From the Tiki J Return Crew:

Just passed the 1400 mile to go mark and finally making some real VMG, I hope no more than 8-10 days from here. Sounds like the starting problem is nothing major, just another standard J-Boat Gremlin. It's not so much not finding neutral as an under spec wire from the control panel to the solenoid.

Yesterday had a 4 foot Yellow Fin Tuna swim along side the boat for 45 minutes, right next to me while I was driving no more than 6-10 feet away. He totally ignored the plug I was towing and seemed to want to just pester me. LOL.

We kept the transponder, so she may be tracked on her route back home.

http://www.ionearth.com/2010/pacific-cup/

We made it to the finish line at 05:15:35 Monday and were escorted by a fabulous trawler into our bulkhead spot at Kaneohe Yacht Club.

We were greeted by the Mai Tai welcome wagon, Dondi, Morris and Carolyn Dean, Liz, Haley and Alyssa Worsham. Our sea legs were still with us as we climbed on land. Mission accomplished! Scott, Kim & The Tiki J Crew

Well, we believe this to be our last full day at sail. We've had great wind and sunny skies, mucho SPF! No squawls to speak of yet, but we still have a lot of day light. Sitting on the back of the boat looking out as far as you can see across the beautiful blue blue ocean, it makes you remember why you do these kinds of things. There are always ups and downs with anything, but with about 140 miles to go you really start reflecting. My next entry will be just that, as Scott and I have a tremendous amount of things and people to be thankful for to make this trip even possible. Tiki J has not let us down one moment and I don't expect anything less in the next 140 miles. My only regret is that she has to turn around and go back the same way she came and we get to hang out poolside and just manage to get on an airplane back home! The crew is anxiously ready to finish and put their feet on land. This has definitely been a challenging trip for us physically as the wind just never let up (a blessing too!). I'm feeling a lot "toner" than when I left. I've been thinking maybe I can invent the Wii Fit version of driving a sailboat game!? It definitely tones your shoulders, biceps, triceps, lateral abdomen, hit flexers and numerous other stomach and body muscles that are required to wrestle a 21,000 lb vessel going 10 knots in 20-25 kts of wind! Doesn't that sound fun to everyone!?!

We believe we will arrive during the middle of the night, the eta states 16 hours - probably around 4-6am Monday morning. Once you finish, there is still 30 minutes of motoring around a treacherous reef that you must avoid to get into Kanehoe Yacht Club, so the fat lady doesn't sing until all of our lines are tied up to something on land or via another boat tied to land. We are already preparing our anchor and such to mitigate any risks, but don't foresee any problems as we have waypoints and lots of navigational aids to help out!

So, I guess that's it for today. I'm sure I will have lots to say in the next couple of days as we hit our destination of Kaneohe, HI. Kim

Nothing too exciting to speak of today, but we had our share of squawls come through for a couple of hours, but ended with a beautiful late day of sunshine. The rain actually felt really good and washed the boat and sails off which of course are completely covered with salt. We've had some challenges with sailmail today so hadn't bothered emailing/blogging, but all is well. I'm looking at our ETA and it states 1 day 4 hours to go! Woohoo! Several of the boats have already finished. We have to make sure we all stick to our sleeping schedule so as not to all be overtired if we do arrive during the night hours. We are hoping the wind keeps up enough for us just to make it before sundown.

Here's to another night of sailing with the stars. We are so close:) Kim

Friday, Day 11 - We still have a ways to go, but feeling good with the tropical sun shining upon us, bare feet, suntan lotion of course, and the wind in our sails. Matt made us french toast this morning for breakfast - it was absolutely delicious. We love our current spinnaker, the 4S. She is doing great as we pulled her tight to the deck and she doesn't seem to want to do her own dancing anymore. We just hit the 500 nm mile mark so counting the miles down to our mai tais! Hopefully we won't be arriving in Kanehoe during the middle of the night, but currently that is our prediction. As we all know, a lot can happen in a few days, so we'll see.

We spent most of Thursday cruising and getting our rest. The guys played "Sea Card" trivia up on deck while Jennifer and I read below. We all needed a little R&R so ended the evening with the "other 1/2" of the tuna for dinner along with Jennifer's "homemade" chocolate chip cookies. During children's hour, we divulged our shrimping incident with our spinnaker and then about 5 other confessions came in. Seemed we weren't the only one. Several other boats did the same and didn't have the same luck of bringing her back on board, one big boat dropped two overboard - made us amateurs feel better! A couple of carbon fiber poles were also part of the carnage in last evening's report, but everyone is okay and all continue to regroup and sail on.

Well, I'd better get back on deck to drive my shift. Quote of the Day: "I was born for this shit!" Kim