What to Wear

Another look at the realities of sailing a Moore 24 across
the pond to Hawaii in the Pacific
Cup. Speaking of which, we’ll be getting on board reports from the
very quick R/P 45 Criminal Mischief, which starts today (a full 2 days
behind the 50’s – go figure). Paul Cayard has a pretty good daily
report from his S/C 50 Hula Girl.

Still grey out there but we’re getting into warmer latitudes. It feels
good to remove some layers. As I write this email we have 1,500nm left
to the finish line. However we’ll be sailing many more miles, looking
for favorable winds and waves to get there faster.

I’ll try to answer some common questions about the trip: – What do
you bring on board the boat? It is a small boat but we need to bring
everything we need for 2 weeks. Below is a summary list:

Sails: 1 mainsail, 2 jibs (#2 and #3), 4 spinnakers
(two .6, one .9, one 1.5), a trysail and a storm jib

Safety: liferaft, epirb, man over board pole, lifesling, flares…

Communication: SSB radio, VHF radio, satellite phone, laptop…
food: 16 days of freeze dried food, breakfast and snack items, fruits,
camping stove and 30 gallons of water

Boat items: outboard, gas, anchor, tool box, parts navigation:
2 gps, 1 compass personal stuff: foulies, lifejacket, sleeping bag,
boots, sun block… –

Do you sail the boat back to California? No, we ship
the trailer to Hawaii and bring the boat back on the trailer in a ship.
–

Why would you sail to Hawaii for 2 weeks when you can fly to Hawaii
in 5 hours and then spend 2 weeks on the beach? Too difficult to explain
this one… Let’s say it’s a childhood dream. Where I come from in Brittany
offshore sailing, especially short handed sailing, is a very popular
sport. I grew up dreaming about Eric Tabarly’s adventures and today
I get to experience it (at my own level of course). –

What do you do when you’re off watch? Sleep is the
primary thing to do but you also have to eat, check the weather, do
some navigation, report our position… It is quite busy, the days and
nights go really fast.

Have a great weekend,
Stephane
Le
Flying Fish