Greg is hoping for less excitement on his second SSS TransPac - a lot less excitement, thank you very much. In the '94 race, he hadn't even cleared the Golden Gate before breaking a finger reefing the main. He taped it up and kept going, only to find out they don't call old IOR boats "broach coaches" for nothing. With a spinnaker up, Slipstream was too skittish to be steered by an autopilot - and without six extra bodies holding her rear end down, she wasn't much better with Greg on the helm.
He recalls a dozen round-downs and lost count of all the round ups on the way to Hanalei, eating cold chili and sleeping little. The boat arrived with the cleanest spreaders (and messiest cockpit) of any competitor, taking third in Division I.
As with last time, Greg will follow a basic plan from Bob Rice's Weather Window routing service. Unlike last time, Morris won't adhere as rigidly to the waypoints if the weatherfax shows good breeze closer to the rhumbline.
"Last time I figure I sailed 100 extra miles for no advantage," he notes.
Greg is one of a few competitors to have adopted a physical training regimen in preparation for the Singlehanded TransPac. He quit drinking beer a month before the race and will row and lift weights up until departure time. He's also trained himself to need only 4 or 5 hours of sleep out of every 24 - taken in the early morning hours - and to wake up for a look around every 15 minutes.
Greg directs thanks to "a bunch of guys at the club who helped prepare the boat." He says his most anticipated aspect of the race is "looking back and seeing the bows of all those other boats."
Navigation: Garmin GPS, Micrologic Supersport, radar; Steering: Alpha 3000, Autohelm 4000 autopilots; Food: "I keep a can opener and a big spoon in my foulies at all times. I've developed a genuine taste for chili straight out of the can."
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