Here (attached) is the Google Earth “.kmz” file showing our track up and down the coast. You can also see the ships we were seeing with our AIS system. I have included placemarks for the major weather buoys along the San Francisco to Seattle route.

I swear that we can sail better tacking angles than you will see here! I’ve got the tracks to prove it! What we had going against us last week were big seas, a partially-furled roller-reefing genoa, a southbound current, and a boat loaded with cruising gear.

-Paul

The trackfile: VALIS to Seattle.kmz

Today (Thursday) at 12:00 Noon VALIS and her hardy crew returned safely to her Sausalito slip. We had an exhilarating downwind sail back to San Francisco, with winds in the 20′s (and a few 30+ patches), and VALIS often hit 10 knots under main and poled-out genoa.

While making our turn above the Farallons towards the Golden Gate, we had a very nice VHF radio conversation with the sailboat “No Ka Oi”, who was ten miles behind us on her return trip from Oahu. No Ka Oi raced in the 2008 Pacific Cup, and it was great to be the first to welcome her home after her 16-day passage.

So Dave, Rich, Jim, and I now go our separate ways for a while. This attempt revealed several deck-leaks that had not made themselves previously known, so there will be mopping out and re-bedding to be done very soon. This is the way of a boat!

More later, but first I need a long hot shower!

Regards,
Paul

I have decided to live to fight another day. VALIS is sailing home.
After studying the five-day and extended forecasts for wind and sea-state, it just makes sense to turn around. The best we could have done would have been to power into Humbolt Bay tomorrow, then hole up there for four or five days waiting for the winds to drop below 30 kts. Then, it would have been another five days (at best) to reach Port Townsend. With my schedule (not to mention my crew’s), this just wouldn’t have been worthwhile.
Instead, we get to have a nice downwind sail in glorious conditions. We’ve got main and genoa to starboard and are sailing a deep run to the southeast. The wind is 23kts and we are sailing between 6 and 8 knots. Sailing with the waves is certainly more comfortable then bashing into them!
It’s 125 miles to the S.F. Bay entrance, so we should be home tomorrow.
With mixed feelings, Paul

8:45AM Wednesday morning, lat 39deg 06min N, lon 124deg 26min W. Course 350deg magnetic, speed 4.5 kts. Yes, we left on Monday morning, and have been battling 15-30 kt winds and 9-15 ft seas as we slowly tack our way north. We are now just a little north of Pt. Arena, and at this rate it will be a *long* trip. We have just started motorsailing, trying to get around Cape Mendocino sometime this week.
All crew are well, and nothing important has broken.
-Paul

Valis continues the slog to the north. We finally made it aroud Pt. Reyes last night, and have been slowly tacking uor way up the coast. We are currently about 25 miles west of Bodega Bay (lat 38deg 19min N, lon 123deg 35min W) We are sailing due west and will soon tack north for Pt. Arena. The seas are perhaps 10 ft and the wind is in the 20s. This is not particularly comfortable — cold, wet, and tired describes it pretty well!
More when I feel like typing, Paul

VALIS has begun her trek to points north! At 8:30 AM PDT Monday morning, VALIS and her crew (Dave, Jim, Rich, and Paul) left Sausalito and headed out through the Golden Gate. We are now about 10 miles due west of Point Bonita. We are sailing roughly 5 kts on a course of 240 deg magnetic. While this is going in the wrong direction, given the wind direction it is our best option as we try to get around Point Reyes.
We’ve seen dolphins, sea lions, many birds, and a few crab pot floats. The wind is 10 kts from 315 deg mag. The seas are fairly mild, perhaps 4 ft (but we are still shielded by Point Reyes.
We are feeling good, and enjoying th afternoon.
More later, Paul

Sending email to the blog via sailmail.

This is a test of the satphone email -to- blog connection, including image attachment.

Just received this from our good friend Jack Thomas, Commander of the U.S. Navy “Skinny Dragons”:

———
Re: Pirates

If you’ve been watching the news, you might have seen a familiar four- engine turboprop flying around.

Cheers,

Jack
———

I would like to say “Thank You” to Jack and the Skinny Dragons.  You guys make us very proud!

Now that our AIS Class-B transponder is fired up, I’m seeing VALIS show up on more ship-monitoring sites. The University of the Agean has a very nice website that aggregates AIS feeds from all over the world, keeps track history, and shows vessel data: MarineTraffic.com. They also provide a Google Earth “KMZ” file that lets you access their data from within your local copy of GE. Here is a shot of the ship traffic along the USA West coast:

Zooming in to the Sausalito Yacht Harbor, you can see VALIS in her slip:

Here is a link to the GE KMZ file: http://www.sailvalis.com/misc/ge_marinetraffic.kmz

We plan to go sailing this Sunday (Apr 5th), leaving the slip around 9:00AM. Watch us on the web!

-Paul