And here is a third test post, made at 9:18 am PST.  The interesting question is how long it takes to hit the Pac Cup website.

Here is a second post. What is going on here, you ask?  We want these posts to show up quickly.

Cayenne is In!

This is really just an intro post, but Cayenne is in the race!

VALIS, Where we have the BEST Math

Our key advantage on VALIS is that, unlike other boats, where the cosine
of the course only goes to a paltry 1.0, ours goes to 1.1.

You see, your speed toward your destination is proportional to the
cosine of your course. When other boats point straight at Hawaii, they
have 100% of their speed go toward Hawaii. We get 110%. This has been
proved scientifically by comparing our GPS speed with the knot log, and
Palu and I agree this is so.

Math. Uncalibrated Instruments. Awesomeness.

We are rolling now!

Finally broke free of the tar patch and are zooming along under
close-hauled spinnaker. Yes, this will likely mean a new visit to Kame
the Sailmaker, but golly, are we going fast.

We are aided in our efforts by a very very flat sea, adding fewer random
factors into the equation than usual.

There is Chicken Biryani in the oven, plenty of sleep for all, and
frequent sunlight.

At night, it is really really dark. Example conversation: "Boy, it's
dark" "Yes, it IS dark" "Yeah, it's night"

It's night with no moon and no stars. Dark. On the other hand, it
helps us see the navigation lights of other boats better, so that is
good. We just crossed the great circle track between Japan and the
Panama Canal, and saw quite a few ships. All were vary nice, agreeing
on mutual course changes so we didn't cause any problems. One Japanese
boat was effusive in its praise for Temerity, just for making the passage.

It's good to be out on the water!

Easy Amble replaces Windy Reach

Stan Honey's canonical article on Pacific Cup strategy begins with an
upwind beat to the Golden Gate, followed by a "windy reach" to a point
south, where boats would then begin their course to the magnificent
sailing in the tradewinds. Well, no. Not this time.

We started with an easy beat out the gate, that we carried several miles
NORTH. Most boats then turned left to find, instead of a windy reach,
what we shall call "the confused amble." Perhaps the most benign
sailing conditions for a Pac Cup start in the last decade or so, most of
us got a very relaxed start, with periods of no wind, but mostly
reminding us of lake sailing on a lazy summer day.

Except of course it's a race, so we are trimming our sails and trying
different combinations to eke that extra knot of speed out of the
system. Aboard VALIS, we put up the spinnaker, perhaps a half hour
early, and were rewarded with a 50% increase in speed. Yup, three knots
instead of two. That was a few hours ago. As predicted, we are moving
out of the slow zone into a more respectable area of wind, and are now
enjoying 6+ knots of speed, reaching under a 3/4 ounce sail.

Very civilized, but we are eager for some real speed. And we want to
run our competitors down. So bring the wind!

Day 2 Dolphins, Birds, and Plenty of time to Watch them

I have been trying to work the word "susurrant" into the story, that
sound that one thing makes when gliding against another, but I am not
certain of the spelling.

VALIS makes a gliding sound as it eases through the calm Pacific. Slow
is half a knot, and fast is almost 7. We spend a lot of time at four
knots, which will get us out of the slow patch when predicted.

Dolphins came by to amuse us briefly, though we had no bow wave, so they
moved on. NOZOMI reported an hour-long show earlier. We've also had a
few birds, fish leaps, and one shark sighting. A pretty peaceful start
to Pac Cup, but we are moving.

At Childrens hour, the talk turns to food. A boast of chicken and lamb
kabobs brought greedy groans from the fleet, as many of us are just
nibbling from the goodie bag.

Most are looking forward to Thursday, when the light patch is forecast
to evaporate. CASSIOPEA, at the north edge of the fleet is betting on
wind there first, while VALIS is betting on a better run from the south.
Division leader NO STRINGS ATTACHED has split the difference, which we
hope will be a poor idea.

Radio calls are cheerful all around. It's good to be out here