Today's Report
July 9/10 Honolulu Time
Position: 21°17'N, 157°53'W
Remaining distance to Yokohama finish: 13.4%
The hose ordered in from the mainland arrived yesterday and was installed by late afternoon. This morning Saito-san called to say the new, 90-minute sea trial was successful and the engine, sails, furlers, and rig tensioning all passed with flying colors. The primary concern was to test the integrity of the water hoses that blew during the previous test due to over-heating damage.
They also wanted to test the performance of the cut-down main sail, which had weakened areas removed by a local sail loft and sun-damaged seams restitched. For the rest of the voyage Saito-san will keep it at a 3-point reef, and depend mainly on the genoa and staysail.
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Saito-san called later to say he had cleared customs, and was now looking forward to enjoying a celebratory meal with the Hawaii Team of Dave Cooper, Scott Gilbert, and Ed Abbot at a restaurant near the marina.
He'll depart in the morning on a down-wind sail toward home, a distance of 2,800 nm expected to take about 25-30 days.
