A happy Pegasus Pack. A fantastic adventure. With an astounding 403 Nautical Miles in 24 hours! We at Pegasus-MotionX tried to share the adventure with all of you and give you a feel for that a fantastic sport offshore sailing is. The last great adventure!

A happy Pegasus Pack

Hawaii Magic, lush, warm not hot, soft, best surfing, trades blowing every day!

FaceTime from the middle of the Pacific. Arthur and Peter, my MotionX colleagues are in the office in Santa Cruz, California and get video-taped doing FaceTime between Pete’s iPhone 4 in Santa Cruz and my iPhone 4 in the middle of the Pacific Ocean one of the most isolated spots in the world. When it came up, it was like magic! To paraphrase Arthur Clarke, Great innovative technology and magic are literally indistinguishable. This is what the Camera-Phone was designed to do.

Philippe uses MotionX-GPS HD on the iPad and is sharing their latest position:

Pegasus-MotionX Pacific Cup 2010 – Position Update 13

Name: Position Update 013
Date: Jul 17, 2010 2:00 am
Map: (valid until Jan 13, 2011) Google Maps
iPhone/iPad Map: Maps Application

Current Speed: 17.3 kts
Current Course: 215ºT
Distance since last update: 183 nautical miles
Distance to Finish: 212 nm
Bearing to Finish: 244ºT

Location:
Latitude: 23º 02′ 21″ N
Longitude: 154º 20′ 39″ W
Altitude: 0 ft

Philippe uses MotionX-GPS HD on the iPad and is sharing their latest position:

Pegasus-MotionX Pacific Cup 2010 – Position Update 12

Name: Position Update 012
Date: Jul 16, 2010 2:00 pm
Map: (valid until Jan 12, 2011) Google Maps
iPhone/iPad Map: Maps Application

Current Speed: 16.5 kts
Current Course: 208ºT
Distance since last update: 152 nautical miles
Distance to Finish: 377 nm
Bearing to Finish: 229ºT

Location:
Latitude: 25º 41′ 03″ N
Longitude: 152º 40′ 45″ W
Altitude: 0 ft

Crusty’s stitches: Crusty and I are both paramedic trained and stay current. Crusty insisted in stitching up his left index with his own right hand. After three days, the stitches are a bit loose, but it’s clean without an infection. So we’re just going to dress it up.

Philippe uses MotionX-GPS HD on the iPad and is sharing their latest position:

Pegasus-MotionX Pacific Cup 2010 – Position Update 11

Name: Position Update 011
Date: Jul 16, 2010 2:00 am
Map: (valid until Jan 12, 2011) Google Maps
iPhone/iPad Map: Maps Application

Current Speed: 14.3 kts
Current Course: 205ºM
Distance since last update: 161 nautical miles
Distance to Finish: 527 nm
Bearing to Finish: 221ºM

Location:
Latitude: 26º 56′ 43″ N
Longitude: 150º 13′ 44″ W
Altitude: 0 ft

Yes, we had to do another rig check. And this time Zan took his iPhone with him and got us this fantastic footage. You can see the rig, the sail, the deck. Gilesy is in black tailing the halyard that keeps Zan in the air and yours truly is steering the boat as steadily as possible. Because any motion with a 75 for mast from the deck could accelerate Zan into orbit.

Philippe uses MotionX-GPS HD on the iPad and is sharing their latest position:

Pegasus-MotionX Pacific Cup 2010 – Position Update 10

Name: Position Update 010
Date: Jul 15, 2010 2:00 pm
Map: (valid until Jan 11, 2011) Google Maps
iPhone/iPad Map: Maps Application

Current Speed: 15.3 kts
Current Course: 203ºM
Distance since last update: 177 nautical miles
Distance to Finish: 681 nm
Bearing to Finish: 217ºM

Location:
Latitude: 29º 10′ 05″ N
Longitude: 148º 31′ 51″ W
Altitude: 0 ft

Speed Demons, Squalls everywhere…. Entering a fun part of the race. We’ve positioned ourselves to use the energy of a line of strong squalls giving us up to 33 knots of wind with a high heading on port jibe. Straight to the mark. Either something will give or we will get there fast. Beautiful ride.

Philippe uses MotionX-GPS HD on the iPad and is sharing their latest position:

Pegasus-MotionX Pacific Cup 2010 – Position Update 9

Name: Position Update 009
Date: Jul 15, 2010 2:00 am
Map: (valid until Jan 11, 2011) Google Maps
iPhone/iPad Map: Maps Application

Current Speed: 14.8 kts
Current Course: 208ºM
Distance since last update: 180 nautical miles
Distance to Finish: 854 nm
Bearing to Finish: 214ºM

Location:
Latitude: 31º 29′ 58″ N
Longitude: 146º 27′ 19″ W
Altitude: 0 ft

Strategy update: Here is an annotated chart that shows what we are trying to achieve. We want to stay in 20 knots of pressure if we can all the way to Honolulu. We are willing to sail extra distance for that. The star is where we are now. The red line is our proposed trajectory.

