Synoptic wind field forecasts from GFS and ECMWF are getting better every year, and route optimization software gives all similar boats a similar strategy. But Expedition knows nothing about squalls! This race can be won or lost at the meso-scale.
Good squall tactics can easily make the difference between a podium finish and a mid-fleet result. Stan Honey’s Rules of Thumb are excellent, but every squall is different. Remember that Stan’s first Rule of Thumb is “don’t trust rules of thumb.”
After navigating 26 races to Hawaii, I think I’m pretty good at negotiating squalls to advantage. I have two division wins to my credit, and a number of podium finishes well above the programs’ expectations.
The term “dipole squall” to explain the surface winds around some late-night squalls in unstable air is my coinage; Stan Honey has adopted it in his lectures on the subject. I believe I understand how to use cloud streets, also the “late afternoon lefty” and other diurnal artifacts.
I’m looking for a berth on a big, fast, and not-too-uncomfortable boat that wants to minimize the chances of losing hours of time because they handled a squall incorrectly (and I’m also told I’m a decent driver).
I’m nocturnal: Prefer to be on all night and off all day, rather than on a rotating watch schedule.
More disclosures: I’m sometimes accused of calling for “Chicago jibes” (early and often). I like to consult radar when available, for more precise squall interception. I have yet to get seasick (knock knock). I’m fastidious about instrument calibration, but usually have to test for the “TWD jibe factor” to cancel out small calibration errors that inevitably show up as small but important TWD variations from one jibe to the other. My day job is forensic naval architecture, and I write a monthly column for Latitude 38 under a pseudonym.
For a full sailing CV, and to discuss further, email pk@well.com
Available for Pacific Cup 2026,Transpac 2027,
and Baja Ha-Ha 2026.
Paul Kamen, Naval Architect, P.E.
Surface Propulsion Analysis
1224 Campus Drive, Berkeley, California 94708
pk@well.com 510-540-7968 510-219-8106 (cell)
Surface Propulsion Analysis
1224 Campus Drive, Berkeley, California 94708
pk@well.com 510-540-7968 510-219-8106 (cell)