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Amazing tail slapping show from Humpback whales off Halfmoon Bay

Pictures of the 2014 Pacific Cup aboard Swazik are now uploaded and can be accessed by following this link. Enjoy!

#Pacific Cup 2014 pictures Swazik

Behind us are over 2,000 miles of ocean racing and the reality of it all has not fully hit us yet (though the multiple Mai Tais certainly have). Most of all this was a team effort, both on the boat and on-shore. On behalf of Team Swazik thank you all for your support, encouraging words, useful advices and fantastic dock greeting.. Team Swazik was (from left to right): Alexis van de Wyer Dave Rolfe Graham Anand Mike Rohde Sebastien de Halleux Seadon Wijsen Stu Bannatyne

From today's standings Swazik's time of 9 days 19 hours 46 minutes and 22 seconds qualifies us for 2nd position overall and 3rd in our division... ;-0

Swazik crossed the line at 06:26:13 HST on 7/20/2014. Smiles all around. Now headed to the main channel and thankful for the nice folks on the small 'follow-me' boat braving the large swell to bring us safely to KYC dodging the coral heads. The adventure is over, what a ride!

And miraculously as we approach the finish line rain stops and visibility increases allowing us to find the finish line transit. Hawaii never looked so good!

Winds are not abating but finally some light allow us to steer half blind towards the waypoint representing the finish line (no visibility means we wont see either Pyramid Rock or the Beacon atop Puu Hawaiiloa). Everyone is exhausted but safe and the boat is in one piece. We are hoping the same is true of other competitors. Still focused on trying to beat boats who have already arrived.

Wind gusting to 38kts. Total darkness. Blinding lightning every 10 secs all around the boat. Wild confused waves. Torrential rain (thankfully warm). Navy ships all around. Finish line around 50nm. Multiple wipe-outs, torn spinnaker. Yet fast boatspeed and grins all around. The fun race indeed!

We are about to cross the 100 nautical mile check point, and will likely cross the finish line at dawn on Sunday. The wind has picked up again and dices are rolling as far as how we'll rank once we finish. For now, we are concentrating on sailing as optimally as we can until the finish line. The line itself is a virtual line, obtained by lining up the top of Puu Hawailoa (a tall hill) with the top of Pyramid rock (a smaller hill near the water) and finally with a small inflatable buoy which may (or may not) be moored on this line. We are to leave the buoy to port, within 0.5nm. Once over the line, the KYC, our kind hosts, are sending a pilot boat to guide us around the coral heads into Kaneohe Bay, a 9 mile trip, until we can finally reach terra firma and enjoy some morning Mai Tais...

The range counter just clicked under 200nm to the finish, so we are li.kely to cross the line sometimes Sunday morning, hopefully timed with a perfect sunrise over O'ahu. Talking about land, it has been amazing to see a bird of some sort every single day of the race. Lone albatrosses, or pretty white birds with long streamers, it is amazing to see them so far from anything. They must be wondering themselves what our party is doing there, as they often circle the boat once or twice before continuing their voyage. Here's a bird's eye view of one such encounter (can you spot the bird in this picture?)

Day 9, Sat 7/19 at 4:34am: we had a gorgeous sailing day yesterday. This part of the race is gripping as all boats start to converge on the same approach line to Kanehoe. We are pushing Swazik as hard as we can, and luckily are getting the right consistent breeze to keep on pressing. Not much squall activity, in fact not much rain at all during the entire race (that means no showers, be warned!). Had a spicy Chicken Jalfrezi curry last night which reminded us of late night London grub. We've just seen a fishing boat (we think), unless it is a Chinese submarine taking part in the current 'Pac Rim' naval exercise currently going on... 285nm to go, Ti leaves still dancing on the sprit: Aloha!

Day 8: we're 400nm from the finish line and spirits are high aboard Swazik. Our wind is back and we just peeled from our old A2 to a new A2, all crisp and fresh to better absorb the shock loads from waves. The sail change goes very smoothly. Then suddenly the automatic release we've setup on the tack gives way and sends our freshly hoisted spinnaker in a wild tumble, saved from a wrap around the headstay just in time. A few minutes later, all ends well and the kite is back up, disaster avoided. It's all in the details...

Winds have become lighter during the night and are expected to drop further still. We have Hula Girl ahead of us, Hamachi on the outside, Reinrag on the inside, Hana Ho and Surprise behind us and fewer and fewer miles to go. We're staying focused and hope the dynamic conditions ahead will favor us in this last stretch. Doing a review of our options over coffee and fresh croissants. Onwards!

before headbutting with Flying Squid. Lesson learned, watch your step as you walk around the deck at night!

We discovered two stowaways aboard Swazik tonight. We're not sure how they landed on deck, but the possibility of a head-on mid-air collision between Flying Squid and Flying Fish has been discussed. Here's Flying Squid.

Peeling spinnakers

Ready for a sail change

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