Day 13 Monday July 27

WE FINISHED!!! 9:30 am Pacific Standard Time. 4th Place. We were very happily greeted by our family and friends at the dock. We all had a life long experience never to forget!

Love all the comments - thanks to all!

Becky

Day 12 Sunday July 27 6:00 pm

We had a few squalls last night that came up and scared the bajebers out of Team A. I drove this afternoon in my first rain squall. Woo Hoo!! The winds piped up to 30+ and I handled it - Yeah! Then the wind died down. We are not making very good time now. Our ETA is now Monday afternoon. One more night shift (smile). We are having steak fajitas for dinner - Yummmm!

Sea temp: 86.4 degrees
Air temp: hot and humid

Day 11 Saturday July 26 6:00 pm

Last night was beautiful! This morning about 10 am the wind picked up to 30+ so we shortened sail. In doing so Will sprung out of his bunk onto the deck and chipped a tooth on the hatch. Will filed his tooth and looks like a true pirate. Oh, one more thing, he also lost another hat. Then about 2 pm Team A decided to put the spinnaker up by themselves and in the process Bruce burned his hands trying to hold onto the spinnaker sheet. His hands hurt but will be ok. Although his hands look like a blind man who tried to read a waffle iron. At about 4 pm the wind picked up again, we shortened sail got the spinnaker caught in the water and in the process lost the blue guy (spinnaker line). There is good news, we had a wonderful dinner by Jeff of Beef Tenderloin with mushroom & sherry sauce along with twice baked potatoes - Yum!

Now a request for the wives: If you would be ever so kind as to bring a cooler of cold beer with your husbands choice of beer they will be all smiles at the dock! Oh yeah, Denny & Becky like Heineken.

Becky (caught up with sleep and smiling)

Sea Temp: 85.5
Air temp: 85+
Location: N 22.45.588 W 153.37.605

Day 10 Friday July 25 6:00 pm

Last night was uneventful - YES! We are now seeing air traffic at night. The sky was clear with so many bright stars. The air is warm at night you really don't need a jacket. The wind has picked up this morning 25-30 knots with big seas so we shorten the sail. It's not as smooth a ride, rocking back and forth but we are under control and feel better about it. We are still going 7-8 knots with true wind of 25. I haven't had to break out my worry necklace yet (thanks Rose) so that is good. We had the best lunch today. Gregg made fish taco's with a special sauce. We are still fishing but nothing today. One of our water pumps went out, the big one, but the other pump that works makes 10 gallons of water an hour. We use about 30 gallons a day making water every day. Our ETA right now is Monday morning. Can't wait to see land and to touch it!

Becky (smiling with lots of sunscreen)

Water temp: 83.7
Air temp: 85+
Location: N 24.02.671 W 150.46.325

Day 9 Thursday July 24

What a wild monkey ride we had last night! At midnight we all were up with winds to 30+ knots with our palm tree spinnaker (.6 ounce). Quickly we reloaded to let our 1.5 ounce take the load. It took us a while to calm down but we all slept hard. Our team work has gotten so good we feel very comfortable taking the spinnaker up and down and jibing. We caught our first ma hi fish and wow was it yellow and colorful! We are eating it for tonight's dinner. Expecting to be in on Monday.

Location: N 25.15.958 W 148.09.477
Water temp: 82.8 degrees
Air temp: 80+ degrees

Day 8 July 23

Series of jibes, good spinnaker work, Will lost his brim hat, but thanks to "craft hour" made him another with a Fat Tire box, dual fishing lures thanks to Leonitti fishing supplies (wine cork), chicken scaloppine by Dinners Done Right (thanks Jeff), Becky went out for a swing dipping toes plus more from the boom (see it on U Tube), we are all happy, enjoying the sun and looking forward to seeing our family in Kaneohe.

Water temp: 79 degrees
Air temp: 81 degrees
Location: N 26.18.274 W 145.21.932
Time: 6:00 pm

Day 7 Tues July 22

What a half-way party did we have!!! We started the preparations by washing the cockpit with soap and water. We were so excited to open the box and when we did we found there was so much thought and love put into our half-way box! Absolutely loved the photo of Diane, Lisa, Sue and Becky L. We have it taped inside on the mast. All the food, booze, books, games, and gifts was very appreciated. We had cougar gold cheese, beef sausage & crackers as an appetizer. For dinner we had Beef Wellington, garlic mash potatoes and vegetables along with a couple bottles of Leonetti wine that Denny spoiled us with. Then for dessert we had lemon meringue pie. Very nice day!

I almost suffocated the crew this morning. So here's how it goes, in the morning I decided to make almond poppy seed muffins. They didn't smell right. When I opened the oven door I noticed last nights dinner spilled. So I figured since the oven was warm I'd spray a small amount of oven cleaner then close the door quickly. Well not quickly enough, all of a sudden everyone started coughing. I apologized profusely and felt so bad. (Actually they were all snoring so loudly I wanted some peace and quiet).

