Transpac Row Fills Up

With the racers arriving in waves over the weekend, Transpac Row at the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor in Honolulu is filling out nicely. Regardless of the time of day or night that they arrive, and regardless of their position in the fleet, sailors making landfall are given the full aloha treatment, with tiki torches, leis, mai tais and pu pus, when they are greeted by family, friends and dozens of volunteers.

Bill Lee and crew on the 1977 Lee 68 Merlin finished on Friday. Their elapsed time of 8 days, 2 hours, 34 minutes, 9 seconds didn’t set any new records, but it did beat the record they set in 1977 which stood for 20 years. They beat Roy Disney’s Andrews 68 Pyewacket to the finish, but they owe Pyewacket time and corrected out behind the newer (1998) boat. "We had no major failures or breakdowns," reports Bill. "This boat has had seven keel changes, four mast changes, deck layout changes and countless sails through its life. Right now it is set up nicely. She sails better, easier and faster than the original boat — so much so it’s really a different boat and a pleasure to sail.”

Four protests are pending, and seven entries remain on the race course as of this morning. See 2017.transpacyc.com. We’ll have full coverage in the August issue of Latitude 38.