ANOTHER HORSE RACE
21st January 2003

It’s a picture perfect morning here in Tauranga as it is 300 miles north at Cape Reinga. It’s the kind of morning Tim Kent is having on board Everest Horizontal as he prepares to round the cape and make his way down the coast of New Zealand to the finish. It has been a trying few days for all three skippers in the northern Tasman as fickle winds makes the going slow and frustrating. It’s even more frustrating for Kent who has Derek Hatfield on Spirit of Canada breathing down his neck while he lives on a filthy boat and deals with ripped sails caused by faulty furling gear. "I am sailing with a large rip in my headsail," Kent said in a satellite phone call. "Since the wind is light and the sails are eased, I think it’s going to be okay and I need the sail area." Tim is going to need all the sail area he can get as the wind is forecast to move into the west and decrease during the day.

Fifty-eight miles behind Everest Horizontal, also dealing with tricky sailing conditions, Canadian Derek Hatfield is pushing is Open 40 Spirit of Canada as hard as he can. Those that know Derek will know that he will never give up pushing until he is over the finish line. "Tim is proving elusive and Koji is threatening more and more," he wrote. "What a great race we have going. Each sched comes in with a little movement, but not so much. The three of us are pushing hard for those two podium places and one little mistake or breakage will be costly, so it's a constant conflict as to how hard to push versus losing ground by going slower but safer. To complicate things, a high pressure system looms ahead of us just at the Cape, threatening to bring us all together." Spirit of Canada is an amazingly fast boat in light winds and Tim Kent will have his time cut out for him sailing down the coast of New Zealand if the conditions remain light and variable.

Also in the hunt for a podium position is the indomitable Kojiro Shiraishi on Spirit of yukoh. Throughout this leg Koji has provided us with stunning images and some interesting musings. His email received yesterday is one of the best. It’s quintessential Koji and well worth reading. While the leading boats were sailing in light winds, Spirit of yukoh was back in strong headwinds and it was the constant pounding that was uppermost on Koji’s mind. "My life is full of punching," he wrote. "I jump over every adverse circumstance that comes my way, and I run towards my dreams. I experience many knock-downs, but I still learn to stand up. And people still support me. Carrying that support, I run. The winds will change. Someday, following winds will blow. Carrying that hope, I run. I look into the sky and I breathe deeply Spirit of yukoh, you are my only hope. The dreams of many children ride with you. Their dreams will probably come true. Believing that, I run into the wind!" An email like that has me wondering what this race would be like had Koji not entered.

While the end is almost in sight for these three sailors, the whole Tasman looms ahead for Alan Paris on BTC Velocity. At 21:00 local time Monday Alan resumed racing after a short stop in Tasmania to fix a broken stay. The wind was blowing from the west and Paris, in another remarkable display of seamanship, sailed away from the dock. If I know Alan that move was probably not designed to impress, rather Alan would have been reluctant to put someone out by asking for a tow especially given the time of night. Instead being self-sufficient like all of these skippers Alan set off on his own with a fair wind at his back.

The Open 60 sailors might provide the excitement of the race with their spectacular machines and lightening fast speeds, but the Open 40 and 50 sailors are the soul of the event with their introspection and humor. We salute you guys and can’t wait for your arrival in Tauranga.

--- Brian Hancock great.circle@verizon.net