SWAG

Hello everyone,
The Barton's have purchased some gear for us, and we ask that you utilize it during the race and pack accordingly. Here is the list:

• gear bag
• head lamp (red/white)
• flashlight (red/white)
• bathing towel
• sailing shorts
• L/S tech shirt
• S/S tech shirt
• visor
• belt

Further info on the Gear Bags, these will be furnished for you and are the sort that hang on the track system down below. When you get to Long Beach, we ask that you send your own travel bag home with somebody, or if you prefer, you may utilize the boat's UPS # to ship it home (see Rob for this in Long Beach). Capiche? If you have any questions, please let me know!

BTW, we have no concerns with you bringing your cell phone, Ipod, etc. Maybe a note from our navigator regarding his feelings on charging our Ipods on a working computer? Don't want to interfere with the nerve center.

Kevin

Long Beach

Here is a general outline of the Long Beach stay for those arriving on Monday:

Monday: Exclusively boat prep. Assignments to be issued, and things are already underway! The So Cal riggers have solved the masthead/halyard issue and that's a load off.... I suspect this will be a very productive day that will go quickly so we can knock off at a reasonable hour and enjoy the natural wonder that is Rainbow Harbor.

Tuesday: Practice day. Get the new main dialed, insure new furling daisy is functional, do some jibes with new crew assignments (praise Allah), MOB drill, whatever else we collectively decide to achieve.

Wednesday: No-sail day. Always needed to complete provisioning and whatever else we need to do before we split.

Thanks all. Contact me with any issues/concerns,
Kevin

Long Beach Stay

Hello crew,

Touching base regarding some preliminary logistics for our pre-TransPac Long Beach stay.

The northern crew members (Kevin, Johnny, JB, JP) will rent a car very early Monday and arrive before mid-day to get some solid work hours Monday afternoon.

Southern California crew are requested to arrive in Long Beach and be on the boat ready to "hit the list" by 10:00 AM in Rainbow Harbor.

Hotel rooms in Long Beach have been arranged.

Note: Rob will be arriving at Rainbow Harbor this Friday, so anyone interested in arriving early to get some work in is totally welcome to do so!

Thanks everyone. I'm getting fired up!

Kevin

Coastal Start Pics

Hey crew,
Just wanted to give you a link to some great pics from our friend Ellen Hoke. Great shots!

http://www.shutterfly.com/progal/slideshow.jsp?auto=0&aid=768a5498cf3e337f8021

Contact her if you would like a print,

Kevin

Hey Steve,
How can we get one of these on the site? NO urgency of course.

Wednesday!

Boat time for Wednesday, 6.17 is 9:30 AM.

Some things to do early:
Run new halyard-lock release line
Pick up kites at Quantum
Put non-slip tape on bow
Pick up pole from Easom
Review rig tune

See you there!
Kevin

Finally sailing

Hi Crew,

After what seemed like and eternity of modifications, measuring, weighing and planning, Cipango was on the water today (June 6th) for a review of sail inventory, running and standing rigging. Conditions ranged from 6 to 18 knots and made for a perfect review day. Special thanks to Lindsay and Jonathan "Jono" Killip for filing in.

For those that did not attend, here is the short story:

The large roach main is looking good with the new full #2 and #3 battens. A couple of tweeks are needed, but looking strong.

New A2 kite looks great, and the cut is just slightly wider in the shoulders that the old. Peeling to the old A2 made it perfectly clear that the new kite was a good move. We'll take it as a back up, however.

We ran the Jib Top and GS and it all looked fine. It's a powerful combo, and we do not have a smaller "blast reacher" type of sail, so reefing early may be in the cards should it go breeze-on early.

Lastly, we ran the A3 reaching kite, and while it shows some mileage in the low luff, overall shape was impressive.

The standing rigging definitely needs help from a tuning perspective, so Chris, we are going to need your help here. They may say that the rigger marked everything and put it back in the same spot, but clearly that's not the case.

Only Rob drove today, and he clams that the boat feels a bit tippier and a bit less forgiving but not crazy. It did seem that way from my humble perspective, as well. Certainly better acceleration.

The practice day before Coastal will be dedicated to instrument calibration and some practice with the full crew (less JB - I will get a suitable fill-in), and completing the to-do list. It will be a very full day.

If you have any questions or concerns, just give me a call.

Kevin