Ask Nigel - Aboard Zvi

BY NIGEL BARRON

NIGEL BARRON and the crew deliver Zvi back to Seattle with another breathtaking open ocean sail on the return from Transpac 2021.

Almost 7,000 miles spread across 30 days of sailing both felt exhilarating and exhausting. And while the race could best be described in Thomas Hobbes’ words, “nasty, brutish, and short,” the delivery back home could be more aptly described as the Talking Heads put it—“same as it ever was.” The ride can really be broken down to three parts. You have the same accelerated breeze that you finished the race in, followed by the middle section of more typical ocean breeze, and then usually something interesting in the last couple of days as you approach the Washington coast. A few days after finishing Transpac, the crew met up on the boat at Kewalo Basin Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, to convert it from ocean racer to delivery sailboat. As part of the conversion, we exchanged the racing sails, which were shipped back to Long Beach, with delivery sails. We have a great new delivery main that is full hoist to the first reef. We also have two additional 45-gallon fuel tanks installed below deck for the delivery home. You never know how much fuel you need, but I’d rather come back to Seattle and give away fuel than wish I had more in the middle of the ocean. Another important part of the delivery is provisioning. Unlike the race, we brought our coolers and made ourselves comfortable. We ran the refrigerator on high, giving us a more options for fresh food, so we don’t rely exclusively on freeze-dried meals. We set a departure date of August 2, to give the delivery crew a full weekend in Hawaii. The plan was to fill up at the adjacent fuel dock and depart. Minutes after leaving our slip for the fuel dock, we encountered our first obstacle; the fuel dock was rationing its diesel. With a little sweet talk and help from our shore support (i.e. my father-in-law), we were able to secure diesel with just a slight delay. Lesson learned: When you’re on an island, don’t presume supply will meet your demand. We headed out of Kewalo Basin, hoisted sails, and turned to the west to keep us in the lee of the island and out of the waves. The Waianae coastline is breathtaking, and we had a great sail heading 355. As we cleared the island, the predicted increase in sea state and wind arrived, and we went to the second reef on the main and kept the smaller #5 jib. The first few days were rough as expected, which caused some seasickness on board and the usual grumbling about how uncomfortable the boat is. Unfortunately, on day three, we noticed a problem with the track on the mast and had to take the main down. We still had plenty of pressure, so sailing along with the jib and the genoa staysail was fine. A fix underway would not be possible, so we consulted with our shore team. The biggest issue for the shore team was a redo of all of our polars and routing options to keep the wind in the optimum range. Thankfully, with Roger “Clouds” Badham and Andy Koch on land with access to high resolution weather files, they did just that. After clearing the bigger pressure and seas, we settled into the monotony of an ocean passage switching between motoring, motor sailing, and just sailing as the pressure and direction allowed. We spent a lot of time with the boom tent up to give us shade. We were able to land three nice mahi-mahi tuna that gave us some fresh food, and we found time to swim in 17,000 feet of water 1,000 miles from land. Finally, around 50° North, we made the right-hand turn for Cape Flattery. We knew that we would have a brief 10-hour spell of 30-40 knots of wind as we approached the coast. But plenty of notice means you can prepare; we went around the boat and check lines and stowed gear. We made water and prepared for the inevitable pressure. It came as predicted, but by 2 a.m. it was mostly gone, and then within 15 miles of the coast, we were becalmed. Fortunately, we had the fuel to be able to motor at full speed all the way back to Shilshole. All told, it was 15 days at sea. But there was no time to relax after our arrival, as we needed the boat in the yard and the mast out, repairs started, and upgrades necessary to enjoy the upcoming in-shore Puget Sound sailing season. Of course, we also have to prepare for another chance to sail across the ocean for the Pacific Cup next summer.