No, we didn’t stray into the Kaneohe Marine Base restricted area and be used for target practice. We actually crossed the finish line and are now tied up at the beautiful Kaneohe Yacht Club marina.
I will post photos and more commentary soon, but we spent the next 24 hours on pins and needles as Cassiopeia and No Strings Attached picked up their pace and came screaming towards the line (remember, VALIS needed to beat Cassiopeia by over a day to stay on top of the scorecard). It was close — close enough to make me question I had slowed us down for “prudence”, but they just couldn’t quite get over the line in time to upset us. No Strings also finished, and other boats are still on the way, but we are mathematically guaranteed the top spot.
The crew is obviously very pleased with our come-from-behind victory, and they have earned it.
Today we will be greeting other boats and friends as they come in, and attending the big pig-roast and luau. Tomorrow will be spent getting VALIS prepared for the return trip (Rich and Paul Carson have been busy with this since we arrived), and Friday is the Awards Ceremony.
I’ve got to run now, but thanks to everyone who was following along on the VALIS 2012 Pacific Cup Saga! I will be blogging during our return passage / marine debris research expedition (more on that later).
Aloha, Paul / VALIS

VALIS keeps rolling along! Today we added two more hours to our lead, and we are very pleased. The blue spinnaker was up all night, and remains flying now. Last night we had starry skies, with a nearly-half moon over Hawaii, giving us a sparkling path to our finish. There were no big squalls overhead, although we sailed under the edges of some small ones. It was a fast and easy night, and several of us commented that this was sailing at its best. This is truly a glorious experience.
We’ve been out in the cockpit all morning, talking about politics, religion, etc — all the things that aren’t to be discussed in polite society. At this point we don’t care much about that “polite society” stuff.
Of course we also discuss the race, our strategy, and what our competitors are likely to do. One boat (in another division) broke their boom last night, and they have withdrawn from the race. Their crew is fine, but they are now motorsailing towards Kaneohe with their storm trisail (a small mainsail that does not require a boom). So, it’s good to remember that this race isn’t over until we cross that line. It’s going to be tough to find the will to get some sleep, but we need to maintain that discipline so we aren’t completely worn out for our final maneuvers.
A quick lunch of re-heated pork-fried rice is in the oven. Dinner remains a mystery.
Aloha, Paul / VALIS

Another beautiful day of sailing here on VALIS. We added a few miles to our division lead, and have been sailing under spinnaker since morning. Last night was a little boisterous and wet, but since sunrise we’ve had nothing but blue sky and flying fish. We’ve continued to sail at our good pace, and of course hope to continue this through the night.
Today was another personal clean-up day, a catch up on sleep day, and a change into shorts and t-shirt day. For lunch, firefighter/golfer/gourmet chef Dick made smoked salmon quesadillas, and we had lasagna with cabbage salad for dinner. Jokes, silly songs, fine cinema, and literature we the topics of the day.
This morning Dick set out the fishing line with the ever-popular cedar plug lure, and within a few minutes we had a fish on the hook. The good news is that nobody had to clean it, since it shook the hook before we could land it. We didn’t get a good look at the scaly monster, but we all agreed it must have been record-worthy.
While unexpected light winds could slow us down, it seems that a Monday finish is likely.
At 8:30 PM PDT our position is 24d 28m N, 153d 28m W. Speed is 7.5 kts @ 230 deg magnetic.
Best to all, Paul / VALIS

Another glorious day of sailing here aboard VALIS. We are currently under blue skies with the sun low in the west and sparkling on the tradewinds swells. The wind is moderate and we are flying our big blue spinnaker, sailing towards Hawaii. We’ve finished our in-the-cockpit dinner of salad and BBQ ribs and chicken. Quite a few chicken jokes were told, but few were fit for this blog. OK, here’s one: Why did the chicken cross the Pacific? Because it was in VALIS’ freezer!
Sorry.
As of this morning’s roll call, we are now first in division! Our plan is now to try and extend our lead without doing anything stupid.
We are definitely in the tradewinds now. Last night we experienced the typical squall pattern: gentle at sunset, and getting a little stronger with each one until just before sunrise. There’s definitely wind and rain in these clouds. By the end of the night we had progressed from big spinnaker, to the smaller shy kite, and finally to white sails. With each squall the wind can shift dramatically, and in their wake the wind can drop to practically nothing. The light air can become pretty tiresome, but eventually the regular tradewinds return.
I understand that our tracker is again becoming intermittent. Don’t be concerned, we are fine and moving right along.
Aloha, Paul / VALIS

July 26, 3:30 PM PDT Position: 27d 57m N, 147d 24m W Speed / Course: 8 kt @ 223d Magnetic
Today has been a wonderful sunny day, with great wind and moderate seas. Halfway through last night we took down the spinnaker (which was over-powering us in the squalls), and sailed until morning with main and genoa. We lost a little top speed, but we sailed safely through the night with no drama or breakage (and broken equals slow). This morning we hoisted the “shy kite” AKA “chicken chute”, a smaller spinnaker designed for heavier air. This has been pulling us towards Kaneohe at a speedy clip since then.
We’ve been doing some personal washing-up, using the spray nozzle in the cockpit, with the warm water (heated by the engine during battery charging last night) still in the tank. It feels good to get the grime and salt off.
Dick made some delicious chicken and cheese quesadillas for lunch, and I am told that dinner will be BBQ ribs and chicken.
I almost forgot: this is a race! We continue to do well, narrowing the gap between us and Cassiopeia (currently first-place in our division). We spoke with them on the radio this morning, and we are both enjoying the competition. On VALIS we realize that this race is a marathon, not a sprint, and we are constantly evaluating the trade-off between speed and delay-causing damage from pushing too hard. I think we’ve developed the appropriate attitude: priority one is to arrive safely.
Regards, Paul / VALIS

