CIPANGO Racing

Day 12 Report 1

2009-07-17T11:54:00.001-07:00

Monday, July 13th, 01:00 pm

We passed the finish line at Diamond Head at 2:41 am Hawaii time. The
escort boat welcomed us and guided us to our peer where friends and
family were waiting.

Rossi monopolizing the navigation station the last 12 hours of the race,
I have not had a chance to write a message.

We sailed on port tack toward Maui. Gary was the first to see land and
was jumping like a kid on the boat. Then about 20 miles out of Maui we
jibed.

The Transpac brochure advertises strong wind and big swell in the
Molokai Channel. I am afraid this was a lie this year. The most wind we
have seen has been 30 knots in a short squall. We jibed couple of times
before crossing the finish line. Jibing at night with accumulated
fatigue becomes another exercise than during the day. Some were
successful ... other, let say, a little less. In the jibe battle our
"AP" spinnaker, the R2 one, blew up. We quickly replaced it with the R4
and were able to finish with it.

Our host, Creekside bar located in Kailua, welcomed us with an awesome
party. There was plenty of Mai Tai, fresh fruit and other food that we
were all graving to eat! A big Thank You to Shawn and her team!

At the end we finished the 2nd in our class.

I would like to thank the Barton's, Bob and Rob, for having me on the
boat. And extend my thanks to the rest of crew with who I have had a
really good time.

Finally thanks to all of you who followed us and encouraged us!

Day 11 Report 3

2009-07-12T16:38:00.000-07:00

Saturday, July 12th, 01:09 pm

Calm night with wind between 14 and 18 knots coming from 080 degrees
which allows us to sail on port tack almost directly to Diamond Head
(the finish line). We most probably will do couple of jibes in order to
place ourselves ideally. The sky looks more and more like the one we see
in Hawaii. We have seen Akila on our stern this morning at 07:30 (boat
time), and she is now on our bow as of 11:15. The current running joke
is: How far are we from the finish line? And the answer for the past 48
hours has been: 24 hours. The calm met during the past 2 days keep
delaying us. We are at 158 miles from the finish, we are going at about
10 knots of speed over the ground, which makes us arriving at around 3
am … not an ideal time to party. But we can count on our host Shawn who
owns the Creek Side bar in Kaneohe Bay to welcome us. We are all excited
to see her and her team again!
I can also feel the excitement of every body on board at the idea of
seeing their loved ones. Every one is taking a shower at the back of the
boat today ... hum why not the other day?

JB
-----

Nuit calme avec des vents compris entre 14 et 18 noeuds venant du 80, ce
qui nous permet de naviguer babord amure presque en direct ligne en
direction de "Diamond Head" (la ligne d'arrivee). On fera probablement
quelques jibes pour nous placer idealement dans le chenal de Molokai ou
en general le vent et la mer sont forts (35 noeuds et 7 at 10 metres de
houle). Nous avons vu "Akila", un autre participant, premier que l'on
voit depuis 10 jours. La blague du jour est: quand est ce que l'on
arrive? et depuis pres de 48 heures, la reponse est: dans 24 heures. Les
faibles vents rencontres nous ont retarde. Nous sommes a 158 miles de
l'arrivee. Nous avancons a environs 10 noeuds de moyenne ce qui devrait
nous faire arriver autour de 3heure du matin. Pas une heure ideal pour
une arrivee festive. Mais nous pouvons compter sur notre hote Shawn qui
est proprietaire du bar Creek Side de Kaneohe Bay pour nous acceuillir
comme il se doit.
Je peux sentir l'excitement de l'equipage a l'idee de retrouver des
visages familiers a Hawaii. Et tout le monde passe a la douche
aujourd'hui ... hum mais pourquoi aujourd'hui et pas les autres jours?

Day 11 Report 2

2009-07-12T16:36:00.000-07:00

Sunday, July 12th, 01:03 pm

Nickname game results:

JB --> KGB
JP --> Osama
Kevin --> Moon beam
Rob --> I'll kill you
Bob --> Ashy
Ted --> Gilligan
Chris --> Dictator
Gary --> Par4
Johnny --> Hypotenuse
Rossi --> Overtrim'
Cipango --> Ashstray 56

Day 11 Report 1

2009-07-12T07:36:00.001-07:00

Sunday, July 12th, 4:51am

After a beautiful sunset, tonight the moon is shinning high. Conditions
are a little soft but very pleasant. The wind finally headed and we are
now sailing in direct line to Hawaii. The wind is between 13 and 16
knots, swell coming from east of about 8 to 10 feet, mostly clear sky
and some squalls but low in intensity. We are on port tack under R2 and
are debating on putting the stay sail or not. The moon is shining so
bright that we even saw a moon bow after a squall, quite unique.
Our ETA keeps changing and we are now looking at early Monday morning.
We have 240 miles to go.

Day 10 Report 4

2009-07-12T07:35:00.000-07:00

Saturday, July 11th, 10:38 pm

Slow progression again today. Conditions a lot like yesterday. Big
squalls going West-North-West while we try to go West-South-West; this
results in light wind in between. But there is one thing we do well
during this journey; it is that we learn from our mistakes. And today at
the reverse from yesterday we have been more aggressive in staying in
front of squalls by jibing several times over the course of the
afternoon. Going at 20 knots of speed even on the non-approaching tack
is better than going at 7 on the approaching on!
So at the end we have been able to maintain an average speed above 11
knots over the day. Squalls are forming at the horizon behind us and the
night promises to be wild again.
Several flying fish ended in the cockpit today. Water temperature is
warming up making the shower a nice moment!

