Home at Last

Cipango is now resting at her slip in Marina Bay. Robin and I enjoyed a quick trip up from Monterey overnight on Thursday.

(we decided to skip the 30+ knot winds and big seas of Tues and Weds - a great decision!)

Due to the limping batteries, we hand steered much of the way. Thankfully, there wasn't too much sustained fog to cause us to miss the chartplotter or radar too terribly much.

The Bartons and crew wish to thank Jody, Scott and Dave who were an intrumental help in getting the boat back home.

Cipango in Monterey

Just in case anyone is still reading this...

We brought Cipango into Monterey Harbor on Thursday morning.
Somewhere around Pt. Sur, I discovered that the batteries had stopped
charging. The alternator wasn't putting out current and the
batteries were nearly dead.

We hand steered for a while, but switched back to Otto. The batteries
had just enough juice to keep the instruments and Otto happy, and we
came into Monterey for an absolutely stellar morning.

After some diagnosis in Monterey, it appears that a loose ground wire
and/or the flooding of the engine control panel created the problem.
Accordng to Robin, it appears that the batteries are now charging.

Current plan is to depart Monterey on Tuesday.

Cheers,

Barry

Checking in...

1215 on 3/21

Pushed through big swell and wind waves NW of Arguello. Launched coffee off the stove (in view of the Vandenberg launch pads) earlier today.

Still good size swell out here as we head towards Pt. Bouchon/SLO, but much less wind and some sunshine, so way more tolerable (it is the first day of spring, right?).

Engine alarm went off near Arguello... We pulled the steps and cleared the strainer of some kelp leaves - that might have been it. This could be much more serviceable if the intake plumbing could be improved/simplified.

Also, the panel was soaked (and leaking into the boat) so that might have been the cause, too... Oil and Eng temp seem inline again, though, and we're doing 7.5 over ground.

1220 position:

34 58.293N 120 47.559W
HDG 330
WIND 12-15 from 300

Hoping to be in Monterey for breakfast and Scott will leave us.

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And now the Central Coast

Picked up anchor at Cojo around 0530. Got the anchor put away, secured the spin pole and headed out towards Conception. This am's unplanned event was to replace the nut that came off the alternator bracket (I think) that apparently worked itself off. Couldn't find the original in the motor oil sludge of the engine compartment (and we had pumped it whilst still in MX), but were able to find another that fit.

(if there's a spare fasteners kit, I don't know where it is, but would like to!)

Rounded Pt. Conception shortly before 0630 and are enroute to Pt. Arguello, and then the best part of the trip - the central California Coast.

20 knots of wind from the North (that's a surprise, I know ;-) with moderate seas.
Position at 0640:

34 28.500N 120 30.550W

Cheers,

Barry

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A Good Day...

Up the east side of Catalina, along the backside of Santa Cruz, then between Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa islands... Dramatic lighting due to the overcast conditions...Frequent whales - all the way across the Santa Barbara channel through the shipping lanes to Cojo Anchorage, east of Pt. Conception. Currently anchored after transferring two barrels (60 gal)to the tank.

Gusting 18 in the anchorage, so we plan to spend a few hours here before rounding Conception...

Cheers,

Barry

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Bumpy and Lumpy

Cipango gets this wacky rhythm going where she rides a few big swells up, then down, up, then down - building a little speed each time and then on about the third wave - bammm! (different from the Emeril "bam!")

So, that's been the story for the last 4 hours or so... On our way across Vizcaino Bay towards shore. Engine seems to be running hot, so we've throttled back and hope to get into flat(ter) water and check/add coolant.

3/17 23:19
29 04.140N 115 23.75W

W 18 knots from 293 deg
bsp 5.3
hdg 328

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Next time I'm not calling in sick, I'm calling in gone!!

