Ready to leave San Francisco

I'm back in Iqaluit, I have to do another 17 days before I am free of this place. That is, of course, if the weather and customer co-operate and get the last little bit of work done before dec 21st, if not, then I will have to stay until Dec 27th.

I had a bit of a stressful time in San Francisco, the deadline was fast approaching for my return to Port Alberni and the list of things that had to be done to make Prism seaworthy was not getting done fast enough. But on the second to last day I was in San Francisco, the last major project was completed. I can now receive weatherfaxes on my new HF transceiver, and store them on my new computer. In addition to weatherfaxes, my new HF transceiver will emergency transmit if required and after I study and get my ham radio license, I can communicate at sea by e-mail and voice.

So that night I lay in the bunk, realizing that I had no further excuses. It was time to shit or get off the pot, and that's a fact, Jack.

The hull is clean and dry, it doesn't leak a drop from the sea. The main windows have been removed and re-sealed so they won't leak when it rains.
The engine is very nicely broken in, new oil and filters, starts every time.
The main sail track and mast have been cleaned and inspected and the sails all work very well.
The rudder, self steering and both autopilots are working well.
I can get weather and satellite photos daily at sea.
I have the charts, books and GPS working as required.

I've managed by good luck and good planning to have my private life sort of organized.

Peter is on his own, though living with his mother. He just finished his first year of his apprenticeship so he had to attend 6 weeks of school, which he got 82%. He is now the lead hand on a 9 story renovation in Vancouver somewhere, so he seems on his way. He just turned 21 so really what can a father do for his son at that age? If I have to do something, I will, but I think he's ready like I was to see what he can do.

My mom is happy and healthy, what a bonus for a 77 year old, and what a bonus if I got those genes.

But I'm at least 51% ready for this adventure, the boat, my work, my family are all aligned, now just to see if I can do it and if the stars align for my path.

I plan at this time to head out of San Francisco on a course SouthEast. The winds are normally supposed to be blowing off North America towards the South West in January, ie from the Northeast, and that is excellent for a fast passage to the Galapagos. However this is a La Nina year in the eastern Pacific and those winds are not as predictable. If I get bad winds, the route to Hawaii is always safe, fast and predictable in January. So for the first week or so, I'll be going parallel to North America, just 150 miles off. I can always duck into southern California or Mexico if me, the boat or the weather gives me problems. After a week, it's decide to continue south to Galapagos and Chile or turn right and head for the big Island of Hawaii.

So there you have it, Dec 28th I'm taking my old man's boat out beneath the Golden Gate and then I'm taking it where I will.

Sailplan
Depart San Francisco Dec 28th weather permitting.
Looking for a 4 day NW weather window so I can head out 100 miles and turn South east to parallel the coast of North America for 4 days. During this time I will be sailing generally downwind.

My 4 year old Cape Horn windvane has handled Island Prism downwind and beam reach very well over the past 2 years. I have 2 year old sails, in excellent condition, the full batt main has two deep reefs. I have 140% genoa, 95% genoa, tiny jib for the 2 year old Harken Furler at the head and a staysail on it's own inner forestay. I have a storm trysail set on its own mast track. The mast has running backstays set from the cockpit.
My engine is 3 years old, just niceley broken in and working well. I have a belowdecks hydraulic Sitex autopilot.

The boat will steer herself under sail as proved by the successful 7 day passage to San Francisco last spring.
The new engine and autopilot work well together. I don't steer the boat by hand.

I have a 2 year old Furuno Radar and a brand new working Sitex AIS Radar with its own antennae, both have proximity alarms. My watch pattern is to stay awake all night and to take catnaps in the day. At sea I feel apprehensive at night, and have trouble sleeping comfortably. During the day with good visibility, I take catnaps with radar scan every ten minutes, radar and AIS alarms on. All navigation lights work, 2 radar reflectors, and I have a strobe at the masthead. At 100 miles offshore the traffic is less, which stresses me less.

I plan to sail parallel to the coast, 100 miles off, for a week. If me, the boat or the weather causes any problems, I can put into Southern California or Mexico. If all systems are go, I will continue on to the Galapagos Islands. There are no tropical storms on this route.

I am quite confident that the boat is seaworthy for this route at this time of year. I know all the systems on this boat and can fix anyone of them. For the past ten years I have been Flight Engineer with a Sikorsky S61N helicopter in the Canadian Arctic. The background from this successful career has taught me to fix almost anything, almost anywhere in atrocious conditions. Another important lesson I learned in the Arctic is that the helicopter has to be airworthy every day it flies, and I've always made sure of that. That's why I am confident my boat is seaworthy.

Safety Equipment:
New Simrad EPIRB
New 4 man liferaft
New HF transceiver
VHF transceiver
New Sitex AIS Radar
Current flares, radar reflectors, life jackets, safety harnesses, safety lanyards

I will most likely do this solo. My usual crew been unable to commit to the time and I have reservations about unfamiliar crew.

Jim Shortreed.