2023 SHTP - Singlehanded Sailing To Hawaii - Westsail Tortuga

Westsail Tortuga sailed in the Singlehanded Sailing Society’s 2023 Transpacific Yacht Race.
It was another challenging race this time (my 3rd). Two days before sailing to Hanalei Bay my diver discovered very concerning movement of the Max Prop fore and aft on the shaft.
The good folks at SF boat works were able to get me hauled out and we got the issue sorted with the nut holding the Max Prop hub to the shaft being very loose. Got back in the water and then something was out of balanace with the blades and it wasn’t spinning right. Hauled about again the next morning and got it sorted (The day before the race!!)
Despite all the challenges, my finish time of 15 days 17 hrs beats the long standing Westsail 32 record time of 16 days 4 hrs set in 1978. The other 2 Westsails (Elizabeth Ann & Hula) crushed it as well and created new elapsed time records. Tortuga’s overall outcome is 3rd in class and 8th overall! I spent the day after I arrived in the ER getting my knee checked out. They Dr’s determined there was nothing broken, damaged etc and all the swelling was due to a cellulitis infection from the injury. Had to take a second layer of antibiotics to kick it out of my system now.
Hope you enjoy the video!
Race results:
www.jibeset.ne...
Great Latitude 38 Magazine article:
www.latitude38...
Tortuga’s log:
www.sfbaysss.o...
#westsail32 #westsailtheworld #fullkeelracing

[@ronschwolsky1626]

Dude can sail & cook! Well done! Cheers from LA. 🍻

[@ditchdigger2]

Beautiful ship and beautifully sailed. Delicious looking meals! Tip my hat.

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Thanks! Got to stay well fed :)

[@TreePlantedByTheRiver]

Impressive. I’ve seen quite a few solo’s to Hawaii on you tube and most of the sailers end up in an emotional train wreck. Very poised. Nice boat. Great sailing.

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Thanks! It’s very good for one’s perspective to cross an ocean! We’re all on this big blue marble together!

[@kaspar_1982]

wow, tacking against the current under the golden gate, magnificent! westsail 32 one of the greatest "small" cruisers in the history of single handed adventure sailing.

[@westsailtortuga3179]

The current always makes things exciting!

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Thanks!

[@FarReachVoyages]

What a lovely boat. You have done a great job refitting and maintaining a superb voyaging boat. I have sailed a WS 32 and when set up correctly and sailed skillfully they can be far more capable than people give them credit for.

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Thank you! Yes, for some reason people love to hate on the W32.

[@deborahdoyle6743]

Awesome job. Hope your knee is ok. Enjoyed the video.

[@redshifttrucking4537]

The boat absolute bristol. Boats like this don't really belong to us... we are just stewards.. caretakers for awhile. You are doing this boat justice.

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Thank you! Yes she keeps me busy trying to be a good steward!

[@stevelawrie9115]

Excellent effort! I don't think I have ever seen a yachty who feeds themselves so well.😀

[@westsailtortuga3179]

You’ve got to enjoy your meals along the way!

[@fixingstuff2647]

Fantastic, what a beautiful journey.

[@clintontaylor8904]

Fellow lake superior solo sailor here... Ver impressed,your boat has very clean classic lines and is beautiful.

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Thanks!

[@peterheiberg566]

Thanks for that. Brought back a ton of memories.

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Thanks!

[@tonyshand8669]

thanks for shareing . I will be getting myself a westsail 32 soon to spend the rest of my life saling

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Happy sailing!

[@mpdsailing]

Well done!

[@danknox9986]

Enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing. Btw always look forward to seeing you post pictures of sailboats on SF Bay. Best wishes.

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Thank you!

[@jamieharris8075]

Congratulations on a very well sailed race and excellent video. I sailed my Spencer 35 to Hawaii (with crew of 2) in 2003 landing in Hilo and sailing through the islands to Honolulu. Then we went to Kauai to see the singlehanders arriving. From your video it looks like you had much steadier wind than we had. We had a couple of days in the ITCV of essentially no wind and later getting into the northern edges of the trades about 18 to 20 hours of 30 - 35 knots steady. Your boat is beautiful, very well set up and carries a look of being loved.

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Thanks a lot!

