Day 3

It did take us about an hour to rig the Code Zero (we were a little out of practice) but it has been well worth the effort. This sail is now 20 years old and has been bent on only about a dozen times. It, associated furling gear and sheets cost about $10,000 in 2004. To justify this purchase on strictly financial grounds related to passage making, we compared the cost of motoring to sailing in conditions when the sail would be used: Incremental motoring with the cost of fuel these days ($6.22/gal diesel at the Oakland fuel dock) costs about $16/hr. So, break even for using this sail vs. motoring and using $20,000 as the cost basis (Katie would have turned $10k into $20k and/or the sail+rigging would cost closer to $20k today) is 52 days (24hr/day). Conditions and laziness have us using it only about 20 days so far. We will probably get three or four more days of use on this passage. The peacefulness of not running the main engine (we still need at least two hours per day of generator time) or environmental considerations must come into play to justify purchasing this light wind, reaching/upwind sail. Here is a GRIB chart showing the light wind area we are in and heading into:

The Pacific High (circulating pressure area) is forming properly next week and some nice tradewinds should fill in for us:

The owner gave instructions to the captain that she wanted a peaceful, slow sail. Otherwise, we could have left next week for a wild ride down the coast and into the trades.

Our noon position on May 17, 2024 was:

32d52.9m N, 127d15.9m W

24 hr noon to noon: 134 nm

We’ve seen three vessels (only on AIS) and all cargo ships – the largest, ‘Maersk Eureka’ at 366m.