4:00 PM PDT, July 25 29d 53m N, 144d 57m W Speed 8.5 kts @ 200d Magnetic
Good afternoon from VALIS on the high seas. Today we have sun and clouds, and a perfect wind that we are riding to Hawaii. The seas are moderate and after a night of running with the twin jibs, we are again sailing under a spinnaker.
Transitioning from the twin headsails to the spinnaker didn’t go smoothly. A combination of tangled lines, slipping winches, and a crew with little practice aboard VALIS led to some exciting moments. But no damage was done, some lessons were learned, and we are enjoying the extra knot-and-a-half that this sail gives us.
ON our AIS screen we can see the Pac Cup Division-D boat “Buena Vista”. She is slowly creeping up on us, but we are making her work for every mile. Unfortunately, she won’t pass within camera range.
We actually started talking several days ago about hot showers at Kaneohe, but what once seemed like a distant dream is now feeling more and more real with every mile under our keel. Cold washcloths and wet-wipes are no substitute for the real thing!
Aloha, Paul / VALIS

July 24, 3:14 PM PDT — VALIS crosses the halfway point! We now have 1035 miles to go before we reach the Kaneohe Bay finish line.
Our well-traveled “Tiki God” drummer sprang into action and started playing his lively tune, announcing our milestone to the crew.
Presents were opened and shared, and a good time was had by all.
See you in Hawaii! Paul / VALIS

1:00 PM PDT position: 31d 30m N, 141d 41m W. Course 225d magnetic, speed 7kts.
Good afternoon from VALIS! The sky was cloudy all night, and remains completely overcast so far today. The wind has been in the 20′s, and last night while sailing under a darker patch of drizzle we saw it hit 28 kts. Yesterday we went to the white sails (main, genoa) but it was still a chore to keep the boat on course as the swells pushed us around. Everything went fine, but after your turn at the helm you had received a real workout!
This morning we poled out the genoa to windward, and are running “wing and wing”. This is slower, but lets us run more or less dead downwind towards Hawaii, and in the heavy wind and sea conditions is much easier to keep under control than the spinnaker would be. We are preparing to hoist the spare genoa and run twin poles (sometimes called the butterfly configuration). This will (should) increase our speed and still be easy to handle.
We’re seeing flying fish! These will become much more common as we approach Hawaii.
Dinner tonight will be Mongolian Beef with Pork Fried Rice.
Regards, Paul / VALIS

Latitude 31d 48m N, Longitude 138d 31m W.
This is the kind of sailing the brochure promised! 20 kt winds, blue sky, puffy white clouds, the occasional dark cloud with rain. And we’re not even in the tropics yet!
This morning we put the spinnaker back up and have been making great speed towards Hawaii. The swells are up a bit, which give us a little push as they sweep by.
The morning roll-call radio net went well, and the new positions put VALIS in Division A second place. It seems that No Strings decided to dive south, and that no doubt cost her some time. So the top three are Cassiopeia, VALIS, and No Strings. We are tightly grouped, and this will no doubt be a dynamic situation as the race progress and conditions change. Still, we’ve got a real horse race!
Around 11:00AM, we were hailed on the VHF by doublehanders “Plus 16″. They had spotted our sails, and we could indeed see them on our starboard beam (to the north of us). They slowly crossed our stern and continued on a more southerly course, passing within about a mile. We got some photos. It’s pretty unusual to see a fellow racer near the halfway point, but this year we seem to be mostly following the same general course.
For lunch Dick prepared grilled cheese sandwiches, and the beef stew is thawing for dinner.
Aloha, Paul / VALIS

Good morning from VALIS!
We’ve been sailing under starry skies, watching the jetliners fly to and from Hawaii, and seeing the occasional meteorite streak overhead. Our wake is glowing a phosphorescent green, and we can see the distant whitecaps by starlight. The air is warm. The sea is warm too, as Michael and I discovered when an errant wave slapped the side of the boat and gave us a little shower.
About an hour ago, the wind was rising, and the seas becoming more confused, making the job of keeping the spinnaker under control a pretty challenging task. Knowing that the winds often increase just before dawn, we decided to drip the kite. Michael and Rich went up to the bow to wrestle with the big sail, while Paul Carson and I remained in the cockpit — me handling the sheets, guys, uphaul, genoa furling line, etc, and the other Paul steering us as required for each phase of the operation. We are now sailing under genoa and main, not as fast as under the spinnaker (top speed 11.1 kts), but still at a good clip and much less likely to break something.
Paul Carson and Rich are now on watch, and I am hitting the bunk.
Position: 32d 03m N, 137d 01m W. Speed 8 kts @ 240d magnetic.
Paul / VALIS