This was the title to a song we heard earlier and it seems appropriate for the kind of day we had. We woke up leisurely in turtle bay and after fueling up ourselves and the boat took to the northward path. We motored for a few hours observing copious amounts of sea life including whales, dolphins, pelicans, seals, etc. Right before the Isla de Natividad we set the main sail and motor sailed our way over to Cedros Island. We followed the coast of Cedros from point to point and I must say it was by far one of the most dramatic experiences I have had on this trip (both on the way down and now back up!) It is such a rugged remote island with colonies of Sea Elephants barking at you almost the whole way. The water is as blue as I have ever seen and the peaks ascend dramatically upwards similar to the Hawaiian Islands or maybe even the Galapagos. It is for sure a place I would love to return to to spend days mingling and exploring the beaches and inlets, climbing deeper and deeper into the mountain ranges above.
The only scary part of the day was bath time when three whiter than white men showered themselves off the back of the boat with joy dishsoap and pots of water warmed on the stove as no one would brave the "icy" cold 62 degree water. I don't know who was more upset, barry by the cold water or the elephant seals at the sight of the three men bathing on the back of an otherwise beautiful yacht!! As for me, I hid safely below till the show was over. Anyways, at least 3/4 of our crew arguably smell better...being too modest I of course made do with our Costco sized package of baby wipes! We have left the calm lee of cedros and have now pointed Cipango northward with a refilled tank of gas across the open channel aimed at Isla San Geronimo. It is a bit choppy but not bad with the wind speed hovering around 15 knots. Our current position as I type is 28 32.047N / 115 15.949W. Depending on how much we get set tonight we may have to avoid the Sacramento reef by adjusting our course for Punta San Carlos - known to some as a world class kitesurfing / windsurfing / and surf spot. According to Robin the Sacramento Reef is named after a US Mail ship of that name that left San Francisco and broke up on the reef en route to Panama. I am not sure if it was part of that same voyage but apparently there was a bunch of gold dumped at the reef that has never been discovered...maybe we'll get lucky!! I might send Scott down to take a peek! Apparently depending on wind & waves it can be quite a dramatic site. If my calculations are correct we will be passing it sometime late tonight or early tomorrow morning depending on how you look at it. We just had a fantastic meal of pasta with tomato sauce and mushrooms and sauted onions preceded by a delicious cabbage salad. I just polished off the dishes, Scott is up on watch, Robin is crawling into his bunk and I am about to head aft and jump in mine to leave Barry our chef extrordinaire and technical guru to zap this off to anyone who is actually reading this. As Robin says it best "Goodnight John Boy, goodnight Mary Ellen."

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Bahia De Tortugas!! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We pulled into Turtle Bay right on time at 0300 - 27 41.122N / 114 53.197W. We were in and out of fog last night and observed some vessel traffic. Robin was as usual his brilliant self. I swear the guy must be 50% salt water!! We navigated between reef and kelp completely uneventfully and into the anchorage where we set the hook in about 17 feet of water. I would estimate that at least 30% of the boats at anchor weren't using anchor lights which given the velvety blackness of the morning made the trip that much more exciting. None the less within 20 minutes we were safely at anchor. Immediately out of the darkness we were approached by a Panga with a man on board passing out his business card and offering us Diesel. It seems as though there is now more than one operation in town and the competition is fierce in the diesel business. That was confirmed when we were awoken at 7 am by the competition with their offer of diesel. Robin shooed them off until we had time for coffee and to get ready to receive diesel. Barry is making coffee and pancakes and taking orders for eggs (somehow they all always end up scrambled but don't tell him I said that!). I have made my best effort to introduce Scott to Nutella, he has so far turned me down. Sad, sad, sad. I personally couldn't go without chocolatey hazelnut spread. Not too much going on aboard Cipango beyond culinary delights, bad smelling crew, and our steady northbound trek. We will however keep you posted if any of that changes!
Scott just reminded us that it is St. Patrick's day (La Faile Phadrig sona dhuit). So have a uisce breatha (whiskey or water of life) for us!! I wish I had more to report...maybe one of the other crew members does. We have now successfully taken on just under 100 gallons of diesel. Robin is busily siphoning into the tank while we finish up with breakfast and dishes down below. From here we take off north on a path that will go on the inside of Cedros Island (maybe some sun and a bath??) and then across in the general direction of Punta San Carlos and then northward to San Diego.
Jody
This is Scott now - Boy we could all use a shower, but the weather so far has not co-operated. The trick for the next 400 miles is to stay dry. Ok, so along the way we have been very fortunate to have Jody a fluent Spanish speaker aboard. Hope all is well with everyone at home. We all so appreciate your support.
Beannaucht slan agat Scott & the Cipango crew.

