Freja Racing

FREJA FINISHED
Well as you probably all have heard by now, Freja finished the race in the middle of the night. The report is saying it was at 2:04 AM, not sure if this was Hawaii time or pacific time.

Anyway, last I heard from Jon, he said they did make contact with their hotel so they could get early check in, as it was reserved starting tonight, and I asked how everyone was doing.

He said,
“yes! Everyone ok. There was a nice welcoming party and we’re drinking. Cheers!!”

This was sent to me at 8:35AM so, party on! What is “morning” anyway?? It’s 5 o’clock somewhere. LOL

Thank you for joining me on this journey over the Pacific Ocean with this beautiful boat, and amazing owner and amazing crew. On the standings, it’s showing Freja came in 4th out of 9 in class. Which is not bad, and it was a well-sailed race. Sounds like we had no injuries and nothing broken. (At least I haven’t heard of any) This alone is a huge accomplishment.

I’m sure Freja is ready for a good airing-out, good scrub-down, and then will get ready for its delivery back to Seattle with a new crew. And I’m sure you’re already getting real time updates on the state of tiredness and/or drunkenness the crew is in right now.

Thank you all and CONGRATS to Jon and the team!

Aloha!

Lindsey

Taylor Joosten and David Rogers are a couple. Taylor's on Freja, and David's on Moonshine. And we have them approaching each other on the tracker. They might say "hi" in the middle of the ocean. All boats shown are Goslings Rum (our) class except for Moonshine.

ANOTHER 200 MILER AND SOME RANDOM YOGA PANTS

Hello!

We got an update from John Armstrong at 4:23am this morning:

We saw a good amount of ocean today, mostly sailing straight toward Hawaii on a reach amidst shifty winds as much as 50 degrees. The boat and its increasingly weathered occupants are well and happy.

It's a cloudy 4:00am as I write this with 7-14 kt winds, which has been most of the last day, with a few gusty periods that were awesome. Hoping for a windy, clear night tomorrow for the full moon!

We felt something a tad off on the rudder yesterday, confirmed to be an object by the GoPro on the book hook we sent down for a gander. Upon dousing the headsail and backing down, we ejected a pair of yoga pants trying to hitch a ride.

Not much wildlife save for a couple birds plus some barnacles riding along a piece of trash. Also spotted a laundry basket, and, ironically, a recycling bin.

All in all, great sailing, aiming to eek out as much speed as we can. Added bonuses have been phenomenal food, nearly as good company, and the installation of fans in each bunk today that makes sleeping much nicer.

Cheers,
John Armstrong

And then Jon Cruse wrote just now at 8:42pm

Hi,

Just a few quick notes before I try to sleep a bit before going on watch at 1000.

Great day today of sailing. We achieved 200+ miles in the last 24 hrs and have gained in ranking in our fleet. Earlier this eve the wind direction changed and we have set the A2+ and are now moving fast toward Kaneohe. The 1/2 way celebration should happen tomorrow.

We'll be watching Darby; see note below from the race committee. With our eta, we should come in behind any rough weather. We'll play it safe.

Goodnight.

Jon

Darby
This is a "major" hurricane, but it is not presently forecast to cross our paths. Your shore boosters may be anxious. Darby MIGHT make landfall on the big island in a weakened state around Saturday, but appears more likely to pass by the south. Expect gloomy gusty rainy weather on approach to the finish, depending on how this develops.