Shortly after midnight the Tiki God began playing his lively tune: VALIS had crossed the halfway point. We are now closer to the entrance to Puget Sound than we are from the entrance to Kaneohe Bay. As of now (7:00 AM PDT, Auguat 6) we have 1182 miles to go to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
There’s going to be a party when we all wake up!
Paul / VALIS

It’s about time to lift the veil of secrecy that has until now covered VALIS’ mystery crew. We come from all walks of life, but the less said about that the better. We are: Rich (from Portland Oregon), Carl (Camas, Washington), and Dick (from San Francisco). Rich and I have been sailing together for several years, Carl is a friend of Rich’s, and Dick has a sailboat a few slips down from VALIS in Sausalito.
These guys are great!
Photo: Rich and Carl discuss the wind direction, Dick is bemused. (L-R: Carl, Dick, Rich)

Yes! We’ve got wind! (at least for a while…)
Thursday, August 5, 2:00PM PDT Position: 39-43N, 151-47W
After a day and a night of motoring across a mirror-smooth sea, we now have wind. The forecast is for ten knots from the west, but we have 16+. We are running nearly downwind with the genoa poled-out to starboard and the main to port: the “wing and wing” configuration. Speed is about seven knots, and we are heading about 060 degrees magnetic, which should take us under a forecast light patch of air. We will then turn a bit north and aim for Cape Flattery and the entrance to Puget Sound.
Yesterday afternoon saw VALIS putting along, crew usually in the cockpit or on the foredeck to escape the engine noise and to enjoy the sight of smooth sea and the reflected puffy clouds. At times the wind gauge was reading under one knot. It was a very pleasant interlude. About 8:30 PM the wind had picked up a bit, so we killed the engine and sailed (slowly) for a while. This was not to last, and within a half-hour the wind had dropped again and we were again under power.
Dinner was spaghetti and meatballs, which was much appreciated. As the sun began to set we brought the laptop out to the cockpit, hooked the audio to the cockpit speakers and started the DVD “Big Trouble in Little China”. We sat back, passed the popcorn, and had a very pleasant evening.
Evening watches were under starry skies and occasional clouds. The sliver of the waning moon rose in the early AM, so the skies remained dark as we sailed into the milky way.
At first light the wind had become strong enough to begin sailing again, and that’s what we’re doing.
Paul / VALIS

It finally happened.
This morning the wind was around six kts, which was letting us sail at 5 kts towards the north (the two-foot swells were also giving us a slight push). Around 11:00AM the wind dropped to less than three kts, and our speed dropped well under five. This looks like a long-term pattern, and the forecast agrees, so we have begun to motorsail through a corner of the Pacific High. We furled the genoa, centered the boom, disconnected the Monitor windvane, activated the autopilot, and are steaming north at about six knots. The small amount of wind is keeping the mainsail full, so it may be providing a little extra drive. We keep a watch for a change in the wind, but I believe we will be motoring all day, and perhaps through the night. We’ve got the fuel for several days of motoring.
Once we get a bit more north, the wind should fill in from the west and let us put the genoa back up. At that point we start heading for the Strait of Jan de Fuca.
With the engine running we now have hot water for bathing, and have taken advantage of the calm conditions to swab the decks and ourselves. There are still one-foot swells moving past so the ocean isn’t completely flat, but the surface is often mirror-smooth with nary a wind-ripple. We watch the By the Wind Sailors (small floating jellyfish) go by, and marvel at the occasional albatross as it circles the boat, its wingtips within inches of the water’s surface.
Time: 1:45 PM PDT, August 4 Position: 37-43N, 153-10W Course: 350deg mag Speed: 6 kts
Best, Paul / VALIS

Tuesday, Aug 3, 11:55 PM PDT
Another lazy day here. We sailed about 43 miles from 8:00PM yesterday t 8:00 PM today, which is slightly better than the day before, and a little suprising, since the forecast was predicting much lighter winds for today. The wind has dropped off, but not by much. Perhaps tomorrow. The seas have been small, and the sky usually clear. There are patches of clouds, with faster, cooler air under them, and light air behind them, but these hardly qualify as squalls. All in all, it’s been extremely pleasant We lounged about in the cockpit for much of the day, listening to music.
This afternoon, minutes after putting the hook in the water, Dick caught (and filleted) another Mahi Mahi. Fish tacos for dinner (fortunately we haven’t grown tired of these), followed by a Key Lime pie made by Carl. For lunch we had leftovers: Chicken tacos, and/or noodles with tomato sauce.
When we left Kaneohe we engaged the hydraulic autopilot, but the next morning we began using the Monitor windvane instead. This mechanical marvel has been steering us continuously since Thursday. The Monitor frees us from having to steer, consumes no power, and we couldn’t be happier with its performance. Today we ran the engine for the first time since leaving Kaeohe, just for an hour to charge the batteries. They still have a long way to go before being fully-charged, but we expect to be motoring quite a bit over the next several days,and this will also serve to top of the batteries.
Our projected course takes us north tonight, but by mid-day tomorrow we will begin a slow turn towards Seattle. Here are some distances: We are 939 miles from Kaneohe, 1427 miles from the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and 1453 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge. We are due west of Carmel. It’s a long way from anywhere.
Best, Paul / VALIS

