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Good Tuesday All!
Here in the Seattle area, Tuesday is J24 racing on Lake Washington. The lake can be fickle, shifting winds, puffs you shouldn't go chase but watch your competitor sail thru your lee. The update from the boat resembles similar conditions.
Yesterday they did a great job of connecting all the wrong dots going from wind hole to wind hole. Sometimes too much information can make you forget about your instincts. The first 48 hours, without weather info, they were sailors and sailing "blindly" they did a good job. Now with weather intel, they are plotting the path to avoid the areas of high pressure/no wind.
We already know that the usual weather pattern does not exist. The low pressure gradients that are able to pass are creating pockets of high pressure blobs. The result is the weather data cannot keep up to provide all the competitors with accurate mid-ocean gribs. Hence, trying to sail around the constant fluid situation means you are really chasing patches of wind that might have already dissipated.
Sunday to Monday it was all they could do to keep the A2 kite up and full, in sloppy seas with 4-8 knots and will forward momentum. Their standings took a beating but in a race like this, everyone will get their turn. As one friend said, " I would not want to be the navigator on this mess of an ocean (mess, insert expletive).!"
Jason recalls the start where they had the option of going south or straight on the hope the high pressure blob would dissipate. It did sort of, not really, just weakened and everyone in that fleet has suffered the remnants. Pyewacket took Hamachi's stern on Saturday night, blazing by at 20 knots. Last night they were only 200 nautical miles off Hamachi's bow reaching back and forth to find some umph.
Look though at Raku, a double handed couple who take their show on the road and are very successful. They started July 5 and took the low route and are still sitting high in the overall standings. Whatever predicament Hamachi finds themselves in, it is shared in the fleet.
The mood on board remains convivial. The sun is out, the music is playing, the barca lounger is crowded and they have a line out. A wahoo took the lure but ate through the leader before they could get it onboard. No ono for Hamachi!
As many of you know, the Pacific High is also home to the largest garbage island. Without the high, the whole Pacific has become a debris field. Many boats have had to back down or dive to clear debris. Hamachi was able to back down and clear the keel of kelp and rope in under two minutes. The team was frustrated after the standings were announced last night but this morning they were able to catch a squall. The crew washed away their doubts and rode the back side for 2-3 hours in 13-15 knots. I'm also happy to report that sometime around 12:50PDT, Hamachi passed halfway.
Let's see what Act 2 has in store!Go Team Hamachi!