July 9, 2001
Photo of the DayJuly 9 – Conception Bay, Sea of Cortez Mike Miller, vet of last year’s Ha-Ha aboard |
 Photo Mike Miller |
Rich
Roberts’ TransPac Report
July 9 – Pacific Ocean
There was little change in their relative positions through the
day Sunday as Pegasus, Pyewacket and Chance answered
evening roll call and sailed into their final sleepless night
of the 41st Transpacific Yacht Race to Hawaii. With 277 miles
to go, Philippe Kahn’s Pegasus held a six-mile lead over
Roy E. Disney’s Pyewacket, which was nine miles in front
of Bob McNulty’s Chance. The latter boats were ten and
nine miles south of Pegasus, respectively, as they approached
the critical jibe point for the Molokai Channel when their mighty
main sails will swing to the opposite sides and their circus tent-size
spinnakers will shift the opposite direction in front of the boats,
committing themselves to the courses they’ll sail to Monday’s
finish off Diamond Head.
Kahn reported on his Web site (www.pegasus.com),
“Now the winds are lighter and the team is pushing hard to
make sure that none of that lead gets squandered. A lot can happen
in the [final] miles to Honolulu! For the last five hours it’s
been light and hot. Real light. And that is nerve-wracking because
we’re all thinking, ‘If the Pyewacket guys have five knots
more wind than we do, we could see our lead evaporate.’ There
is not much that we can do but to rest the team, sail fast and
wait for the next position report. Lots of snoozing on-board;
we just don’t need as many sailors on deck, and it’s going to
be a long night to the finish. None of us is likely to get any
sleep.”
Meanwhile, Peter and Patricia Anderson’s
Stardust, a Wylie 46 from Laguna Beach became the second
Aloha Division boat to finish, following the 75-foot Shanakee
II by 36 hours at 3:01 p.m. Hawaii time. The Alohas had a
five- and six-day head start on the other divisions.
Division I standings in order of handicap
ratings at 6:30 p.m. PDT July 8:
1. Pegasus (Reichel/Pugh 75), Philippe Kahn, Santa Cruz,
328 miles in past 24 hours/277 miles to go.
2. Pyewacket (Reichel/Pugh 73), Roy E. Disney, Los Angeles,
327/283.
3. Chance (Reichel/Pugh 74), Bob McNulty, Corona del Mar,
322/292.
4. Merlin’s Reata (Lee 68), Al Micallef, Ft. Worth, TX,
295/413.
For complete coverage and great features,
visit www.transpacificyc.org.
Local Knowledge is posting daily position/routing analysis of
the TransPac at www.goflow.com/tpac2001.htm.
For great onboard color, visit www.pegasus.com.
The photos below are a sampling of what you’ll find on their site.
 (above) John Hayes, Mike Mottl and Philippe Kahn in the blazing hot sun (right) Navigator Mark Rudiger |
 |
 Philippe’s 11 year old son, Samuel ‘Shark’ Kahn, takes a turn at the wheel. |
Midnight
Moonlight Maritime Marathon
July 6 – North Bay and Carquinez Strait
One of the most enjoyable races on San Francisco Bay – at least
in our opinion – is the San Francisco YC’s Midnight Moonlight
Maritime Marathon, which was held on Saturday night. The race
features a reverse start that takes the fleet from Raccoon Strait
to the Carquinez Bridge and back. Twenty-eight boats signed up
this year, including five doublehanders. About halfway through
the race, the small boats looked as though they might be uncatchable.
As we on Profligate were abeam of Pt. Pinole on our way
to Vallejo, smaller boats such as J/24s and Express 27s passed
us in the opposite direction on their way home, outlined in the
setting sun. Unfortunately for the smaller boats, it started to
flood and the wind went light, giving Walt Logan’s Farr 40 Blue
Chip enough time to nip them at the finish. Chip finished
at 23:41, just minutes ahead of Ron Kell’s Express 27 Abigail
Morgan, David Walker’s Mull 30 The Shadow, David Wadbrook’s
Melges 24 SUV, and Charlie Brochard’s Olson 25 Baleineau.
It was a real nail-biter at the end.
