
Intermediate-Range Pac Cup Prep
Berkeley Yacht Club will host the third Pacific Cup Offshore Academy preparation seminar this Sunday, March 15. The all-day seminar will focus on intermediate-range preparation items — things that the racers heading off to Oahu in July really need to be thinking about right now.

Among them:
- Sail Selection
- North Sails’ Seadon Wijsden, a skilled navigator and sail expert, will talk about what sails you should take, when to use them, and how to fix them underway.
- Liferafts
- Selection, stowage and maintenance. It’s the most expensive gear we hope you’ll never need.
- Provisioning and Water
- Commodore Michael Moradzadeh, after 11.5 transpacific passages, knows a few things about provisions. Whether it’s freeze-dried on a super-fast boat, or steaks on the transom grill, there are decisions to be made to maintain a happy, healthy crew.
- Going Green
- Pac Cup is teaming up with Sailors for the Sea to deliver a greener regatta and promote environmentally sound boating practices.
- Medical and First Aid
- John Taussig of Backcountry Medical Guides will provide an overview of preparation for, prevention of, and response to medical problems.
- Emergency Call Practice. PCYC has arranged for medical support coverage during the race. They’ll demonstrate how it works with a call to the GWU emergency doctors.
- Return Trip Advice
- How you gonna get the boat back? Jim Quanci (of the Cal 40 Green Buffalo) and a few veterans of the return and of boat shipping will share advice and experiences.
- And More
- Raffles, advice, reef-safe sunscreen
- Post-seminar party

The $35 fee includes lunch. Sign up at https://2020.pacificcup.org/node/5904.
A late-breaking notice from PCYC: “We are watching the news on the virus and working to assure that we are not taking unreasonable risks. We’ll be sure that the facilities at BYC are wiped down and other hygiene measures are followed. Obviously, if you are feeling ill, please stay home.
“If you prefer not to attend in person, registered participants will be provided with live video access and interactivity with the presenters via webinar. For those who do attend, we are planning to raffle off a round trip ticket on our sponsor, Alaska Airlines.
“Finally, if the public health situation becomes dire, we are making contingency plans to convert the entire seminar to a webinar. You will have to make your own mai tai, however.”
If this or any other event on our Calendar is canceled, significantly altered, or rescheduled, we urge organizers to contact us so that we can alert our readers.