Arrivals in Singlehanded Transpacific Race on Holiday Weekend

July 4-5

The first arrivals in the Singlehanded Transpacific Yacht Race were almost a photo finish — although it was too dark for decent photography. On the night of July 4, Michael Polkabla on the Cal 40 Solstice was leading the way to Hanalei Bay, but Loren Brindze on the Hobie 33 Topaz was in hot pursuit. We were watching on the Jibeset tracker but also on the edges of our seats.

Ten boats had started the race (a day late, due to gales offshore) on Sunday, June 22, from Golden Gate Yacht Club in San Francisco. Upon arriving in Kauai, the sailors cross a virtual finish line north of Hanalei Bay proper, then sail or motor into the anchorage, with guidance from the volunteers from the Singlehanded Sailing Society.

It turned out that the wind on the night of July 4-5 made for a dead-downwind finish — conditions more suited to a Cal 40 than to a sporty Hobie 33 that needs to sail hot angles. Michael was exhausted from 20 hours of hand steering with a patched-together tiller (the autopilot wouldn’t work with the broken tiller). But Solstice held off Topaz to claim first to finish and first place overall.

During the daylight hours of July 5, three more boats arrived — Perplexity, Starship and White Rose, in that order. Reverie finished at nightfall that evening.

July 6-7

A gap followed until Sunday evening, then Chris Case arrived — with a broken boom, no less — on the other Cal 40, Fugu. The catamaran Rainbow and B-25 Akumu are Monday morning finishers.

The one Westsail 32 this year, InnFall, had some gear damage. Her skipper, Chris Rusin, has told the race chair that he’ll head straight for Honolulu rather than finish the race in Kauai. His primary goal is to complete a circumnavigation of the Pacific High, starting and finishing from his homeport of Blaine, Washington.

As in 2023, the Kauai Sailing Association in Nawiliwili will host the awards party, on Saturday, July 12. We’ll have much more in the August issue of Latitude 38, and we’re also planning a podcast for Good Jibes.