Day 10 Report 3

2009-07-11T18:30:00.000-07:00

Day 10
It's hot!!!! Tired, but we're almost there so I'm excited. 345 Nm tell
we get there. Everyone is already talking about Mai Tai's… psh. I'm just
looking forward to real food instead of the freeze dried stuff. I think
I'm going to get some Mickey D's the second I get there ha ha. Dad an I
have been talking about hamburgers from there sense day 2!!!! Connie can
you have 2 big mac's waiting for when we get there?The problem is that
when we have sweets like brownies, no one ever says that they are out so
they're almost all gone by the time I notice >=/!! O well. Today we saw
a cruse ship way off in the distance and then they turned to come see us
for about ten minutes and then that darn ship just mooned us and left.
We decided that we were going to turn the jets on from here on so here
we go.

-Ted

Day 10 Report 2

2009-07-11T15:09:00.001-07:00

Saturday, July 11th, 01:29 pm

357 miles to go. Fast night. Squall after squall starts to affect both
man and the boat. The technical issues have been dealt with and it is
now under control. We are sailing on port tack under R2 spinnaker on
almost the layline. Spinnaker that we renamed "AP" spinnaker for "All
Purpose". Indeed we are not supposed to sail the R2 in more than 22
knots of wind. But thinking that squall passes by fast it is often not
worthy to change to the R4 … unless the squall last several hours which
happened quite often. The kite stretched out but still in good shape to
face the Molokai wind.
Our new ETA for crossing the finish line is early Monday morning,
probably around 1 am PST.
The on-board nickname game is over and we let you to find the associated
named (results tomorrow):
1) Overtrim'
2) Dictator
3) Par4
4) Ashstray 56
5) I'll kill you
6) Gilligan
7) Ashy
8) Osama
9) KGB
10) Hypotenuse
11) Moon beam

a) JB
b) JP
c) Kevin
d) Rob
e) Bob
f) Ted
g) Chris
h) Gary
i) Johnny
j) Rossi
k) Cipango

---------
357 miles nautiques de l'arrivee. Nuit rapide. Grain apres grain
commencent a affecter materiel et hommes. Les problemes techniques
rencontres ont ete adresses. Nous naviguons babord amure sous spinnaker
R2 en (presque) direct ligne droite vers l'arrivee. Spinnaker que nous
avons renomme "AP" pour "All Purpose" (tout vent). En effet nous ne
sommes pas suppose navigue avec quand il y a plus de 22 noeuds de vent.
Mais les grains etant souvent rapide (5-10 minutes), il est tres souvent
inutile de reveiller tout le monde pour changer le spinnaker, manoeuvre
qui prend pres de 40 minutes. Le probleme est qu'on peut rester sous un
grain plusieurs heures. Resulat le spinnaker s'est un peu deforme mais
il tient toujours.
Notre nouvelle estimation d'arrivee est de bonne heure lundi, autour de
1:00 am pst.
Le jeu des surnoms a pris fin a bord de cipango et je vous laisse
deviner qui va avec qui.

A+ JB

Day 10 Report 1

2009-07-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday, July 11th, 05:06 am

I am washed up by the fatigue and the rain. Bob, Chris, Rossi, JP and I
were on deck when a big squall covered us. It started at around midnight
after watch captains and Rossi decided to jibe in front of a squall.
Then few minutes later the wind hit the upper twenties and was very
puffy. After about 40 minutes I relayed Chris at the helm, winds still
in the upper twenties, boat speed locked between 15 and 21 knots.
Buckets of water started to fall on us … the boat and the team on deck
is fully washed. We were just missing the soap! Never the less, tense
moment, after 40 minutes, it was like I had roots that had grown under
my feet, and my eyes could see only numbers of the true wind angle I was
driving at. My brain is about to shut down and my banc is calling me. It
feels good to hear the boat going fast after an afternoon rather slow.

JB
--------

I suis lessive par la fatigue et la pluie. Bob, Chris, Rossi, JP et moi
meme etions sur le pont lorsqu'un gros grain nous a recouvert. Ca a
commence vers minuit apres que les chefs de quart et Rossi aient decides
d'empanner devant le grain. Quelques minutes plus tard le vent
atteignait 28 noeuds et n'etait pas tres stable en direction. Apres 40
minutes je remplace Chris a la barre. Le vent toujours autours de 27
noeuds, vitesse du bateau blockee entre 15 et 21 noeuds. Des seaux d'eau
ont commences a nous tomber dessus .. le bateau et l'equipage sur le
pont ont ete bien rinces. Il nous manquait juste le savon! Intense
moment, et un peu stressant, apres 40 minutes, c'etait comme si j'avais
des racines qui avaient pousser sous les pieds, et mes yeux voyaient
defiller les chiffres du "true wind angle" auquel je conduisais. Mon
cerveau est sur le point de s'eteindre et j'entend ma bannette
m'appeller. Il est bon de sentir le bateau avancer rapidement apres une
apres-midi plutot calme.

A+ JB

Day 9 Report 2

2009-07-10T22:53:00.000-07:00

Friday, July 10th, 10:25 pm

The computer is less and less available as Rossi is pulling is hair off
to find the right time and area to jibe toward Hawaii. The weather
changing very rapidly does not help either.
Slow progression this afternoon. Squalls surrounds us and we alternate
with winds at 20+ knots in the squall with tons of rain and winds at 10-
knots after the squalls. We have started the day with a jibe to try to
play the squall but without much success. Since we have jibed 3 more
times and are heading back west on starboard tack. Day time is very hot
but thankfully the squall's rain refreshes the air … but hardly down
below. Gary made us some quesadilla for breakfast … and it was much
better than the freeze-dry scramble eggs!

