I Just Wanna Go Fast

One full week of racing and we have what we want, 20+ kts of wind since morning and boat speeds are climbing with top speeds now over 17 Kts. 

We are now moving back up the leader board into 4th less than an hour out of 3rd and charging hard. We are in perfect trade wind sailing, blue sky, good waves and big wind. As I sit here typing I have not seen boat speeds under 15kts.

We are counting down the miles till we see our friends and family and are starting to play the finish line game.

I leave you here and I need to get to the back of the bus to keep the bow out and the boat fly.

14:32 7/18 24, 52.184 N 146, 52.268 W


(Great work boys! Enjoy the experience.

We miss you all dearly and can't wait to see you!!! )

Bretwelda sightings & Halfway parties

July 17, 2013

Wednesday morning finds us less than 900 miles from Hawaii and moving along well.
Tuesday was a long day with holes in the ocean.

We closed to within 2-3 miles of what we believe must have been Bretwelda and all felt great that the hard work throughout the night had paid off.

The feeling lasted only so long as we were stuck in the same hole that allowed us to catch Bretwelda in the first place.

As of 0600 today we have slipped one place in the standing but are within striking distance and in a good position on the course for the final run to the barn.

We had our halfway party last night with a little Wine, Cheese, and Salami which was fantastic, the Turkey Tetrazzini on the other hand, let’s just say it will not make the menu for the offshore race.

 All on board are doing well including our mascot Hula Girl. She has been our companion, cheer leader, and sometimes a little more than that... It gets lonely out here but thankfully she appreciates all of our needs.

7/17 13:37 27, 41.264 N 142, 57.475 W

Manties and More

July 15, 2013

Who's underwear is this in the A2?

Those were the sounds coming from the pointy end last night during a semi hectic change from the code zero to the A2. 

 We find ourselves this morning third in class and making gains all around. We have had several long stretches of beautiful sailing including a 6 hour "Man Watch" of Roland, Dan and Skipper Chris of rarely less than 13 kts only topped by a 5 minutes blast of 15 kts or better of boat speed in 18 kts of wind also had by our fearless leader this morning under the A2. 

 We are now slightly more than 4 days into the race, no breakages of man or machine and we hope to keep it this way. As I type away we are 1332 miles from the finish averaging about 11 kts of boat speed headed to the barn.

Water has warmed up, showers have begun and everyone is happy as the inside of the boat is not too hot, yet...

Monday 3:01 PM 28, 28.643 N and 134, 40.444 W

Almost half way boys! Keep going strong. 

For reference: Manties- "man panties". 

Sunday Funday

July 14, 2013

After a good night of power reaching with the code 0 and staysail, we find ourselves in 3rd place behind Bretwalda and Resolute. Both boats are north of us.

The wind is getting lighter as we sail a little more West than South today to get closer to the moving High Pressure system. Boats to the north may get a knot or 2 better pressure so we are consolidating a little.

Spirits are high and VARUNA is performing well. Our meals are great, and everyone has enjoyed the home cooked items we carry with us, especially the Zuccini Bread and coffee cake.

Weather is spectacular, with clearing skies in the afternoon, and cool nights for sleeping.

Only 6 or so sail changes yesterday, and we plan on peeling out of the code 0 into a spinnaker in the next few hours.

Happy belated 29th B-Day to Stephanie.

Cheers,

Chris
S/V VARUNA

Keep up the good work!

Mr. Blutarski Zero Point Zero (Zero)"

July 13, 2013

After the first night of transpac 2013 which included several stretches of the dreaded triple zero we are now roughly 48 hours and moving along very nicely under the A2 spinnaker. The first night of the race was pretty slow until about 0300 Friday morning when the wind picked up and we have not looked back. Spent most of Friday with a single head sail and on Friday night went into a double head sail reaching mode with the jib top and the genoa staysail. By early Saturday morning we moved into our A3 and by Saturday afternoon dancing along under the A2 and spinnaker staysail. We currently have better conditions than i care to write about, as I don’t have any wood to knock on inside this carbon fiber monster.

The boat and the crew and all doing well except for our captains socks which seem to have walked themselves off the boat due to crew revolt over the smell.


sent at 16:15 Saturday from 31, 01. 721 N 125, 15.837 W

Go Varuna Go!!!

Onward and Upward to Hawaii- First Update

July 12, 2013


Greetings from VARUNA.

We had a tough first night in trying conditions, splitting tacks with Bretwalda and Criminal Mischief. However, they were both able to get away from us as we sat in a hole (no wind) for 30 minutes.

We made over 15 sail changes Thursday evening just to keep the boat moving, and at one point we were leading everyone to the west. However, things changed.

At the 0600 roll call, we find ourselves in 5th position in our class, but just a few miles behind the leaders. The conditions up to now have not been favorable for us. However, that is beginning to change.

We are currently in our jib top and stay sail combination and with a little luck, we will have a few more knots of breeze to really launch West. Currently, we are doing 9 knots or better toward our next way point. As the wind increases and clocks aft-ward, we hope to put some extra miles on our competition.

We have had a few mishaps and we lost our instruments last night for a few hours and that cost us some distance on our competitors.

However, we are now settled in, making water, charging batteries, instruments are working and everyone is settling into their roles and routines.

Spirits are high, and everyone is focused on getting back into this race.

Cheers,
Chris
S/V VARUNA

Here are some pre race pictures of the crew and boat- everything looking ship shape...



















Good luck Varuna!

The Big Day Is Upon Us

Tomorrows the big day, over a year in the making and we are finally at the starting line for Transpac 2013.  For some of us this will be a new experience, for others their 2^nd, 3^rd Transpac, but it will be the first for us together and on the good ship Varuna.  We will be setting out on a 2200 mile race across the pacific ocean to be greeted by friends and loved ones in Honolulu.  A lot of hard work has gone into getting the boat and crew ready for this race and now we have but one thing left to do. 

For those of you reading this not familiar with Varuna, she is a Rogers 46 racing yacht, more can be found about her here.  She is a high performance racer with no thought toward creature comfort  just speed.  For the duration of the race we will be sleeping and racing in 4 hour shifts, never getting much more than 3 ½ hours of sleep and always at the ready to come on deck for a 2 AM sail change, or a 3 AM call to put in a reef.   We live on freeze dry meals, and have windsurfer style foot straps to help keep you locked in while sitting on the head.  

You can track us using the links on this page at the right, we are in division 4, not to be confused with Varuna 51 in division 2.

It is our hope that we can provide a unique perspective by having each crewmember do a post. 

Thanks for coming along for our journey.

THIS IS VARUNA

From Left to Right: Brad Wheeler, Chris Hemans, Jeff Linden, Rob Smith, Roland Fournier, Dan Milefchik, Not Pictured:Bob Fullmer and Eric Doyle 

 Our Weapon of Choice