July 14, 2008 Day 3

Black Feathers
Time: 700
Lat/Long: 37 05 N 123 42 W
Distance to finish: 2055
Course: 195
Speed: 2.0
Date: 6.14/08

It's slow going out there.

 
He was passing in between two ships when he called. They were about 3 miles away on each side of him. He saw what he thinks was a white whale yesterday, about 18' long.

Happy Day to all of you.

Jeanne

 

Black Feathers
1900
Lat/Long: 37 00 N 123 42 W
Distance to finish: 2055 miles
Course: 220
Speed: 1.5
Date: 7/14/08

Robert's in good spirits. He's rested, eating well, practicing his music, reading and trying to keep the boat tidy. It helps that he knows all the other skippers are in the "same boat"...yes, a definite pun intended.

He is now heading west as that is where the winds are predicted to pick up tomorrow (10 mph) and hopefully then he will head directly for Kauai and pick up 15 mph winds on Thursday.
The good thing is he hasn't experienced the severe cold and high winds, but he is definitely ready for some action out there.

For those of you who live in the Sonora/Twain Harte/Mi Wuk area, there is an article in today's Union Democrat on page A3 on none other than our adventuring Robert Crawford. Kendra and Winston, I will do my best to track down extra newspapers so you can have an original. If I can't, I'll make you copies of the article.
Thanks again for all your love and support.

Jeanne

July 13, 2008 Day 2 part B

Black Feathers
1900
Lat/Long 37 24N 123 37 W
Distance to Finish 2065 miles
Course 225 degrees True
speed 1.5 knots
date 7/13/08

As you can see, not much wind out there. The good news is NOBODY is finding wind so Robert is holding his own. This morning the fastest boats were only approximately 40-45 miles closer to Kauai than he was. His counterparts (Sparky, Carroll E and Feral) were all within 1 to 11 miles of him. And two of the larger boats were 2100 and 2102 miles from Kauai. One of the boats, Na Na, had to turn back due to battery issues, but hopefully will be starting again if he hasn't already done so. I'll keep you posted. Na Na's skipper, Dwight Odom, had to turn back last year, so we are really hoping this year is a "finish" for him.
Last night was calm, but the skippers did get the treat of seeing lots of great sea life near the Farllone Islands...jelly fish the size and color of basketballs. One skipper has a seal come half way up on his deck but he was able to persuade the visitor to return to his natural habitat.

If you want to see the positions of all the skippers, be sure to go to Boat Position Tracker where everyone is.

Take care. Have a great evening.

Jeanne

July 13, 2008 Day 2

 

Last minute preparation before sail yesterday

 

(Robert wrote up the following the evening of July 11th and asked me to forward it to you. It's a bit "past history" at this point, but if you can use any of it, go for it. Sorry no email until last night.)

...Slightly more than 12 hours to go! We have had our last inspections, our boat props have been sealed, and our final skippers meeting completed. So now we wait through the final hours...Everyone is a bit anxious, but excited to go. Those last minute problems have either been addressed and corrected, or the skipper has opted to go the "denial" route.
The race begins with the first of three starts at 12:05 p.m. tomorrow. My start is the second at 12:15 p.m. It looks like conditions will be good for a clean start, although there is much speculation about what we will find once out beyond the Farallone Islands.

There is much work necessary to put on a race like this. These volunteers, like Jeanne, that have been involved with many of the responsibilities are starting to relax a bit as their event or project is completed (Note from Jeanne: We won't tell him how much more there is to do to administer the race, greet the racers appropriately and pull off the awards banquet in Hanalei. By the way, this race is run entirely by volunteers, an unusual feat for a race of this magnitude.) Last night was the send-off Aloha Dinner which celebrated the 30th anniversary of this race. It was a fun and memorable event, one that each racer will carry with him in his/her memory bank.

So nothing else is needed. Tomorrow morning Jeanne and I will be joined by a wonderful hard-core group of family and friends, many from the Twain Harte area. We will look at all the boats, take a few pictures and then it will be time for Black Feathers to be towed out (actually Robert decided to sail out...he and Harrier were the only ones who did so) of the harbor to prepare for the start.

Jeanne and I wish to thank everyone who has showed and interest in our adventure. We appreciate your enthusiasm and support.