JB
-------
L'ordinateur est de moins en moins disponible car Rossi s'arrache les
cheveux pour trouver le bon moment pour empanner. The temps change
rapidement et cela n'est pas pour aider.
Lente progression cette apres-midi. Les grains nous entourent et nous
alternons entre des vents a 20 noeuds avec souvent a la cle une bonne
douche froide et des moments de petole. Nous avons commence la journee
par un empannage pour essayer de jouer devant un grain mais sans grand
success. Depuis nous avons empanner 3 autre fois et naviguons de nouveau
en direction de l'ouest tribord amure. Les journees sont maintenant
chaude mais heureusement les grains aident a rafraichir l'atmosphere ...
enfin par trop a l'interieur. Gary nous a cuisine des quesadillas ce
matin et je dois dire que c'etait bien meilleur que les oeufs-bacons
dehydrates!

A+ JB

Day 9 Report 1

2009-07-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

Friday, July 10th, 04:49

Calm night. Few squalls are around us which affect the wind in velocity
and direction. The wind comes from 044 degree and varies between 15 and
22 knots. We are still sailing on starboard tack under R2 spinnaker.
Rossi estimate the first jibe in 10-12 hours.
The sky is partly cloudy tonight and the moon shines. We almost see like
it was day time.
We crossed our first ship in 9 days today, most probably a high sea tuna
fish ship.
I am not sure I have ever presented the crew. We are 10 on board. From
bow to stern in term of position during maneuver:
JB – Bow – take care of the front sails and has the privilege to climb
in the mast from time to time
JP – Mid-bow/Mast – helps in setting the front sails and hoists the
sail from the mast. Ensure all lines are clear before maneuvers.
Rossi – Pit – is behind the mast in the descent where all the lines to
hoist sails comes back. He is also our navigator and takes care of
getting grid for wind forecast, analyze them and set the direction to
drivers. He basically positions the boat where the pressure is the best.
John – Cockpit/Grinder – brings in the sail from a tack to another.
Works with the trimmers to adjust front sails.
Gary – Cockpit/Trimmer – trim/adjust front sails.
Kevin – Main – trim/adjust main sail.
Rob – Cockpit/trimmer - trim/adjust front sails.
Bob/Ted – Sewer – helps in gathering the spinnaker during peels or
take down.
Chris – Driver.

When we are not maneuvering, we rotate to different positions: grinder,
trimmer, driver.

Day 8 Report 4

2009-07-09T23:48:00.000-07:00

Thursday, 7/09

Moving along at 16 kts in 21 kts of breeze. At the noon meeting today
we were about 800 miles out. We reviewed typical issues; Fatigue, boat
handling, tactical review, etc. All good.

Currently it's 6:25 PM and I just finished dinner, and others are coming
down below to grab a bite.

Considering a jibe should the wind shift enough, and the squalls are
giving us the number we need. Likely we'll be on port for te first time
since the starting line.

Got to get the boat straightened out and assignments set before dark.
Better go.

Love to Lindsay and Connor,
Kevin

Lindsay,
Heard about the hotel. What a cluster. Any way we can get an
additional room w 2 beds? If so, put it under Johnny's name. If too
much of a headache, forget it. We could deal with it there, but I am
predicting mayhem at the front desk.

Day 8 Report 3

2009-07-09T18:53:00.002-07:00

Day 8… Sweet, we're getting closer. Last night was intense. We reached
24.4 knots last night and it was cool, but freaky. 24.4 knots is only
about 26.8 MPH, but it's the scariest 26.8 MPH of your life. It's almost
indescribable. You have no seatbelts like a car, you have wind gripping
past your face, it seems like a BMX course with the swaying and bumps of
the waves. Its really a 56 foot surfboard that is being pulled by 2800
sq foot of sail. Twenty –eight hundred!! It seems amazing when you think
about it like that.
Last night was dark. Squalls streamed black through the poor attempt of
a light up sky. Somewhere behind the black and gray swirled clouds there
was a full moon trying to poke through any crack possible. When it was
successful there a stream of light that made one small circle of light
on the big black sea. There were small showers off and on but it wasn't
to bad. The hard part was getting to sleep. Last night was the first
night that I really realized how unforgiving the seas can be. Waves
tossed you in your bunk and if you didn't have the port top bunk then it
was a struggle to get to sleep.
Today was long. We changed time which made my watch an extra hour but
getting to sleep should be easy now. I hope tonight I might get a
glimpse of the moon and stars. I've been talking to Johnny about the
Moleki channel that we will go through hopefully Sunday and it sounds
intense.
Hawaii, here we come
-Ted

Day 8 Report 2

2009-07-09T18:53:00.001-07:00

Thursday, July 9th, 05:21 pm

What a ride last night! It started while I was writing my previous post
at around 4am. We hit a 40 degree header and the wind went from 18 to 30
knots. The boat started to accelerate and Rossi who was driving kept
breaking the speed record. He is now the new holder with 24.4. We stayed
in the squall for about 3 hours until they woke me up at 6:30 am to do a
peel to replace the R2 spinnaker with the R4. It did not take long to
really wake me up … couple of buckets of water while preparing the new
spinnaker at the bow did the trick! The ascension into the mast to lock
the halyard was sportive. By the time we finished the peel it was my
turn on deck. Until noon squalls were surrounding the boat offering
several good rides!
Today again we changed our clock on board of Cipango. The off watch team
have had an extra hour of sleep, lucky me, and those on deck well an
extra hour under the sun!
The fatigue starts to be visible on every body's face. Our maneuvers are
slower and we are all paying attention to each other and keep security
at the top of our priority list.
We did 292 miles this past 24 hours and the change of driving the boat
few degrees higher made a difference compare to the other boat in our class.
Our ETA to the finish line is Sunday at around noon.

