Commodore Tompkins Sails Home From the Pacific Cup

After finishing first in class in the 2026 Pacific Cup, Commodore Tompkins enjoyed a few weeks aboard Flashgirl in Hawaii before his crew rejoined him for the sail home. Marco Misbach, who sailed with Commodore on the Pacific Cup, sent in a few photos from the return voyage as they made their way north to try to get over the Pacific High.

You can read more on Commodore’s Pacific Cup in the current issue, delivered yesterday, where Jonathan Livingston recounts the tale of the privilege of sailing with the 94-year-old legend as they raced across the ocean.

Commodore, Marco and Emily Maker have been sailing north to get over the Pacific High before tacking east toward the Gate. Yesterday they were up at about 38N and 139W, which is a good place to be when you look on Windy and notice hurricanes Lowell and Karina and tropical storm Marie to the south. Looking at Flashgirl’s approximate position, they should be in some northerlies, shifting to westerly for an improving but chillier ride home.

As Marco says, he’s sailing with his youngest friend, Commodore Tompkins, who is standing watch on Flashgirl’s return trip. With just three crew, they are all a bit sleep-deprived, though he describes one of the best watchmates as the Kicking Horse coffee they have on board.

They’re now traveling east with growing speed after having had some 120–130-mile days. They just hit a day’s run of 201 miles in the right direction! They’ve had some autopilot and engine problems but are now hoping they might make it in for the Labor Day weekend, or shortly thereafter.

Look for the red Flashgirl passing through the Gate soon. We’re sure a fresh package of Kicking Horse will be welcome after a good night’s sleep.

We don’t imagine there are too many 94-year-old sailors out making ocean passages today, though it wouldn’t surprise many people that Commodore Tompkins would be the one adding another 2500 miles to his many hundreds of thousands of offshore sailing miles.