avionbianca   Blog for s/v Avion

The ocean is so big that it seems empty at times, so it feels good to see land again. We came in from the south, to within sign of the islands of Hawaii. This was the first time I had seen the big island, Maui, Moloki and others. We still cannot see Oahu, but will soon.

The Pacific Cup is one of the top ten ocean races in the world. The course is over 2,000 miles, and in the middle, one is more than 1,000 miles from land in any direction. For me, the last day of this race is a bittersweet moment. I want to take a moment to observe some things I have learned on this trip about my boat, my crew and myself.

I am in tune with Avion at a much deeper level. Avion was designed by Paul Elfstrom, the first man to win Olympic goal metals in four consecutive Olympics, 1948 to 1960, in sailing, never mind any sport. He is from Denmark, so naturally he designed a racing boat that is fast, long and narrow and cuts through the water, and functionally comfortable down below. I knew what she wants to go faster. I hear her sounds, feel her movements, and respect her systems at a level where she is alive to me, a true partner.

I am have deep respect for my crew. Being short-handed crew of three, we have been on duty for 3 hour watches. This is a long time. On most fully crewed boats of 5 or six, the watch is limited to one hour, max. So, three hour watches are not easy; eyes get tired, the body gets cold, srms get sore. When David came up on deck in the middle of the night, dressed and fully prepared for the cold wind, with a smile, a relieves you, you feels a deep gratitude. Or when Megan came up on deck and offered to make some coffee, and came to sit with you for awhile, the feeling of gratitude is very deep. My crew on this trip are not all best friends; we have had our share of minor emotional events and dramas, as there always are when 3 people much spend two weeks together living and working in a small space. By holding down all your shifts, never complaining, cleaning up after yourself, preparing food for one another, the true character of a person is revealed.

There is the old Navy phrase, “One hand for yourself, one for the boat.” This is true on many levels. We must stay on the boat, so we can help to sail it. We must take care of ourselves first, so we can then be able to help others. We must take care of our gear and clothing, feed and hydrate ourselves, and clean our bodies so we can then go forth, and do our duties to others, to be a good crew mate. Without that, we are unhappy, sick, and unable to perform. So, just doing what is expected is a major accomplishment.

In temrs of myself, this is the third time I have done this race. The first time, in 2010, I just showed up at the last minute, and filled a sudden crew opening. I did it, and I did my duty, and we finished third in our division, and I had the bug. BBut I did not truly appreciate how hard it was, or how much preparation was required to get a boat or oneself ready for such en event. In 2014, I worked over two years to prepare my boat and develop a crew of 5 to sail with me (six total). I could not have done it without the incredible commitment each of those 5 guys made to the program. We became a team, and had fun.

In 2016, I signed-up in December, and was put on the wait list until May, but I got a head start on the assumption that I would get to go. When the call came, Avion was ready with a new engine, cooler converted to refrigerator, new rudder bearings, new bottom paint, and new autopilot. However, my crew had wandered-off to other activities, had new work and family obligations, or in general, so were no longer available. The only potential crew was my new girlfriend, Megan. As a boat owner and cruising sailor, she was interested; to her credit, she was not afraid. However, sailing a 40 foot, technical boat like Avion short-handed required a lot of time and practice. Since we are both retired, we had the time, we started to sail frequently around the greater SFBay region. We brought in several people to coach us on advanced skills like spinnakers, and made a lot of progress. We considered bringing in another couple to join us, or another make and female crew, to keep a balance, but it was too late to bring in any others. We did however, find a good coach, David Bennett, who had done the Transpac eight times; he knew what we needed, and was very effective at breaking down sailing maneuvers for short-handed crew. We decided we wanted to sail double-handed, but having three crew would be the best option, the third crew would bring more energy, more experience, be another hand on deck; and in David’s case, bring deep Coast Guard training. He eventually signed-up to sail with us. He has been an incredible sailing partner, fearless and while it is hard to admit, we could not have done this trip without him.

In summary, I have learned that being the Captain and Skipper of a short-handed boat means that almost everything comes back to me. I sometimes got stressed when I wish I should have cracked a joke. I sometimes got tired, but I recovered quickly. I trust my boat under heavy weather conditions. I made good investments in the boat, the equipment and systems held-up, and worked as expected, and if not, I knew how to fix the issues that emerged. So, I have learned that I can do this, can go long-distance sailing on the ocean. Megan and I have discussed staying in Hawaii for awhile, to sail, discover and explore together. The only limitation is our imagination.

There will be more to come, as we are still sailing. We have called in the 100 mile check-in. We are currently about 60 miles away as the crow flies. We are sailing on a realistic course to stay in the wind, so we can finish today.

I have not been able to access this blog while sailing, so I can only hope it is readable. I will find out once on land with an internet connection. Thanks for following along in this journey. Tom