--------
Quelle navigation cette nuit! Cela a commence alors que j'ecrivais mon
precedent post autour de 4 heure. Nous avons rencontre un changement de
direction de vent de 40 degrees et le vent est passe de 18 a 30 noeuds.
Le bateau a commence a accelerer et Rossi a la barre cassait le record
de vistesse plusieur fois. Il est le nouveau detenteur avec 24.4. Nous
sommes restes dans le grain pendant pres de 3 heures jusqu'a ce qu'ils
me reveillent a 6:30 pour effectuer un "peel" pour remplacer le R2
spinnaker par le R4. Il n'a pas fallu longtemps pour me reveiller.
Quelques sauts d'eau a l'avant du bateau alors que je preparais le
nouveau spinnaker, on suffit. L'ascension du mat pour securiser la
drisse de spi etait sportive. Toute la matinee a ete ponctue par des
grains avec des accelerations du vent et donc des rapides bords!
Aujourd'hui encore nous avons change nos montres d'une heure. L'equipe
de repos a beneficie d'une heure en plus de sommeil, et l'equipe sur le
pont .. et bien une heure de plus sous le soleil.
La fatigue commence a se lire sur les visages. Nos manoeuvres se font
plus lentement et nous faisons tous attention a garder la securite notre
priorite.
Nous avons parcourus 292 miles hier. Le changement tactique de conduire
le bateau quelques degree plus haut a prouve etre efficace. Notre
vitesse moyenne a augmente et nos adversaire ne nous prennent plus de
milles.
Notre ETA pour l'arrivee est Dimanche autour de midi.

A+ JB

Day 8 Report 1

2009-07-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

Thursday, July 9th, 03:54 am

Exciting driving in 22 knots of wind alternates with some tuff driving
with formed sea but not enough wind to go through. All that under a moon
that does not want to cooperate and stay behind clouds.
Almost 8 days we have been on starboard tack. My left leg has had a good
workout and I can't wait to jibe (1) to give a chance to the other leg
to catch up.
We are planning to do two jibes; one sometimes tomorrow evening and the
other one in the Molokai channel before arriving to Hawaii.
We have changed our tactic a little bit this past 24 hours to try to
match "Bengal 7" speed and are sailing few degrees higher. As a result
the average boat speed went up and we should have a good mileage for the
past 24 hours, most probably our best 24 hours run of the race.
Wow, new boat speed record as I type .. 22 knots in a 30 knots puff,
record holder: Rossi.

(1) Jibe: turning the boat with the wind coming from behind.

Day 7 Report 4

2009-07-08T22:35:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, July 08, 08:46 pm

Fantastic evening again. 20 knots of breeze coming from 050 degree,
swell of 10-15 feet. We are still progressing on starboard tack under
spinnaker R2. Sky mostly clear this afternoon, now we are in a little
squall and Rob, Rossi and JT are taking their shower ;-). The wind is
currently picking up at 25 and the speedo does not go under 15 … sounds
fun up there. We all enjoyed the home made dinner again, it was
spaghetti Bolognese. The boat is in great shape and ready for the second
half of the race. The multiple peels between R2 and R3 made me go at the
top of the mast at multiple occasions … I stopped counting. I hope to
get 1 or 2 hours of sleep before I go back on deck, ear plugs will be
needed as the sound of the water against the hull is getting load.

Day 7 Report 3

2009-07-08T17:11:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, Day 7. (Lat 25* 00.425N/ Long 138* 44.506W….. put it into
your GPS Andrew) I'm fairly tired. Not used to stuff like this, but it's
really fun. It's been kind of cold because it has been really overcast
but today was HOT!!!!! At night we get glimpses of the moon from time to
time but mainly its covered up by the clouds. It's the same during the
day too, but that's more of a relief. Right before sunset is awesome,
the sun is hidden behind the clouds but there are small holes everywhere
and you see streams of light peek through and make circles on the water.
Right after the sun goes down there is pink everywhere witch is cool.
Surprisingly the food fills me up but that's because all of the dry
packaged food expands in your stomach when you drink water. All of the
homemade food is excellent!! (Thank you Nay) there isn't many marine
life around but we did see dolphins and a couple of what we thought to
be whales. Other than that not much around, but I didn't really expect
there to be. We find ways to stay entertained, like trying to give
nicknames to people. Everyone has one other than dad and Bobo… they are
really hard to give nicknames to. Its been fun so far and I still got a
couple days to go so Hawaii… here we come.

- Ted

P.s. Thanks for the half way present Andrew lol

Day 7 Report 2

2009-07-08T17:06:00.001-07:00

- Ted

P.s. Thanks for the half way present Andrew lol

Day 7 Report 1

2009-07-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, July 8, 01:08 pm

Beautiful evening yesterday, sailing and surfing into the sunset! I
guess I have been in the unlucky shift this past night. The boat was a
shaker down below and it was hard to find sleep. Then when my turn came
at midnight, the wind died but the sea was still well formed making it
hard to drive. Kevin set the speed record to 19.2 then Johnny broke it
with 19.9. We have seen our fist squalls over night but nothing serious
yet. The wind set again around 20 knots this morning and the new speed
record is now 20.2 (JB wohoo!). The sky cleared up, and the heat made
its entrance.

