After 27 days at sea, 11 of them under jury rig, Ruben Gabriel has completed the 2008 Singlehanded TransPac from San Francisco Bay to Hanalei Bay aboard the 22-ft Pearson Electra Sparky. Click here to view a short video of Ruben’s arrival on Kauai.

The jury rig pictured here is version #3, and as soon as Ruben got it set up just right, the wind died. Then just a half a day before his finish, he was sailing along briskly in good wind again, but the shore crew requested he slow down so that he could enter the anchorage in daylight. Those waiting on Kauai didn’t know how easy the sail would be to douse, or if there were any sharp edges that could puncture an inflatable, scrape fiberglass, or injure helpers.

As it turned out, Sparky’s arrival went as smoothly as any other, mostly due to the exceptionally seamanlike job Ruben had done with his jury rig and the tidy leftover bits of wire, spars and hardware. Skip Allan took his Wylie 27 Wildflower out to the finish line to meet Sparky, and towed her into the bay, where Ruben easily dropped her sail and set the anchor with the assistance of the shore boat and Wildflower.

No one was needed onboard Sparky to lend a hand, and Ruben was eager to go ashore, so greetings, the lei ceremony, and the skipper’s drink of choice (a cold rum and Coke) waited for him on the beach.

The racers and families who remained on Kauai turned out to welcome him to dry land. Also waiting on the beach were his parents and brother, who had flown in to surprise him. A tearful reunion ensued.

Congratulations Ruben! You are an inspiration.

For more on Sparky, see www.sparkysfo.com. We’ve now posted video of Sparky’s arrival - check it out. Also see our movies page for videos of previous arrivals, and our archives for previous SSS TransPac reports. Results, racer’s logs, and more are available at www.sfbaysss.org.