We had to withdraw from the race this afternoon, due to a contaminated water supply.
I had stuffed a rag into the anchor hawsepipe, to stop water from entering into the anchor locker, as it so often does. Unfortunately, some wave pushed it out of the way, and down into the anchor locker, where it promptly blocked the drain holes. The locker filled to the brim. Also unfortunate is that the vents for the two water tanks are in there, so the water forced its way downhill and into the tanks.
I thought I had two independent water supplies, but it turns out they do have a point of commonality: both vent into the anchor locker. Classic example of cascading sequence of events.
We are deeply disappointed.
We are heading to Monterey, the closest port.
Free Bowl of Soup is so sorry to read this! Safe travels back.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear.
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ReplyDeleteSuch a shame. Sorry to hear this. How close in do you have to be before Amazon can deliver a bottle of whiskey to the yacht?
ReplyDeleteThat is too bad! The Corvallis crowd was following you and we were all cheering for you. Next year is your year.
ReplyDeleteDanw and friends
So upset to see this turn of events. Glad to know the crew has not been injesting tainted water for too long though! Safe travels home.
ReplyDeleteThat sucks!
ReplyDeleteDang! This kind of sailing lesson sucks. Glad you figured it out quickly and that it happened close to shore instead of halfway to Hawaii.
ReplyDeleteSafe travels to Monterey.
Jan and Donnie (friends of Kevin)
Very unfortunate breakdown - these lockers are not as reliable away from the coast and exposed to offshore stress. Glad you are on top of the situation.
ReplyDeleteI really want to thank Tom and the rest of the Crew on Velocity for the opportunity be part of Team Velocity and participate in the Pacific Cup.
ReplyDeleteI am sure Diane would say I have been obsessed with Pacific Cup for the last 18 years. After finishing in 98 I have tried 3 times since to recapture the magic and put a Pac Cup campaign together again but each time life happens and we would have to drop out before even getting to the starting line. Until you have tried to get a boat and crew ready for Pac Cup, and down to San Francisco and back home afterwards you have no idea how much of a herculean task it is.
I felt very lucky to be invited to join Team Velocity this Spring after a lot of the big prep stuff had already been done but I could already tell that you could not have put together a better boat, equipment or crew to do a Pac cup.
I do not believe anyone would have been able to foresee and prevent the chain of events that caused the fresh water to get contaminated, sometimes shit just happens and the Sea can be a cruel mistress.
Team Velocity should be proud. We lead the fleet out under the Golden Gate bridge We spent two very tough nights with large swells and winds up to 35 knots and when we did drop out we were still with some fast boats that we would have owed us time. We managed to get the boat and crew safely out and back with the only damage being to a dorade vent and our bruised egos.
Disappointed but proud Crew of Team Velocity
Mike Brockman/ Watch Captain Team Velocity
That's just plain nasty news! Yes, the classic cascade of events, all so easy to see with hindsight. Glad that it resulted in only some disappointment, not worse. I looked at the blog for the first time today expecting to see a happier scene. Oh well. Kudos to you and the crew for handling the situation and getting you back to fresh water!
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