JB
---------
Superbe fin de soiree, hier, naviguant et surfant dans le soleil
couchant. J'ai pas eu trop de chance la nuit derniere. Cipango etait
comme un "shaker" a l'interieur et il etait difficile de trouver
sommeil. Puis quand mon tour est venu a minuit, le vent a diminue autour
de 10 noeuds mais avec une mer toujours bien formee. Le record de
vitesse a ete battu a plusiur reprise, Kevin d'abord avec 19.2, Jonnny
ensuite avec 19.9 and enfin JB avec 20.2 ce matin. Le vent est de
nouveau autour de 20 noeuds avec une belle houle de 3 metres. Le ciel
est maintenant degage et la chaleur a fait son apparition.

Day 6 Report 3

2009-07-07T21:31:00.002-07:00

blog post Tuesday 4:40 pm

Ahoy from the funship Cipango, breeze is up and the boat is fast. Crew
work is in sync and mellow, that's a good thing. JB and Kevin have been
keeping you all up to date with all the stuff with the boat, but I want
to express our thanks and appreciation to all those that have helped to
get Cipango and her crew ready. The wives and girlfriends who keep the
homefronts running so their guys can do this in the first place and who
are the center of most of conversations deserve some special attention
when we all get back together. Renee, Connie and Carly for dragging the
Cipango trailer all the way back to Santa Rosa, I'm sure they had plenty
to keep them busy for the long drive. Thanks to Lindsay for getting all
the accomodatioins in Hawaii set up for us, we'll all be ready to get
off this beautiful yaght when it hits the dock I'm sure. Tony Barra for
getting the referidgeration working properly, and yes Tony it is still
working perfectly, no frozen beer. Thanks to John on the M/V THUNDER our
gracious host who took all our friends and families to the start line,
it looked like everyone was having a good time. And finally thanks to
the Bartons for putting this campaign together and inviting us to share
in this adventure across the Pacific.
Now just a bit of info that hasn't been shared yet, for those who saw
the start you know we led the pack away from the start line. It seems
that Criminal Mischief had an over early start and had to go back for
the penalty turn, well she is pretty fast and almost caught us before
the west end of Catalina Island, which is the only mark on this course.
We had a tacking duel up the beach with her and made it around the point
first once agian, last time (2007) we laid the mark off the start line
and led the pack around the point as well. From there we all spend the
next few days setting up our position on the course we think will work
best for us, which brings us to where we are, at this point we are
basically on what we call the slot car track. we are commited to our
strategy and it is a sprint to the finish. Our fleeet standings dropped
as soon as the big boats started because they had more breeze and are
expected to finish ahead of us based on their ratings.....we will see.
Well it is time to feed the crew and I seem to be the one they look to
for food.
More posts to come from the crew later.
Love you NAY.

John

Day 6 Report 2

2009-07-07T21:31:00.001-07:00

Day 6, Tuesday 4/11, 4:15 PM

Got off watch at 3 and took a quick nap, l had a bite and sitting down
to write a quick update.

I see JB has been issuing some nice updates for everyone, so as you may
already know, we are in the thick of the Trades and moviing right along.
In these conditions driving becomes less taxing since options are
reduced and the boat is far less influenced by confused seas. In this
breeze, you simply ride down the face of waves and punch right through
anything that would have otherwise been a concern. Good stuff.
Did a quick chafe check yesterday and everything seems to be holding up
nicely (we did blow a jib halyard oon our way around Catalina.).

Think I'll go take a bath on the back of the boat. Not quite totally
sunny, but about 85 and pleasent enough not to freeze.

Hey Lindsay! A couple notes:

2.25 inch is the stuff - 500 ft
Loved the Farm comment
Missing you both!

Estimated ETA Sunday 2:00 AM. Very rough at this point and will
continue to keep you posted.

Much love,
Kevin

Day 6 Report 1

2009-07-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, July 7th, 04:41pm

Oh yes, now I know why I am here. Swell of about 10 feet, 18 to 22 knots
of wind coming from 040 degree. We are still on starboard tack and are
going between 12 and 15 knots of speed. Watches are competing to break
the speed record. Johnny is the recent new holder with 17.9. The wind
started to increase late afternoon yesterday.
We are all catching up on sleep as the night was busy. We peeled several
times between spinnaker R2 and R4. Those two spinnakers have the same
size but R4 is thicker supporting stronger wind.
Criminal Mischief, a sport boat, has made good progress these past 24
hours and it is no surprise. We have calculated that if they take us
less than 50 miles a day we will beat them in corrected time.
Our navigator, Rossi, has posted his half way point ETA for tomorrow at
10 am.