Robert

July 12, 2008

ROBERT IS UNDERWAY!!!!

 

 

This is the official call-in format:

Black Feathers 1900 position
37 36 N 122 41 W
Distance to Finish: 2111 miles
course (true) 195
speed in knots: 1.2
date of position: July 12

Robert is just south of the Farallon Islands...the wind has died down to 1.2 knots but he sounds great. He is ALREADY practicing his concertina ...and he is not experiencing any sea sickness. He will pass the island this evening and then head down the coast until he decides its time to head "straight" for Hawaii. All is well. His only concern was me, but I'm in good stead...home safe and sound with the car unloaded, all tucked in with my friend, Margie, on her way up to visit.

Thank you all for your love and support.  Almost everyone Robert ever worked with at Dr. McKelvey's office were there to see him off and offer me love and support.  And we have received a plethora of emails and phone calls with lots of good wishes. We are both most grateful and overwhelmed.

The plan is for Robert to call each morning and evening at 6:45 ish. If you don't hear from me, it's because I haven't yet heard from him and I'm holding the line open for his call. To avoid penalties, he is required to call in once every 24 hours period. So if he calls in in the a.m., he doesn't have to call in until the next evening, but he will do his best to call twice a day. There may be times when that is not possible even with modern technology out there. So please bear with me. BUT if you wish to call or email, please do at any time.

Take care. He's having a grand time.
Jeanne

Robert preparing to change into his "Foulies"

July 3, 2008

 

COUNTDOWN TO LAUNCH!!

(Note from Jeanne)

If you are planning to come to see Robert off and wish to speak to him prior to his departure, you will want to arrive by 9:00 a.m. He will be in the dock area with "Black Feathers" prior to being towed and after he has been towed, the best vantage point is from the Yacht Club balcony. Everyone is welcome.

Once the race starts, we can usually see the entrants for an hour or two while they head for the Golden Gate. Viewing from the Golden Gate Headlands provides an interesting perspective also.
His hope is to reach Hanalei Bay on July 30th. The deadline for finishing is August 2, 2008 unless extended due to lack of wind. Please let there be good wind.

If you would like to follow along with the race in general, please go to 2008 TransPac and you will find  updates posted on a daily basis.

July 1, 2008

 

 

Is It Time to Go Yet?

July has finally arrived, but it is only the 1^st. Will this race never get here?!

There are 22 boats scheduled to cross the starting line just after noon on Saturday, July 12, 2008. A 23^rd boat, having just completed a circumnavigation of the world, was to join us, but on her way up to San Francisco from Mexico, she had a mechanical failure of her automatic steering. As the skipper, a TransPac veteran, caught some much need sleep, the boat quietly steered herself onto a reef and became grounded. The waves then went to work pounding her apart. This heartbreaking event has reinforced to all the skippers that sleep, although much needed, may be our worst enemy.

Next week the 22 boats will be arriving from wildly varying areas. About half the fleet calls the San Francisco Bay Area their homeport, but the others are from North Carolina, Minnesota, Washington, Colorado, South Carolina, Virginia and British Columbia. The lost boat was from the United Kingdom.

The range of boat sizes and types vary widely also. The race allows for boats from 20’ to 60’ and our fleet covers this range completely:

• 7 boats are less than 30’
• 9 boats are between 30 and 39’
• 4 are from 40-49
• 2 are over 50’

All are monohulls except one, which is the 54’ multihull.

For such diverse boats to compete against each other in a race, their times will be subject to a handicap to allow for a fair comparison. These handicaps range from “-60” to “+286” seconds per mile of race. What this means is that in the most extreme case, the fastest boat must complete the race almost 9 days prior to the slowest boat in order for it to beat it.

This handicapping can add an interesting dimension to the race because any boat, if sailed to the boat’s full potential has the ability to win, and you will not know the outcome until nearly all boats have arrived in Hanalei. Also the race can be interesting because of the large number of small boats entered this year. So even if the smaller boats don’t do well against the faster boats, they should have some spirited competition amongst themselves.

At the present time “Black Feathers” sits in her berth in San Francisco, fully loaded and read to join the other boats next week at the Corinthian Yacht Club in Tiburon. Until then, I simply need to memorize my diagrams of the boat in order to remember where I put everything!