Post of the day from Nådeløs, www.cubaneren.no
Today we have been lucky to have a chat with our busy captain. Definitely not a rookie in sailing, but first time on Transpac.
1. Please tell a little bit about yourself:
a. I am 29 years old and grew up in Orinda, CA. Social status: figuring it out haha. I currently work for Elvstrøm sails as the Bay area sailpoint/ West Coast Rep and Hansen’s Rigging. I enjoy both of them greatly and couldn’t be happier with this decision to working in the boating community.
2. You have got several boats, what types and when do you sail them
a. The main boats I own: Lido 14, Flying Dutchmans. The collection grews and shrinks as needed (is there ever a thing as owning too many boats?) I mostly sail the Lido with my family and very close friends on a San Pablo Dam (a lake in my home town). I learned to sail the Lido with my father and younger brother. It is still my favorite boat to sail due to all of the memories associated with it. The Flying Dutchman came about due to my skipper Zhenya on the Melges 24 taking me out on his FD. I was hooked from then on out and ended up buying one (despite Zhenya repeatedly telling me not to). I sail the FD weekly with friends in the south SF Bay and have many great laughs and learning experiences. This boat has helped me become the sailor I am today.
3. What is your best sailing moment?
a. This is a difficult one. Almost all of the times I got sailing are great moments. I like sharing the time with my friends and family. It brings the people around me together.
b. The most difficult sailing moment was actually a couple of days ago in fluky conditions in the middle of the Pacific!
4. Nådeløs is a Wasa 55. What made you decide to buy this boat?
a. A few reasons: 1) the week before meeting Karl Otto and Maren, I was shopping around for a boat that met a few criteria: live aboard, ocean going, can be raced. I checked out several other boats but there was always an issue or two that made me reluctant. Too pricy, too beat up, not a good layout, not the right feel or vibe you could say. I narrowed my list down to 3 possibilities. The day I saw the Wasa for the first time was when I was sailing with my Uncle and Veronika (current TransPac crew) in a race. When we arrived at Encinal yacht club, there was the Wasa. Rodney told me I had to go take a good look at the boat and meet Karl and Maren. When they mentioned that she was looking for a new owner and the price range, the rest was history. It feels like fate that I met Karl and Maren and their Cubaneren. I see this friendship lasting for a long time.
5. Nådeløs is a Norwegian word and would directly translated mean Reckless or no mercy. How come you have chosen this name?
a. It started with wanting to keep the theme of the boat since it is unlike anything else I had ever sailed on or seen for that matter. Since the boat is from Norway, I decided to honor this. I pulled up Google translate and started typing in names that I liked. Nådeløs popped up when I typed in Relentless and it stuck. My favorite boat growing up was 20000 leagues under the sea and the Submarine was named Nautilus and her skipper Nemo was relentless and ruthless. Some may say I am a little reckless and maybe ruthless from time to time.
6. Probably the youngest skipper in this edition of the TransPac. Has that been a driving force in all the preparations that must be done to come to the starting line?
a. My age didn’t have much to do with it. It was more to fulfill a dream I had to sail the world (a few remember when all this came about). The Trans Pac I feel is just a jumping off point for what is to come. Preparing for this race has been nothing short of extremely difficult. For the past year, I would go to work for 8 hours and then come back home(the boat) and then spend the rest of the evening working on all of the little details to get the Wasa to the point that I wanted her to be in. The Category 1 offshore race boat standards is a long list safety checks that had to be met to be able to compete in this race. I had friends and family cheering me on and sometimes alerted me to some harsh realities that I was dealing with. I would like to thank my Uncle George and Aunt Kim for really lighting my fire in the final 3 weeks to pulling everything together. It feels like a miracle that I made it to the startline.
7. Could you ever have found a better crew for this race? (Yeah, not very journalistic, but yes will work)
a. I really don’t think so. After these 4 days at sea, the knowledge and skill of everyone on board has been priceless. Karl and Maren probably know the Wasa 55 better than anyone else and Veronika with her sail trim and fine attention to detail makes this easier on my role as Captain and person in charge. It was weird having the boat pulled out of the slip a few of the times with me below deck working on last minute details. I am sleeping well during my off shifts knowing the boat is in great hands.
8. A bit over 1/3 of the race is done. Has it been as expected so far and where will it end?
a. I honestly didn’t fully know what to expect, I entered into one of the most prestigious offshore races in the world without ever completing an ocean passage, only coastal races on others boats. I was extremely nervous in the moments leading up to leaving the dock. So far, the boat and crew is performing beautifully and I couldn’t be happier. The chart plotter says we are 1445nm from Hawaii and I am optimistic with the outcome!
Back with the crew again, and just so we have said it; Ian tried to extinct us yesterday when he grabbed his foredeck dressing (the swimsuit) that had been sitting around in the bathroom dripping wet since the start. Earlier on the blog we had some complaints about smell from the toilet since we could not fill it with water. This shorts have most likely not been totally innocent either. When it got in motion it took out most of the living life that came in its way.