[@MetalDetectingwithCZkidd]

Knot and a half?!?! The ships!! Ah, the man made supply chain issues continue. Nice vid. Quite the trip.

[@WilliamCunninghamII]

I have not forgotten that time during the windy reach when i radioed over to you complaining about my miserable ride a coupla hundred miles offshore. Your response, "well, i am putting a pizza in the oven, eat your heart out." That was not very nice RL. 😂

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Haha! That’s my secret to sailing fast, eating well!

[@blackfish7163]

Congrats on an awesome accomplishment and a great video of it ! 😊

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Much thanks!

[@maddog0870]

Thanks for sharing. This is my future dream trip in my Ranger 33.

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Thanks! Keep ticking off things on the project list one at a time and you’ll have your boat ready to go!

[@jessiebrader2926]

What a swift passage for a 'wet snail', In reality they are great boats, super strong and very seaworthy.You sail it well. Ideal for inter island. The only issue now is that you have to sail 'Ba Buggah' bak...and thats a cold trip. Thanks for the video of your passage. Aloha, from the Big Island.

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Thanks! Yes it was quite the sail back! The wind gods made it a challenge!

[@netrhyda8761]

Very cool! And what a beautiful ship!

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Many thanks!

[@Satorisails77]

Love seeing her making .1kt out of GG against the grain. Nice drone footage!

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Getting out under the GGB along the shore the currents get challenging. There was an ebb ripping that day so once I got into that main current conveyor belt, I was doing about 8.5-9 knots getting out! The pixs from above were taken on the bridge 🌁

[@fredliperson9171]

Nice job and cool little video too! ....

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Thanks so much!

[@JourneyoftheSeas]

New subscriber here ! Thank you so much for sharing your journey 💜

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Thanks!

[@DDixon3121]

Enjoyed the video and congratulations!

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Thank you!

[@nicolasfilsdejean]

Beautiful video: a great watch . You make it all seem easy. If you get some time, do you think you could mak a vide on the ore tech aspcts of preparation? What decided you on the WS 32, on the hank on jibs, on the electrica systems you have aboard etc? Thanks for your time.

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Great idea! I’ll work on putting something like that together.

[@paultrott3120]

The noise that autopilot makes would get to me pretty quickly. 😂

[@daleabowman1747]

Nice job! I enjoyed your video very much. Is there a video of the return trip coming?

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Thank you! I didn’t take quite as much footage on the return trip but I’ll get around to compiling something soon.

[@joesprague1464]

Westsail is a great boat,very seaworthy design.Did you have to get medical treatment for that knee injury? Great video,thanks for sharing.

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Thanks! Yes I got the knee X ray’d, MRI’d etc and it was a cellulitis infection that was the issue. More antibiotics shoreside and it kicked it out.

[@carledinger3422]

Wet snail 32. Not the fastest boat but it's a real brick s..t house. Hell for strong ‼️⚓

[@jamieharris8075]

Correction - it was 2006 when I sailed Onrust to Hawaii. I bought the boat in 2003.

[@dfharris03]

Thank you so much for sharing. Did the passage go by quickly for you? I noticed that you also have a Monitor, do you prefer the electric tiller pilot? How is the power consumption?

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Thanks! Yes the passage went by very fast! There’s always something to do to keep you busy if you’re not napping. The Monitor Windvane and Pelagic Autopilots are both great. I think it depends on what type of sailing you are planning to do. I like having both and the options of when to use them. The larger Pelagic does use more power so you need to make sure you’ve got an ample battery bank. Running it along with all the other electronics/refrigeration 24/7 requires sunny skies with my solar/battery set up.

[@donaldbarnes603]

According to the description, this race took place in 2023? But yet you're just posting it a day ago... I'm confused and JC Nice boat though. Reminds me of my father's

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Just recently had the time to organize and edit the footage from 2023.

[@johnwspeck]

dang man, so jealous, if you ever would have crew... please contact me... i've been watching you for years

[@MikeSnedaker]

Will you tack all the way back to CA?

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Yes sailed back to SF and it was quite the journey against the prevailing winds!

[@johnwalker6711]

Nice video average speed of 5.8kts over 2400nm miles nothing wrong with that in a heavy displacement yacht what was your max speed reached ?