JB
------

Oui, maintenant je sais pourquoi je suis ici. Une houle d'un peu plus de
2 metres, vent de 18 a 22 noeuds venant du 040. Nous sommes toujours
tribord amure et marchons entre 12 et 15 noeuds. Une petite competition
s'installe entre les equipes sur le pont pour detenir le record de
vitesse. Johnny est l'actuel detenteur avec une pointe a 17.9. Le vent a
commence a se renforcer en fin d'apres midi hier.
Nous essayons tous de rattraper un peu de sommeil car la nuit a ete
occupee. Nous havons fait plusieur "peel" (changement de spi, spi dans
spi), allant du R2 au R4. Ces 2 spinnakers sont de la meme taille mais
le R4 est plus epais donc supporte plus de vent.
Criminal Mischief, un sport boat, a bien progresse ces dernieres 24
heures et on s'y attendait. Nous avons calcule que s'ils nous reprennent
que 50 miles ou moins par jour, nous les batterons en temps compense.
Notre navigateur, Rossi, a poste sa premiere estimation de mis-parcours,
demain a 10 heures.

A+ JB

Day 5 Report 3

2009-07-06T17:38:00.000-07:00

Monday, July 6th, 04:13 pm

Progressing at 11 knots of speed in 15 to 17 knots of wind coming from
north. We are still under spinnaker R2 since … well I do not recall, I
start to lost count of days :-). The sea is still fairly flat and sky
partly cloudy. The temperature is nice and we are in short and T-shirt
on deck. The home made beef stew is un-freezing. After 2 dinners of
freeze-dries food we are all waiting for it with impatience.
Still first in our division, we are not surprised to see the boats from
division I, and II ahead now. Starting on Sunday they have had better
conditions than we have had. We are still leading all boats that left
the same day than us and intend to continue!
The nick name game has started on board. Results will be delivered as
they come.
We are receiving your comments left on the web site and everyone enjoy
reading them.

JB
------

Nous progressons a 11 noeuds dans 15 a 17 noeuds de vent venant de Nord.
La mer se forme doucement mais toujours plate pour l'endroit, le ciel
est partiellement couvert et la temperature en hausse. Nous sommes
toujours sous spinnaker R2 et ce depuis .. et bien je ne me souviens
pas. Je commence a perdre la notion du temps :-). Le boeuf fait maison
est au menu ce soir. Et apres 2 diners de nourriture dehydratee, tout le
monde est impatient.
Toujours en premiere position dans notre division, nous ne sommes pas
surpris de voir les bateaux de la division I et II passer devant. Ils
ont beneficie de meilleur conditions en partant dimanche. Nous menons
toujours tous les bateaux qui sont partis en meme temps que nous Jeudi
et nous avons l'intention de continuer.
Le jeux des surnoms a commencer a bord. Resultat dans quelques jours.
Nous recevons vos commentaires et tout le monde les apprecis.

A+ JB

Day 5 Report 2

2009-07-06T15:56:00.000-07:00

Monday, July 6, 1:30 PM

We're around the corner and heading for the barn - albeit a very long
way to go. Wind is quite forward at 22 degrees and while not very
typical, I suspect this helps us from the handicap perspective.

Criminal is setting up nicely after her sling-shot dive south. She is
fast. So far we do well on the rest of the fleet, but too early (and bad
Ju-Ju) to predict.

Currently,
Wind: 15 kts
Boat speed: 11 kts
Skies: Mostly cloudy
Vibe on board: Solid
Hair: Fabulous

Love to Lindsay and Connor. Miss you!
Kevin

Day 5 Report 1

2009-07-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

Monday, July 6th, 3:00 am

Good morning,

My shift end and Ted's one starts. The sea is forming slowly; the wind
is still between 8 to 13 knots and continues to shift right. We are
under spinnaker R2 on starboard tack and try to soak in the puff. As you
may know when we go downwind, like we currently do, the boat cannot go
straight down. If we drive to deep (compare to the wind) then the boat
slow down. However if we drive to high, the boat goes fast but we are
then going away from the finish line. We have to fine the grove that
makes the boat goes fast and deep at the same time.

Speaking of shift, we have, I think, a good system this year. The watch
schedule is different between day and night. During the day we are 4
hours on and 5 hours off and the rotation is every hour. At night the
rotation is every 30 minutes and we are 3 hours on and 4 hours off. When
we come on deck like Ted just did, we start at the "bike", handles that
we rotate to turn the winch and therefore adjust the spinnaker. Then we
move on to trimming the kite and finally we go behind the wheel to drive.

Regarding our course, Rossi, the navigator, is confident in his choices.
The wind velocity has been better than forecasted. Also the wind not
being forecasted to be better in the south, we continue to sail for the
shortest distance.

Cheers, JB

Day 4 Report 2

2009-07-05T21:13:00.001-07:00

Sunday, July 5, 6:16 PM
(Oh my gosh, yesterday was the 4th!)

With a little luck, the tough part of the transition is behind us. It's
been light and we continue to get better aquainted with the boat in her
new configurations, both physical and personnel.
Overall, it's very positive and we hope that our "cutting the corner" is
a good move as we get down the course. So far, so good.
Getting back on watch at 8:00 PM and giving a special message of love to
Lindsay and Connor. Miss you both and so look forward to seeing you
both very soon on the island.

'Till next post,
Kevin

Hey Connor: We'll never start the race.... We started! Huray!
XOXO

Day 4 Report 1

2009-07-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

Sunday, July 5th, 02:28pm

Good afternoon,

Still sailing on starboard tack since the start, flat water, sky partly
cloudy. But we have done few sail changes as the wind clock to the
right; from Jib Top + stay sail, to code 0, to R1 (reaching kite), to
finally R2 (running Kite). We are still sailing high (248 degree) and
try to cut the corner as the wind stay strong (10-12 knots). In
comparison to our competitors that are sailing south of us, we think the
next 12-20 hours will be critical. They are going to have some wind
maybe few knots stronger than us whereas we are on the verge of the high
and may be at risk to fall into a hole. But we are covering a lot less
distance to the finish. We will be waiting with impatience the roll call
at 8am tomorrow morning.
The atmosphere on board is excellent. We try to keep Gary inside as
every time he pops up on deck the wind dies.
A fresh shower is waiting for me and I will replace someone on deck.

