Sailing from Hawaii to California Singlehanded - Wilderness 30 Domino

After participating in the 2024 Pacific Cup in the double handed division, instead of shipping the boat home on a trailer like the rest of the smaller boats, I sailed home solo.
Domino is a Wilderness 30 built in Santa Cruz in 1985, she’s got some miles on her already, but got the job done.
The trip took 20 days, by far the longest time I have ever spent solo.

[@MV33512]

Thank you for no obnoxious music overlay! Just the sounds of sailing with your occasional commentary and awesome footage. Excellent video!

[@Austin_Book]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@nerdvaniadotnet]

For those who do want an obnoxious music overlay, I am editing a version with old rag time and polka music.

[@gconn190]

Ditto.

[@dragoneye885]

Good, no musical, ori nature sound

[@marcusseaverns966]

Started watching sailing videos. ( I sail ). I had no idea abt that feature lol so nice

[@bernard106]

Congratulations. I sailed my boat in the Pacific Cup 2024 and we likely crossed paths. Doing the return single handed is quite an achievement.

[@finaboykm]

Total respect. I always sail with land in sight and can’t grasp my sailing to Hawaii. Watching your video allowed me to sail along with you-thank you/ bucket list checked off… Sailing wing on wing /total joy..

[@gconn190]

Sailing away from land is what I assume is really putting you and your boat on the line.

[@finaboykm]

@@gconn190 When the” inland boat” doesn’t have any navigation electronics gotta be a little careful.But now with a the life saving/boat-hull saving devices, sailing offshore is/will be a comfort zone.

[@craiglawrey7518]

I used to make a living bringing boats back from HA in the early 90s. Thanks for the memories and thanks for posting!

[@truenorth721]

Nice job Austin. Enjoyed your passage. Fair winds!

[@whiteagleortiz-rk6qu]

Alll by yourself in the beautiful ocean. So cool.

[@mikew3194]

Lots of these videos out there obviously. I think you did a great job capturing the right moments, beautiful sunsets, and the whale spectacle.

[@refugiopoint]

What a stud, thanks for taking the time to share!

[@gerardfeeney5613]

Awesome video! , congratulations on the Sail across , would love to do it myself!

[@JENewport]

I have a Wilderness 21. I can just imagine how fun a Wilderness 30 is. Way to go!

[@Austin_Book]

Wouldn’t happen to be the “slice” in Alameda would it??

[@JENewport]

@@Austin_BookNo, it is Western Flyer in Newport, Oregon.

[@Austin_Book]

@@JENewport nice

[@NickVennlig]

Beautiful trip and great video.

[@williamhalling7744]

Great video dude. Congratulations. Glad u made it safe. "Got an itch" made me laugh lol

[@jackwickman2403]

Impressive, A real sailor.

[@tonysmario817]

exactly. refreshing.

[@michaelpolkablacih2026]

Great video diary of your return to the mainland Austin... Thanks for sharing your amazing solo journey. Loved the whales and all the BFB's you had to avoid along the way! Also glad to see you had some oven and stove prepared food to keep you happily going. 20 days not bad considering it was (almost) all upwind too. Great Job!

[@Austin_Book]

Thanks Michael! It was certainly a journey!

[@dexterbailey5406]

Austin, Great video and nicely done delivery. Wow that boat has some MANY miles on her! I remember racing against her probably before you were born! Wilderness 30's were the lesser known Santa Cruz ultralights but every bit as capable. Looks like the craftmanship has held up well over the decades. Did that delivery on a Piver 30 trimaran in '78. Those sunsets are very spiritual.

[@Austin_Book]

Rad! We had to do a fair bit of reconstruction prior to making the trip. Much of the structure was, let’s say, tired.

[@dexterbailey5406]

@@Austin_Book Not surprising considering the boat's over 40 yrs old! And I know that Domino had been raced hard during those years.

[@OurLadyDefiant]

Great job! Welcome back! Can't wait to do it in 2026!!

[@ronschwolsky1626]

Congrats! Nice job with the cookies too! Cheers from LA.

[@gstoddard1325]

I do my dishes the same. You can also use a bunch of pots as a drogue. Try chicken dumpling soup. Quite filling and good. Christen Williams has good videos of this trip.

