Tony Chapman (Neil's Chapman's cousin) is currently sailing the Transpac to Hawaii aboard Pipe Dream, a CF 37, he sends this special report for Boatshed.

Aloha once more

The chatter amongst the fleet on the radio this morning was about the size and number of squalls encountered last night. We saw a few and were rained on for a while, but it was really no big deal. The winds tend to be very shifty around them. We actually gained a little on So Far and may still benefit from being to the south. The foulies which had already been stowed in the locker were brought out again. However, the temperatures are definitely rising to everyone's pleasure.

We have decided we may have been a little early in heading for the barn door and will try to track the rhumb line for the next few days and stay in the stronger winds to the south. After all, we are still only just over half way down the course. In tracking some of the other boats it appears the ones doing well are able to maintain a constant heading over a number of days, rather than do the Pipe Dream zig-zag we tend to end up doing to chase the winds and keep the boat going. We are encouraging everyone to try and be more constant in our heading and will see if it actually happens.

The skies remained cloudy during the night so there has been no real attempt at celestial navigation star shots. We have taken some noon sightings but it seems to cloud over at local noon each day. We are hopeful it will remain clear for noon sightings today. We are staying on Pacific Standard Time even as we move west until we reach Hawaii when we will change our clocks back 4 hours. The actual local noon when the sun is at its highest is actually happening around 2.00pm PST. Our morning shifts are getting darker and the evening shifts lighter.

We have not caught any fish so far, but will keep trying at dawn and dusk. The Mac and Cheese was discovered in the cooler yesterday and subsequently became dinner. None of the other missing items showed up with the m&c though, so we will have to re-think their where-abouts. I am looking forward to the demise of the ham and cheese that we seem to have an endless supply of for our lunches. Scott prepared oatmeal ("gruel") for breakfast this morning, a hearty and healthy menu option which everyone seems to enjoy. We will probably be seeing less fresh food over the next few days as it reaches the end of its life and is used up. I think we still have plenty of fresh apples.

The higher temperatures have resulted in increased "smelly herbert-ness"
and I personally need to be hosed down for the benefit of the rest of the crew. I hope the body odors can be controlled for the arrival party so the guests are not all forced to leave.

We would like to thank everyone for taking an interest. We are receiving messages of support from lots of people, the latest coming from New Zealand.

http://www.transpacificyc.org/

Owner: John Davis
Sail number: 47560
Rig: Sloop
LOA (ft.): 37
Draft (ft): 6
Beam (ft): 12
Hull color: White
Yacht Club: Seal Beach
Hailing port: Long Beach , CA USA
Class or type: CF-37
Where built: Long Beach
Year launched: 1974

Rating and Division Assignment:
Transpac Rating (TPR): 257.821
Racing Class or Division: Aloha B

Skipper : John Davis
Navigator: Tony Chapman
Watch Captain: Lou Schweitzer
Crew: Matt Reavis, Scott Smith, Joe Martony