Philippe uses MotionX-GPS HD on the iPad and is sharing their latest position:

Pegasus-MotionX Pacific Cup 2010 – Position Update 8

Name: Position Update 008
Date: Jul 14, 2010 2:00 pm
Map: (valid until Jan 10, 2011) Google Maps
iPhone/iPad Map: Maps Application

Current Speed: 14.6 kts
Current Course: 198ºM
Distance since last update: 146 nautical miles
Distance to Finish: 1,029 nm
Bearing to Finish: 212ºM

Location:
Latitude: 34º 02′ 14″ N
Longitude: 144º 32′ 30″ W
Altitude: 0 ft

Blood oranges, three stiches, trash in our oceans… Every one is fine and sailing fast!

Philippe uses MotionX-GPS HD on the iPad and is sharing their latest position:

Pegasus-MotionX Pacific Cup 2010 – Position Update 7

Name: Position Update 007
Date: Jul 14, 2010 2:00 am
Map: (valid until Jan 10, 2011) Google Maps
iPhone/iPad Map: Maps Application

Current Speed: 16.7 kts
Current Course: 273ºM
Distance since last update: 154 nautical miles
Distance to Finish: 1,161 nm
Bearing to Finish: 217ºM

Location:
Latitude: 34º 41′ 32″ N
Longitude: 141º 42′ 18″ W
Altitude: 0 ft

When we jibed we realized that something was wrong with our mast. Putting a mate up 75 feet above the deck (yes our rig is gigantic for a 50 foot boat!) is taking their life in your hands when it is blowing 25+ with 30+ foot waves. It takes a lot of mutual trust and confidence. Crusty and David hoisted Zan up and I steered the boat, as steady and smooth as possible. Yes, sailing an average of 16.8 mph for 24 hours with a max-speed of 27 knots on the GPS takes a toll on the equipment and the team. After a couple of heavy weather jibes, we realized that something had tangled up at the top-end of the mast. All solved now, with good team work, focus and some acrobatics. With just 4 of us on board, we’re very busy and have to take some calculated risks. Now time for a dark and wet night. A good one!

Crusty is filming with his iPhone 4, Zan is on top of the mast and you see me at the end of Crusty’s clip steering.

Philippe uses MotionX-GPS HD on the iPad and is sharing their latest position:

Pegasus-MotionX Pacific Cup 2010 – Position Update 6

Name: Position Update 006
Date: Jul 13, 2010 2:00 pm
Map: (valid until Jan 9, 2011) Google Maps
iPhone/iPad Map: Maps Application

Current Speed: 14.6 kts
Current Course: 192ºM
Distance since last update: 197 nautical miles
Distance to Finish: 1,313 nm
Bearing to Finish: 219ºM

Location:
Latitude: 35º 56′ 20″ N
Longitude: 138º 58′ 02″ W
Altitude: 0 ft

Wow! We broke the IMOCA Open 50 24 hour record: We did 403+ Nautical Miles. This is really impressive because we broke that record by close to 80 nautical miles and the 400 mile mark was a huge unattainable barrier for a long time on sailboats of any size. We knew it was a fast around the clock ride, and extreme. Now the numbers show them. Here are our two reporting positions 24 hours apart. You can verify my calculations:

lat 36.59 N
lon 128.36 W

lat 36.07 N
lon 136 53 W

This gives me a Distance of 403.1 Nautical miles at a course of 262º, 36′.7 True

Philippe uses MotionX-GPS HD on the iPad and is sharing their latest position:

Pegasus-MotionX Pacific Cup 2010 – Position Update 5

Name: Position Update 005
Date: Jul 13, 2010 2:00 am
Map: (valid until Jan 9, 2011) Google Maps
iPhone/iPad Map: Maps Application

Current Speed: 15.7 kts
Current Course: 252ºM
Distance since last update: 203 nautical miles
Distance to Finish: 1,485 nm
Bearing to Finish: 224ºM

Location:
Latitude: 36º 11′ 53″ N
Longitude: 134º 55′ 12″ W
Altitude: 0 ft

It’s howling, and a giant surfing roller-coaster. Quite awesome.

Philippe uses MotionX-GPS HD on the iPad and is sharing their latest position:

Pegasus-MotionX Pacific Cup 2010 - Position Update 004

Name: Position Update 004
Date: Jul 12, 2010 2:00 pm
Map: (valid until Jan 8, 2011) Google Maps
iPhone/iPad Map: Maps Application

Current Speed: 17.6 kts
Current Course: 244ºM
Distance since last update: 203 nautical miles
Distance to Finish: 1,674 nm
Bearing to Finish: 229ºM

Location:
Latitude: 36º 33′ 06″ N
Longitude: 130º 44′ 38″ W
Altitude: 0 ft

At daybreak, fast wet and wild. We found all the wind and the waves that Aeolius and Poseidon had for the Pegasus!

Doing all the navigation with MotionX. My iPhone 4 has great battery life, a fantastic screen, a much more accurate GPS sensor and is always on my pocket in it’s protective waterproof case.

