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Slow Start for the Last Round of TransPac BoatsJuly 16 - Pacific Ocean It was much ado about nothing yesterday for the third and final start of the 44th TransPacific Yacht Race. The breeze peaked at four knots off Pt. Fermin, and it took some boats as many as four hours to travel from Long Beach to Catalina, a distance of some 20 miles. Remember, these are the biggest and fastest race entries! According to our remote reporters who were out at the west end of Catalina yesterday to watch the big boats go by, the breeze did fill a little as the boats passed their one mark on the course to Hawaii. While all eyes were on the impressive “new” Pyewacket, our spies noted that Roger Sturgeon’s brand new STP65 Rosebud looked particularly fast. We fully expect Sturgeon to repeat his Kalakaua Trophy victory for overall corrected time honors, though on a slightly larger Rosebud this time. (In 2005, he won the trophy with his TransPac 52.) The smallest boat in Sunday’s start, the Andrews 45 Locomotion, was also reported to be looking good as she passed the island.
We’d love to report on where the rest of the fleet is headed, but the race tracking software on the TransPac Web site has been less than cooperative. However, according to today’s position report, it still appears to be slow-going offshore. The boats in the Santa Cruz 50/52 division appear to be in the best pressure, with most reporting 24-hour distance in the low 200-mile range. On the other hand, several boats in the Aloha divisions that started last week, and a couple in Divisions 1, 2, and 3 that started yesterday made only double-digit progress in the last day. If you’re feeling lucky or want to practice your chart plotting skills, you can track the fleet at www.transpacificyc.org.
On an unrelated note, Roy Disney, whose efforts to procure the Barn Door trophy with Pyewacket have garnered much attention, announced at the last minute that he would not be joining his crew of 21 for the race. No doubt this was a difficult decision, but one he seemed to feel was the wisest option. While Disney isn’t on board, they won’t be shorthanded. Days before the start, the team announced that Dean Barker was joining the team for the race. (For the record, this isn’t the first time a high profile Kiwi America’s Cup skipper has done the TransPac. Russell Coutts was on board Pyewacket rival Morning Glory in the 2005 race.) And while we’re back on Pyewacket again, we have a quick postscript to Friday’s ‘Lectronic story about the controversy the boat has created. We misidentified the US Sailing representative who oversees TransPac ratings. That should have been Dan Nowlan, US Sailing’s Offshore Director. To the best of our knowledge, Pat Nolan, a partner in the Alameda office of Sail California, doesn’t have any say in TransPac ratings. As always, we apologize for the error. - latitude / ss
Smoke on the WaterJuly 16 - Alameda Estuary
A Clean Air Day on the Estuary. |
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