Captain blog Sea Date July 9, 2009,

Captain blog Sea Date July,9, 2009
Days at sea 10
Current position: Lat. 21'33 Long. 138.20
Distance travailed 187NM
Average Speed 8.4k
Wind direction: N
Wind speed: 12-15K
water temp: 81.0F

Alright what have we got today, this morning at around 0300 i plotted our course and i had to flip the chart, so in my book that means we are about half way. I know it is a very technical way of doing things. The GPS is telling us that we are about half way too. So that is good news, another mile stone.
The crew is well, the wind picked back up this morning. i adjusted course last night so now we are on more of a close reach, it has been difficult for a few crew mates to steer and not round up, but they should get the hang of it soon. Richard and i put the reaching strut out too. the boat can hold the course we just need to get everyone on board able to steer it. despite all that the Quilt kite or Frankinkite is still flying, i thought for sure we were going to lose her a few round ups ago. i could just picture the guys at north sail if i brought the quilt in to be repaired.
Last night Mike and i were on watch waiting for Chase to relive Mike. we were just sitting there spacing out when all of a sudden Chase, with a red head lamp on, goes flying across the cabin and in to Richards bunk. you should have seen his haole boy limbs flailing across the cabin trying to knock Richards teeth out. Mike and i really had to hold it together to ask if he was ok, we got a thumbs up, then mike and i just lost it. i don't know what it is about other people falling that is so funny. Chase took it pretty well, he said he went for the hand rail and got a hand full of gloves, and then went down. we have been calling him Fred Astaire.
We also have a new friend following us, a white blue footed Boobie bird. it flew over the cockpit and its shadow looked like a pterodactyl. That is another good sign that we are on our way home. i was going to work on some celestial navigation today but it is really overcast, but warm out.
i think that is all we have for now. I have yet to retrieve the comments for today but when this gets sent out the comments will come in, if i need to reply to any of them, the replay will come shortly after this blog posting. see ya
LA

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Captains Blog Sae Date July 8 2009

Captains Blog Sea Date July, 8, 2009
Days at sea: 9
Current position: Lat: 21'31 Long. 135'31
Distance travailed in 24 hour: 222
Average Speed: 8.3k
wind out of the North
wind speed: 12k
water temp. 81.0f

ok well not much to report on end. the wind has backed off a bit, but we are still moving along nicely. the seas have backed off too, making it a bit easer to steer, giving us a little brake. today we took down the black and red shoot, and put up the Quilt Kite or the Farnkinkite if you will. I like the under dog, i think that is why i like this kite so much, it would be funny if it is the only kite that makes it the whole trip.
Mike took a shower today, he is the first one on the whole boat to do so. i guess we could all take a personal hygiene que from Mike Rush, haa haa haa. other then that we saw 3 Tropic birds, or Tropic Tern or a Ferry tern, i don't know im not a bird watcher. its the bird with the long yellow/orange tail feather. it has been my life goal to pluck one of those feathers and ware it in my hat. also it means we are getting near to home.
Last night Mike and i were on watch all of a sudden the cockpit got bathed in the brightest light, i almost swallowed my tongue, i thought it was a ships spot light, no it was the moon. i guess we forgot what it looked like since we have not seen it in a week. the moon hung out for about 5 minutes then went behind the clouds again.
Our GPS is playing hang man with us, when you look at the screen on the right side it has the west coast and on the left side it has these letters LULU. we cant for the life of us figure out what it is trying to tell us.
oh, yes we do see the tropical depression developing behind us, should not be a problem.
as for the shirts, i am sorry to those who's names did not get put on the shirts, the shirts went to print about 3 months before we left for the mainland. so if you bring your shirt and a fine point sharpy to the party i will be sure to add you to the shirts.
Thank you everyone for there comments, we love it!
we are getting close to party time and Julie is looking for all those Addiction shore crew for some help, so rally and give her a call, her number is posted on the comments.
Julie and Ben you guys are doing a rocking job!!! thank you so much. Julie you got the phone number list i sent you?
Badge names: Derrick Ontivrous, Kevin O'lary. i don't know the others last names.
LA

Oh and how could i forget, Sheena please give Adam a big hug from me!

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captians blog sea date july 7 2009

Captain blog Sea Date July 7, 2009
Days at sea 8
distance travailed 217!!!
Average speed: 9.4k
True wind: ? 15 ?
Apparent wind: 8.5k
Water temp: 78.4f

Well there are a few more sheep in the pasture today. that means there are a few more white caps on the water. there is not much to report. Yesterday for lunch my mom made some really good ham, egg, and cheese breakfast burito, it was yummy! i slept through dinner, but what ever envelop surprise it was smelt good. The evening was uneventful, the wind and the seas stayed steady, it is still 100% cloud cover, but the moon makes all the cloud very bright, so we are not totally in the dark.
This morning Richard berried the bow twice in a wave so we thought it best to move some weight around. all that means is now i have the biggest jib onboard as a bunk mate. ah yes i love sailing.
This afternoon it came time to change out the spin sheet because it had been chafing, so we got it together then decided why not give the old Quilt a brake and out up a different spin. so we did. no we have a red, black, and white one up. it does not have a name but i am sure that will change by tomorrows blog. this kite is an 1.5oz that we had north sails cut down after we blew it up a while ago. it seems to be working fine.
thank you everyone for the news updates. the crew and i cant believe that tickets are being sold for the Michel Jackson memorial service. to odd.
alright i guess that is all for now. LA

