July 5, 2001

Photos of the Day

July 5 – Capri, Italy

The Wanderer is back from his research
trip to England, Italy and France. From time to time over the
next few weeks, we’ll be publishing photos from the trip, to
prove to the IRS that this was indeed a tax-deductible business
trip and that there was absolutely no fun involved.

The biggest surprise of the trip – which covered much of the
Mediterranean coast of both Italy and France – was the number
of recreational boats and how actively they are being used. Marcello
the Italian and Pierre the Frenchman love their boats – and so
do their wives and kids! The marinas are alive with activity,
even on weeknights.

The four accompanying shots are from Capri,
the sun-baked – and overcrowded – little paradise just south
of Naples, Italy. There are only two real anchorages on the island,
the first being just off Marina Grande (Big Marina), where gazillions
of day-trippers are on and off-loaded everyday. The second is
Marina Piccolo (Little Marina) on the other side of the island.
The shot of Marina Grande indicates just how sheer some of the
island’s cliffs are. These came in handy for Roman Emperors,
who would sodomize young boys then toss the bodies 1,000 feet
off the cliffs to the sea below. Capri has long attracted the
rich, beautiful, powerful – and wretchedly debauched. Capri’s
most famous tourist attraction is the blue grotto. It’s just
around the corner from this swimming pool on the side of the
cliff. Waiting to get into the Blue Grotto is like waiting to
get onto a cable car in San Francisco in the middle of summer
– not worth it. The final photograph is of Capri from a distance.
It’s a lovely island, best visited before June or after September.
If you’re visiting by boat, assume there won’t be space in the
marina.

Photos Latitude/Richard

TransPac Update

July 5 – Pacific Ocean

A lack of wind has made this year’s TransPac
a major disappointment, but Rich Roberts puts the best face on
it:

“For Bengal II, the 41st Transpacific
Yacht Race is just a way of island-hopping home. The Japanese
entry sailed all the way across the Pacific to start the race
and now is leading the way back along a risky route that has
brought it nearer Hawaii than any of the other 24 boats in the
four racing divisions. Yoshihiko Murase’s 52-foot sloop from
Nagoya sails today where for the last half-century TransPac racers
have feared to tread — all alone above the rhumb (direct) line
between Los Angeles and Honolulu. Normally, that would mean living
dangerously close to the ubiquitous Pacific High, the high-pressure
zone that lurks in the northeastern Pacific sucking the wind
out of the air. The strategy has paid off so far, especially
in the 24 hours before Wednesday morning’s roll call when Bengal
II logged 251 nautical miles and climbed to second place
overall in corrected handicap time only four hours behind Brent
Vaughan’s Cantata, an Andrews 53 from Oceanside.

“Bengal II
was 1,331 miles from Honolulu – not quite halfway – while the
larger Division I and II boats that started a day later were
in winds of only 10 to 12 knots but bearing down from behind,
led by Philippe Kahn’s 75-foot Pegasus at 1,561 miles
after a 304-mile day. Bob McNulty’s 74-foot Chance was
six miles farther back and Roy E. Disney’s 73-foot Pyewacket
another 11 miles. Those three high-powered boats are all paralleling
the rhumb from below, but their savvy navigators – respectively,
Mark Rudiger, Dale Nordin and Stan Honey – must be wondering
if Bengal II is on to something good.

“Out in front with the eight Aloha
Division boats that started five and six days ahead of the others,
Jim Warmington’s 75-foot racer-cruiser Shanakee II had
595 miles to go. Its ETA was upgraded to late Friday night or
early Saturday morning. A few boats have found strong but isolated
breeze. One of the smallest boats, Mike Thomas’ 1D35 Sensation
from Detroit, currently second in Division III, reported: ‘We
repaired damaged power lead for [single sideband radio] tuner
and were able to communicate directly with [communications officer]
Grant [Baldwin] on Alaska Eagle. Big relief on board.
Wild ride burning south with small asymmetric spinnaker. Hit
18.3 knots on one ride.’

“Michael Abraham, sailing doublehanded
with Phil Rowe on Watercolors from Newport Beach told
of their adventures: ‘So far, Disasters 0, Watercolors
4. It isn’t because Disaster isn’t trying. Shims in mast fell
out, spinnaker wrap and watermaker 86’d. All solved. Still [flying]
jib and main. Both need rest.’ And later: ‘Making better progress.
Wind is steady at 8-26 [knots]. [Boat] speed 8-9 knots. Still
reaching with jib and reefed main. Food is no joy yet — just
sticking to business. Lots of porpoise yesterday. Sky is clear,
but sky is building.’

“Meanwhile, although TransPac has
introduced several breakthrough designs over the years, this
doesn’t appear to be a race where one of those will prevail.
Only David Janes’ J-Bird III from Newport Beach, one of
two new TransPac 52s, is in contention for honors. J-Bird
III, designed by Alan Andrews of Long Beach, currently leads
James McDowell’s standard ULDB 70 Grand Illusion, boat
for boat, by 10 miles in Division II. After a 293-mile day, almost
as far as the three super sleds, J-Bird III leads the
other TransPac 52, Jim Demetriades’ Yassou from Beverly
Hills, by 102 miles in their private contest for the race’s newest
trophy. Yassou is a Nelson/Marek design.

