It’s a cheerful and sunny morning at sea! We are about 20 miles offshore, between Trinidad Head and Eureka. We are aiming for Cape Mendocino and should pass in about 8 hours.
I forgot to mention last night’s radio Test Net. I had good conversations with Elizabeth Ann in Brookings OR, and Scaramouche, near Victoria BC. These are both preparing for the Singlehanded Transpac. Both had good and readable signals. This morning’s radio net had good conditions (not a lot of noise), but I heard no boats calling VALIS.
Last night we sailed pretty slowly. There was some excitement when the occasional cross-sea would dump into the cockpit. One hit hard enough to cause bruises and require some dodger repair. Fortunately we are all tethered on at all times.
Around sunrise we jibed back out to sea and raised more sail. We are still being conservative — we could be sailing a couple of knots faster, but our 6.5 kt average feels good. The seas are big (occasionally 15 ft?) but are pretty gentle. Wind is in the low 20′s, from the NNW.
Until later, Paul / VALIS

Greetings from California! We just sailed past Pt. St. George (near Crescent City) and have entered California waters. It’s been a rip-roarin’ day, with high wind and seas as we passed Cape Blanco (Oregon) this morning. We were about 50 miles offshore and the wind, instead of the predicted 25-30 kts, was well over 40. The crests of the big swells gave us all a good soaking, and by the time it began to calm down we were flying a *very* deeply-reefed main, and a scrap of jib. Still, we were hitting 8 and 9 knots. We worked our way inshore again, and were rewarded with calmer conditions. VALIS definitely took good care of us.
Although challenging,it was a beautiful day. The sky was clear and the sun a welcome change from the previous day’s overcast.
By contrast, passing Pt. St. George was a comfortable cruise. The swells did kick up as we passed over the shallower water, but once south of that conditions moderated. Even though the wind has dropped a bit, we still have reefed sails. We’re making 6kts, and that’s just fine. We had a beautiful sunset and are enjoying a sky full of stars and a half-moon nearing the western horizon.
Continuing south, Paul / VALIS

Good morning! VALIS is sailing well, and all are in good spirits (or asleep). At 8:55AM PDT our position is: Lat 43d 28.6m N, Lon 124d 38.1m W. We are sailing at about 7.5 kts on a course of 175 deg mag.
Early this morning we had come as close to land as we wanted (about 12 miles off the coast near Reedsport OR), so at 5:00AM we jibed back out. We were carrying the reefed main and reefed genoa out to port, which was forcing us to sail further west that we wanted, and we were going pretty slowly, so we rigged the spinnaker pole hardware: downhaul/foreguy, and afterguys. While were at it we rigged the end-boom preventer (we don’t need it now, but it’s nice to have ready). Now the genoa is poled out to starboard, and we are sailing fast and comfortable.
Our 8:00AM radio test net was a wash-out. I could hear one boat calling VALIS (on #4A), but I couldn’t make out the name and they couldn’t hear me. #8A was worse — nothing at all. 4A, 4B, and 4C all had digital communications going on (with some breaks), which didn’t help at all.
I understand that we are now (or were) visible via AIS tracker. There will no doubt be many gaps in coverage as we sail offshore and back, and past areas of the coast with no land-based receivers. Please don’t worry about this.
I have no idea what the dinner surprise will be, so watch this space for the exciting details!
Regards, Paul / VALIS

Good evening from VALIS. We’ve had a great day of sailing, and the crew is feeling good. We have decided that rather than sail offshore 50-100 miles as originally planned, the near-shore weather will be much more comfortable as we sail to San Francisco. So, at 10:15 AM we jibed and are now sailing a course of 110 degrees magnetic, which points us at Florence, Oregon. We plan to hug stay about ten miles offshore, following the “crab-pot free” tug channel. This may put us in range of some AIS receivers, so you might see us on marinetraffic.com, etc. Or, you might not. Coverage is very spotty.
Our current position (at 7:45 PM) is 44d 39.6m N, 125d 13.3m W. Speed is about 6 kts, and our Course Over Ground is 110 degrees magnetic. Wind is 15 kts from the NW.
Rich made dinner again: salad, and spaghetti with steak sauce. Very nice.
p.s. – the 8:00 PM radio schedule was more successful: we talked with Nomadness in Friday Harbor (good friend Steve Roberts), and the Pac Cup boat Por Favor, in Sydney BC. We had noisy but readable contacts on channel 4A, but no contact on 8A.
Regards, Paul / VALIS

