• Ahoy and Welcome to the New SSS Forums!!

    As you can see, we have migrated our old forums to new software. All your old posts, threads, attachments, and messages should be here. If you see anything out of place or have any questions, please scroll to the very bottom of the page and click "Contact Us" and leave a note with as much detail as possible.

    You should be able to login with your old credentials. If you have any issues, try resetting your password before clicking the Contact Us link.

    Cheers
    - Bryan

SHTP Interest Poll

Are you joining the fleet for SHTP 2010?

  • "1" Long shot - 2012 is more likely.

    Votes: 3 13.6%

  • "2" Possibility - I'm thinking about it.

    Votes: 6 27.3%

  • "3" Likely - I'm actively preparing.

    Votes: 6 27.3%

  • "4" Serious - I'm well on my way.

    Votes: 4 18.2%

  • "5" Count me in - I'm going.

    Votes: 3 13.6%
  • Total voters
    22
  • Poll closed .
BobJ

BobJ

Alerion 38 "Surprise!"
Feel free to "out" yourselves if you're willing - it's always fun to see who's getting ready for the race. Start some threads about issues you're facing and ways you've resolved them - that's what this SHTP sub-board is all about.

So here we go - like last time, a scale of 1 to 5 . . .
 
I was thinking about a grand strategy for 2010 but have returned to more realistic thinking. I'm a definite 1.

Bill Merrick
 
Hesperus is a 2.5 or so at this point. I am hoping to go, but since the I'm 3000 miles from the boat, I'm not actively preparing. Regarding a shore station for comm duties, I believe that it is illegal for a land station to transmit on the marine frequencies, thus the ships at sea would have to check in on the Ham frequencies, thus requiring a ham license. I would be in favor or using a shore station for com duties (largely because of the work required). But it might be a good idea to relax the check in requirements if such is used. When I delivered Hesperus back to the mainland in '07 (after the '06 race), a 26 day passage (as I recall), there were perhaps 4 or 5 days when propagation was poor and no one could report to the Pacific Seafarers net. (One day three boats, of the 8 or 10 on the list, were able to report: Hesperus and two others via Hesperus. The mighty Hesperus, 24 feet long, had the strongest radio on the ocean. And still I couldn't get my report in on a significant number of days.) (I'm not braging there, I purchased the radio from HF Offshore and installed it as they recommended. They know their stuff, for any one who is thinking about installing an SSB.)

Any way, if a shore station is to be used, relaxing the check in requirements might be a good call.

Paul Woodward
s/v Hesperus
 
SHore station check in - legality

The FCC issues many types of licenses for Marine and Commercial operation. A fixed base license is available. Note that many YC's have same, hence in Transpac and Pac CUp races boats check in on SSB routinely at the 100 miles to go mark.

Is the club willing to try a no risk experiment ? If so I am willing to attempt to organize the shore stations as I have the contacts.
 
I'd like to go but...

Right now Prankster is about 1.5. I would prefer to go singlehanded rather than doublehanded in the PacCup but SSS has scheduled its race too early in the year and they seem to be still hung up on SSB radios. PacCup is letting the doublehanders go with sat phones.
Your southern cousins at PSSA have figured out how to do checkins the easy, reliable way. All it takes is one person ashore with a telephone line. Twice a day each boat uses its sat phone to call the shore based phone and talk to the person there. The competitor states his Lat-Lon and the shore person relays any emergency info if necessary. Then twice a day the shore person makes a recording of everyone’s position on the answering machine so competitors can call in again and hear everyone’s position. A variation on the answering machine is to send reports (for free) on the Iridium E-mail system. This is limited to 160 characters per message but you can send multiple messages. Of course any competitor that wants to have a SSB on board and chat endlessly is welcome to do so. There is no need for a comm boat and 50 and 25 mile arrival checkins can be done with the sat phone and/or Marine VHF.
We have used this system successfully in the past two Guadalupe Island races and will be using it again this March for the 2010 edition. It seems to me that this system fulfills all of the SSS requirements except inertia and the “not invented here” problem. Am I missing something?
Frank Ross, Prankster
 
I'm glad you're still thinking about our race, Frank.

There will be some SHTP announcements tomorrow night at the LongPac awards meeting.

FYI, I went back to 1996 (all the records I could find) and out of eight SHTP's, seven of them started in June, as early as June 15th. As was written elsewhere, there would have been no weather benefit to starting in July this year. Also the boats from up north welcome the extra time to get home.