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Your (Our) Tax Dollars at Work

Sometime at around 7 am - during my watch - I noticed a ship astern. It took well over an hour to close gauge on us, and eventually dispatched a patrol boat our way at about 9 am.

It was a pretty uneventful encounter... They stood off 30 or 40 feet for a few moments - looking the boat over and perhaps using electronics to sniff for stuff. They came alongside - seemingly wanting to board... With a few carefully chosen words, Robin convinced them it was very unlikely that they could do so without holing us. (their boat was a clunky aluminum tender, and we were in 2-4 foot seas.) Scott went down below to grab his camera to take a picture, if/when they did sink us.

The apparent officer in charge asked a few questions - the toughest one was asking Robin to spell his last name. (Robin WAS able to do so - in case you were suspect) A freckled-face boy - not possibly older than 18 years and a day, wrote it down. He seemed downright scared when he needed to ask Robin to repeat his driver's license more loudly.

They pulled up their fenders - giving up on the whole boarding thing.

Of course, we politely thanked them...

Underway at 09:20 from

25 52.917N 113 10.593W
Heading 310 @ 8.5 (towards the coast at Pt. Ascuncion)
Wind about 8 from 330
Partly cloudy

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Revenge of the Pepperoni Pizza! and the USCG!

This is Jody again...and I would just like to add that while I enjoyed my pepperoni pizza the first time,....it did not taste so good when I was feeding the fishies around 4:30 AM on my second watch!! I think I will skip breakfast this morning!! We had a mostly uneventful night...I don't think anyone else was afflicted by pizza revenge or at least no one else will admit to it. It is 9:30 or so and we are steaming along. I was awoken about 25 minutes or so ago as our rpm's were eased down and boat speed dropped off. After a few minutes when nothing changed I crawled out of my bunk (reluctantly) and into my foulies to see four Iowa residents in a US Coast Guard panga to our right!! After playing 50 questions with Robin about who owned the boat and where we were headed etc. They agreed to let us head on to San Diego. It truly was comedy the back and forth shouting of all the information as this poor sopping wet 19 year old struggled to write it down on a soggy piece of official paper blowing in the wind! In the end we were not boarded, thank god, because I think that thing would have put a hole in this boat and off we go on a heading of 309 and almost 9 knots in relatively flat water on to our next stop Turtle Bay!
Current position 26 00.194N / 113 17.009W

Hasta pronto!!

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Off to Turtle

Picked up anchor at 20:30... Skirted past the unlit anchored fishing boat and about to turn the corner of our protected anchorage towards Cape Lazaro and then northwest to Turtle Bay (224 miles).

We transferred fuel to fill the tank (nearly 50 gal), checked and filled oil, repaired the broken stove and finally managed to heat these nasty looking pepperoni pizzas. (the four of us managed to polish them off, so clearly we made do).

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Gentleman never sail to weather!! Good thing ladies do!!

