sunny Sunday morning. At present the sails and course are set for the next several hours although one never knows when there may be a call to change sail or to gybe. So, it is back up to the cockpit to take it all in, to think about what we are doing, and to let my imagination take me where it will.
Les on Turicum
Sunday, July11/10 0500 hours:
Dawn watch, the sky is just getting light…the best part of the day. No, the best part is knowing that in one hour, I am off watch and have 6 hours to sleep!
The countdown to the finish has begun. We are less than 800 nm from Maui now, still fighting the rolling 2 metre waves that have knocked us around for the entire voyage. We are just socks in the washing machine…still…Our characteristic staggering gait across the cabin has been named “The Turicum Twostep”. Hale said it best, when he said “I’m done with trying not to fall down, unless it’s from my barstool at the yacht club!”
Yesterday seemed like Friday the 13th: everything that could go wrong, went wrong. Just little thngs like broken shackles, chafed lines, out of control spinnakers, but so many of them that it took both watch crews from 0600 to 1130 to sort them all out. Weird. Impressive, though, is the way the 8 very different people on the crew have brought together their various skills and have formed a strong team.
Fast forward to 1330: Had first shower of trip!! Cold water, but clean hair is worth it.
Have been seeing flying fish since yesterday….and the weather is finally warm, with that soft hint of the tropics in the air. Aaahh, finally we get to ditch the fleece and foulies! We had our halfway party last night, complete with 4 course meal and wine, courtesy of Don. Never, have I had such a sumptious meal at sea. Thanks Don!
Well, better get back up on deck, the sun awaits!
Naomi
SV Turicum
July 11, 2010
Last night was our somewhat belated mid-point dinner hosted by Don. Don’s entire family contributed to the feast of Gazpacho, crab cakes in a roasted red pepper aioli and salmon on a bed of wild rice. Desert was a sherbet, (as in frozen!) roll and your choice of red or white wine. This was truly a grand offering for the occasion. It was especially welcome after such a difficult day.
All of our thoughts are beginning to now focus on the next few days that are the end game to this race. Boats have committed to courses based on their interpretation of the best information available to them and the navigators’ inclinations as to what the wind may do over the next few days. Many boats are pursuing a course selection similar to ours, some have stayed well east expecting the trades to fill in and one boat has already committed to a far westerly course. We shall see.
The winds are now north easterly, which are the hallmark of the trade winds in the northern hemisphere. The seawater is now tepid and is still an array of brilliant blues. Flying fish have become more abundant and the albatrosses skim the waves in search of their prey. Although I had read about the Pacific Gyre, an area roughly the size of Texas where the currents conspire to collect huge amounts of plastic debris fatal to sea life and sea birds, our course did not take us through this human induced tragedy. The ocean we have been travelling through is pristine. I feel privileged to experience its grandeur and hope that succeeding generations will have these beautiful waters and more as their legacy.
One thing that has struck me over the past 11 days is how different the sea state can be after only a four hour period off watch. In particular, a certain pattern of waves that held over the period of an entire watch can be rearranged both in terms of period and direction, without any apparent influence coming to bear on them. This is but one demonstration of the complex interrelations that make up global weather patterns.
I have five hours left on watch on this warm and sunny Sunday morning. At present the sails and course are set for the next several hours although one never knows when there may be a call to change sail or to gybe. So, it is back up to the cockpit to take it all in, to think about what we are doing, and to let my imagination take me where it will.
Les on Turicum
Monday, July 19, 2010
A couple of days, a couple of Mai Tais
Synopsis, -- Hale’s perspective
OK – sitting in Lahaina after consuming more Mai Tais in the last few days than is prudent and looking back at things.
This race was struggle that was engaged in and defeated by a group of individuals whose input at various levels continuously conquered everything that was thrown up in our collective faces in an attempt to defeat us in spirit and purpose.
1 week prior to the start of the race, Turicum had no keel, no mast and more importantly no interior framing structure.
The people at Straits Marine worked tirelessly with the help of some incredibly skilled craftsmen they were able to bring in to assemble Turicum in a very short order and have all the work done in the available time.
Yes, there were a few leaks in the water system and some other picky bits but what they were able to accomplish was fantastic.
Our crew were not to be outdone.
They cleaned out a ton of fiberglas grindings that were in the boat and were coating everything. They also painted the bottom (the original reason the boat was hauled) and waxed the topsides.
They spent hours loading all the gear that was necessary along with stowing all of the food during the early hours between Turicum going into the water and heading for Victoria and the start.