JB
---------
Mer plate, ciel partiellement couvert, temperature en hausse, nous
naviguons toujours tribord amure. Le vent tourne progressivement sur la
droite et nous sommes passe du genois au code 0, puis au R1 (reaching
spinnaker), et enfin R2 (running spinnaker). Le vent est de 10-12 noeuds
et nous progressons a 9-10 noeuds. Les prochaines 12-20 heures sont
critiques car nous avancons sur le bord de la haute pression. Nous
couvrons moins de distance que nos adversaires au sud mais avons aussi
plus de chance de tomber dans un trou d'air.
L'atmosphere a bord est bonne et tout le monde est concentre a faire
avancer le bateau.
Une petite douche fraiche pour se reveiller et ce sera mon tour de
remplacer quelqu'un sur le pont.

A+ JB

Day 3 Report 1

2009-07-05T07:19:00.000-07:00

Sat, July 4th, 8:05pm

Flat sea, cloudy sky, wind of 7 to 12 knots coming from 340.
We sat in few holes this morning, we even set the daisy sail (1) to seek
the wind for few minutes. The wind turned a little bit right since and
is more stable. We are now carrying Jib Top (2) and Stay sail (3)
allowing us to go to 230. Tactically, we try to keep an eye on our
competitors and position ourselves between them and Hawaii.
JP inspected hayliards at the top of the mast and everything looks good.
Besides few dolphins after Catalina Island on day one we have not see
any sea life.
Diner tonight is dry food .. Jamaican Chicken and for desert some dry
mango that looks like pop corn.

(1) Daisy sail is a small sail that we set with the spinaker. Since it
is a light sail with no baton we also used it to seek for wind when
there is none.
(2) Job Top is a front sail that looks like a Genois but with a clew
much higher.
(3) Stay sail is a small front sail that we carry between the Jib Top
and the main sail.

Day 2 Report 1

2009-07-04T04:36:00.000-07:00

Sat, July 4th, 3:03 am

My shift ended and I am about to take someone else banc.
A little postal card to start this post. The conditions this past 15
hours are shifty (wind is from 225 to 360 degree) and puffy (between 2
and 10 knots). We are currently under genois heading to 225 degree. We
are not expecting a lot of changes for the next 15 to 20 hours.
The boat gets its energy from the engine that we let run couple hours a
day like a generator. We changed the alternator before the start and we
experienced some issue with it today. John has showed his mechanical
talent to fix it while Gary played the Mc Gyver helping.
We had our first homemade dinner last night, chili, and it was very
good. Looking foward to taste the next one (Merci Renee!).

Cheers,
JB
--------------
Conditions tres changeantes ces dernieres heures. Nous evoluons sous
genois dans une breeze allant de 2 a 10 noeuds avec des variations de
pres de 100 degres. Les barreurs sont mis a l'epreuve. La journee a ete
ponctuee par le changement du nouvel altenateur par l'ancien, et par un
repas fait maison tres bon.
Voila, il est temps d'aller rejoindre les bras de morphee pour quelques
heures. Retour sur le pont a 7h.

A+, JB

Day 1 Report 1

2009-07-03T06:39:00.001-07:00

July, Fri 3rd, 3:28 am.

Not a borring first day! We are making good progress. Almost averaging
10 knots of speed. We started with full main and jib #3 in 16 knots of
breeze. Just before the north point of Catalina Island our Jib Hayliard
broke. We quickly switched it with the port spin hayliard. I then spend
about 15 minutes at the top of the mast with about 15 degrees heel to
run the new hayliard .. fun time, The moon is now shining high and make
us remember why we are here. We are now progressing under Code 0 (like a
spinaker but a lot flater allowing to progress at aroound 100 degre from
the wind).

JB on board of Cipango.
----
Premiere heures intenses. Jolie depart en bout de ligne dans 16 noeuds
de vent. Le passage de la pointe nord de Catalina Island fut mouvemente
car notre drisse de genois a cede. Nous l'avons vite remplacee avec une
drisse de spi. J'ai ensuite fait ma premiere ascension dans le mat pour
passer une nouvelle drisse. 15 minutes perche la haut au bon plein ...
que du bonheur. Nous avons la chance d'avoir la lune pour nous eclairer
ce qui nous rappele pourquoi on est en mer. Nous progressons maintenant
sous Code 0.

JB a bord de Cipango.

Ps: Bonne Anniversaire Celine!

SWAG

2009-06-25T17:37:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-24T20:23:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-23T07:06:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-21T18:09:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-06-14T09:52:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-06T20:30:00.000-07:00

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

Does this keel make my butt look big?

2009-05-31T09:13:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody,

It's been quite a fiasco attempting to get the boat weighed. During the first attempt in Sausalito, the boat could not get close enough to the crane due to depth. The second attempt went a little smoother with few depth issues. The boat was strapped up to the travel lift with all the appropriate weighing accoutrement , the boat lifted, and the bulb was still a few inches in the water with the travel lift two-blocked (I know, I know) . Apparently the number to be issued to us is in the 22k lbs range, and that is a good thing.

