July 6, 2000
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News Flash òòò
July 6, 4:45 pm PDT – Pacific Ocean
NEWS FLASH #1
Singlehanded TransPac competitor David Bennett, sailing the
Hobie 33 ‘Space Cowboy’ out of Brickyard Cove, was rescued from
his liferaft 380 miles northwest of Hawaii this afternoon by the
U.S. Navy vessel ‘Ingram’. SSS Race Committee officials on Kauai
report Bennett as being “safe and sound”. The circumstances
that prompted Bennett to abandon his vessel, which was apparently
sighted floating in good condition some five miles away, are not
clear. Bennett had been having rigging and autopilot problems,
and like all of the competitors was suffering from fatigue and
lack of sleep. The Navy vessel is headed to Washington.
NEWS FLASH #2
Anna Stockel of the Santa Cruz 50 ‘Sundowner’ crossed the finish
line first this afternoon to become the first woman to take line
honors in the Singlehanded TransPac. Her exact time is not known.
Chuck Beazell in the Hunter 54 ‘Joe’ was expected to cross the
finish line several hours later. More on the Singlehanded TransPac
in tomorrow’s ‘Lectronic Latitude.
Photo
of the Day
July 6 – Marion, South Carolina
In the ’60s, Southern California was Ground Zero for the building
of fiberglass production sailboats. No fewer than 20 builders
were located within a small radius of Costa Mesa – names like
Columbia, Cal, Coronado, Islander, Ericson, Yankee, Westsail,
and DownEast to name just a few. Most of these had disappeared
by the end of the ’70s.
In the mid-’80s, the French – never known for being business whizzes
– decided that for some reason they could make a go of boat building
in the United States. And the accompanying photograph – of the
3,500th sailboat Beneteau has built in Marion, South Carolina
– proves they were right. In addition to launching their 3,500th
boat, the company unveiled plans to double their production capability.
Photo Courtesy Beneteau USA
Weather
Updates
July 6 – Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean Weather
Today’s surface weather chart shows great Trades for both the
Singlehanded TransPac and the Vic-Maui fleets to finish their
races.
Click here to see enlarged graphic.
University of Hawaii Meteorology Graphic
California Coast Weather
It’s 0900 and it’s gusting to 23 knots at Pt. Arguello. It’s
still July.
Pacific Sea State
Check it out at: http://www.mpc.ncep.noaa.gov/RSSA/PacRegSSA.html.
Tropical Disturbances
Kirogi is fading off Japan; everywhere else is quiet.
Cruising
YOTREPS
July 6 – Cyberspace and the Pacific Ocean
Who is out making passages in the Pacific and what kind of
weather are they having? Check out YOTREPS – yacht reports – at
http://www.bitwrangler.com/yotreps/
Racing
July 6 – North San Francisco Bay
Brothers & Sisters Regatta
Twenty boats celebrated Independence Day in one of the few
races available on the Fourth: Tiburon Yacht Club’s Brothers &
Sisters Regatta. You don’t have to be a brother or sister to race,
just take the Brother and Sister Islands to port. The fleet enjoyed
warm, sunny skies and plenty of wind. The breeze really kicked
up between 3:00 and 4:00 pm (as usual) when the boats were finishing.
One racer reported a top wind speed reading of 29.5 knots.
Top finishers in the Spinnaker Division were: 1) ‘Jarlen’,
2) ‘Hooligan’, 3) ‘Joy Ride’. Top finishers in the Non-Spinnaker
Division were: 1) ‘Frisky’, 2) ‘Don Wan’, 3) ‘Risky’. You can
visit Tiburon YC at http://tyc.org/.
 Bob Bloom’s J/35 ‘Jarlen’ rounds the weather mark. She stayed in front for the entire race to get the gun and a first place finish. |
 The Newport 30 MkII ‘Ruckus’, owned by Paul Von Wiedenfield of Richmond YC, passes the Brothers lighthouse. |
Both photos Walt Bilofsky/Tiburon YC
July 6 – Pacific Ocean
Victoria to Maui Race
James McDowell’s SC 70 from the Lahaina YC covered another
340 miles yesterday leaving her only 340 miles to what’s going
to be a mai tai finish for the home boy in Lahaina. ‘Grand Illusion’
appears to be on her way to first in her class, first in fleet,
and a new record. Makes you wonder what all the SC 70s are doing
on the Great Lakes. For details, visit http://www.vicmaui.org.
Singlehanded TransPac
It’s been shaping up for a great first to finish battle between
Anna Stockel on the Santa Cruz 50 ‘Sundowner’ from Santa Cruz
and Chuck Beazell on the Hunter 54 ‘Joe’ from Alameda. If Stockel
wins, it will be yet another victory in what’s so far been the
best year ever for women racers. In any event, both boats should
cross the finish line off Hanalei Bay, Kauai, today. Our man John
Riise is on the scene so we’ll have details in tomorrow’s ‘Lectronic
Latitude.
For details, visit: www.sfbaysss.org.
Singlehanded Profile:Chuck Beazell, ‘Joe’, Hunter 54 Boat: ‘Joe’ Hunter 54 (1982) |
 ‘Joe’ starting the SSS TransPac Photo Latitude/Richard |
Chuck’s main motivations for doing the 2000 Solo TransPac
are “to have fun and try not to make the same mistakes I
made in the ’96 race.” One of those was a big one – 75 miles
from Hanalei Bay, ‘Joe’s mast fell. Chuck cut it loose and still
managed to finish second in class under jury rig. An active sailor
with a big, fast boat (and nearly new rig), Chuck could well be
the guy to beat in this year’s run for the plumeria.
Chuck has owned ‘Joe’ (named for a favorite dog he had as a kid)
for 13 years. Over the past few years, most of the modifications
and upgrades he’s done on the boat have been related to general
sailing. The only mods or additions made specifically for this
2000 Solo TransPac are a double-headsail arrangement in case the
fleet sees dead downwind running conditions like it did in 1998,
and a JRC radar. Its proximity alarm will help give Chuck peace
of mind for his naps (max 15 minutes in the shipping lanes, longer
out of them).
When asked who deserves special thanks for helping get him to
this year’s starting line, Chuck names the company he worked for
until a few weeks before the race. “They closed due to lack
of funding,” he says. “That gave me the time to finish
getting ready for the race. Not all start-ups result in millionaires!”
he says.
It’s understandable that Chuck is going to be monitoring his boat’s
rig more closely than most other competitors. “I probably
spend more time inspecting mast bend and rig tension than anyone
else on the Bay. Hopefully I’ll get over that paranoia early enough
to enjoy the race.”
Navigation: Four GPSs (two fixed, two handheld), all Garmin.
Steering: “It depends on how well my new autopilot (AutoNav
below-deck hydraulic) works. If it can steer with the spinnaker,
I’ll let it steer. If it can’t, I’ll steer as much as I can.”
(Navico below-deck autopilot backup. )
Food: “Yes, I’ll take food. I’ll tell you what I bought when
I leave the store. I don’t understand all the jokes about Dinty
Moore – I’m sure I’ll have many cans aboard.”
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