It is currently 18:30 on a fantastic and beautiful evening. We pulled into Bahia Santa Maria (24 46.513N / 112 15.507W) about an hour and a half ago for some peace and quiet, maintenance, and some dinner! So far we have been waterproofing and refueling (both the engine and ourselves!) We had some fantastic (if I do say so myself) guacamole and chips and are currently all dried out and ready for the oncoming trip tonight! Barry is working on preheating the oven for our Mexican pepperoni pizzas (isn't pizza supposed to have cheese? Maybe not in Mexico!) and the Beach Boys are serenading us on our sirius radio!! I have to say for as remote as we are it is feeling pretty civilized. It is hard to describe the beauty of the Baja coast. It is so rugged and raw and yet right when you think you are totally removed a little panga will motor by with three youngish Mexicans lobstering. Their seamanship bravado and lack of wet weather gear astounds us every time. It is awesome to be out here and spend time with new friends, but it should be said that those loved ones at home are never far from our minds. Scott tells great stories about his amazing wife and daughter (Good luck on finals!! Spring break is around the corner!) Barry misses his girlfriend and his dog!! Robin never ceases to glow when talking about Miss Betsy. As for me, engaged for less than two weeks, well clearly I miss my man! (and kitties)! But nonetheless we savor every minute we have of this experience as we are so blessed to be able to experience what so few get to see....even if it is upwind!! So to our family and friends and the owners of this awesome vessel - we say Muchas Gracias for your support and love!!

We will be underway once again as soon as the pizza is done!! I am on first watch with Barry and gang to follow!! So until tomorrow wish us mild winds and flat seas!

Jody, (Scott, Barry & Robin)

PS - for all those at Scott's work please note he has been ill for the last 36 hours! Afflicted with too much relaxation and fresh air!! (so please give him some paid sick time!!)

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Wet

That's the description of the inside of Cipango...

We're presently (11:30 local time on 3/15) at:
24 20.795N 111 46.946W

(you should be able to cut and paste the lat lon above at maps.google.com, by the way.)

We're presently motoring up the shore of Isla Margarita, after a moderately bumpy and wet evening and morning.
Now, sun's shining, water's flater, wind's down and we're able to air out ourselves and the boat.

Minor engine problems encountered at 09:30 this am... Since we left Cabo, the engine has stalled 4 times - including once in the marina just at departure. After losing RPM and stalling a fourth time this morning, Robin replaced the "O" ring on the fuel filter... OK for now... We'll attend to the engine later this afternoon - potentially anchoring for a few hours to make a real dinner and clean up the boat some...

All aboard are doing great.

Barry

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Whales up the wazoo & bat rays too!

Well we're here live and in person from the delivery crew of team Cipango. As I believe Barry has already introduced each of us, I will skip all that and say that we just finished a delivery of SC52 Lightning up the Sea of Cortez to La Paz where the sea life was spectacular.

The title of this message alludes to this, but since this is intended for family and crew of this boat, all my friends will have to wait to hear those stories at a later time. On our return to Cabo we found spring break in full swing and with the charter boats, jet skiers, lets just say we were glad to get out of there without a tattoo. Well it is 1720 now, but less than an hour out we enjoyed the entertainment of a mother and baby humpback whale fluking and breeching just like the Prudential commercial. We are off to a good start, moderate seas, 15 knots true, and making 8 to 8.5 knots of boat speed. Barry is getting ready to make quesadillas for dinner, what could be better than that. Current position 23 03.731N 110 09.017W. Until tomorrow Buenas Noches. Scott

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Return Tracking...

The return trip is being tracked from the FIS cruising site. Simply
go to one of our sites (http://www.fistracking.com

works just fine) and click
on the "cruising services" button. Then select the Cabo Return option
and select Cipango there and click on "Show Location"

That's where we are ;-)

(unlike the race, this data is much more current)

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And now, the return trip....

Hi all...

We departed Cabo San Lucas this afternoon, clearing the channel at about 15:00 local time. Aboard Cipango are:
Robin Jeffers
Scott Pryor
Jody Taliaferro
and me

Stay tuned for occasional position reports (apparently the tracker IS working.) You need to go to "cruising" section, however, not the race section... I'll post the link a little later.

We'll also keep you up to date on marine life, culinary feats and onboard odors.

Cheers,

Barry

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Second Place!

Hola!