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Captains Blog Sea Date July,6, 2009

Captains Blog Sea Date July, 6, 2009
Days at sea:7
current position: Lat. 23'40 Long. 128'35
Distance in 24 hours: 190
Average speed:7.9k
Apparent wind: 5k
True wind: ? 11k ?
Water temp. 76.6f
Cloud cover: 100%

Alright the past day of sailing has been good to us. the wind is steady, right on our quarter, and pushing us along nicely. the swell has picked up a bit making it easer to surf. you got to love it!!! we still have the pink and white patch work spin up. We call it the quilt or Fankinstine. this spinnaker has more patch cloth then original cloth, its kind of funny, no the funny part is that we have a few new sails down below, but the quilt is doing great, so why mess with a good thing.
not much to report on our end. yesterday was the day of communication, i sat and talked with Alaska Eagle, the communication boat, during liars net. liars net, or happy hour, is an informal radio check in at 1900, on 4A. They call liars net because you can make up all kinds of crap about the weather you are in and the speed you are making and its expected. usually there are lots of people talking so i just listen. but last night no one was around so i called in and talked with the communication boat, i cant remember the mans name that im talking to but he is always very nice. we had a bad copy so we switched to 8A, and it was like we were in the same room. we talked about all the fireworks we fired off for the forth and the lobster dinner we just had and so on. after talking to him i tried to give my dads friend Ron Ellis a call on 12A, it was just a shoot in the dark as we had not arranged this, but what do you know he came back loud and clear, but after that first transmition i could not understand a thing other then him saying, at least we know it works.
Richard made a killer MRE dinner of what i think my have been baked beans and ham or possibly cat, with herb mashed potatoes and peas, it was not half bad. after dinner we all settled in, i was just about to fall asleep when my mom poked her head in the hatch to let me know there was a boat off our starboard quarter. i checked it out, you could tell from the lights that it was another sail boat on the same tack as us. it was for sure a transpac racer, and a big boy because they were moving pretty good. i gave up a long time ago trying to call fellow transpac racers, they never answer and i have to tell you it really irritates me. i monitor 16 incase of an emergency everyone else should too. anyways i crawled back into my bunk and just as i was getting comfortable, what do you know, they hailed us on the VHF. we switched from 16 to 68. it was Criminal Mischief. we talked for awhile about how fricken happy we were to be back in the wind and surfing our way to Hawaii. i told him that we were sailing along pretty well at about 7.5k and he came back with there boat speed of 12 to 13k, i told him how sorry i felt for him and that since they were going to get there before us they had to come to our welcome party. he said Lindsey we know all about it, its at the WYC and well be there. I don't recall telling him my name or that the party is at WYC so i guess word has gotten out that Julie Downes is a kick ass party planner!!!!! Anyways i suited up for watch sat on deck and Mike and i did a little mores code in to the main sail. Criminal Mischief did some light show back at us, but it didn't make sense to me. then they were off into the wild blue yonder, with us trailing behind on the same course. I will have you know that yesterday they were last in there division and today, yes after following us, they move up 3 standings.
This afternoon Chase got the sat phone up and ready for our reporter friend Ron from KNX 10.70 to call. the phone did a little chirp thing and i answered it Papa Johns Pacific Ocean, we did about a 5 minute interview on how things are going so far. (pictured) i asked him to post a comment letting everyone know how they can listen to it on the net, so look out for that. it is always nice talking to you Ron, thank you for calling and for the news updates.
i think that is it for now, LA

captains blog sae date July 5 2009

Captains blog sea date July 5 2009
current position Lat. 26'51 Long. 126.15
distance travailed in 24 hours: 137
average speed: 5.6k
wind direction: north
Apparent wind: 3.7k
water temp. 74.3f

hi all, well it has been a good day at sea. the wind is here and i think it is here to stay. the wind is blowing right over our starboard quart, with a swell to match. there is a cross swell on our starboard beam kind of pushing us around, but what ever.
we sailed most of yesterday evening with our main and spinnaker. as the night went on the wind calmed down and the main sail was no longer staying full. Chase was on the helm while Mike and i took it down and flaked it. This morning Richard, mom and Chase put it back up. when i came on deck it seemed we could be going faster so, we pulled out the pink and white spinnaker. mike went on the foredeck, mom was on the wheel while Richard and i handled the lines. i think we squeezed about a half a knot more out of it.
it is very nice to be moving again! i hope all had a safe 4th of July. tomorrow we will be doing a sat phone interview with KNX 10.70. we will keep you all posted with that. that is all for now.LA

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Captians blog Sae Date July, 4, 2009