The other night Gregg pulled a double shift and let Denny sleep for 9 hours straight. Denny slept so hard and was snoring so loudly his nose was inverted and we had to use a toilet plunger to save him.

We are in fourth place and working hard to close the gap. We are using our new palm tree spinnaker and it looks great - isn't that all that really counts?

Becky (happy, 77 degrees)
11:30 am N 27.56.490, W 142.07.086

Day Five Sunday July 20

Today's blog is brought to you by Gregg, Bruce, and Will(A-Shift). It was a dark and stormy night... well it was dark. Today's most pressing issue was some desperately needed personal hygiene updating. For some more desperate than others. We have recovered from our spinnaker issues of yesterday and are sailing down wind with our hair on fire.

We are currently in third position and feel good about our efforts. Our average speed for the first 875 miles has been 7.4 kts. We can barely see the Golden Gate Bridge anymore. A-Shift has coined a new term for the brief patches of sun we have seen, they are called "shineholes", not to be confused with shinola which we know S__t about. Everybody is healthy, having fun, and missing our friends and families.

Signing off,

A-Shift

Day 4, Saturday 19th

It really is day 4, I was getting ahead of myself. Last night with the spinnaker up was rough to drive. Jeff had vertigo so he didn't drive. I had it also, but I'm a Virgo so it worked out for me (ha,ha). When I was driving, about 5 am all of a sudden on my starboard side I got bumped from behind and it frighten me into a small scream. Denny said is was a wave, I say it was a sleeping whale (sounds better). The next shift came on at 6 am, Gregg was driving and got a wrap (even with training wheels up). We jibed and it got itself unwrapped. Then about 5 minutes later (me asleep in bed and I'm so glad I missed this) 30 knots of wind came up, we rounded up, Gregg recovered, then rounded up again and we broached and tore up the spinnaker. Brought it down and put up the ounce and half. But no worries, there is good news! We hooked 5 tuna! Two got away, two we let go, and kept the biggest one for dinner!

Becky (in shorts & a T-shirt)

Friday 18th 6 pm

Message from Jeff: I'm feeling much better now. Hope everyone is having a good time at home. Tuna-less so far.

Message from Gregg: "Hi" to Lisa, Jess and Garrett! Love you looking forward to seeing you. "Hi" Mom and Jeff and to folks doing it the "Farmers Way" and the Cedarcreekers! All is well, we are going fast and the sailing is fantastic!

Message from Willard: Hey Becky and the boys, having a great time. See you in Hawaii Beck, and boys my house better be standing when I get home!

Message from Denny & Becky: We are thinking of all our family and friends. Thanks for your continued prayers and they are working! We are fishing, but nothing caught yet. Eating very fine dinners and enjoying each others company. Side note from Becky: we truly are five dicks and a chick, now they have bungied up the toilet seat!

Message from Bruce: Captain Ron was right, but it's going to happen at night. Sue - miss you! Looking forward to seeing you in Kaneohe. Your dinner was a smash hit, everyone loved it!

Day 4, Friday 18th

Last night was a good one. We all ate spaghetti (yum Becky L.) with a glass of red wine. This morning at 6 am we put up the spinnaker and are heading is 230. Location at 10 am N 33.37.755, W 131.10.934 wind is around 15 knots. Jeff has had the best speed of 13.9. Last night (5 pm) the guy announces standings so far. We were 3rd in our class, 10th overall.

Message to Becky L. - to get prepared for the delivery back to Tacoma, here's what you need to do: get in your car behind the steering wheel with Nate next to you. Start turning the wheel left, right, left, right while Nate is holding for resistance. Every now and then you have to make a hard left turn fast, then fast center. This goes on for 30 minutes straight. I think you get the idea. Oh, I forgot to tell you, before you get into the car you have to throw up.

Becky (yes I'm still smiling)

Thursday 17th Day 3

Last night was a rough one for all of us. But this morning we all got some good rest and are in much better spirits. We ate last night leftovers for lunch (Sue's casserole), it was great. I took a shower this morning and feel so much better! We are still on a reach, 220 degrees with a steady 20 knot winds, our speed is 8-9. It is now 2:15 pm our heading is N 34.50.780, W 128.38.217. This morning's check-in we have a couple of our competitors in front of us. We have a small leak somewhere, but as Denny says, "don't worry, be happy".

Tuesday & Wednesday (day one & two)

Tuesday, July 15, 1:30 pm we had a great start. It reminded us of windseekers as everyone was coming at us on port and we were on starboard. One guy fouled us good, but we recovered well. After the first 5 minutes the jib sheet broke, we tacked and re-tied it with the other end. Then a minute later is broke again, so we pulled out a spare sheet, working fine now. This all happened before going under the bridge. Tacked up the beach, we are in line with the front of our fleet. Tuesday all were happy drinking their allotment, now Wednesday brings another story. Beam reaching in lumpy seas, 16-20 knots wind with boat speed 8-9. Everyone sick except Gregg and Bruce.

