RACING, AT LAST

Day 1 – July 7th
Finally, 10 am in the morning the start gun marks the beginning of the long
awaited race to Hawaii.. We woke up to a beautiful & sunny day and everybody had a smile on their
face. A last breakfast ashore, a final mug of coffee, hugs & kisses for
family and friends and we are off the dock. Margaridaville, our spectator boat with family and friends follows Turicum for a while after the start. Light winds prevailed initially. Once the wind
picked up we started to gain good speed and waved goodbye.
We are racing, finally. The wind gets stronger and it’s time for our first
sail change. That went smoothly and for the rest of the day we zig-zag along
the American shoreline towards the end of Juan the Fuca Strait.
The spirits are high and everyone is on deck enjoying a wonderful day of
sailing. We now switch our boat clock to Hawaiian time and settle into
watch rhythm where four crew manage the boat while four rest (and eat and
clean): 6 hour watches during the day and 4 hour watches at night.