It's the day before the race and all of us worked from 8am to 1pm doing the final "dialing in" of the boat. Every nut, bolt, screw, line, etc. had to be examined. If not given a thumbs-up, they were repaired or replaced. All the freeze-dried food and snacks was divided into what we (9 of us) will need for a day, then bagged and lashed into place. (see photo below). I was in charge of organizing and labeling everything in storage. I am the queen of Velcro and labels!
The crew dispersed for the afternoon for each member to have their own private time before tomorrow's start. We will meet for dinner tonight for some enjoyable crew bonding.
My navigator (Eric Bohman), tactician (Kevin Miller) and I just spent about half an hour this afternoon going through all the weather reports and possible routes. Reports and computer models give only a background to our joint sense of what is the best thing to do: direction, speed, sail choice. No matter how high tech a boat can get...nothing replaces experience and "gut".
I am going to walk back to the hotel now and take a very, very hot shower and relax before dinner. Hopefully, getting to sleep tonight won't be too much of a problem with all the excitement of anticipating the start.
We convene back at the boat at 8am tomorrow (Friday) and leave the dock at 10am to go to the start line area. We will all be dressed alike in our red KATANA polo tops and Transpac hats. About an hour from the start, we'll have chicken subs for lunch (real food!) and by evening we will be into the freeze-dried.
You'll be able to keep up with our progress here:
http://live.adventuretracking.com/transpac2011
By the way: any time spent at sea DOES NOT come off your lifespan!
Preparing Katana the day before starting Transpac.
Each bag is a day's worth of freeze-dried food and snacks for 9 people.
