Where in the World is No Ka Oi - 7/18

Ahoy Sailing Fans!

Day four and No Ka Oi continues to slice through the ocean like a hot knife through peanut butter on their way to Hawaii . This morning during check-in they ranked 6th, however looking at their location this afternoon, they are running 180-200 nm (nautical mile) days and the excitement outweighs some of the soreness they feel. The crew sleeps for the majority of their bunk time with wake time being used for watches…we imagine that this may transition to more awake time when they make the final shift to HI and the swell reduces a little. When this happens, they will also be sending fish stories during fishing at the flat. The flat is a ledge in the middle of the ocean with a shelf only 200 miles deep. If tuna was to be had, this would be the place!

According to the site, the vessel arrives in HI on July 28^th which is spot on for the timing we planned. With the continued current speed and all systems functioning, the hope is that they will arrive prior to that day and have some fresh pineapple to include with their breakfasts on board when they arrive!

The dots keep moving in the right direction and we believe that the half way party is nearing, soon. This is when our top chefs will be put to the real test with the menu for the day.

Additionally, the fleet has “The Children’s Hour” promptly at 5 pm every day. Quoting from our friends on Valis (in addition to being the communication boat, they are also racing):

This is also where we all trade fish-stories, gossip, and jokes. This evening we discussed the joys of head repair, how to shred two(!) spinnakers, what’s for dinner, and the like. Any “information” given during the Children’s Hour may not be completely true and accurate.

Below is a quote from the crew of the boat:

We are in a competitive position. We have been ranked 6, 4, 3, and 6 of 8, but the top six are all within a few hours.
180-200nm days are really hard. We steer, cook, eat, clean, and sleep .. that's about it. We've watched one episode on the iPod and written in the journal once. After this note we will go to sleep before the 2p-8p watch then sleep before the 12a-4a watch.

For those of you that are keeping tabs on the online charts, take a look at some of their speeds. We also learned that the ranking is based on corrected time (which was the reason for earlier confusion).

Thank you all for your support and well wishes. Knowing so many of us are watching together is comforting.

Tomorrow, your daily update crew (NKO LBC) will be sailing on the bay. That said, we will do our best to send an update but potential good wind and lack of internet may result in radio silence until Sunday.

All the best from NKO LBC,

Gayle (and Jane)