test of attached image file, sent by Sailmail radio email from S/V VALIS

On April 23/24, the VALIS crew (race and return) spent some quality time
on board in the brief interval between the storms we’ve been having
lately. On Sunday morning, we reviewed the new spinnaker gear, and
hoisted the trisail to check fit and rigging. We then went out with J.P
and Robin (rigger and sailmaker) for some asymmetrical spinnaker drill.
While we wouldn’t win any awards for speed or precision (yet), we
managed to jibe a few times without any crashes.

We then returned to the slip, did a provisioning run at the local
supermarket, then started out the Gate for the big Pacific. Of course
we missed slack-water, and after several ground-losing tacks in light
wind against the flood current we motored out to Point Bonita. This
will *NOT* happen when we start the Pac Cup!

Once offshore we spent the evening sailing up and down the coast, gradually
working our way out to sea. With six on board, we divided into two
watches (sort of) and went to work. The propane stove turned up FUBAR,
so, being the tough old salts we are, we used the microwave instead.
Everyone got some time at the wheel, and we got re-acquainted with VALIS
at night. The winds were light and variable, the seas were small, and
by dawn we were not much more than halfway to the Farallons. After
sightseeing at the NOAA weather buoy, we turned for home.

One thing we all learned (again) was that it is *COLD* out there, and
that layers are your friend.

The wind remained light, and we ran in a few miles north of the shipping
channel. We were going to use the Bonita Channel, but conditions were
so calm we decided to take a short-cut over Four-Fathom bank. We ran
the Asymmetrical for a good part of the way, which really made a
difference. I can’t wait to get the new spinnaker, though – it would
have really helped with our angles.

(The new wide-angle lens does make a difference!)

Wouldn’t you know it, but we missed the slack water, so we hugged the
north edge of the channel and jibed our way in under the Golden Gate
Bridge. The current was fierce, but we made it, purists that we are,
under sail alone.

Once inside, we headed for Richardson Bay, and did a little MOB drill.
We’ve got to work on slowing down the boat, but we did manage to recover
our victim (a yellow cushion) each time. We then came back to the
Sausalito slip, washed down the boat (while Paul conveniently discovered
some old friends he needed to catch up with), and we finished with a
good discussion of what we learned during our little jaunt.

Next: Another two-day session in mid-May (dates TBD), plus lots of
rigging improvements and system adjustments. I *WILL* fix the stove! I
will let you all know if I will be taking the boat out any other days.

-Paul

Here (attached) is the example watch schedule in PDF. The transitions
could be smoother if we allowed shift-changes on the half-hour, but I
want to keep it easier to remember. Assumed, but not shown, is a
fifteen-minute watch-change overlap, where we will have three people
available (helm, watch, watch). We will have the schedule posted every
day, in any case. And this is just an example of a likely
staggered-dogged-Swedish-watch schedule.
(click on the file below to load)
-Paul

Watch Schedule 2.pdf

Here is a Google-Earth track of our little sailing excursion today
(Sunday). We had great weather — pretty warm (t-shirts for most of the day), decent wind after we got out of Richardson Bay, some fun swells at sea, and porposes.

Now, we return to our regularly scheduled rain…

Click on the file below to download.

Mar 26 2006.kmz

You are reading the new and improved VALIS blog. I am now using WordPress software, running locally on the Sonic.net server.

I will be using this blog to keep up-to-date on the upcoming Pacific Cup race. Please note the “Pacific Cup Calendar” page (there is a link to it on the right side of the page), which will hold important schedule information. I will be adding more usefull/interestiing stuff as I get around to it.

-Paul

Greetings!

I have been playing with Google Earth, which is an incredibly cool program for exploring the earth via satellite and other photos, elevation databases, geopolitical info, etc, etc, all in a very easy to use package. I have created a tour based on the 2003 VALIS voyage to Hawaii and back which you might find interesting. The way it works is:

1) Go to the sailvalis website http://www.sailvalis.com/journals1.htm

2) If you don’t already have it, download and install Google Earth (the free version is just fine). There is a link on the Sailvalis page.

3) Download the http://www.sailvalis.com/GoogleEarth/VALIS-Hawaii-2003.kmz file. You can save it, or just open it directly (which will start the Google Earth program).

4) Once Google Earth is running, Open the VALIS-Hawaii-2003.kmz folder, which is in the GoogleEarth “Temporary Places” folder

5) Select (click) and open the underlying VALIS-Hawaii-2003 folder

6) You can start running the tour, or you can explore the placemarks. Look for the “start” arrow at the bottom of the “Places” window

Let me know if you need help, but it is pretty intuitive.

Warning: It is 2:50 AM here. Google Earth is just that addictive.

Best,
Paul Elliott

Tall Ships 2005

We had a great time on the S.F. Bay yesterday (Thursday, July 28, 2005), sailing from our Sausalito slip around 10:00 AM to see the Tall Ships.

On board were Dave H, John C, Paul G, Alan, Susan, and Fay B, and Mary, Mina, and Paul E. We sailed with brisk winds to the south tower of the Golden Gate Bridge, and hove-to, waiting for the ships to enter the Bay. There was moderate fog coming in through the Gate, but the air was clear below about one thousand feet. Warm clothes were definitely *not* optional.

Dave H. at the helm of VALIS, with John C. providing moral support

While waiting for the ships, the wind and current tended to push us into the parade route. On several occasions, a Coast Guard runabout came by and asked us to keep the channel clear. No shots were fired, fortunately, and we were far from the worst offenders.