Monday, Aug 2, 8:45 PM PDT Position: 33deg 56min N, 153deg 40min W Course: 010deg magnetic Speed: 6.5 kts
It’s been a pretty lazy day aboard VALIS. The wind had been steady, the seas moderate. Last night the waves picked up for a while and it was quite bouncy below, but we’ve become used to that sort of thing by now. After a spectacular sunrise, we lounged on-deck enjoying the blue skies and warm wind, or went below for a nap. Occasionally birds would pay a visit, including one large albatross who followed us for about an hour. The fish were safe from VALIS today.
Dinner last night was chicken tacos. Lunch today, grilled cheese sandwiches. Dinner tonight was a tasty chicken stir-fry, prepared by Carl and Dick.
We just finished participating in the evening radio net for returning Pac Cup boats. All are doing well, and it is interesting to hear all the various being disscussed for the voyage home. We still have our options open on VALIS, but the forecast does seem to favor a Seattle landfall. We’ve got another day or two to decide.

We’ve been sailing more or less north over the last couple of days, with good wind and moderate seas. We should soon be hitting the light aiir surrounding the Pacific High, which is still looking very confused. Oh well, we will sail (or motor) with what we get.
Early Saturday A.M. we spotted what looked like a well-lit ship on the horizon. There were several decks, and it was definitely a big one. But, it wasn’t showing up on the AIS. After several minutes of puzzling over this, the ship vanished behind the low clouds, and eventually reappeared above the clouds as — the Moon. The broken clouds on the horizon had completely fooled us.
The rest of the evening was spent sailiing through light squalls. Come morning the skies were mostly clear, and the water was sparkling. A beautiful day. Around noon the fishing line went into the water and pretty soon we were hauling in a 36″ Mahi-mahi. Fish tacos for dinner! In the afternoon we spotted a ship on the AIS receiver, about 25 miles off but on a course to cross our bow at a range of four miles. At about ten miles we could see her on the horizon. As she crossed well in front of us we hailed her on the VHF, just to say hello. She was carrying a cargo of coal from Mobile, ALA to China. And she had definitely seen our AIS transponder.
Last night was more good sailing, moderate winds and seas, and light squalls. This morning we sailed under a rainstorm, which did a good job of washing the several days of salt deposits from the deck and rigging. After the storm we were treated to a brilliant rainbow.
And so we sail on.
Paul / VALIS

6:30 PM PDT, Friday, July 30 Latitude: 26 deg, 32 min N Longitude: 155 deg 47 min W Speed: 7.5 kts Course: 350 deg magnetic Wind: 17 kts from 100 deg magnetic Location: about 325 miles north of Kaneohe

Latitude: 23 deg, 34 min N Longitude: 156 deg, 51 min W
It is now 3:30PM PDT on our second day of the return voyage. Skys are mixed clouds and sun,and the seas remain relatively calm. Wind is about 15 kts from the west. We are sailing on a course of 010 degrees magnetic, at about 6.5 kts.
All crew is feeling good, and we have been able to eat, sleep, and stand watch and actually enjoy it. During the day we have no fixed watch schedule — we use the honor system to make sure that someone is always topsides, and the rest of us lounge around, clean up, prepare meals, etc. From the hours of 9:00PM to 9:00AM (PDT) we each take a three-hour watch. So we aren’t stuck with the same watch every night, we have a daily rotation. Last night the watch order was: Rich, Carl, Paul, and Dick. Tonight it will be: Dick, Rich, Carl, Paul.
The days have been warm and mostly sunny, and that means we get squalls — usually during the evening. So far these have been moderate. Last night we reefed the genoa during one squall, and we left it reefed until sunrise. We lost a little speed, but it was more comfortable and easier to handle. The nearly-full moon illuminated the sea and sky for most of the night, occasionally hiding behind the clouds.
Last night for several hours a large bird was flying around our masthead, making pass after pass trying to land on the windvane. There’s a bunch of stuff sticking up at the masthead, and I suspect this is why the bird never succeeded in landing. Dick and I were careful to keep our mouths closed while we watched.
While we left Kaneohe using the hydraulic/electric autopilot, this morning we switched over to the Monitor windvane. It’s doing a great job, and not using any electrical power to do it.
The weather pattern looks favorable for a Seattle landfall, so that is the working destination. At this point in the voyage we would be sailing the same course whether we were heading for Seattle or San Francisco, so I remain flexible.
Aloha, Paul / VALIS

VALIS finished the Pacific Cup. We had a great time and I will write about it all soon enough. Our stay in Kaneohe Bay was a real pleasure and the folks at the Kaneohe Yacht Club couldn’t have been nicer.
But now it’s time to return home.
VALIS left her KYC slip about 12:50 HST, and headed out into the bay. Dodging turtles in the Sanpan Channel, we reached the open ocean and put up our sails; full main and genoa. The seas were small, about 3-4 feet, and the wind about 12 kts from the north west. Skies clear, warm water — this is great sailing.
Our return crew is Pac Cup crewmember Rich, new guys Carl and Dick, and me (Paul). We have just begin the evening watch schedule, and are sailing a little east of due north at about 6 kts.
I still haven’t chosen our destination. It could be Seattle, or San Francisco. Either place would be great, and I may let the weather make the choice for me.
Aloha, Paul / VALIS