The start of the race was a simple matter of – find the wind; lose the wind. Very frustrating to pull miles ahead of our competition just to have them sail up beside us with the next puff of wind.
Even when we got out of Juan de Fuca I managed to screw up and find some dead spots that my satellite information wasn’t showing.
We quickly came to realize that if we chose to run the west route, our outcome would be based on the lack of Trade Winds. My review of the available information indicated that winds to the east of us would stay soft so we planned a course that would give up distance early but would allow us to reach across the lighter areas toward the end of the race rather than trying to run downwind.
All of the course planning aside, small problems popped up to raise the stress level.
First, we found that we were running only on house battery #1 and it was starting to fail. Then the battery isolator that distributed power from the alternator went up in a cloud of light and heat. (very warm navigator’s seat it was located under)
The next issue was the spare 25 gal water tank that was filled in Victoria turned out to be empty. Apparently a leaky fitting.
Hey – our trusty watermaker would take care of that BUT the failed isolator allowed the start battery to draw down to the point where the engine wouldn’t start.
No problem – by linking the start battery with the house battery, we had just enough power to crank the engine and then by bypassing the isolator, we could charge the batteries (using a jumper wire for the starting battery).
Oh, we also found that the connections on the #1 battery were crap and with new connectors and some cleaning everything was back on line.
BTW did I mention that the fuel gauge was showing that we were almost out of fuel? Opening up the top of the fuel tank spilled some fuel but proved that the gauge was wrong and did wonders for my blood pressure.
The last little issue that we have to deal with is the broken shroud.
Unfortunately, during the takedown of the mainsail, after crossing the finish line, we had an accidental gybe that ended up breaking an intermediate shroud.
We have people coming to look at it today and have talked to people in Oahu how can make up some new parts.
We have our fingers crossed.
This race is never for the faint of heart.
It is not a down wind drag race like Transpac or Pacific Cup where you get the biggest baddest down wind sled you can and then go out an kick ass.
With the Maui race, some thinking is required – there is strategy – get it right and you do well, get it wrong and it’s out the back door.
This year we had a group of people who didn’t have the fastest boat or the best prepared boat, but we had a mostly cruising crew that worked tirelessly and their efforts paid off.
Good Guys DON’T Finish Last
Cheers,
Turicum
Friday, July 16, 2010
Sunrise in Lahaina
Turicum finished the Vic-Maui race at 0322 this morning. Champagne welcome party on the dock in Lahaina was finishing just as the sun came up! Our greeter team was amazing -- grass skirts, palm trees, mai-tais, and a smokin' volcano on the buffet table. Ritz-Carlton goodies were wonderful! Lahaina Yacht Club and all the volunteers and friends who make the shore activities possible are examples of the true spirit of Aloha. Crew have crawled away for showers, food, sleep and...then they'll be ready to party on! Last blog(s) from aboard and some photos to follow to add to this chronicle.
June
SV Turicum
June
SV Turicum
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Mai Tais are on ice...
July 14, 2010
We are 285 nm from Maui. We have gained some ground over our division competitors over the past couple of days, so the westerly rather than southerly approach seems to be making sense. You will not be reading this entry until after we have crossed the finish line due to the fact that our super shore side support person, Hale’s wife, June is en route to Maui. (Ah, the miracles of modern science and the Internet -- I'm in Maui and back on line :- J.)
We have been under spinnaker for two days. Each crew has done about 35 watches, not counting the all hands episodes. The days do tend to blur in retrospect although each seems unforgettable as it is occurring. It is the failure of our memories not to be able to catalogue events with accuracy and precision that leads to this vagueness of recollection. Were there two or three spinnaker changes? Did that happen yesterday or the day before?. It was once the current thinking in the neuroscientific community that the human brain was a giant filing cabinet and our only limitation was the ability to access the information in the cabinet. If one were able to access the memory then there was a completely accurate record available for review. We now understand that this was too simplistic. Memory is far more complex and subjective function. It is therefore individualistic. There will therefore be eight unique initial recollections of this race by the eight persons on board. As time passes, there will be unconsciously revised “memories” created by each of us. Speaking only for myself, it will always certainly inhabit the “significant events” section of my brain in a most positive fashion. I hope that in the future I will be confronted with the dilemma of trying to remember on which race an event occurred. This stuff is pretty addictive.