Old news by now, but we're happy to report/confirm that Cipango finished third and corrected to second place, by a very close margin. If it had taken us a minute longer to clear that kelp, well...

So, hats off to the Bartons, Jay and Jeff (our watch captains) and the entire crew - all worked their butts off.

Thanks from the entire crew to Bob and Rob for providing us this great opportunity!

By the way - Cipango and Morpheus came together again. Fortunately, this time, it was off the water for a great dinner together at the "Trailer Park," following last nights awards. I'll refrain from reporting any more details...

Thanks to everyone who's been supporting us at home!

Regards from Cabo.

Barry

The last 150

O.K. sports fans, this race has come down to the last one hundred fifty miles. It has been a long and slow affair, with all the really low winds (when they could be called winds at all) keeping even the Big boats within reach. Cipango seems to be sitting in a very good position, if all the possible conditions fall into the right order, things could work out very nicely for this big blue cork (as my boss likes to call her) to take home some bling. Every night we run into some sort of situation that seems to set us back, at least in our minds, to some distant position in the pack. When morning roll call is completed and all the boats have been plotted for their position we realize that we are still in a place within real striking distance for first. The first day we jumped out of the blocks to take command of first position only to end up sitting in the calm with fifteen other boats from the next division up and couple from our own. When they all seem to get the wind before we did, we thought they had left us in the dust, only to find out the next morning that we were ahead of all but three. Every morning we think we have been passed by the fleet because of calm or even having to wrestle with what we call our "sea monster" (it was a massive kelp bed that we ran straight into in the middle of the night and had to tear loose from it by hand). This has all taken longer than we expected but should be across the finish line Sometime in the evening on Thursday, provided the wind doesn't shut down again. So the sprint is on and we may do better than even we expected, we will let you know how the drama unfolds.
Keep checking in,

Johnny T.

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Closing in

It's 2:30 and were reaching in about 8 kts of breeze and heading closer to shore to catch some compression and hopefully a favorable lift, then jibe to make gains on Blue Blazes and Valkyrie who are further offshore but on their way in as well.

The conditions have grown far more predictable in light of the new NW gradient. The sun is strong and it's wise to go below for a while during the day to avoid too much sun so here I sit at the keyboard.

The crew dynamic is particularly good and the topics have turned far more serious. Established now is "Who is hot" among our mutual friends, as well as the more effective ways to get a woman's attention.

We all need to do laundry. Desperately.

Kevin

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Sigmund The Seamonster

I keep assuming that those who are reading this blog - what little we've managed to get out to you - are also following the race tracker. I'm not sure how our 45 minute encounter with Sigmund is going to appear on the tracker - if at all. It was frustrating enough that we were ghosting along with just a whiff of breeze, which degraded to nothing. Sometime around 21:15, while struggling to keep the boat moving, we were optimistic of a puff coming our way. J.B. was on the helm when it started. Quite strange, really. The sails filled and the boat powered up just a little. Jeff repeatedly asked J.B. to head up to meet the puff, and increase our apparent wind in effort to get the boat moving. J.B. replied "I am trying, but I cannot. I do not know what is wrong." (say this to yourself in a French accent, for the full effect).

Jeff came back and took the helm, and expressed his frustration, eventually exlaiming "it feels like the boat is anchored!." I got a high intensity flashlight over the side of the boat on the starboard side and saw nothing. But, when I looked over the port side, I saw Sigmund. His tentacles were flowing aft, emanating from the keel of Cipango. Alongside the boat was further evidence of his massive size. We'd run into a kelp patty - island more like it - that should have it's own postal code. "Yep, we're anchored alright," I told Jeff. With an immediate "all hands" we struggled to pull and cut at the monster for 45 minutes, hauling what must have been hundreds of pounds of kelp forward, away from the keel and cutting it away. Jay was ready to dive in, but the thing was so massive, that it was unclear what someone might do in the water. (it also seemed quite possible to get thoroughly tangled in the beast). We finally freed ourselves from the monster. The time seemed like an eternity, but we were quite relieved - albeit exhausted from the fight - to be underway again. We sent J.B. over the side on a halyard to assure ourselves that we were freed from our captor.

