The Trip

The estimated passage time is about 60 days, and could be longer if Chubby Girl passes too close to the “Pacific High Pressure Zone” and becomes becalmed until the winds return.

During the past several weeks when we had moderate to strong ocean winds and waves I have been sea trialing Chubby Girl, and have found that she is very difficult to steer a straight course in all but calm conditions.  In discussions with a naval architect, he has made recommendations to haul the boat and install underwater fins on the aft corners and to reduce water weight by installing a water maker. (I guess this is part of the development of an one-off experimental craft that is so short and wide.)  That way the boat should track straight and be able to self-steer, which is critical for a long ocean passage.  To do these design and construction changes will require that I will not be able to leave next week, which is at the end of my pre-winter storm weather window. 

I will make these modifications as soon as I get the designs from the naval architect, and will then spend much of the winter storm season sea-trialing the boat in the San Francisco Bay. I will leave at my next weather window in April.

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