Tuesday July 15

Pulled off the dock at 10:30 and are we excited! We have had so many phone calls and people on the dock wishing us well. No more photo's until we arrive in Hawaii. But will continue to give daily reports.

Monday, July 14

Did some laundry this morning and had breakfast, returned the car rental, then went out for a sail. We circled Alcatraz and sailed by downtown San Francisco. We docked at Jack London and had a drink at our favorite saloon, Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon where we met the owner and learned some history of the place. Then we went to the Pelican Pasta for dinner then back to the boat to tidy up. To say we are jazzed and ready for the morning is an understatement!

Sat & Sun, July 12-13

The crew arrived safe on Saturday and in great spirits! We all went to the San Francisco Yacht Club for a Pacific Cup party. We had our crew shirts on and we got so many compliments. Had a great dinner then drove back to Oakland for an after dinner drink at the Jack London Heinold's Last Chance Saloon. This was a great saloon, with slanted floors. On Sunday morning, Gregg, Will, Jeff and Bruce walked from their hotel to Alberts Cafe in downtown Alamenda. What a find this was! Denny and Becky picked the guys up at the hotel and we all went to walk Fisherman's Wharf. We ate a great lunch down there, went and saw the Lombard crooked street, then went to COSTCO for some last minute cruital provisions. We enjoyed the company of Bruce's old friends John and Mitzi and their two lovely daughters that came to the boat for a cocktail. We had pinacolada's in a pinapple carved drink (by Will) it was yummy! We went out to dinner at Quinn's Pub then came back to the boat for a small glass of 1980 Port, talk about yummy! Everyone is excited and very ready to go.

Follow KOKOMO

We will have a transponder on the boat so you can follow our heading. Go to http://www.pacificcup.org/
We are in Div. B
Start Tue 7/15/08 at 13:30

Friday, July 4

We arrived at Drakes Bay Thurs night. It was around 10 pm and very foggy. We set anchor in 35 feet of water with no wind. We couldn't see land but hear the waves crash on the shore which was very eerie. We all got a great night of sleep. Left 8:30 am for SF. The fog was finally start to lift as we went under the Golden Gate Bridge at 12:30 pm. We took a tour of the bay area then went to our slip. Don got off and caught a plane home. Ed, Tom, Denny and I went out for a burger and a beer. Ed headed off to visit a friend. Jackie and Rick came to the boat and we all watched fireworks, which was not too back, but not like Tacoma's. Tom's heading out in the morning along with Jackie & Rick.

Want to thank Forrest & Chris for the coffee & cups, Terry & Susan for the champagne, Debbie & Don for the books, Christine & Pat for the wine & treats. If I forgot someone, thanks!

Becky

Thursday July 3

Fog, fog and more fog. It sure was cold last night! Winds guesting to 4 knots. Currently it is 16:41 we are W 38.14.484 W 123.14.827. We are heading to Point Reyes. Our plan is to anchor in Drakes Bay if the fog continues. Then early in the morning head to Oakland. Tom and Ed are going to breakout the clean shirts they have been saving. Along with the vodka and cigars. Becky has got it made, she made a deal, she cooks and cleans as to not have to do a night watch. We put up the spinnaker at 12 pm. Everyone got some spinnaker driving. We had to take it down at 3 pm. Now sail/motoring with the main. Seas are very calm and it has been a nice sunny day.

July 2, Wed

Woke up 5 am, very foggy in Eureka, went back to bed. We are fueling up at 9:30 am and are going to head out in the fog. Hope to get to SF Friday morning.

July 1 10 pm

We have arrived in Eureka for fuel. We pulled up to the dock. Had to jump the gate with our gerry cans. Walked about a mile to the gas station. Jackie called a cab and got a ride to a motel, she's not feeling well and has decided to stay on land. A guy at the gas station was kind enough to offer us a ride back to the marina. Those California people are so nice! We got back to the boat and were fogged in. So we are spending the night on the boat and heading out early in the morning for SF.

June 30 & July 1

June 30, Monday. We arrived in Charleston at 4:55 pm. The fuel dock was closed. I walked down the dock and found a fishing boat and asked if they would sell us some diesel and of course they said "yes"! We are off and running again.

Tuesday July 1. Last night the fog was so thick you couldn't see the mast head light. There was so much phosphorous the dolphins would jump at it and make all kinds of noise. At 6 am it was overcast and very calm. Currently it is 1:30 pm N 41.30 W 124.49 heading of 135 to the entrance of Humboldt Bay to get more diesel, yes you guessed it, no wind, motoring the whole way. It's a mill pond. We all had showers today - clean as a whistle!