[@Austin_Book]

The soup options were pretty slim in Hawaii where we shopped. Had to run with what they had to offer. Would have been really easy to over shop in the can section!

[@roadfloat3067]

Epic run. Epic sailor! Great vid captain.

[@codybluetarp]

Excellent control of the video! Single hand sailing while filming is pushing multitasking to the limit. However, you weren't doing much, if any tacking. A perfect boat for single handing in "The Big Water." My sailing was in "The Little Big Water", otherwise known as the Salish Sea, Puget Sound, Washington on an Aurora 21, "Little Brother". 30' looks a lot better for this trip. Good Winds! Thanks for posting your excellent video.

[@markstamp872]

Nice video! I sail on the Monterey Bay (usually around Santa Cruz), but just a Hobie Adventure Island, which is a glorified kayak with a sail. I've customized it by adding a jib, so if you see a trimaran kayak with 2 sails, it's me...

[@andyhoms2001]

Livin' the dream! Good for you buddy. I want to do it one day too... Solo as well.

[@SailingLittleGooseBC]

Nice job!! Whale action was pretty sweet

[@Austin_Book]

Yes it was!

[@jessstone7486]

Outstanding! Not sure how I'd manage at night...needing sleep but not wanting to be overcome by a collision or a squall...

[@Austin_Book]

@@jessstone7486 that’s certainly a big part of it.

[@joeandteresawagster2356]

Great video, Austin. It is very similar to our trip home on Flexi Flyer. We had an amazing whale and dolphin show on our way into Santa Cruz as well. We also went for a swim in the Pacific High. Super fun. See you on the bay sometime.

[@Austin_Book]

No swimming for me this time! Looking forward to seeing you guys out there.

[@gconn190]

Sunsets, night shots, dolphins on the bow waves, whales... nice.

[@aeronautekBC]

Excellent video! Very inspirational and relaxing. What is your next adventure?

[@awkonradi]

Great video. Thank you for sharing.

[@Austin_Book]

Thanks for watching!

[@chrishill1286]

Well done sir.

[@s.p.revhorner4703]

If you would sir, tell me the most challenging part & what scared you more than anything? Absolutely enjoyed your video. Thank you.

[@sailnsurfthurman9263]

Enjoyed your video!

[@utahjag]

Love the sailing footage but would be nice to see more of you since you're the one sailing :)

[@markshriner7089]

Great job!

[@DaveCrowe-o8d]

Great stuff

[@bangarang1515]

Great ride. Thanks for sharing.

[@Austin_Book]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@johnnya9001]

You make it look easy.

[@Austin_Book]

Some days are certainly easier than others!

[@wstadlock]

Kauai to San Fran 28days Nov. 32ft wetsnail. In two days, was back on dads boat in Two harbors Catalina when Natalie Wood went missing

[@deborahdoyle6743]

Loved it. Just sailing. I was just thinking most channels do not enjoy the voyage as Indo but maybe they are trying to dramatize it for viewership.

[@RobertPeniston]

Really nice job

[@Austin_Book]

Thanks!

[@MISCIFMAKER]

The last 1000 MM SOUTH FROM ALASKSA , MOST DIFFICULT SECTIONS B MY GEUSS , TURNED 60 RETIRED N 30 32 FT SOLO OCEAN SAILOER ON MY HORIZION

[@hebertcentrone6804]

great video

[@RobertPeniston]

Yes

[@tonysmario817]

Fantastic accomplishment...well done. i enjoyed the pure sailing perspective of the vid. was that monterey harbor in the end...at the yacht club in the back corner?

[@Austin_Book]

Yes, the boat was parked at MPYC for a couple of days after the trip.

[@stanleybest8833]

You need a 12 volt chest freezer. Keep it on ECO mode. Use the broken boat fridge for dry binoculars, camera, charts.

[@Austin_Book]

The fridge/freezer unit was an off the shelf 12v model. A bit to much saltwater exposure it seems got to the compressor

[@stanleybest8833]

@@Austin_Book The compressor is completely sealed and it's an elevated technology called DC refrigeration. It has a 3 pin connector. What can get damaged is running it on MAX mode ( premature wear ) or the supporting circuitry can go bad. For that, I'd replace/ substitute it. A typical Chinese fridge is rated to last 15,000 hours on ECO mode.

