It was a great finish for Azure. We coved the 2070 miles in 13days 22 hours and 39 minutes. We were able to finish 1st in class and 1st in PHRF which was huge honor. On top of that we also captured the team trophy between Azure, Duende and Surprise for the best Yacht Club combined score. Azure was part of the winning team in 2008, the first year it was awarded. It will be nice to see the three bronze dolphin trophy return to Encinal Yacht Club.

It is very cool to meet the other boats and discuss our race strategy. Very few people believed that going way north was going to work, but we proved them wrong. Every so often the path less travelled results in a victory!
Cheers,
Capt Rod

We did 200 miles yesterday and are 181 miles from Kaneohe. We had a very exciting night, the squalls were brutal. The mother of all squalls hit us at 11pm
while Moni was driving. The boat rounded up hard, so I jumped out of my bunk and made my way to the companion way. The boat was horizontal, Moni
was laying sideways in the cockpit with the tiller under her chin. She then yelled out Yie, Yie, Yie.... - must be "oh shit" in German. We were all hands on
deck at that point. The spinnaker was flapping violently in front of the boat and I saw 40 knots on the speedo. We were able to get the kite down after a
few minutes and square the boat up. We were still doing 10 knots with only the main. Time for our shy kite - Goldie.

We are looking forward to making landfall tomorrow. Our arrival time varies wildly as we surf down waves. Some time between midnight tonight and 7am
tomorrow. We will see......

Lunch today is roast beef with gouda on gluten free bread. The bread is surprisingly good and has a shelf life of two months!
Cheers,
Capt Rod

We did 183 miles over the last 24 hours and are 364 miles from Kaneohe. The wind has been building day after day as we enter the trades and make our
final approach. With the trade winds also come squalls. We are on our final approach, and are looking forward to landfall. We are forecasted to finish on
Monday the 18th around noon

My shifts are midnight to 4am, 8am to 12pm, and 4pm to 8pm. We stay on PST so each day has a slightly different look with the time change. I woke up
for my midnight shift to a gazillion stars. It was the most amazing scene with the glowing chevrons on the spinnaker and the milky way above us. Ian is a
great person on night watch because he has an AA in astronomy. It is pretty crazy how he can name every constellation, and can pick out the planets. I
have the stargazer app on my iphone. I would call them out and with the tiller in one hand he can point anywhere in the sky to the correct answer without
taking his eyes off the compass.

I woke for my 8 am shift and starred in the cockpit as the rain was falling on Ted and Moni. It is still warm though, so only tee shirts and shorts are needed
plus PFD of course. The squalls appear each night at midnight, and disappear as soon as the sun comes up. If they pass behind us we usually get some
great winds. If they pass in front, there is a lull, and it takes a while for the wind to fill. If they pass over you, anything can happen. In addition to rain you
can get violent winds of 30 knots that swirl and cause mayhem. In the 2019 Transpac this happened and ripped our brand new spinnaker in half - it was a
sad day.

Today's lunch is ham, salami with pepper jack on sour dough
Cheers,
Capt Rod

We did 172 miles over the last 24 hours and are 562 miles from Kaneohe. The conditions out here have been spectacular! We have had 15-20 knots of
breeze all night long. The nights are warm, so we are sailing in tee shirts and shorts under the full moon. The days are getting really hot, over 100 degrees,
so we do our best to find shade. We are starting to get more accurate data on our arrival, so the morning of the 18th is looking promising.

We are seeing more and more flying fish cruising around the boat, They are amazing to watch, and seem to be trying to avoid big fish below, and swarming
birds above. Last night Ian and I were on watch sailing along at 2 am, when he started screaming like a girl. - yep another wayward pilot. They are really
hard to grab, but was cast back to the sea. Now we had a fish smell for the rest of the watch - Moni had a good laugh.

This morning Ian was checking out the foredeck and noticed it was covered with squid. A bucket of salt water and scrub brush were deployed to remove
the ink. Not sure how they got there, because we rarely take water over the bow, they must be good jumpers!

We are getting really low on rations. We meal plan for 14 days at sea, and we will be using every morsel. The fridge was completely full when we started,
and now it is empty. We will be eating our last breakfast bar when we cross the finish line. We have done an inventory of most everything and realize that
we are short one juice mix for happy hour. To avoid a mutiny, Ian reassured the crew the he has enough ice and rum for the final event.

Lunch today is turkey and salami with hickey smoked gouda on sour dough

Cheers,
Capt Rod

We did 163 miles over the last 24 hours and are 733 miles away from Hawaii. The breeze has been steadily building and we are on our final approach.
Now all the strategy and tactics are gone - we just need to sail fast, and stay ahead of our competition. Our pole is all the way back and we are sailing as
deep as possible.

Yesterday was our last day of breakfast burritos - a sad day indeed. When we left Alameda they were all frozen solid and at the bottom of our fridge. Over
the course of a week they gradually thaw. After a week the tortilla becomes less appealing, so Ted starting baking them at a higher temperate until they
were golden brown. They were fantastic! Now we are surviving of breakfast bars, but always enjoy fresh tea and coffee.

We do not normally fish while racing. This morning a flying fish landed right next to Moni's hand causing a great scream. After several unsuccessful
attempts, Ted was able to help the fish overboard so the wayward pilot could chase another boat.

Today's lunch is ham and salami, with pepperjack on sourdough.

Cheers,
Capt Rod

We did 172 miles over the last 24 hours and are now 889 from Kaneohe. We crossed the halfway point to Hawaii, so per the ancient seafarer tradition we
had a party! Thanks to Tony for providing the ancient details that must be followed for such a special event. Since this was the first passage for one of our
crew, protocol was followed, and the virgin made a sacrifice to King Neptune. The crew and captain then celebrated with champagne and other party
favors.

We had a really nice night of sailing. It started blowing 25 knots at 10pm, so we switched to our heavy air spinnaker. The full moon we blazing in the night
sky as squalls passed to the west of us. Then we were treated to a rare moonbow! it was really cool. The wind started to moderate at 2am so we changed
back to our light air spinnaker. We carry 7 spinnakers for the race, and have already used 4 of them.

We are approximately 5 days away from our destination, so we do a lot of inventory. The water is holding up well as we switched to our last tank. Ted has
determined we each get 4 sheets of toilet paper per day. Ian says we get 5 ice cubes per day. Tough times require tough measures.

Lunch today is roast beef with cheddar cheese on wheat, with a little horseradish....yum
Cheers,
Capt Rod