From the Blog of Turnagain

by Travis McGregor, July 16th, 2014

"Today marks our third consecutive day of pounding the boat into the wind towards Maui while we wait patiently for King Neptune to deliver the downwind breeze that was promised in the promotional materials.

As you may have noticed from pining over our progress on the race tracker, we have been able to slowly bank left onto a course that will put us right through the finish line. We would have rolled hotter earlier and turned more abruptly, but all the fishing gear on the back throws the boat into a four-wheel drift if we kick the wheel over too hard.

We now have well over 2,100 miles in the bag and less than 800 to go. With winds from behind, we can easily slay 200 miles in a day which puts our arrival in Maui around four days away. Fortunately, the forecast lines up with that <fingers crossed, knock on wood, rub rabbits foot> and we should have winds that will continue to make the boat sing for the remainder of this epic voyage. The aroma of cold beer and fresh burgers that is blowing our way from Hawaii has completely enveloped the cockpit and the minds of the crew.

The cloud formations on the horizon that have haunted the clear nights we have been sailing through recently have been nothing short of breathtaking. However, yesterday's Harvest Moon was an experience that made the entire trip worthwhile. A few hours after the sun had set, the stars had assembled in their usual places with an unknown constellation off of the South end of the big dipper marking our standard course. The moonrise slowly blew out the stars as it rose over our left shoulder and illuminated the densely humid air around us, soaking the ocean in an almost daylight orange glow. As our eyes adjusted to the light, it was almost uncomfortable and we were a bit overwhelmed with what we were experiencing. Please add a Harvest Moon over the mid-Pacific to your bucket lists.

As you may have noticed from pining over our progress on the race tracker, we have been able to slowly bank left onto a course that will put us right through the finish line. We would have rolled hotter earlier and turned more abruptly, but all the fishing gear on the back throws the boat into a four-wheel drift if we kick the wheel over too hard.

We now have well over 2,100 miles in the bag and less than 800 to go. With winds from behind, we can easily slay 200 miles in a day which puts our arrival in Maui around four days away. Fortunately, the forecast lines up with that <fingers crossed, knock on wood, rub rabbits foot> and we should have winds that will continue to make the boat sing for the remainder of this epic voyage. The aroma of cold beer and fresh burgers that is blowing our way from Hawaii has completely enveloped the cockpit and the minds of the crew.

The cloud formations on the horizon that have haunted the clear nights we have been sailing through recently have been nothing short of breathtaking. However, yesterday's Harvest Moon was an experience that made the entire trip worthwhile. A few hours after the sun had set, the stars had assembled in their usual places with an unknown constellation off of the South end of the big dipper marking our standard course. The moonrise slowly blew out the stars as it rose over our left shoulder and illuminated the densely humid air around us, soaking the ocean in an almost daylight orange glow. As our eyes adjusted to the light, it was almost uncomfortable and we were a bit overwhelmed with what we were experiencing. Please add a Harvest Moon over the mid-Pacific to your bucket lists."

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