Tony Chapman (Neil's Chapman's cousin) is currently sailing the Transpac to Hawaii aboard Pipe Dream, a CF 37, he sends this special report for Boatshed.

Aloha Pipe Dreamers

Saturday July 16 7.00pm PST

Well we are sure we are on the way to Hawaii as we now are flying a 1.5oz spinnaker and Skipper John made the comment that it may not come down again until we cross the finish line. As I write this we are in winds up to 23 knots, which will mean we will have to take it down if the winds hold up after dark as I do not think any of us want to push that hard without daylight. The nights have been very dark without any moon or stars as it
is still overcast. We are all very happy with our position in the fleet.

We heard that Wind Dancer had steering issues and is currently
proceeding using their auto pilot. This is the boat we have swapped positions with in our class the last few days so it will be a shame if they have to retire.

We also saw two other boats yesterday, the second passing very close by going more south, although we could not identify it.

Skipper John made his famous breakfast for us this morning, consisting of eggs, turkey bacon, potatoes, green peppers, onions and other secret ingredients none of us are privy to. It was very good. Lunch was ham and cheese sandwiches and we had the last of the pasties for dinner. I heard a rumor that there are more eggs that need to be used up tomorrow so we may score on two consecutive days. The apple pies are also making great snacks
during the day. Some of the crew think that we have enough food on board to feed the Island of Oahu when we get there, but we will see how much gets eaten. I do not have a problem with plenty of rations, although having 4 pounds of sugar for one person who takes it in their coffee seems a little excessive. It makes good ballast though.

A couple of the crew (Smelly Herberts) were seen washing in salt water at the stern today, a welcome relief to the others. It has gotten warmer and we spent the afternoon in lighter clothes than previously.

Getting e-mails is a good morale booster for everyone, although please keep them short and do not use the reply button. We received 21 messages yesterday which was really great but took much longer than our daily time allowance from the sailmail service. We are using this service to get some weather info so it is important we receive these massages.

We also have heard that we will have the same hosts for our arrival party as the last race, which makes us feel good they are willing to do it again.

The hosts did a great job last time when we arrived at 3.00am. We all hope we can finish during the daylight hours this time and there are more people around to join us in the celebrations.

Aloha for now

http://www.transpacificyc.org/

Owner: John Davis
Sail number: 47560
Rig: Sloop
LOA (ft.): 37
Draft (ft): 6
Beam (ft): 12
Hull color: White
Yacht Club: Seal Beach
Hailing port: Long Beach , CA USA
Class or type: CF-37
Where built: Long Beach
Year launched: 1974

Rating and Division Assignment:
Transpac Rating (TPR): 257.821
Racing Class or Division: Aloha B

Skipper : John Davis
Navigator: Tony Chapman
Watch Captain: Lou Schweitzer
Crew: Matt Reavis, Scott Smith, Joe Martony