What would a race to Hawaii be without a report from one of favorite friends, Eric Heim from Quantum San Diego? He is a watch caption (In title only, I’m sure) on the world famous Ragtime, and they are currently winning ORR Div 1 by five hours on corrected time. Of course a lot can happen with over 500 miles to go, but with the breeze up, the boat is going quite well. Let’s hope they don’t run out of sugar – no one wants to see Eric on the downside of that! Here’s his report from today:
Been working my ass off trying to keep her roping. Off watches spent mostly sleeping or looking at computer with Ernie. Have good breeze since evening and pushing HARD with big a-4. Can’t believe the old dudes used to rock a 14’ tiller on here!
The noises aboard are also so much different than modern carbon rocket ships. Lots more old creaks while the water flying around the hull is very muted. Love the analog feel of this platform with the addition of proper upgrades to rig, systems, etc.
The food program has been top notch and all cooked on the flat top by Tina (The boat owner). Highlights include filet stir fry over rice, hot pastrami sandwiches, and over the top salads. Tonight features a classic lasagna.
The 1-5am watch has been dubbed the coco cowboys for our sugar and caffeine craze. James “Hippy” Clappier, Dusty Durant, and myself get super caffeinated and keep the laughs flowing and averages high providing entertainment for Ernie and Tina when they are on deck or within earshot below. Keith Kilpatrick, Will Suto and Austin “rocky” Book bust out the speaker for some tunes every afternoon to keep the vibes going and fun factor pegged as much as the speedo.
That’s all I got for now from the legendary Ragtime!