Next on the schedule is a boat/sail day this Saturday and 9:30 is boat time. Chris and Gary will not be there so I 'll call in a couple of locals to assist. Steve Rossi will be there to dig in and get acclimated to Big Blue. We're anxious to finally meet Steve face-to-face!

Thanks,
Kevin

Upcoming sail day

2009-05-27T07:52:00.000-07:00

We have changed the May 30th date to June 6th! It remains largely a "locals day", but the So Cal crew is welcome to join if they choose.
The boat is getting hauled today to get weighed for measuring and it will be interesting to see how Alan's numbers compare to what the scale says.
At this point, I think the schedule is settled and thank you all for doing your best to work with our moving target.

Getting closer!
Kevin

Boat work day a success...

2009-05-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Sunday May 24th was our first Boat work day attended by the local crew. The boat is at it's new home at the Point San Pablo Yacht Club and Spa (you'll understand it when you see it), and it's actually very cool. It happens to be immediately next door to KKMI, which may turn out to be handy. Moving on, we took care of a boat-load of items including:
- All kites inspected and packed
- Spin halyards replaced w new
- Running rigging inspected and suspect/damaged items sent to Easom Rigging
- Winches completely dismantled, inspected, lubricated and reassembled
- Rig wiped down and inspected
- mast wiring corrected at deck light
- lifelines inspected
- foredeck organized, cleaned up
- stove removed
- running lights checked
- cruising cushions removed
- work list regenerated
I'm probably missing a couple of things, but it was a productive day for sure.
I will be updating you on our next gathering, and please give me a call if you have any questions or concerns.
Kevin

Coastal Cup Information

2009-05-21T10:51:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

Please note that Coastal Cup Practice has been changed to Wednesday the 17th (now reflected on spreadsheet) in order to minimize the number of trips and related costs for the So California crew. Boat time will be 10:00 for locals and 11:00 AM for out-of-towners to allow for travel time.

The boat is located at the San Pablo Yacht Club, very close to KKMI - docked right out in front.
See site: http://www.pspyc.org/

For out-of-towners, Rob and/or Bob will arrange your overnight stay.

Kevin

Correction on Work day

2009-05-20T10:23:00.001-07:00

Local's work day: Sunday, May 24th is correct.

Sorry for confusion.

Stay in Hawaii

2009-05-20T10:11:00.000-07:00

The hotel chosen by the Barton's for our stay is the Ilikai (http://www.ilikaihotel.com), not the Hawaii Prince. If for any reason you do not wish to take advantage of your room offered, please let me know right away because the Barton's will be making reservations very soon.

Thanks again,
Kevin

This Weekend

2009-05-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

Hello team,

Contacting you to update everyone on the schedule as it pertains to this weekend.
For the Bay Area team members, there is a boat work day scheduled for Saturday the 24th, and we are changing that to Sunday the 25th at 10:00 AM. If for any reason you are unable to make it, please let me know right away.

Thanks,
Kevin

Coastal Cup Waiver

2009-05-06T07:50:00.001-07:00

A waiver form for Coastal Cup will be emailed to you shortly, and we are hoping that you will be able to print it out, sign, scan it and email it back to the senders address right away. IF for any reason you are unable to sign it, please mail it to:

Kevin Moon
282 Monroe Drive #2
Mountain View, CA 94040

If you are snail mailing, please let me know.

Thank you!

Wrapping up in So. Cal.

2009-05-05T22:21:00.000-07:00

I heard from Rob today that Big Blue splashes on Monday or Tuesday, the rig goes in on Wednesday, and if indeed we stay on schedule, the delivery home starts on Friday. Can it be?
At the moment that's all I know, but encouraging news.
Looking forward to digging in and thanks to whomever (Rossi, I suspect) is making my posts functional....
Stay tuned for more info,
Kevin

Team Update - May 1st

2009-05-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

Checking in with everyone to update the team with upcoming events.

The boat still resides at Dencho, and is considerably behind schedule, at least as it relates to the original schedule (version 3.20). However, the first scheduled boat days (for the Bay Area locals) are still May 24th and 30th, which has not changed.

I have not updated the above referenced version of the schedule because I need an update on boat progress. I will request this from Rob on Monday. If you need to review the last generated schedule, please take a look:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p_UuLkCpvKNvEfcLiOJKpLA&inv=kevinhurleymoon@hotmail.com
[or click the link "Events Sched." on this page under "2009 Calendar"]

Stay tuned for a couple of changes to the schedule:
Updated boat completion date
Updated delivery to SF date
Probable change to the boat work day - currently listed as June 14th, which is fathers day.

That is all for now. Please contact me if there are any problems or concerns.

Kevin

Boat update...

2009-04-09T17:19:00.000-07:00

As of today, Cipango is still at Dencho Marine in Long Beach. I hear the keel is on and the boat will have her topsides repainted so she'll look sharp! Mast work is still in process, and she'll splash late this month. Sounds like Rob will bring the boat back home, and Rossi will be on board to get some electronics sorted and hop off at Santa Barbara. If you are interested in assisting with the delivery back up north, please let us know!

Stay tuned for the next post reviewing upcoming Cipango Calendar events. Looking forward to seeing everyone soon!

-Kevin

Bravo!

2009-03-30T18:19:00.000-07:00

Hello team, family and visitors! Welcome to the new Cipango Racing site! Our very first post is to recognize our new found navigator Steve Rossi for developing our new site! Way to go Steve, and thanks for all your help.
Stay tuned for a complete boat status from Dencho Marine, and upcoming dates. It will all be here in our laps soon enough!