Transpac Fleet Underway — Four Boats Retired
The last group of Transpac starters got underway on Saturday, with somewhat better breeze than that for Thursday’s starters. The fleet of 19 boats in Divisions 1, 2, and 3 was quickly out in the winds offshore and reaching west toward Catalina and Hawaii soon after the start. With the Saturday starters on course, the whole fleet is now in the race.
As of this morning, the tracker shows Saturday’s starters with the big boat, Bryon Ehrhart’s 88-ft Lucky, leading the Boatswain’s Locker/Yanmar Division 1. She’s been rocketing along at 20 knots for the first day or so but is now in a light spot and sailing at 13.5 knots.
First in Mount Gay Division 2 is Thomas Furlong and his crew aboard the Reichel/Pugh 52 Vitesse. Whittier Trust Division 3 has Jack Jennings’ Reichel/Pugh 68 Pied Piper in first, with Roy Disney aboard Pyewacket close behind in second place.
Leading the entire fleet is Charles-Etienne Devanneaux’s Beneteau First 36 Rahan, which has just managed to get past the light spot and is hoping to stay in the breeze. The light winds in the middle of the course are tempting some to reach up for better apparent wind, while others have jibed for a painful dodge south. Those who can are trying to keep their boats heading south on starboard jibe while keeping their speed up in light winds. Not an easy feat.
Transpac reports that four boats have retired from the race. Three have safely and successfully returned to the mainland, and one is underway. On Friday, July 4, the J/125 Vortices 2 retired due to rudder issues. On Saturday, the Reichel/Pugh 63 GoodEnergy reported they’d retired, also due to rudder bearing issues. The Transpac Race Committee was advised that the third boat, the Andrews 68 Rock ‘n Roll, had retired from the race due to an injury onboard. A crew member was injured from a fall and was taken to Avalon for treatment before being transferred to a mainland hospital. The injured crewman is reported to be in good spirits, and everyone else has returned safely. Ragtime has also retired and is heading east to San Diego. [After this was posted we received the following from the Transpac office, “On Sunday, July 6, a crewmember was evacuated from the vessel (Ragtime) due to a medical issue, approximately 230 miles offshore in a coordinated operation involving the US Coast Guard and the US Air Force. The sailor was airlifted to Scripps Memorial Hospital in San Diego, where they were treated and subsequently released. We’re pleased to report they are now doing well. At last report, Ragtime was approximately 125 miles offshore, sailing toward San Pedro with an estimated arrival time of 0400 PDT on July 8. All aboard are safe, and families have been notified.”]
It’s unfortunate for all these boats, and unfortunate that the matchup between Ragtime and Merlin is now off the table.
Merlin continues to fly west at 13.5 knots in fifth place in Division 3. In 1997, Roy P. Disney’s Santa Cruz 70, Pyewacket, usurped Merlin’s 20-year-old record, sailing Transpac’s 2,225-mile course in 7 days, 15 hours, 24 minutes, and 40 seconds. That year also marked the first time that the Pyewacket team held a traditional Hawaiian blessing ceremony before their race. “I like to honor the Hawaiian culture,” said Disney, who continued this dockside tradition on Wednesday. “These people found Hawaii in a rowboat from 3,000 miles away by looking at swell patterns and birds and fish on the water. I can’t find my way down the 405 freeway, so I respect that, and I honor that,” he said.
“And, by the way, in 1997, I broke the record by 24 hours,” Disney said of the tradition’s auspicious origins. Disney is racing in his 27th Transpac!
A few reports came in to the Transpac committee from mid-ocean. Cal Maritime-Oaxaca: “All is well aboard the good ship Oaxaca. Tough driving conditions through the night as the wind dropped and the swell stayed the same. Hoping for more wind soon, though prospects are bleak.”
Fast Exit II said all was good aboard and they’re now into an A2, giving them a chance to do some housekeeping after a few days of blast reaching. They had some rain this morning to rinse off the foulies and hair. They’re looking forward to getting across the patch of light air today.
J World’s Hula Girl wrote in, “Beautiful, relaxing day of sailing yesterday, spinnakers and a bit of sun, a taste of things to come. Finally separated from Heroic Heart a touch after some 24 hours of sailing within sight of them … nice drag racing! Today promises to be … ‘interesting:’ breeze already down a good amount, and nice and shifty to boot.”
Paul Kamen wrote in from his navigation station aboard Barry Clark’s Grand Soleil 44 Blackwing, which has slipped from first to second in Division 8 behind Mike Sudo’s Beneteau 47.7 Macondo. Paul reports they’re now sailing in T-shirts, and were happy to welcome the sun on day four of their crossing. They are past the halfway mark with just over 1,000 miles to go. Clark just started racing in 2022.
The boats continue to reach west, though the middle of the pack is hitting some light winds today while Tuesday’s starters continue to steam ahead in fresh breeze. You can follow them all here.