Philippe uses MotionX-GPS HD on the iPad and is sharing their latest position:

Pegasus-MotionX Pacific Cup 2010 - Position Update 003

Name: Position Update 003
Date: Jul 12, 2010 2:00 am
Map: (valid until Jan 8, 2011) Google Maps
iPhone/iPad Map: Maps Application

Current Speed: 15.2 kts
Current Course: 241ºM
Distance since last update: 99.1 nautical miles
Distance to Finish: 1,875 nm
Bearing to Finish: 233ºM

Location:
Latitude: 37º 27′ 58″ N
Longitude: 126º 40′ 06″ W
Altitude: 0 ft

Gale coming… We are headed West, on this 96 hour forecast, at roughly the latitude of San Francisco. So in the next couple of days we expect to get into more and more wind, until we find too much wind. This is going to be an epic ride. Until the we are relentlessly focusing on going fasr and utting corners to sail less distance.

In our second day. No sleep in the last 32 hours, trying to find every breath of wind that Eol and Posseidon are will to send our way, watching ships go by… And avoiding them carefully. Easy in the daylight. More challenging in the pitch black night with the new Moon and the fog.

Philippe uses MotionX-GPS HD on the iPad and is sharing their latest position:

Pegasus-MotionX Pacific Cup 2010 - Position Update 002

Name: Position Update 002
Date: Jul 11, 2010 2:00 pm
Map: (valid until Jan 7, 2011) Google Maps
iPhone/iPad Map: Maps Application

Current Speed: 1.5 kts
Current Course: 345ºM
Distance since last update: 64.5 nautical miles
Distance to Finish: 1,973 nm
Bearing to Finish: 235ºM

Location:
Latitude: 37º 46′ 53″ N
Longitude: 124º 37′ 26″ W
Altitude: 0 ft

Sailing in very little wind and making the best of it! We are migrating with the whales.

It’s been an amazing night. Daybreak is right here. Dense fog. Very close encounters: Whales. Large ones and then suddenly out of nowhere our much larger competitor “Limit” with over 12 crew. Here they are, when we thought that they would be gone. David finding Goliath. No slingshot, just elegantly ghosting past them. We’re pretty sure that a things pick-up they are already well ahead of us. Tricky sailing. We love that.

Philippe uses MotionX-GPS HD on the iPad and is sharing their latest position:

Pegasus-MotionX Pacific Cup 2010 - Position Update 001

Name: Position Update 001
Date: Jul 11, 2010 2:00 am
Map: (valid until Jan 7, 2011) Google Maps
iPhone/iPad Map: Maps Application

Current Speed: 2.5 kts
Current Course: 345ºM
Distance to Finish: 2,036 nm
Bearing to Finish: 236ºM

Location:
Latitude: 37º 58′ 15″ N
Longitude: 123º 17′ 09″ W
Altitude: 0 ft

Our first iPhone 4 video wireless, where, going to the heart of the Pacific, where no iPhone 4 has beeen before! Now we’re headed Northwest.

Heading to the starting line!

This is the start of this Skipper’s Log for the 2010 passage between San Francisco and Hawaii. We start Saturday July 10th at 2 PM right by the Golden Gate in an ebb tide.

This year things are unusual. The weather is unsettled and it won’t be a record pace year. However, in my 12 trans-Pacific crossings, this will be the more interesting year. This is truly a Navigator’s race this year. It’s really confused and complicated. There are large areas of no wind to the South, a gale developing North of our anticipated trajectory and we can expect everything to change very rapidly.  We are also competing with much larger boats and in principle we have no chance. But this is sailboat racing, “It’s never like this!”

Our three last crossings were double-handed. Just the two of us Crusty and I last year for Transpac, from Los Angeles to Honolulu. We were fortunate enough to obliterate the record, completing the passage in less than 8 days.  We also hold the record from San Francisco to Oahu.

For the last 5 years,  two of our team members, Zan Drejes and David Giles,  have been performing miracles in preparing preparing the Pegasus 50 for our races.  Crusty and I work 24 by 7 at Fullpower/MotionX, designing, architecting and developing the MotionX solutions. These guys make it possible for us to go racing. This year, given the weather pattern and the opportunity, we decided to take Zan and David with us. We will sail with a team of four. This will be different and a lot of fun. It’s small boat for us and not much room for all of us, yet we will be very busy.  For perspective, the other competitors in this race are sailing with team of 10 to 15 sailors. We have our work cut-out for us: Small boat, and a team a third of the size. We love the challenge.

Welcome aboard Zan and David an let the fun begin.

Boat Project management:
David Giles, Zan Drejes, Bruce Mahoney,

Onshore Pegasus Racing team:
Bruce Mahoney, Mark Golsh, Jana Madrigali, Seth Larkin

Online Presence:
Caleb Dolister, Peter Spaulding, Arthur Kinsolving, Joe Dolister

Sailor’s food:
Bonnie Willis