Voyage of Traveler / Blog

Traveler Transpac Position Report for July 19

After 15 days and racing for 2,225 nautical miles with 53 boats, we crossed the Finish Line off the Light House on Diamond Head at 1:05 PM local time and are now headed for the Hawaii Yacht Club for mai tais. We placed fifth in the Aloha Class out of eight boats.

Boat Records: Most miles sailed in 24 hours: 196. Top speed under spinnaker: 13.7 (Ric Sanders). Top speed under jib, wing and wing: 12.2 (Barbara Burdick)

Navigation/Weather Report: We had very light wind for the first two days, and Traveler is not a great light air boat. Plus we got stuck on a kelp paddy for about an hour on the first night out, then trailed a large clump of kelp until the next morning, slowing us down considerably. Then we drove well south of the rhumb line to chase more breeze, but we never found it. After blowing up both of our spinnakers, we were able to sail deep and still fast, wing and wing, averaging 8 knots. The squalls were relatively mild this year (about 12 squalls, where the wind increased from 15 knots to 20-25 knots, with rain).

Boat Awards: Most Improved: Eric Flanders. Best Driver: Jim Borgman. Best comedy duo/most fun on watch: Ric Sanders and Larry Wilson. Most Valuable Crew Member: David Lee (navigator, bowman, communications).

Fish report: Yesterday we had a triple hook up, but all three got away. We boated four nice mahi mahis.

Injury report: Nothing worth mentioning.

Damage report: Blew up two spinnakers, water tank leak will need repair or replacement, nothing else significant.

Favorite Meal: Fresh mahi mahi with wild rice. Favorite meal brought from home was the grilled Sabastino’s sausage.

My Personal Most Memorable Moment: At the Half Way Party, proposing to Barbara and fitting the ring on her finger.

Aloha,
Michael