Cuautemoc, a 270-ft Mexican Naval cadet barque

Paul E, expressing contrition for having strayed into the parade route

Lynx, an 1812 Privateer Replica

Lynx (http://www.privateerlynx.org ) is an interpretation of an actual privateer named Lynx built by Thomas Kemp in 1812 in Fell’s Point, Maryland. She was among the first ships to defend American freedom by evading the British naval fleet then blockading American ports and serving in the important privateering efforts. The current Lynx was launched on July 28, 2001 in Rockport, Maine, and is home-ported in Newport Beach, CA. She is a regular visitor to San Francisco, and we have photos of her on the sailvalis.com website from the 2002 Tall Ships parade.

The 82-ft Pursuit, of Sausalito

Pallada, a 356-ft Russian merchant marine training full-rigged ship

Pallada

Liberty Ship Jeremiah O’Brien

VALIS sailed belind Pallada and ahead of the Jeremiah O’Brien, along the waterfront as far as Pier 39. We then turned behind the Liberty Ship and sailed past Alcatraz, behind Angel Island, and Tiburon. The sun was out, the wind was warm, and we had lunch while taking turns at the helm. We then ran back to the Raccoon Strait between Angel Island and Tiburon, tacking up the channel until the wind died near the west end of Angel Island. Firing up the Diesel, we motored back to our slip and tied up around 5:00 PM. All in all, a very pleasant day.

-Paul E.

Report from VALIS – Sept 10 – Back Home

On Sept 10, 10:00 AM PST, VALIS arrived in Sausalito and is now tied up in her regular slip. This completes our 20-day passage from Kauai. We are all well and in good spirits, happy to be home, but grateful for an incredible voyage.

Our last day gave us good wind speed and direction, and clear evening skies. Daniel has the honor of sighting the first sign of land, the Pt. Reyes Lighthouse, at about 11:00 PM. As we sailed towards home, we saw the light on the Farallones, then as the sky began to get light, we saw the light on the San Francisco Sea Buoy. Near dawn, we saw a fog bank towards San Francisco, and shortly after we sailed into thick, low, fog, with only about 300 yards visibility. We ran under radar until we crossed under the Golden Gate Bridge, when the skies cleared and we had good visibility until we arrived in Sausalito.

Our friend Richard Bowen greeted us as we tied up, and brought a bottle of Champagne, with which we all toasted our successful voyage. It was quite a moment.

We are now cleaning up the boat, and will shortly be heading for our homes. Again, thank you for letting us share our adventure with you.

Sincerely,
Dan, Jim, Paul, Paul

Report from VALIS – Sept 9

At 4:00 PM, PDT, VALIS is at latitude 38 deg 11 min north, longitude 124 degrees 36 minutes west — about 100 nautical miles from San Francisco.

We are sailing west-southwest at a speed of just under seven knots. Winds are from the north at 17 knots. At this speed, we should be in Sausalito by mid-day tomorrow.

Yesterday it was almost warm, and we had some nice winds. We ran under spinnaker most of the day, changing from one tack to another as the wind shifted around 11:00 PM. Around 3:00 AM this morning, the windspeed was exceeding the comfort level for the spinnaker, so we doused it and set the jib instead. During this operation, we were escorted by a school of dolphins, who swam and lept alongside, illuminated by the moon and our spreader lights. Around noon today the wind had shifted again, so we jibed the jib and set the whisker pole to keep it full as we ran downwind towards the Golden Gate. Later, the wind shifted again, and increased in speed, and we took down the pole and set the staysail in addition to the spinnaker.

Today we were sitting in the cockpit after the latest sail change, sharing what we had learned and experienced during this voyage. We were watching the flocks of birds — both shorebirds and high-seas birds — when we saw a whale spout about a quarter mile away. Although we searched intently, there were no more opportunities to shout “Thar she blows!”

We will try to send a report out once we arrive in port. In any case, please accept our thanks for your interest and enthusiasm in our voyage — this report has been a welcome contact with our friends back home.

Sincerely,
The crew of the VALIS,
Dan, Jim, Paul, Paul

Report from VALIS – Sept 7-8

As of 7:30 PM Monday, Sept 8, VALIS is at latitude 38 deg 45 min north, Longitude 127 deg 11 min west, about 235 miles from our slip in Sausalito. We expect to arrive sometime Wednesday.

At the moment, we are sailing at 6 knots under our asymmetrical spinnaker, all other sails
furled, in winds from the north east of about 14 knots. We are sailing almost directly downwind, which is not our fastest point of sail. We have been under spinnaker for two days now, striking it once for a brief squall yesterday, and again this morning when the winds were so light we decided to motor for a few hours. The weather has been
cooling, but the days are still pleasant in our short sleeve shirts.

During evening watches we need to wear warm clothing — just your basic summer weather in San Francisco. Last night’s sunset was one of the most spectacular that we’ve seen, and the evening skies have been glorious, with the waxing moon lighting up the clouds and horizon. The swells have come up, but these are long and gentle, from a long way off.

We are keeping a constant watch as we approach San Francisco, but have not seen any ships for several days now. Still, we are keeping the VHF radio on all the time, and someone is always topside. Today Paul E. finally brought out his sextant and took some sun sights. With his Palm Pilot doing the calculations, a two-sight running fix put us within three miles of our true position. Paul has been gloating ever since.

As we near home, this is an occasion for reflection for the crew. This voyage has been a deep personal experience for all of us, and each of us is taking the time now to think about what we have ahead of us when we tie up in Sausalito. Please bear with us if you see the occasional far-away look in our eyes.

Best wishes from the crew of the VALIS
Dan, Jim, Paul, Paul