It's 06:50 on Wednesday morning. After our visit from Sigmund, we were eventually treated to a filling West breeze, which we were able to enjoy through a terrific Tequila Sunrise (feel free to sing along). We're approaching, some 60 miles or so to the East. With the end "in sight," so to speak, we're looking forward to a round of beers or three and some fish tacos - hopefully by Thursday evening. IF the wind gods and the Sigmunds cooperate.

Hello to all,

Barry, on behalf of the crew of Cipango

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Update

Day three has come and leaves with a sunset almost as beautiful as the last. After some miserable drifting last night, we're now moving along nicely. It's a slower race than hoped but has had it's interesting tactical exchanges - particularly last evening between us, the DK and Blue Blazes. Now we're on our own with with no visual contact of others but we get the daily post of locations at 9 AM. So far, not in bad shape.
Right now is great. Without using terms like "inverted lows", we've got winds now from the west at 11 kts, water absolutely flat and we seem to be in a favorable position. The VMG kite is pulling well, Sympathy For The Devil on the box, the smell of beef stroganoff starting to heat. You get to know your mates now as stories exchanged to pass time on deck become more personal. Good times.

Now someone else can get you updated with all the technical crap.

-Kevin

PS
Hey Connor! Daddy loves you!

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Rob's Nasal Wind Instrument

Again, apologies for limited communication from the boat. See, the agreement was that I would set up the blog, and others would contribute. Two have expressed interest, but none have been more motivated to sit in front of the computer, than to lie horizontal when given the opportunity.

I'm eying my bunk, too, after coming off an 0100 to 0500 watch. Overnight we saw windspeed of zero for nearly hours, while the light winds that followed seemed like 20 mph gusts! (really only about 5-7 knots) We've been chasing the wind and have been willing to go anywhere, in any direction, to get into it. I'm sure the track shows us doing donuts south of Cedros Island and Turtle Bay.

Oh - the reference to Rob's nose - almost forgot. It proved to predict - with 100% accuracy - when we could expect NNE breeze off the land - no fewer than 15 sneezes in fact. (and the land is 30+ miles away)

Off to my bunk and pleasant dreams about chips and guac - and a cerveza or three. Not sure when we'll be seeing them :(

Regards to all...

Barry and the crew of Cipango.

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Sorry you haven't heard from us...

Hello to our families and friends.

Sorry that you haven't heard from us yet. Hopefully the satellite tracking service provided by the race organizers has kept you informed of our whereabouts. You likely know more about how we're doing then we do (as I write this at 9:30pm Sunday.) Today's roll call had us fifth in class. Not bad at this point, but not pleasing to us, either.

This has been a slow race, with ever fickle, ever changing breezes caused by the upper level systems, Santa Ana conditions and the sea breeze trying to have its say. More light air reaching than we would prefer and much less powered up downwind sailing than we'd like to see.

Our exit of Newport was pretty good. We initially led our class to the left side of the course, and were doing very well into the night. Sometime in the night, it appears we headed more offshore, and a few of our competitors crossed to the inside and made up time.

The light and fickle conditions have led to many sail changes. As the new kite goes up, the old kite comes down - which means it needs to be banded and packed to hoist again. It hasn't been uncommon to switch back, just as soon as we've finished packing the sail we just took down.

All of this is to say that we haven't been getting as much sleep as we'd like wait we're gybing.
OK, back... Another gybe in 4 knots of breeze - trying to eek as much as we can.

So... Lots of sail changes, a humpback whale yesterday, plenty to eat and even new culinary delights. Tonight Rob treated us to pot charred stroganoff - just fine with enough hot sauce, especially if you ate fast, didn't chew and ate downwind of Bob while he was smoking a cigarette. ;-)

We'll try to get back to you soon!

Barry for Team Cipango.

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