11 minute read
max ebb: catching a ride
place to be stuck. We were high enough for a spectacular view, especially if we looked back over our shoulders. And the only sounds were the swishing of snow on skis and boards underneath us. A light breeze swayed the chair gently in the bright midday sunlight and the crisp, high-altitude winter air. Lee, meanwhile, was removing her gloves and digging deep into her snowboarding parka, pulling out a large cell phone. "Wanna see my Hawaii photos?" she asked. Without waiting for an answer, she ran a slideshow of last summer's race. It was all about warm blue water, trade winds, tropical sunsets, mahi-mahi served in the cockpit, and finally the mai tais and the leis at the fi nish line. My seatmate on the other side got a good view also, and was intrigued by the images. "How long does it take to sail to Hawaii?" he asked. "We did it in 11 days," she said. "It was a fast race this year, especially for a small boat like the one I race on. The bigger boats fi n-
Idon't know if the drought is over, but I do know that the skiing is great. It had been a few years, but after ished in nine or 10. Twelve days is typical three or four runs down an easy hill for a 40-footer." I was feeling the rust coming off, and "Twelve days," he repeated, appardecided to get in line between two kids ently fascinated by the concept. "What with snowboards for the chairlift to the do you do at night?" top of a more advanced slope. It was only "Take turns," I explained patiently, after all three of us having learned not to make fun of the had been scooped up by the chair that "Wow, what an awesome classic newbie question. "Half the crew sleeps, half the crew is on deck racing I realized who I was adventure. How does the boat." setting next to. "How was that someone get to be part of the "Wow, what an awesome adventure," he said. "How does someone get to be last ride for you, crew on one of those boats?" part of the crew on one of those boats?" Max?" "Be a cardiologist," I answered, forget Lee Helm lifted ting for a minute that it's really not fair to up her tinted goggles so I could see her have fun with such beginner questions. face, although the voice was unmistak- My new friend seemed confused. "Reable. ally," I explained. "The owners are getting "Much too intermediate for me," I older every year, and so are most of the answered with deliberate ambiguity. crew." "For sure," she answered, without "Actually," Lee added, "EMT traincalling me out for my non-responsive ing might be answer. "But like, on this next run, if more useful you don't mind some quick jibes around than cardiolsome trees, I know where there's still ogy. But, like, some virgin powder. Follow me if you you get the can, on those old-timey sticks of yours." idea. Those "Hey, they're more effi cient than that old farts like semi-evolved cafeteria tray you kids slide to have some down the hill on," I retorted. "Effi ciency, schmefi ciency," she replied. "We have this big machine called a chair lift to supply us with, like, all the potential energy we need." At that moment the lift came to a grinding halt. "Third time this weekend," sighed the YELLOWBRICK TRACKING medical talent on board." "Do you have to have a lot of sailing experience?" he asked. "Of course," snowboarder sitting on the other side of I confirmed. me. Last summer's Pac Cup fl eet made an abnormally fast trip to "But under "Hope it's not down for too long," I Hawaii. Trackers allow race fans to follow the action from home. stand that it said. "We could all freeze to death dan- takes years to get to the skill and exgling here up in the air." perience level you need to be invited Actually, it wasn't such a terrible on a Hawaii race based on your sailing
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HOW TO GET A BERTH ON A HAWAII RACE BOAT
1) Be a cardiologist. Race boat owners are getting older every year — as are many regular crew. (EMT training might even be better.) 2) Post your CV on the race website in the crew forum. Update it as necessary to keep it on the fi rst page. You can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket. 3) Keep the time slot available. When a crew spot opens up two days before the start, everyone else will have already made other plans. 4) Attend a US Sailing Safety at Sea seminar. At least one-third of the crew are required to have this certifi cation, and without it you might not be eligible to replace a crew who does. You'll learn a lot of good stuff, too. 5) Contribute! Attend the planning meetings, join the organizing yacht club (Transpac YC or Pacifi c Cup YC) and volunteer for committees. Do more than your share of the grunt work that makes the parties and seminars successful. When a last-minute spot opens up, the people likely to be in a position to get you on a boat will reward your loyalty. 6) Be available for the return delivery. Owners like to have one of their crew do the round trip, especially if they are leaving the return trip in the hands of a hired delivery skipper. 7) If all else fails, join a crew for the return delivery only. If you are hanging out at the fi nish-line yacht club during the last week of July, and can walk and breathe, and have no obvious personality defects (or even if you do), you will be asked to help sail a boat home to California. It's not racing, but it's a reliable way to get your fi rst offshore experience and log some time on a big race boat. 8) Become a great sailor. Join your local sailing club or sailing center. Sail, race, and teach as much as you can. Don't skip the essential small-boat phase of your sailing education.
