Shakedown

After Westward was put back in the water after her major overhaul, the crew was called to LA for a shakedown sail over Memorial Day weekend. Alli came in from DC and Mara flew all the way from Japan for the event. Charlie, Shauneen, and Lauren joined the six Transpac crew on this adventure. We the Saturday morning of Memorial Day weekend finishing some prep work. Then we headed out for some man overboard and emergency rudder practice. When that was all said and done, we headed for the West End of Catalina and beyond!

Graham and Willie test the emergency rudder.

It was a beautiful afternoon sail, but by the time the 10pm watch came on deck, we were sitting in about five knots of breeze under a beautiful full moon at the West End. After a change to a lighter sail, we started ghosting along. In the first hour of after changing to a light air genoa, we had a beautiful sail. The closer we got to San Nicolas, the windier and rougher the weather became. As the wind built, we kept changing sails. Only one of those sail changes was the direct result of a ripped sail.

By the time the 2am watch came on deck, we were in some pretty rough weather. Those of us down below were holding on for the elevator ride that came right behind the crest of every wave. Those of us on deck were bundled up in foul weather gear and trying our best to stay dry. After about three hours of heavy pounding, around 5am, an off-watch crew member discovered that we were taking on water. The manual bilge pump proved its worth and the water was emptied.

We turned downwind and the Dads (Charlie, Sam, and Willie) patched up the three inch seem that opened up. In just a few hours, the wind had died, the seas calmed, and the sun was shining. Amazing how that happens at sea: you can be wet and miserable and just a short time later the sun is shining and all the discomfort is a distant memory. We tested out ALL the sails (including the drifter and an asymmetric spinnaker), and sailed between Catalina and San Clemente. We finally rounded the East End of Catalina heading for Long Beach and the boat yard.

A beautiful afternoon for a sail

At this point, and so close to home, you'd think our adventures were over. We sure did. Boats have a way of humbling you, though. While we were power-sailing in about 3 knots of breeze under a
full moon, the clew on the main decided it had had enough and blew out. As the crew were reefing the main to deal with this, we noticed a weird smell coming from the engine room. Willie and Sam concluded that the generator was had probably burnt out its ball-bearings. Another sail change, a few curse words, and an hour later, the engine was running well enough to get us into Alamitos Bay and well-deserved rest.

Within 48 hours, Westward was back on the hard for some more bottom work.

The bottom post-shakedown

Even with all of the excitement of the shakedown sail, the biggest news is what went right. The crew got along great and got some good practice in. We are all even more excited for the race!