Last night, sunset was remarkable and quite paradoxical. The line squalls that pass in front of, behind and over us, all aggregated on the western horizon. They are giant black cummulo nimbus clouds that, but for the fact they are in our past, would be quite threatening. The sun came down on top of the clouds and as it sank behind these giant black monsters the light began to fade from the sky. This unique moment at the end of the day is known by the French as crepe escuil and in English as the gloaming. Just as it appeared that darkness would descend over the entire sky, the sun which was now only just below the horizon, began to emit brilliantly intense orange light in an upward direction as if a giant fiery cauldron were brewing at the end of the earth. The intensity increased for a matter of moments turning the entire western sky into a myriad of orange and pink hues surrounded by the black clouds. Wow! I just do not know what else I can say.
Night is a special time on a moving sailboat. When you are driving, the senses one employs are quite distinct from those in the daytime. The most obvious differences are that the orientation of the bow of the boat and the view of the horizon are either greatly reduce or eliminated. But there is something that is more internal to the process. I believe (after consultation with our on board medical consultant and skipper) that this is known as proprioception – the ability to coordinate one’s body in a three dimensional environment. This innate quality, present to everyone to a greater or lesser degree, cannot be replaced entirely by the use of instruments. In fact, attempting to rely on instruments creates the most intense sense of vertigo and you feel that the boat is turning in tight circles. Steering by the stars most closely approximates the daytime experience. The only downside to steering by the stars in this area of the world is that from time to time they become obscured by each passing storm cell.
In all likelihood, tomorrow will be a short entry and then, after the parties and the hoopla in Maui, I hope to send a closing entry. Thanks to everyone for opening these electronic messages in a bottle.
Les on Turicum
We are 285 nm from Maui. We have gained some ground over our division competitors over the past couple of days, so the westerly rather than southerly approach seems to be making sense. You will not be reading this entry until after we have crossed the finish line due to the fact that our super shore side support person, Hale’s wife, June is en route to Maui. (Ah, the miracles of modern science and the Internet -- I'm in Maui and back on line :- J.)
We have been under spinnaker for two days. Each crew has done about 35 watches, not counting the all hands episodes. The days do tend to blur in retrospect although each seems unforgettable as it is occurring. It is the failure of our memories not to be able to catalogue events with accuracy and precision that leads to this vagueness of recollection. Were there two or three spinnaker changes? Did that happen yesterday or the day before?. It was once the current thinking in the neuroscientific community that the human brain was a giant filing cabinet and our only limitation was the ability to access the information in the cabinet. If one were able to access the memory then there was a completely accurate record available for review. We now understand that this was too simplistic. Memory is far more complex and subjective function. It is therefore individualistic. There will therefore be eight unique initial recollections of this race by the eight persons on board. As time passes, there will be unconsciously revised “memories” created by each of us. Speaking only for myself, it will always certainly inhabit the “significant events” section of my brain in a most positive fashion. I hope that in the future I will be confronted with the dilemma of trying to remember on which race an event occurred. This stuff is pretty addictive.
Last night, sunset was remarkable and quite paradoxical. The line squalls that pass in front of, behind and over us, all aggregated on the western horizon. They are giant black cummulo nimbus clouds that, but for the fact they are in our past, would be quite threatening. The sun came down on top of the clouds and as it sank behind these giant black monsters the light began to fade from the sky. This unique moment at the end of the day is known by the French as crepe escuil and in English as the gloaming. Just as it appeared that darkness would descend over the entire sky, the sun which was now only just below the horizon, began to emit brilliantly intense orange light in an upward direction as if a giant fiery cauldron were brewing at the end of the earth. The intensity increased for a matter of moments turning the entire western sky into a myriad of orange and pink hues surrounded by the black clouds. Wow! I just do not know what else I can say.
Night is a special time on a moving sailboat. When you are driving, the senses one employs are quite distinct from those in the daytime. The most obvious differences are that the orientation of the bow of the boat and the view of the horizon are either greatly reduce or eliminated. But there is something that is more internal to the process. I believe (after consultation with our on board medical consultant and skipper) that this is known as proprioception – the ability to coordinate one’s body in a three dimensional environment. This innate quality, present to everyone to a greater or lesser degree, cannot be replaced entirely by the use of instruments. In fact, attempting to rely on instruments creates the most intense sense of vertigo and you feel that the boat is turning in tight circles. Steering by the stars most closely approximates the daytime experience. The only downside to steering by the stars in this area of the world is that from time to time they become obscured by each passing storm cell.
In all likelihood, tomorrow will be a short entry and then, after the parties and the hoopla in Maui, I hope to send a closing entry. Thanks to everyone for opening these electronic messages in a bottle.
Les on Turicum
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