chops." Lee, meanwhile, had put her phone away and her mittens back on, but took them off again to retrieve something else from deep within her winter gear. It was a fl yer for the university sailing club back on the Bay. "This is, like, the cheapest and best way to learn to sail," she insisted. "Partly because it's all volunteer, and because they make you an instructor way before you think you're ready. You really learn it when you have to teach it." "Oh yes, I know that place," he said as he studied the brochure. "I checked it out when I was a freshman. But they only teach small-boat sailing. Shouldn't I fi nd a sailing school that teaches on big boats if my goal is to be invited on a race to Hawaii?" "No!" Lee and I answered together, simultaneously and emphatically. "Small-boat instruction is vital," I said. "Thing is," Lee explained, "A 15-ft boat in 20 knots of wind handles about like a 45-ft boat in 50 knots. But, like, no one will ever let you practice with a 45-ft boat in 50 knots of wind. You need to get good with a small boat. It's the only way to get the intuitive understanding of how to handle a big boat in a storm. There's no other way." "Small boats develop the muscle memory, if you will," I added. "Big boats don't. After you get good in dinghies, there are commercial sailing schools that offer various levels of big-boat certifi cation. Doesn't hurt, but don't make the mistake of starting out too big." "I can always tell the sailors who learned on boats big enough to have knotmeters," Lee added, "by the way they
Even you could be in a post-race crew photo like this one! (Pictured post-race is the crew of Sy Kleinman's 'Swiftsure' in 1985).
steer to windward. They never point high enough, always footing off for speed." That comment sailed right over the new sailor's head, so I turned the discussion back to the issue at hand. "Let's not give up on getting this guy a ride to Hawaii," I said to Lee. "Right, there's one thing you can do that works wonders," she said. "Help to put on the race. That means, like, attending the board meetings of the sponsoring organization, and volunteering for committee functions. They need 'slave labor' to work on the parties, the seminars, the mailings, the website, whatever you're good at. Do the grunt work that makes the events successful. It takes a lot of time, but that way, when that last-minute crew spot opens up, the powers that be might think of you fi rst, and reward you for your efforts — if they like you." "I don't know," he said. "I'd feel a little uncomfortable just hopping on a boat with people I had never met 'til a couple of days before the start." "Gotta get over that," Lee advised. "There's no such thing as a bad sail to Hawaii." "And at your skill level," I added, "it's very unlikely that you'd be asked to join a crew well in advance. Yes, typically, most of the boat's regular race crew are signed on many months before the start. Then there's usually nothing available until less than a week before, when people have a meltdown at work, or their back goes out, or some family issue comes up. That's when you have to MAX EBB be standing there with your seabag packed, so to speak. So circle the fl eet like a vulture. A nice, friendly vulture, that is. And most important: Keep the time clear on your calendar, right up until the night before the last start, when everyone else will have already made other plans for the summer."
UPCOMING HAWAII RACES
2017 Transpac Race • First start: July 3, 2017 • website: https://transpacyc.com
2018 Pacifi c Cup Race • First Start: July 9, 2018 • website: https://pacifi ccup.org
2018 Vic-Maui Race • First Start: TBA • website: www.vicmaui.org
All of these events have pre-race events aimed at appropriate planning and preparation.
"Good strategy," he agreed. "Don't forget to post to the 'crew available' forum on the race website," Lee suggested. "That's one of the main ways that skippers can fi nd you. Update your listing often to keep it on the fi rst page, make sure it says that you're available as a last-minute sub, and don't be intimidated by all the professionals you'll see who also have listings there. They will probably not be available a day before the start. But you will be. For sure, it's a long shot, but remember the ancient proverb: "You can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket." "Cool, I'll do it! How much time do I need to block off for this?" "Three weeks usually covers it," Lee answered. "Unless, like, you take the whole summer and do the round trip. Owners really like it when crew can sail both ways — especially owners who have to fl y home and leave the return delivery up to some skipper-for-hire. A race crew, someone they can trust, who knows the boat well, is very desirable to have on the return delivery crew. And, like, you'd save airfare too." "Block off seven weeks," I suggested. Two weeks to get there, one week of parties, three weeks to sail home. One extra week for contingency, if there's stuff to fi x before sailing for home." "Eight weeks is better," said Lee. "You
LESLIE RICHTER / WWW.ROCKSKIPPER.COM need a few days before the start to stalk the fl eet looking for that last-minute ride offer, and then to help with last-minute race prep if you're successful fi nding a berth." Suddenly the chair lift came back to life, and we were moving up the side of the mountain again. The conversation turned back to snowboarding, in which context I became the newbie. As we approached the exit point, I invited Lee and our new friend to join me for dinner at the lodge right after sunset. "Thanks, but I have to get home early tonight. Have a lot of paperwork to fi nish tomorrow." "Missing a day of perfect snowboarding conditions for paperwork?" Lee exclaimed, sounding very surprised. "Like, what could be that important?" "My application to medical school." — max ebb
"Woohoo!" Picture yourself riding the rail on the way out the Golden Gate en route to Hawaii. (Seen here Joe Wells' Hobie 33 'Aero'.)
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