July 16, 2009 (Bill Mills)

Although it has been less than a week, I thought it would be good to start writing some of the reflections of the “Transpac Hula Race”.  For me it wasn’t a race, but a rare opportunity to reflect and a voyage (I know I am not an introspective type).  I was totally disconnected from all forms of outside communication;  not one email, one text message, one phone call, no newspapers, no financial reports, no business.  The reflection reemphasized what are important, family and friends and good health.  All of the money in the world, all of the possessions, cars, houses are just things. 

There were several different levels that I experienced the voyage; 

Emotional:  The voyage was not only a reminder about loving family and friends, but those that are no longer with us.  I thought often of Glen’s Mom who was my Mom.  We scattered her ashes in the ocean off Waikiki and she was with us the whole trip watching over us.  It was a wonderful feeling to feel her spirit and love.  I thought of my friend Dwayne Steele who loved the Hawaiian Spirit and how important it is to understand the Hawaiian Culture and how important the ocean was and is to Hawaii.  Often Hawaiians want to go into the ocean to be cleansed before dying.  I do feel a sense of renewal and cleaning being on the ocean for 11 days.  I thought of my best friend Tommy who died too young leaving 4 young children and his wife who wrote me right before leaving telling me she was dying of cancer (she died the day before we got in).  I thought of how short life is and we should enjoy and cherish what we have in the moment.  Scott our Skipper told us that some of us might cry as we crossed the finish line.  I didn’t cry at that moment, but I have since and I am truly thankful for being able to feel feelings that I did not know I would ever be able to have.  I have always protected myself and been self centered, but on a small boat in the middle of the ocean you realize that you have to take care of yourself and your shipmates because there is no one else.  I feel bad for those I wasn’t able to tell how much I loved them.

I will write about the Physical side of the voyage next, but I will only say I was totally unprepared for both the emotional and physical aspects of the voyage. 

Aloha Bill




July 17, 2009 (Maury Myers)

OK: Here are a few stories.

And lastly, for me, a summary.  We had a great party on Saturday following our arrival in Honolulu, at Maury and Jean’s house.  The many questions of our friends at the party, provide a good framework for a synopsis of our experience.  Mostly, people want to know why we did this.  The logical question went something like: “You aren’t really sailors, are you?  Where did this nutty idea come from?”   Bill and I have known each other for about 25 years.  We met at the Hawaii Executive Conference, have been on Boards together, played bad golf together and shared stories of raising daughters.  We periodically get together and share a steak dinner.  I think this idea was hatched over a New York Strip and too much good wine, at Hy’s, in about 2007, at the time of the 2007 Transpac.  We simply decided it was something we wanted to take on as a challenge.  And we weren’t complete boating novices, having both owned boats.  Bill even once owned a marina.  So we began planning with the 2009 Transpac as a target.  Maury’s son-in-law Chris Bober (who is a real sailor), picked up on the idea and helped with the planning.  We bought the boat in July of 2008, and now there was no turning back.  We realized we needed professional help and hired Scott Easom of Easom Racing and Rigging, in San Francisco.  Scott got the boat ready and served as our skipper.  We told Scott we had three priorities: 1. Be safe  2. Have fun  3. If possible, be competitive.  When Scott heard about our crew, he said he would move competitive down to priority 6. or 7.   We got very lucky when a friend, Rick Towill, mentioned that his son Mark had been a crewman on Disney’s boat, Morning Light in the 2007 Transpac.  And Mark was interested in joining us.  And Mark brought along Robbie Kane.  Now we had 4 very able and capable sailors to anchor our crew, including son-in-law Chris.  Including Bill and me, we were now up to a total of six.  Bill and I added 5 more friends who we knew would make a compatible and fun crew.   Only four of the eleven had ever been in an overnight sail boat race.  Thru the Spring of 09 we practiced in the San Francisco Bay.  It was a busy group and we never had the whole crew together for one practice.  Some of the crew met for the first time when we got together, prior to the race, in Long Beach, CA.

Bill has well described some of the feeling of being on a boat with 10 other guys for almost 11 days.  We worked in teams of 5, with our Navigator, Lew, not assigned to a team.  We manned the boat in four hour shifts and then slept for four hours thru day and night.  After the first day, and the start, we didn’t see another boat or person for 8 days.  At night, before the moon came up we could see nothing but blackness in front of us.  We simply steered at the compass bearing that was selected.  Navigator Chris Lewis (Lew), was watching the weather and trying to select the most advantageous route.  Each day all the boats would report in their positions and we would see our position versus our competition.  We had relegated “competitive” to our last priority, but it was exciting to see where we stood in the mix.   Our boat was overweight with lots of good food, 20 bottles of wine and a crew of 11 for a boat that was handled in “race mode” with 8.  But we did fine, finishing 20^th out of total of 47 boats, and third in our class before rating adjustments.  The days and nights ran together and in no time we had been together for 5 days which we guessed was about halfway.  It was an amazingly compatible bunch of guys.  Everybody was anxious to help everybody else.  I don’t recall a cross word spoken.  I think we were all constantly awed by the spectacle we were seeing.  The ocean was a very deep blue during the day as we sailed up the 6 to 10 foot swells and surfed down the other side.  We quickly realized our experienced crewmen were best equipped to deal with the helm on the big swells.  One night dolphins seemed to come from everywhere, escorting us on our journey.  After a few days, we fell into the four hour schedule and were able to sleep every four hours.  We realized how exhausted we were when we got home.  Now, a week after arriving home, we are still tired and the ground still moves a bit.

It was an amazing experience and much more than I ever imagined.  The vastness and power of the Pacific Ocean is humbling.  Our 52 foot long and 14 foot wide boat got very small. The first sight of the outline of Haleakala was thrilling down to ones toes.  And then the hurtle thru the Molokai channel before rounding Makapuu and heading for the finish line at the Diamond Head lighthouse.  We finished at 5:20 in the morning and in the dark.  By the time we reached our berth in Honolulu harbor it was light and we could see friends and family waiting for us and cheering on the dock. 

And then the question everyone asked us:  “Would you do it again?”  And the answer, no.  It was a huge undertaking and I think both Bill and I will be off to some new adventure.  And then the last question:  Whats next?  Whatever it is, it probably won’t match the Transpac in scale and scope.  It will take at least one more steak dinner, and some more Opus One to come up with the next plan.