Based on the length of the Guad Is. race and few number of entries, I could see where the sat phone calls could work for you guys. But that would be one expensive phone bill for the entrants in the SHTP. My sat phone costs in 2008's race were one of my biggest costs and like most of our fleet, I already had the SSB. I used the phone almost entirely for downloading GRIB's and used file compression software to keep the calls very short.
 
Last edited:
I'm interested in doing the race. I put myself as "3" but will probably upgrade once I'm done with my qualifying cruise and the rules come out.

Adrian
 
I'm about 2.25 at this point. I'd put it a little higher, but the job/money thing is looking a bit shaky at this point.

Max
 
+1 Max - that's been my problem. Well, that and a low inventory of domestic relations offsets.

We're doing pretty well so far, but it appears I need to declare options 4 and 5 as a "Bad Karma-Free" Zone. No bad karma to say you're really going to race. Actually I found that it helped to strengthen my resolve and all that crap. Besides, it's anonymous.

I've talked to a few of you and I know you're out there - ante up.
 
Last edited:
Haulback is pretty much good-to-go as she sits. New paint job, and re-rigged, this time with double spreaders. All bottom paint removed and bottom faired a bit better.

Larger bookshelf.......

I will be there for sure, depending on being able to arrange for guys to fill in for me at work. Probably about 80% sure I can pull it off again. I put myself as a 3.

One other boat up here is probably about a 4.5 for going, and there is another guy who is a possiblity.....but hasn't started to actively prepare yet
 
SoCal Sailor

I missed the 2008 TransPac due to prostrate cancer. Now that that is over I am at a "4". I would say "5", but it is too early for that kind of commitment.

Islander 36, "Pakele"
Gary Gould
 
George, will you be taking a satphone?

How about the rest of you who voted "3" or higher?
 
Re: satphone question

Depends somewhat on what is required in the rules. I have an SSB I got off ebay but haven't installed in the boat. If SSB isn't required and the installation is looking painful I might just get a satphone and ditch the SSB. If SSB is required I will most likely not get a satphone.

Adrian
 
Last edited:
Tamara Equipped w/ SSB

Just scored an SSB...I hear the chatting along the way is part of the fun :) Tamara will most likely just have SSB and perhaps a SPOT to keep the crew back home informed...SSB + Sat Phone + Sat Phone Minutes = $$$$$$$$$$$$$ Lots more to do...
 
Likely or better

Culebra is eager to go and making serious preparations. Not looking forward to buying and installing $$B (if you catch my drift), but I'm expecting it to be required, so I'm adjusting my mind to the reality of the expense and the installation effort. I will have a SAT phone too. My feeling is that for people like me (non-cruisers making infrequent ocean passages) SSB is a luxury--high social value, added sense of security--and maybe (and I'm not convinced here) it supports easier check-in (have we really tried hard enough on the check-in options?). Could be that SAT phone is the only reliable (and portable) communication system in a serious emergency, even if the boat's electrics give up the ghost for a while, so I'm bringing it. I like elegant systems and SSB just isn't elegant (cut the backstay, lay copper sheets and ribbons, pump out monster amps... not elegant). Maybe somebody is smart enough to figure out a better way? But I'll be damned if I let you all have the fun without me... I'm going.:cool:
 
It is gratifying to know so many of you are preparing for a go at this craziness! As SHTP 2010's newly-crowned co-chairs, Rob and I are also relieved - we hate to put on a party where nobody shows up.

Just to confirm, the rules (including communications) are still in draft form and will not be finalized until the rules committee meets on September 9th. It is GREAT that many of you are well along in your preparations but I don't want you to throw stuff at us if we end up surprising you on some requirement.

Of course there's always E-Bay and yacht club flea markets (kidding!)
 
Horizon is 2.5

Greetings...

As a few of you may remember I prepared for the previous SHTP but didn't participate although my wife and I did show up for the banquet and awards on Kauai. I'm committing to 2.5 which means that the boat is prepared from last year (3.0) but as far as personal committment, I'm seriously thinking (2.0).

I've got a SSB in a box with backstay antenna and ground already installed.

And let me just ask one quicky... If I have the SSB, won't I need to install a wind generator to supplement the solar? (I've got 3ea. 105AH AGM's.) Let me know if I shouldn't ask questions here.

(Yikes, quit thinking so hard and go!) On the other hand I'm getting a little bit of pressure to sell the boat so it's possible that I may just put Horizon up for sale as "good to go".

Thanks,

Rich
PSSA down here in Southern California
"Horizon"
Contessa 26
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top