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Saw some 10’s surfing down waves.

[@tenaciousd415]

Great video! Thanks for sharing. I believe you (and the others in your class) broke the Westsail record set 20 years ago or so. Is that correct?

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Thanks! Correct - Tortuga’s finish time of 15 days 17 hrs beats the long standing Westsail 32 record time of 16 days 4 hrs set in 1978. The other 2 Westsails (Elizabeth Ann & Hula) crushed it as well and created new elapsed time records. Tortuga’s overall outcome is 3rd in class and 8th overall!

[@tenaciousd415]

@@westsailtortuga3179 Congrats! 🏆

[@johncwhitesell8377]

What is that object in the water, in the middle of the screen, at 26:11?

[@westsailtortuga3179]

The Kraken? But seriously I didn’t see anything in the water in that frame.

[@deborahdoyle6743]

Did you leave the asym up at night?

[@jamesstrom6991]

well done. nice camera work. why autohelm over hydrovane? more efficient track? ie better vmg?

[@westsailtortuga3179]

I have a Monitor Windvane and both the standard and heavy Pelagic Autopilots. Using the autopilot you can sail with the boat a little over powered where the Windvane requires that the boat be very balanced for minimal weather helm for it to work well. That said depending on the conditions, I will use the autopilot sometimes and be a bit overpowered to keep things lit up.

[@larrylittleton8702]

E Komo Mai to the island!

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Mahalo!

[@ronkirk5099]

Why not make use of your windvane steering? Those weather conditions must be pretty hard on your tiller pilot to say nothing of the electrical consumption. During my 40,000 mile singlehanded circumnavigation in the high latitudes north and south in a Chatham 33 steel pilothouse cutter, I only used the electric autopilot while motoring in and out of ports.

[@P61guy61]

Great video. Is that a goat or an autopilot?

[@westsailtortuga3179]

An auto goat 🐐 😊

[@affalada6868]

Ive seen this boat for sale

[@westsailtortuga3179]

I’ve had her 25 years, so it was an imposter! haha :)

[@pierheadjump]

⚓️ Wet Snails have a fatal design flaw 😳 the exterior rudder … hanging on the back of the bus … only to fall off whenever ⚓️

[@westsailtortuga3179]

Not sure where you are getting your information. The Westsail 32 has three substantial pintles and gudgeons that hold the rudder on. The first 100 or so boats have stainless steel ones that yes, after 50+ years, if you haven’t done any zincs/maintenance/replacement could theoretically fail. As they would on any boat. Most have a sizable silicone bronze pin with fiberglass gudgeons with a fiberglass tube inside. Losing their rudder is not a common issue.

[@rolfsvensson5777]

Noisy auto pilot~

[@tomtom6319]

Pier 38 is a dump

[@sparkeyjones6261]

He was over two miles away from Pier 38. Where did you see it in this video? And no, it's most certainly not a dump.

[@deerfootnz]

I have deliveted a westsail 32, back in the 80's. I can say that after 40 years and over 200,000 miles of sailing I still cant understand why anyone would think that a 32 footer that weighs as much as a medieval cathedral and with strikingly similar hydrodynamics and sailing performance to that same building is a good idea. Its not a boat, its a hair shirt.

[@westsailtortuga3179]

You are right. Why would you want to cross an ocean on boat that will keep you safe and comfortable all while looking classy.

[@peterheiberg566]

What kind of asshole feels it’s necessary to put down someone else’s boat?

[@dfharris03]

Did you see that he was regularly doing 6-7 knots? That is a great speed for a 32 footer. Plus, the boat is very safe and comfortable. I have quite a few miles under my belt too and I've had all types, including a W 32. I was always amused when people told me how "bad" she was; however, most people commented on her beauty and character. I arrived into port comfortably, in good humor, and had very little to fix. If that is terrible, then I'll take it. Tortuga is awesome and I congratulate the owner on a great passage!

[@glenngray1201]

@@peterheiberg566😂 yeah right !!

[@johnmclachlan1023]

Gotta feel sorry for all those people who circumnavigated in one. If it was so slow maybe it wasn't the boat. You could have just said well done and moved on.

[@Nixontheman]

Zzzzzz