Ed. Note. a few days ago we learned PNWer Cary Kaczowka is a member of Maiden‘s important world voyage crew. Here she gives us some insight into life aboard, reveals big plans for Maiden, and relays a request for help. Anyone got a spare chute?
Our location as of Sat Nov 16th at 1pm is 16° 44′ N, 102° 26′ W. Light wind and motoring conditions, it’s hot and sunny! My First 1000 miles on Maiden have been extremely enlightening and I’m enjoying learning from the incredibly experienced crew on board.
It sounds like I couldn’t have lucked out any better with this route – we’ve had quite a few days of beautiful downwind sailing and reaching. We’ve put almost every sail out, reefed the main at times, and are only now starting to motor for a longer stretch of time as we head inland and avoid tropical storm Raymond. The majority of their round the world journey is upwind so this leg from Los Angeles to Antigua via the canal with some downwind Pacific sailing has been a great change of pace for the regular crew.
Sailing on a bigger boat than I’m used to in a moderate sea state certainly put me in my place at times. Sail changes are quite different than on my Catalina 34. Not a roller furler around, a lot more load, and few more halyards to navigate.
One of our biggest concerns and major discussion point currently is the possibility of getting ice cream upon reaching Panama. (We’re very hopeful, as it’s super hot on board.)
Another discussion point is the possibility of Maiden finding another asymmetrical spinnaker that fits the boat. When I first met the Maiden crew at their talk at CYC Seattle, someone was kind enough to ask if they needed anything. Their answer was another asym so they could keep the current (used) sail in one piece. They have been visiting schools globally and asking kids to place their handprint on the sail, creating a spiral which grows with each stop. These handprints represent the next generation’s desire for equality and belief in the potential of girls. Handprints will keep being added until the sail is completely covered. It looks beautiful up! The message that sail carries is too important to lose, so it gets taken down quite early if it’s ever flown.
As Maiden’s journey continues today it sounds like more racing is in her future. Tracy Edwards announced their intent to enter the 2023 Ocean Globe Race, and I would guess there shall be a few race entries between now and then – including talk of the Caribbean 600 this winter. Revisiting that talk in August that inspired me to apply, I was so proud of our Seattle sailing community for taking initiative to see how we can help. In addition to donations to the Maiden Factor Foundation charity, it would be amazing to find an asymmetrical spinnaker that fits their rig.
So here’s the ask again: Does anyone have a gently used kite taking up space to donate to a very worthy cause? A2 or A3? Below are dimensions and contact info. Let’s do this PNW!
Dimensions of current A2:
Foot: 12.1m Luff: 20.7m Leech: 23m Area: 219.1m²
Contact: Erica Lush, Email: Erica@themaidenfactor.org