bdk
07/07/2008, Bowshot

Dean and Pam have been working hard to get SO ready to race. Today, they completely emptied the boat of everything that wasn't bolted on. Then they gave her a good cleaning. SO looks spectacular. I took this quick shot of the bow this afternoon. As wide as SO is toward the back of the boat (which was the inspiration behind naming her), she is equally radically narrow in the bow.

Getting Ready

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From the food challenged crew of Sweet Okole
07/03/2008, We love your products!

It's all about who you know and we are feeling so fortunate to have friends over at the Clif Bar & Company who have supplied us with a generous sampling of their bars and goodies to supplement our minimalist menu. The Sweet Okole crew is half ecstatic and half relieved that we'll have such tasty alternatives to hard boiled eggs and PB&J's. Thank you Clif Bar & Company!

Getting Ready

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bdk
06/29/2008, Richmond Yacht Team Entry

An added twist: Team scoring = more chances at the podium! Sweet Okole is teaming with "Moore Havoc" and "Summer Moon". If it's windy, you gotta like this trio of downwind flyers.

From the PacCup website...

Suggested by the Storm Trysail Club and patterned after a trophy awarded in many of their races, this trophy will add a new dimension to the race. At the end of the race, one yacht club will take home the trophy, celebrating a combined performance under a single burgee.

Pacific Cup organizers hope that this new trophy will foster an additional competitive spirit. Some clubs may well find this triggers more than one discussion at the bars or the docks.

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06/27/2008, Division C Start is Tuesday 7/15 @ 2:00pm

Now this is more like it! Less than 5 hours of handicap allowance between the the slowest rated and fastest rated should make for fun racing.

Getting Ready

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bdk
06/25/2008, 20 days left to get ready!

This weather forecast shows promise that our race will take place with almost normal wind and pressure conditions. It is still forming, but the Pacific High Pressure Ridge is taking shape (roughly under the long yellow oval). The magic routing software would have us sail a southerly route. The red star show us theoretically crossing the 130 degrees West longitude at 29 degrees North latitude. Typically, 130 x 30 is considered a good rule of thumb. 130 x 29 would take Sweet Okole over 220 miles of additional sailing compared to rumbline. Another standard rule of thumb is never to get closer to the Pacific High than the 1020 millibar line. As the yellow labels show, the optimal route (red line) clearly would put us above the 1020 line. I'll be watching how this develops very closely.

Weather Maps

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bdk
06/22/2008

Whether it was our appeal to the PCYC (Pacific Cup Yacht Club) to race in Division C or the PCYC determined we were incorrectly put in Division D on their own, the good news is Sweet Okole is in the right division now. We will have nearly boat for boat racing with the 2 J-35s and the Express 37. And all boats in Division C are conventional designs (unlike the sportboats in Division D). It won't be any easier to win in Division C, but it will be a much fairer test of sailing skill.

Other new developments are our start date has been moved up a day to July 15th, time TBD.

And today Pam and Dean met with the Pac Cup Safety Inspector and passed the the Safety Inspection with flying colors.

Getting Ready

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