We did the race aboard Profligate,
and are ashamed to say that while the guys on small boats were
toughing it out on the rail getting drenched in the bouncing chop,
we were dry, and most of our crew was indoors sipping wine and
sampling different pâtés, enjoying the flat and smooth
ride. The only real hard work had been the 20 minutes spent untangling
a torn spinnaker from a daggerboard. We had some very good moments
in the race. For example, after rounding the Carquinez Bridge
long after Blue Chip and some of the other big boats, we
quickly caught up with them. Sailing to weather at 13 knots can
make up for a lot of sins. We had our bad moments, too. When the
wind went light in the North Bay, we were dead meat. We couldn’t
catch the little boats that were still ahead of us, and Blue
Chip and the others sailed by us like we were standing still
– which we pretty much were. We were so unsuccessful trying to
battle the light winds and flood to get into Raccoon Strait, that
we sailed all the way around Angel Island and back into Raccoon
Strait the other way to cross the finish line in front of the
Corinthian YC. Understandably, the race committee couldn’t figure
out what we were doing. Nonetheless, it had been a great time.
 SUV starting  A wet ride on John Gulliford’s J/24 Phantom. Baleineau sails by in the background of the photo above and the photo to the right. |
 The Shadow on the upwind leg  The Express 27 Simba on the upwind leg |
 (left to right) Quinn McKenna’s Ericson 35 Catsura, Bruce Frolich’s Santa Cruz 40 Defiance, and Michael Katz’s Wylie 48 Ahava.  Hey! That’s still sunlight, not moonlight! |
Ellison
at the Helm
July 9 – Ventura
If we remember correctly, a number of years ago Larry Ellison
almost dropped out of the St. Francis Big Boat Series with his
Farr 82 Sayonara because of a rule that required owners
to start their boats and sail a certain percentage of the course.
But times have changed. Ellison has always been interested in
sports, but has said he didn’t want to own a baseball team because
he couldn’t play shortstop. Indeed, part of his interest in the
America’s Cup has been attributed to the fact that he thinks it’s
conceivable that he could play an active role on the boat – specifically,
behind the wheel. In fact, Chris Dickson told Herb McCormick of
the New York Times that Ellison had been driving when Sayonara
won several world maxi boat championships. Dickson also confirmed
that Ellison has been at Oracle Racing’s Ventura training camp
and sailing on Oracle Racing’s boats.
Multihull
Triumph and Tragedy
June 9 – Lake Huron
Sixty-eight boats entered the annual Fourth of July Doublehanded
Challenge from Port Huron to Rogers City, MI, which usually takes
one to two days. However, the fleet was hit by 40 to 50 knot winds
and waves up to 18 feet. As a result, only one boat, the Chicago-based
F-31 Stampede, finished without having had to take refuge.
And the crew of one boat, also a multihull, was lost as a result
of the storm. Shelley Hind, 41, of Windsor, Ontario, and Guy Hornet,
59, of Oshawa, Ontario, were found dead beneath their overturned
40-ft catamaran. Hornet was a solo transatlantic vet and considered
an excellent sailor. Hind was trying to gain experience in hopes
of doing an around the world race. Longtime lake sailors said
it was the worst storm in 20 years, and had hit suddenly. Indeed,
even though the air and water temperature was in the 50s, Hing
and Hornet were found wearing only light clothing.
YOTREPS
July 9 – The Pacific Ocean and Cyberspace
Who is out making passages in the Pacific
and what kind of weather are they having? Check out YOTREPS –
‘yacht reports’ – at http://www.bitwrangler.com/yotreps/
Weather
Updates
July 9 – Pacific Ocean
San Francisco Bay Weather
To see what the winds are like on the Bay
and just outside the Gate right now, check out http://sfports.wr.usgs.gov/wind/.
California Coast Weather
Looking for current as well as recent wind
and sea readings from 17 buoys and stations between Pt. Arena
and the Mexican border? Here’s the place – which has further links
to weather buoys and stations all over the U.S.: www.ndbc.noaa.gov/stuff/southwest/swstmap.shtml.
Pacific Sea State
Check out the Pacific Ocean sea states at:
http://www.mpc.ncep.noaa.gov/RSSA/PacRegSSA.html.
For another view, see http://www.oceanweather.com/data/global.html.
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