Black Feathers
7:00 p.m.
Lat/Long: 27.21 N 145.02 W
Course (true): 245 degrees
Speed: 5.6 knots
Date: 7/25/08
Robert had a good day. The rudder and cracked solar panel are both performing well. I ordered a new rudder today for delivery to Kauai...will take about 2 hours to install.
by the way...Robert was hanging out over the back of the boat yesterday to remove the old rudder and install the new one. Those of you who have seen Black Feathers know there is little room to maneuver back there due to the Monitor, etc. I thought you would like to know, Robert wears a tether at all times during the TransPac. Gives him a better chance of getting back onboard should he fall overboard. He does not swim while out at sea as some of the sailors do. He does his best to stay ON the boat!
Yesterday I sent a Letter to the Editor of the Union Democrat...they did the July 14th article on Robert. Today I received a call from Lenore Rutherford who wrote the article saying she was pushing the letter up in the queue because it is timely...and she wants to call Kauai and interview Robert when he arrives. If you live in the Sonora area and see the Letter to the Editor and/or the article, and you aren't going to keep it, would you send it to me please: Jeanne Crawford, P.O. Box 675, Mi Wuk Village, CA 95346. Thank you.
Our friend, Wayne Cruther, returned from Kauai today and he had some information that should prove helpful to Robert if he enters Hanalei Bay at night. There are naval ships in the area that do not use AIS (devices that would alert other vessels to their presence)...they are in stealth mode...so Robert has been warned to keep an eagle eye if he comes in at night. BUT his prediction is for noon on the 31st!!! We'll see how close he is...At this point, I'm thinking he may come in on the 30th. Wishful thinking.
Wenlemir...a 47 foot entrant in this year's TransPac disappeared...last heard from Sunday night. Yesterday his wife received a call from the Coast Guard. They had located Wen and his boat 188 miles off the coast of San Francisco. He had no electrical...no communication, and his main sail is tattered. He doesn't want to abandon his vessel, so Peter Hogg and the Coast Guard are trying to figure out a way to get him home. Wen is in good shape, just tired. The indications have been "gale force" winds off the coast of San Francisco the past few days. Sad end to his race. He was doing the race as a tribute to his parents who died this past year. Wen is in his early 70's.
Each sailor has a story...and all of them have put lots of time, money and heart into their adventure. It appears the majority of them will reach the finish line in good stead. As most of you know, one lady didn't even reach the start line...lost her boat to a reef in Mexico. But she is in Kauai, waiting to sail back Islander.
Black Feathers
7:00 a.m.
Lat/Long: 27.47 N 143.56W
Distance to Finish: 908 12 hour mileage: 61 miles
Course (true): 250 degrees
Speed: 5.0 knots
Date: 7/25/08
All is well onboard Black Feathers this morning. The "new" OLD mahogany rudder is happy to be gracing the bow of a boat rather than the corner of the living room. Yes, unless something else substantial breaks, Robert is still planning to sail back home alone after the TransPac. I will be ordering a replacement rudder today...and we will order the new solar panel. The good news is, neither of these repairs/replacements, once in Kauai, will take more than 2 hours to perform.
He is in good spirits and did 61 miles in the past 12 hours. If the charts are correct, he is heading into 20 mph winds. If such is the case, he will reef the sail (lower it a bit to accept less wind) so as not to move too fast for the the boat.
