It did take us about an hour to rig the Code
Zero (we were a little out of practice) but it has been well worth the
effort. This sail is now 20 years old and has been bent on only about a dozen
times. It, associated furling gear and sheets cost about $10,000 in 2004. To
justify this purchase on strictly financial grounds related to passage making,
we compared the cost of motoring to sailing in conditions when the sail would
be used: Incremental motoring with the cost of fuel these days ($6.22/gal
diesel at the Oakland fuel dock) costs about $16/hr. So, break even for using
this sail vs. motoring and using $20,000 as the cost basis (Katie would have
turned $10k into $20k and/or the sail+rigging would cost closer to $20k today)
is 52 days (24hr/day). Conditions and laziness have us using it only about 20 days
so far. We will probably get three or four more days of use on this passage.
The peacefulness of not running the main engine (we still need at least two
hours per day of generator time) or environmental considerations must come into
play to justify purchasing this light wind, reaching/upwind sail. Here is a GRIB
chart showing the light wind area we are in and heading into:

The Pacific High (circulating pressure area) is forming
properly next week and some nice tradewinds should fill in for us:

The owner gave instructions to the captain that she
wanted a peaceful, slow sail. Otherwise, we could have left next week for a
wild ride down the coast and into the trades.

Our noon position on May 17, 2024 was:

32d52.9m N, 127d15.9m W

24 hr noon to noon: 134 nm

We’ve seen three vessels (only on AIS) and all cargo
ships – the largest, ‘Maersk Eureka’ at 366m.