[@ricardostark]

Congratulations for your trip. Amazing!! Some questions please: How many feet does your boat have? How long does the trip last? Did you fix the boom during the trip? And how? Just with a rope? How much fresh water you take? Best whishes from Ubatuba Brasil!!

[@gerardfeeney5613]

Hi I commented earlier on your great video, Can you tell me what type of self steering did you use? Its looks like you didn't have a wind vane? Thanks much!

[@janisspalvins677]

Thanks for nice video. Can you please tell your boat model and size? Looking quite sporty boat.

[@jamesmoninger1982]

Great video. Curious: Why the stop on Kauai?

[@Austin_Book]

@@jamesmoninger1982 came all that way from California. Had to check out another island. It’s more or less on the way home.

[@Austin_Book]

@@jamesmoninger1982 for fun

[@jamesmoninger1982]

@@Austin_Book Thanks! I thought it might have been a navigation tactic. I know that sailing eastbound from Hawaii has some challenges with winds, currents, etc. Nice job on the video, and it looks like you had a great trip.

[@Austin_Book]

@@jamesmoninger1982 yeah generally leaving HI headed for CA you head north for ~1000 miles. Kauai is only just a bit west of course, so a fun detour with a swim was nice.

[@andyhoms2001]

I wanted to ask if you have an internet connection at any point(s) throughout your voyage? Do you use Starlink?

[@zacksaxtonzack]

you have guts i would never attempt to do I went Salmon fishing in san FrancsicoI was so sick I still get sick when I think about it

[@Austin_Book]

Everyone gets seasick at some point!

[@gregwebster8784]

Ripping!

[@dronedevices]

Fast boat, it took us 23 days to Monterey on a 40 footer.

[@chalinosanchez8113]

Sensei

[@enriquelaroche5370]

What did you use for Auto pilot I noticed you mentioned it, Electronic ? I did not see a vane.

[@Austin_Book]

Raymarine ev100. I never had to hand steer in the rough stuff even.

[@enriquelaroche5370]

@@Austin_Book thank you!

[@apivovarov2]

how it feels?

[@mkl4324-d9o]

What month did you sail back?

[@Austin_Book]

@@mkl4324-d9o July

[@adamlannerd1408]

I want to learn to sail so bad.

[@FranklinGray]

Can you show us your route?

[@Austin_Book]

You can check it out on the yb tracking app. Pacific cup return

[@charleschambers2045]

WHAT BRAND of boat and how big

[@Austin_Book]

Wilderness 30

[@scripteaze]

Why arent you fishing?

[@Austin_Book]

Wasn’t the time. Are you fishing?

[@scripteaze]

@@Austin_Book No, but if I were in a boat, looking to pass a little time, I would surely fish. maybe make some sushi.

[@davidkennedy7549]

Did this once without an engine, battery, lights, electronics, etc....had a sextant though!

[@Austin_Book]

@@davidkennedy7549 nice

[@simplicity6564]

The wind noise makes it uncomfortable to watch the video.

[@Austin_Book]

Sorry there was wind while sailing

[@samuiblue]

Get a dead cat for your microphone. Great video, but the audio makes it hard to watch.

[@jeffhodge7333]

If you're willing to sail back from Hawaii, you can buy a great boat for cheap in Hawaii. Everyone wants to sail to Hawaii, but no one wants to sail back. From Hawaii, you have to go straight north until you are even with the Oregon coast. Then, you can head east toward the mainland. I would have paid you to bring back a nice sailboat to Redondo Beach, CA.

[@zackerydodder7287]

Good to know. Me and my friend are planning a voyage. I'll keep this mind and look for people needing boats moved

[@jeffhodge7333]

@@zackerydodder7287 You can make a living bringing boats back from Hawaii to California. Most sailors I know hate that return trip.

[@scomo532]

A few reference comments would be nice, you know like “Fifth day out lat --- long -- nice weathah, looks like -- days to --“

[@AirstripBum]

Whale preparing lunch.