Ask Nigel — Aboard Zvi

BY NIGEL BARRON

NIGEL BARRON is running through his pre-race checklist, and prepping for Zvi’s delivery to Los Angeles, in anticipation of the July 17th start to Transpac.

As I write this, I’m looking out across the boat yard at Zvi, the R/P 55 that we’ve hauled for one last time before heading down the coast to Long Beach, California, where we will start Transpac 2021 on July 17th. The to-do list is getting shorter, but there are always the inevitable new items that pop up. Before departure, we will complete a safety inspection and get the delivery sails and equipment on to the boat. Fortunately, a lot of the equipment we want on board for the delivery is required for the safety inspections, so there is not much duplication. A multitude of items need to happen to prepare for any boat trip, a few more when it’s an 1,100-mile offshore delivery. Every delivery or trip starts with logistics. A few weeks back, we took a quick day trip to Los Angeles so we could check out the marina and slip where we’re headed. We reserved a storage locker, checked out the hotel, and found the required Hawaii-approved COVID-19 testing facility. It was nice to see everything before we arrive on Zvi (potentially in the dark) after traveling south for several days. It’s also nice to get these things addressed early, because when we fly back before the start, we’ve got mandatory skippers’ meetings, COVID-19 testing, a container to load, and racing sails to fit. Hauling out one last time in Seattle, we have time to check the bottom and sand it out to 1,000 grit. That’s probably a little obsessive, but I could, so I did. We’ve had the sail drive and engine serviced and are using the yard time for a few more modifications to the deck. All the new halyards and sheets are on the boat, and the last of the new race sails have arrived. We plan to go out for a practice before the coastal delivery to check all of them and hopefully, decrease unpleasant surprises. Something will come up, but with the spares and the crew, we hope that we can take care of whatever it is to ensure we arrive in Los Angeles safely and in a reasonable time. To some extent, the delivery is going to be a shakedown for the race. It’s going to be a test of our food planning and delivery, sleeping situation, water maker, and fuel and battery status. This is all going to be important data as we start to determine how much fuel we need to bring. At 7 pounds per gallon, less fuel is an easy weight savings. We have our various communication systems up and running and have sent some test emails and downloaded some GRIB files. We’ve got an IridiumGo and Fleet Broadband, along with a couple of satellite phones. As our start approaches, we’ve also started to pay more attention to the weather patterns that are developing. Interestingly, La Nina officially ended within a week of when it did in 2015. Does this mean the race would be similar to 2015? We’re not sure, but we’ve spent some time evaluating the routes taken in 2015 and the big picture weather. Transpac does a nice job with their YellowBrick trackers that allow you to go back and replay prior races. We’ve also started speaking more frequently with our weather routers, who are helping with both the deliveries and the race. Next month, I’ll hopefully be writing and sharing some pictures of a fantastic—and uneventful—trip from Seattle to Los Angeles.