42nd TRANSPACIFIC YACHT RACE Transpacific
Yacht Club
Starts July 1-3-6-7, 2003 www.transpacificyc.com
Oct. 10, 2002 For Immediate Release
A CAL 40 REVIVAL FOR TRANSPAC 2003
LONG BEACH, Calif.---Not everyone needs
a high-tech sled to sail the Transpac, and some dedicated
competitors hope to demonstrate that next summer by reviving
an icon of the race's tradition: the Cal 40.
The 40-foot sloop was a breakthrough
boat in 1965 when it stole overall honors on corrected time
from the likes of legendary giants Kialoa II, Ticonderoga
and Stormvogel. Then, proving it was no fluke, Cal 40s repeated
in '67 and '69, sweeping the first four spots in the latter
race.
Now Wendy Siegal, a Long Beach schoolteacher,
is organizing Cal 40 owners along the West Coast to form a
class of their own for 2003. She sailed the last two races
on her Cal 40 Willow Wind and won the Aloha class in 2001.
Transpacific Yacht Club directors have supported her campaign
by establishing a Cal 40 class for the 42nd race next July.
The entries could include Stan Honey,
who is better known around the world as a record-setting navigator
for Roy E. Disney's maxi sled, Pyewacket, and Steve Fossett's
125-foot catamaran, PlayStation. Honey has sailed a Cal 40
out of San Francisco for several years, including doublehanded
crossings to the islands.
"If there is a class, I'll probably
do it," Honey said.
Dennis Conner recently bought Persephone,
the first Cal 40 built, although he has not indicated whether
he will race it in the Transpac.
Siegal said, "I have a list of
10 Cal 40 owners who might be doing Transpac, but nothing
is sure until July 1 when the gun goes off.
"When I first decided to participate
in Transpac in 1999, the prior year's winner met with me and
told me, 'Just do it.' A race like this is a sailing experience
not to be missed. This time, if there is a Cal 40 fleet, it
could be a historic event never to be seen again."
The saga of the Cal 40s is celebrated
in the two-hour video, "Transpac: A Century across the
Pacific," available in VHS, PAL and DVD formats. They
were conceived in the early 60s by Bill Lapworth, who built
number one for George Griffith.
Griffith recalled, "I went to Bill,
who was a very close friend of mine and a highly respected
[marine] architect, and commissioned him to design the Cal
40. Willis Boyd built the plug."
Yes, the plug. The Cal 40 was one of
the first successful fiberglass racers---so successful, Griffith
said, that "I should've burned up the molds when I finished
Persephone because we owned the local racing scene."
For a while Cal 40s also owned the Transpac.
There were seven when they made their debut in '65 and collected
six of the first seven overall positions, led by Don Salisbury's
Psyche from Los Angeles Yacht Club. There were 13 in '67 when
Bob Allan's Holiday Too, also LAYC, won overall and 14 in
'69 when Mort Andron's Argonaut from Santa Barbara led a sweep
of the first four spots.
Obviously, they were a good fit for
Transpac and its predominant tradewinds off the transom. Transpac
veteran Tom Corkett said, "Here was all of it: the new
lightweight fiberglass Cal 40 with a flat bottom, thin keel,
spade rudder that really had great surfing ability."
Also, Griffith noted, "They were
safe boats, well built. They didn't come apart."
They have proven so durable that many
still compete in buoy and distance races along the West Coast.
Siegal said, "This could be a chance
to put an old thoroughbred through her paces one more time.
The boat knows the way to Hawaii; you just have to let her
go there."
Siegal may be contacted at (562) 799-0250
or sailingurus@earthlink.net. Her Web site is www.home.earthlink.net/~sailingurus
NEW RULES: ONE DAILY POSITION REPORT
PLUS ONE 'BED CHECK'
The Transpac directors have amended
a recent decision to revert from two to one mandatory position
reports daily by adding a mandatory "bed check"
call-in to the communications vessel each evening between
7 and 8 p.m. Pacific time.
Competitors will not be required to
report positions at that time. The purpose is to continue
to keep in close touch with the fleet without compromising
tactical options. Boats also will be required to monitor VHF
Ch. 16 constantly.
The penalty for failing to answer the
morning roll call of position reports or to call in with the
"bed check" will be 30 minutes for each occurrence.
NOTICE OF RACE PUBLISHED
The Notice of Race for Transpac 2003
is on the official Web site: www.transpacificyc.org.
The NOR contains all basic information
and requirements for prospective competitors. Details covering
the running of the race will be published in the Sailing Instructions
next spring.
COMMODORE
Brady Avery
(949) 645-9412
brad@occsailing.com
ENTRIES CHAIRMAN
Bill Lee
(831) 464-4872
wizard@fastisfun.com
PRESS OFFICER
Rich Roberts
(310) 835-2526
richsail@earthlink.net
