Newbie and LongPac preparation

[GBR3068]

Hi. I'm preparing for LongPac... See 2022 Long Pac Communication Plan posted on: 03/13/22 https://www.jibeset.net/show.php?RR=JACKY_T007210936&DOC=X1&TYP=pdf

"As a race registration requirement, each competitor will be required to demonstrate communication between their tracking device and the RC a minimum of two weeks before the start of the race (June 19, 2022)."

Today is the deadline for the above communications plan requirement. I have been working with Ray Irvine to test my tracking and David to test Proof of Life. Here, attached for reference, is my latest updated View attachment LongPac EPIRB v2.pdfcommunications plan that I uploaded to Jibeset.

I see the following registered (tried to line everything up but spaces and tabs may defeat me):
Boat Name Skipper
EOS Smith, Mike
KALIA Saul, Stephen
RIFF RIDER Casey, Charles
THE PORK CHOP EXPRESS Jordan, Chris
SHARK ON BLUEGRASS Meissner, Falk
REDSKY Boschma, Brian
GALAXSEA Willey, Daniel
JOUJOU Boussie, Thomas

I would sure like to have some advice from the seasoned veterans on this list, if we wanted to start a group email or thread here, that would be great...

 

[GBR3068]

wrt weather ... currently looks like a front comes through in the middle of the race. I'm used to seeing what we see now in May (huge NPH and fronts) but not in July and not when I am 200 miles out. Thats a 100-mile wide wind hole. Anyone else have experience with patterns like this and advice?

 

[BobJ]

It's because Bob is starting another Hawaii race (we start on Monday). This happens every damned time.

Take a light #1 or code sail, and a good book.

 

[GBR3068]

Looks like a gale on the way back too... around Friday/Saturday...

 

[GBR3068]

Back to comms. Getting Iridium GO! to work was not easy. The tracking part is fairly straightforward and well documented. If anyone has problems with tracking setup on Iridium GO! I can write that up. The tricky part was Proof of Life (POL): (1) Sending a Quick GPS SMS to multiple email addresses is easy on an Iridium GO! Using Quick GPS is just one button and works really fast and can be programmed to copy multiple addresses, but this was not the way the RC decided to go (2) The RC requires an email with fixed format. That is much harder on the Iridium GO! Here are my instructions to self... If anyone has a faster and easier way, LMK.

Per Jun 24, 2022, 3:15 PM RC email "Daily Check In - pre-program the following address into your boat's email or tracker address list - [email protected] -" Here are abbreviated notes on how to do send a POL for the Iridium GO! > iPhone > Settings > Wi-Fi > IRIDIUM-24429 (your SSID will be different) > Iridium Mail & Web app > hit MAIL icon > Sent Mail > Select mail previously sent to [email protected] (i.e. original POLL TEST email) > Hit arrow icon / button at bottom left of screen (careful not to hit Trash Can icon) > Choose "Send Again" from Message Options pop-up > You can now edit the email but without having to enter recipients and Subject (boat name) again (I like to copy myself) > Edit the email if you like (there is no prescribed content required by RC - yet) > Hit "To Outbox" (near top right of. screen) > You can optionally check the message is correct in your Outbox > Now you have to force send > Back to Home page > Hit CONNECTION icon > Press here for connection state > If your Wi-Fi is broken you will get "Connection is unavailable due to error" > Back to Home page > Fix Wi-Fi as needed > Connection is DOWN Tap to connect (big RED dot) > Tap (if you wait too long timeout will occur) > Connecting (big YELLOW dot) > Series of logged commands > Connection is UP Tap to disconnect (big GREEN dot) > Done > Now you are on Mail screen > Find the faint icon that looks like a cloud > Hit Fetch mail, this will force sending your email also > You should see logged commands including "messages. were successfully. sent to the server" and "server has sent 1 message(s)" > Done > Your Outbox should now be empty > Your Sent box should include the sent message > This can all take about 5 minutes...

wrt weather >> Pacific Cup guys I know see the same thing...

 

[GBR3068]

Here are the surface forecasts July 6 7 8 ...

 

[GBR3068]

Wasn't sure whether to continue my LongPac experience here or in the thread https://www.sfbaysss.org/forum/showthread.php?2741-2022-Great-Pacific-Longitude-Race!!

I decided to put it here because most of what I have to add is from a newbie perspective.

First wrt weather and my previous posts: I did a bunch of research before the start on weather and in summary: 1. I pored over the fine resolution and rapid refresh models but honestly the most useful was big picture so GFS would have been and was fine 2. More useful was watching the Pacific Cup starters the day before struggle and going N to Pt Reyes or S to HMB. In the end thats why I went S out the Gate. 3 It was West for ages and I was really worried about going too far South to the turn, seemed like nobody ever went S of Monterey in previous years tracks and looked like I was going further S than that. 4. Coming back, the gale warning W of the Farallons was accurate and the wind hole E of the Farallons was accurate and forms the main reason for posting this follow-up which was my overnight trip through the VTS TSS.

I knew the wind would die at the Farallons and it did in the late evening and dark right as I went past the lighthouse. I settled into about 2-3 knots in 4-8 knots of sea breeze. I had plenty of situations in which AIS and VHF had worked fine, but I'd had two instances of seeing ships with AIS that came in and out of my view as if their AIS were going on and off. I was also getting pretty tired so I called VTS on Ch 14, which I knew was full power TX. I wasn't sure VTS reached the Farallons or I could reach them. VTS Ch 14 answered and referred me to Ch 12 and I explained my situation. First thing I learned as my RX quality went in and out was the VTS Ch 12 lady said let me switch transmitters. So that I did not know. Have to do some research on that. I had experienced that my various VHF devices have different programmed TX power behavior on different channels. I did not know VTS has control over their TX and whether it is power or antenna. The VTS Ch 12 lady was great, I explained I was solo, sailing really slow, destination Mile Rock, would have to cross TSS somewhere, and was going to take all night. She confirmed vessel details, position, asked me what route I wanted. I said well entering TSS N of W buoy to SF Sea Buoy to Mile Rock. in other words basically drift right through the Precautionary Zone. She said OK. I was fine with that. I guess I was worried she was going to say well as VTS I have to say you have to go around... She then asked if I wanted to be part of the VTS system or just check in manually. Wasn't quite sure what she meant by that but I said I would check in manually. She told me everything that was coming through in the next several hours. So I stayed with her on Ch 12 until I entered the TSS and switched to Ch 14. I have no idea if all this constitutes external assistance, but I am paranoid about drifting through shipping channels. I used the CPT autopilot on compass to try and stay straight. Went well. I did make one mistake. I had forgotten about the magenta keep out area around the SF Buoy and went North to avoid it as there was a pilot boat right there. That turned out to be a huge mistake as it put me into what was supposed to be the early morning flood on the wrong side of the bay entrance by Bonita. Turned out, for various reasons, it was still ebbing hard there and I really, really struggled to get in. But that's another story. In this story, I learned a lot about VTS and the TSS. I think I read somewhere that it never hurts to call them, thats their job, and it was certainly true in this case.