“The legendary Merlin, which
held the TransPac record for 20 years, is now Merlin’s Reata,
highly modified at a cost of almost $1 million by new owner Al
Micallef of Fort Worth, Texas. Micallef said before the start,
‘If it’s light air to start, I think we’ll have a chance to keep
up with [Pegasus, Chance and Pyewacket].’ The start
was dreadfully light, and Merlin’s Reata now trails Pegasus
by 100 miles, averaging 8.4 knots to 9.9 for the leader.

“Bob Lane, a Long Beach pharmacist,
also had hopes for his venerable Medicine Man, now stretched
from 56 to 61 feet. ‘There’s really no clue to what we can do,’
Lane said earlier. ‘In 20 knots of breeze the boat’s supposed
to be really fast.’ But there hasn’t been much 20-knot breeze,
so the blue boat – first to finish with a three-day head start
in 1997 – is among the stragglers in Division II, 40 miles ahead
of what may be the race’s most extreme boat, Étranger,
Howard Gordon’s Open 50 from San Luis Obispo, which is sailing
doublehanded.”

Which boats are making the boldest moves
south? Who’s hanging too long in the north? Who’s running the
rhumb line? Follow your favorite TransPac boats across the Pacific
with the tracking chart on the official Web site at www.transpacificyc.org.

Div. III and IV boats struggle to reach the starting line in
2.8 knots of wind Saturday.
Photo Rich Roberts

Standings at 8:30 a.m. July 4 (by handicap
ratings):

DIVISION I (started July 1)
1. Pegasus (R/P 75), Philippe Kahn, Santa Cruz, 1,561
miles to go.
2. Chance (R/P 74), Bob McNulty, Corona del Mar, 1,567.
3. Pyewacket (Reichel/Pugh 73), Roy E. Disney, Los Angeles,
1,578.
4. Merlin’s Reata (Lee 68), Al Micallef, Ft. Worth, TX,
1,661.

DIVISION II (started July 1)
1. Grand Illusion (Santa Cruz 70), James McDowell, Haiku,
HI, 1,654.
2. J-Bird III (TransPac 52), David Janes, Newport Beach,
1,644.
3. Taxi Dancer (R/P 68), Brian W. Mock, Corona del Mar,
1,693.
4. Ragtime (Spencer 65), Hui Holokai Syndicate, Owen Minney/Trisha
Steele, Honolulu, 1,722.
5. Yassou (TransPac 52), Jim and Nancy Demetriades, Beverly
Hills, 1,746.
6. Mongoose (SC 70), Robert Saielli, La Jolla, 1,772.
7. Medicine Man (Andrews 61), Bob Lane, Long Beach, 1,760.
8. DH–Étranger (Jutson 50), Howard Gordon, San
Luis Obispo, 1,800.

DIVISION III (started June 30)
1. Cantata (Andrews 53), Brent Vaughan, Oceanside, 1,390.
2. Bengal II (Ohashi 52), Yoshihiko Murase, Nagoya, Japan,
1,331.
3. Firebird (Nelson/Marek 55), Greg Sands, Long Beach,
1,418.
4. Rocket Science (Riptide 55), Nguyen Le, Amsterdam,
1,365.
5. Baronesa V (Open 40), Shuichi Ogasawara, Miyagi, Japan,
1,408.

DIVISION IV (started June 30)
1. Bull (Sydney 40 OD-T), Seth Radow, Marina del Rey,
1,468.
2. Sensation (1D35), Mike Thomas, Detroit, 1,496.
3. Ouch (J/120), Ted Mayes, San Juan Capistrano, 1,531.
4. DH–Watercolors (Sabre 402), Michael Abraham, Newport
Beach, 1,602.
5. Uproarious (Olson 40), Robert Bussard, Santa Fe, NM,
1,587.
6. DH–Two Guys On the Edge (Sonoma 30), Dan Doyle, Honolulu,
1,648.
7. Mystere (Swan 42), Jorge Morales, Laguna Niguel, 1,646.
WITHDRAWN — LawnDart (Fast 40), Bill Allan, Nanaimo,
BC, 2,175.

ALOHA DIVISION A (started June 25)
1. Willow Wind (Cal 40), Wendy Siegal, Sunset Beach, 853.
2. Shanakee II (Pedrick 75), Jim Warmington, Balboa, 595.
3. Seda (Ericson 41), Josef Sedivec, Bonita, 960.
4. Sea Dancer (Ericson 35), Al Wheatman, Marina del Rey,
1,035.
5. Gecko (Tartan 41), Jim Fabrick, Laguna Beach, 975.
6. Bonaire (Moody 65), Gil Jones and Associates, Newport
Beach, 904.

ALOHA DIVISION B (started June 25)
1. Stardust (Wylie 46), Peter and Patricia Anderson, Laguna
Beach, 767.
2. Axapac (Wylie 39), Barry Ruff, Vancouver, BC, 872.