Tales of the 2026 Pacific Cup From the Helm of ‘Green Buffalo’
As the 2026 Pacific Cup teams spent a little time relaxing in Kaneohe after their race across the ocean, we reached out to sailors to hear their stories of their experiences in the Pacific Cup Yacht Club’s “Fun Race to Hawaii.” Cameron Gibson (Pac Cup first-timer) and Elizabeth Bishop gave us a little insight into their experiences sailing aboard Jim Quanci’s Cal 40 Green Buffalo.
As a first-time Pac Cup racer, my biggest takeaway from sailing aboard Green Buffalo was that knowing how to make a boat go fast is only one piece of a successful campaign. Reading the weather, fostering a healthy crew dynamic, sharing the workload fairly, being prepared for unexpected breakdowns, and keeping a cool head while the team stays aligned and motivated are just as important.
That last lesson came into focus more than once over the course of the race. While I was on the helm, I learned how to keep the spinnaker flying in pitch-black conditions using nothing but the feel of the boat and the sailing instruments. In the final 100 miles of the race, our guy line snapped, and about 20 minutes after it had been reattached to the spinnaker, the guy popped out of the jaw of the pole. Just five minutes after that, the bail at the outboard end of the pole failed, disconnecting the foreguy. Each challenge could have unraveled into something much bigger, but everyone stayed calm, communicated clearly, and worked the problem until we were back up to speed. The off-watch crew got a little more excitement than they had bargained for, but they were on deck in an instant and made every problem that much easier to solve.
It was an honor to be invited by Jim Quanci aboard such a storied boat and to learn from my fellow crewmates. I fell in love with the Cal 40 and hope to keep coming back to race Pac Cup for many years to come. — Cameron Gibson.
One of my most memorable moments of the 2026 Pacific Cup aboard Green Buffalo came during a nighttime squall. We tried to outrun it but caught the edge of the system just as I took the helm for the 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. watch. The wind built into the high 20s, the seas became steeper and more chaotic, and the Buffalo charged, regularly surfing at speeds approaching 16 knots.
Holding our course demanded focus, but unlike in my previous Pacific Cup aboard Green Buffalo, I found myself trusting both the boat and my own judgment at the helm. That confidence was built through experience and mentorship. Sharing watches with Jim, along with the encouragement and coaching of experienced crewmates like Jeff Duvall, helped me grow into a more capable offshore sailor. I’m deeply grateful for their guidance, which transformed moments that once had felt intimidating into some of the most rewarding of the race. — Elizabeth Bishop.
See more on Green Buffalo here, and check out our feature on this year’s Pacific Cup in the August issue.