Quote Originally Posted by Alan H View Post
I'm in a bind.

As some folks here know, I'm planning on doing the Singlehanded TransPacific Race next summer. That's a solo sailing race from San Francisco to Kauai. To do that race you need to do a qualifying passage.

The ususal thing that people do is compete in the LongPac Race, which is 200 miles out into the Pacific and 200 miles back. That race starts on June 28th. of this year (I'm going to miss ANOTHER Beer and kilts night Arrrgh).

OK, so the LongPac isn't the ONLY way to qualify, but it's the usual one. It's a good way to do it because you'll know if something really doesn't work after battling it for four days off the coast. Then you have a year to set it right. Well, the LongPac starts in San Francisco Bay.

My boat is in Santa Cruz.

Have you been watching the weather off the coast this week? NASTY. Small Craft advisories are on all week, and predicted 20 - 30 knots with 7 foot seas on Saturday and Sunday. In other words, if it doesn't ease up, the last chance I'll have to bring the boat up to the Bay from Santa Cruz is the weekend of the Campbell Games. Remember that Sunday is Fathers Day, BTW. The boat is finally ready. I have th enew headfoil on (installed it last weekend) and the self-steering windvane is set up, though the socket didn't come in for the autopilot. I'd PREFER the autopilot for this trip, but the vane is fine. She's good to go.


Precisely what I'm going to do, I'm not sure. I could slog it out, even in 25 knots to windward, for 12-15 hours and pull into Half Moon Bay. In fact I will probably do that. The only thing that would keep me from doing that is thick fog down on the water. When it's foggy and you can't see at least 200 yards, I always follow this maxim..."when in doubt, head out". Hopefully the wind will keep the fog a couple of hundred feet up. If I can get to Half Moon Bay, at least, this weekend I'll be at Campbell.

I mean, what the hay... delivering the boat from Kauai to Honolulu across the channel is going to be just like this trip, except even bigger seas for six-seven hours longer.
Alan, you are planning to sail from SF out to a small pile of rocks in the middle of the Pacific Ocean alone?

As P1M would say, Are ye DAFT man?! You'd never catch me out there in anything that couldn't seat at least 250 for dinner.