Happy Forth of July
Captains Blog Sea date July 4th
days at sea 5
Current position Lat. 26'09 Long 124'29
Miles Travailed in 24 hours 127!
Apparent wind speed: 2.1k (taken with hand held, no true)
True wind Speed: broken
Wind direction: west
Average speed: 5.5k
water temp: 74.3f

*** Ron from KNX 10.70 see note at bottom**

Hold on to your hats. thank goodness the wind is here, i think. yesterday afternoon we were clipping along with the just the hot pink spinnaker in very fluky, shifty, light wind but we were moving at least. it took everyone's concentration to keep the kite full, if it flogged at all it would take a good 5 minutes to fill again. but we were moving. i have noticed that by 0200 till 1100 in the morning the wind is the lightest, that is not unusual, but seeing as how there is not much wind it is very noticeable. right now we have 2 whole sails up, what a novel idea.
i did our radio check in this morning, it seems that we are all spreading around the course, lots of radios are skipping and there have been lots of relaying. i learned that our friends aboard Silent Running have retired the race due to time constrictions, bummer.
The Addiction blog has been band. i love it. Chases mom sent him an email saying how much her and her fellow nurse colleges enjoy reading the blog. i guess someone at the hospital did not like it so much because our site has been blocked. to funny. mike and i pictured it along the lines of, "can we get a nurse over here we got a flat liner." "wait i think my sons boat has found wind."
Mike worked on the bilge today. i guess at some point it sucked air and so all it needed was to be primed. I tried to hail my dad and Ron on the radio, i was really excited to talk to him, but i guess im still to far away. Did you guys hear me? My mom would like to say that driving this boat is like going to a sub title movie. you spend the hole time reading the gages that you miss the big picture. its true. she would also like to let Bill know that she misses his interesting story's and playing trivial pursuit with Caroline.
As for our forth of July we are presently we are enjoying an all American classic 4th of July meal, beef quesadilla, chili and even cool water. i love it.
well i want to eat, thank everyone for there support!!
LA

Aloha Ron, thanks you for pumping the blog! we would love to do a sat phone interview. you can send the info to the blog, we check our comments at 0600 and 1700, i will respond to the info. we have a few great pictures of us with your mic thing you gave us. look forward to hearing from you.

Becky you are the best for helping out Julie with the party action. Julie thinks you rock.

Dman and Oopu check you email, sail mail is the boat account. olive.

Dad shoot me out an email when you want to set up a radio check in again. hope all is well, have you heard from Phillip? news on him?

Captains Blog Sea Date July 3, 2009

Captains blog Sea Date July, 3, 2009
Days at sea: 4
Current Position: Lat. 27'27 Long 123'05
Apparent wind: 5.8
True Wind: Windx broken
Miles Traveled in 24 hours: 80
Water temp: 75.2 F
Bar: 1013

Well thank you all for the wind dances, chants, and rally caps. We did a little on board too, i scratched the luff, leach, and the foot, ( i could not remember witch was the right one ), we through some coins in the water, and i even whistled. I never do that on a boat, but we were desperate.
Yesterday after my blog it seemed like the wind was filling in, we all ate dinner on deck, we had a fresh salad that was almost blowing off our plates, we also enjoyed pasta, and for desert chilled peaches. by the time i came on for watch the wind had gotten even stronger. Strong enough to take down the number 1, ( its only meant to be sailed in 8 knots or less.) Mom stared the boat while Mike and i did the change out to the old number 1. Mike and i were clipping along at a whole 5 knots, there was even a squall line on the horizon. But by the time Chase came up to relive Mike the wind had died completely, it was so sad, i think i did 2 360's by accident but the sails did not tack or jib once. Richard came up to relieve me and and tried his all for 5 hours to get the boat moving. Chase said that by the time Richard got off watch he looked like one of the 300 Spartan's, battling an army of no wind.
By this morning it was like it got worse, you could not tell the ocean from the sky, it was all flat gray. as most people no the longer you go with no wind the more touchy people get.... thank God some wind arrived around 0800, nothing you would call wind back home in Hawaii, but a huge improvement out here. mom chase mike and i doused the head and main sail and put up the hot pink kite up, with just a hope and a prayer that it might fill. if nothing else at least it was quit. slowly the wind picked up and our average speed has been around 4k. yeah i know, hold on to your hats. other then getting us home the wind has made most of the crew happier. im walking on frecking sunshine. I really really hope it does not leave us again. i have to say the other then wind everyone's comments are putting a smile on our faces. so thank you Addiction shore crew for keeping us going.
on a different note, tomorrow Mike will be serving up some special 4th of July Pina Coladas... life savers that is. thank you Kate and Roxy, we will try not to get to out of control. this evening we are looking forward dinner we are gong to enjoy some Salsa barbacoa con pollo, frejoles negros y papas. that in what the MRE package says, it really just BBQ sauce with chicken, black beans and potatoes, but it sounds much better in Spanish.
well thats it for now.
LA

P.S. D-Man, could you please send us some interesting news clippings? Olives...