June 3, 8:45AM lat: 45d, 25.2m N, lon: 126d 16.6m W SOG: 7.8 kts, COG 175 d mag
It’s morning on VALIS, but the sky is grey, and it’s cold here. Of course, we’ve been used to that for the last several days. The wind has moderated for now, and is blowing about 25 kts. The seas are down a bit too, perhaps 8 ft (it’s hard to tell). Our current position is about 100 miles west of Tillamook, Oregon.
Last night we had a fast ride, with the wavetops breaking in a beautiful phosphorescent glow. There were ships on the AIS screen, but none passed close enough to see by eye.
I got the new GRIB (weather) files, and worked the SSB radio this morning for the 8:00AM net, but with little luck. I was able to talk with Mirage on channel 4A, but it was a poor connection. I heard nothiing on channel 8A. I will be also trying 4B and 8B, since there seems to be a lot of interference on 4A and 8A at times.
Breakfast is whatever you find. Lee made me some hot chocolate, and tea for himself, while Jim made coffee for Rich and himself. I’ve been up since 4:15AM, so I’m going to take a nap.
Best, Paul / VALIS

This morning around 9:00, the wind picked up and we were able shut down the diesel. It started gently, about ten knots, and has increased into the high twenties, with occasional gusts ov 30 kts. This is what we were expecting. The seas are perhaps ten feet from the NNW (as is the wind), and we are having a fast ride as we aim due south (165 degrees magnetic). Our average speed is almost eight knots. We have reefed the main and genoa for comfort, but this hasn’t really slowed us down.
We are currently about 75 nautical miles west of Westport, Washington.
Tonight we tried the 8:00PM radio check net, but no luck was had. Channel 4A was noisy, and while I could hear some very weak stations, I don’t believe these were trying the radio check. At 8:10 we switched to Channel 8A, and heard a boat trying to call us. I couldn’t quite make out the name (Alyssia?) and they could not hear my reply.
Anyway, we are feeling good, and not too tired. Rich made the always Chili-Mac (and a salad) for dinner, and the hot food was very welcome.
Now we’re starting our formal evening watch schedule. Stay tuned!
Paul / VALIS

VALIS missed her first radio check this morning. Sorry, I was working out the bugs in our watch system and just forgot. Tonight at 8:00PM I promise we will be on the air.
The good news is that we found the wind and are sailing — boatspeed is 8 kts @ 160 degrees Mag.
Regards, Paul / VALIS

Good morning from VALIS! Time: 7:00AM, June 2 Position: 48d 18.6m N, 125d, 15.5m W Course: 220d Magnetic, Speed: 4.2 kts
Motoring in very light wind.
The VALIS crew had a nice, but noisy, night. We motored out the Strait, and early this morning passed Tattosh Island and buoy R2, entering the great Pacific. As we headed southwest, a tug hailed us on VHF, as a courtesy wanting to make sure we were aware that they were towing a barge on a 300 ft cable. That was nice of them, but we weren’t going to be getting that close in any case, especially since the three vertical white lights on the tug indicated “long tow”.
We are now about 20 miles offshore, the wind is nonexistant, and the swells are about six feet. We continue to motor, since in a few hours the wind should pick up, starting a bit further offshore.
The crew is adjusting to our watch schedule:
9:00 – 10:30 PM : Rich and Lee 10:30 – midnight: Lee and Paul midnight – 1:30: Paul and Jim 1:30 – 3:00AM: Jim and Rich 3:00 – 4:30: Rich and Lee 4:30 – 6:00: Lee and Paul 6:00 – 7:30 Paul and Jim 7:30 – 9:00: Jim and Rich
That doesn’t give us much sleep, and once the crew are more familiar and comfortable we may make some adjustments. During the day we plan to have “honor system” watches.
That’s it for now, Paul / VALIS

Sunday, June 1 2014
We are on our way! We left the Friday Harbor dock at about 10:45AM, and then we left it again at 11:00 (we had forgotten someones boots). We caught a favorable current through Cattle pass, and are now steering toward Race Rocks. Next stop, San Francisco!
Crew is Paul (me), Rich, Jim, and Lee.
Regards, Paul / VALIS

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