42nd
TRANSPACIFIC YACHT RACE
Transpacific Yacht Club
Starts July 1-4-6, 2003
www.transpacificyc.org
May 20, 2003
For Immediate Release
ENTRY
DEADLINE IS FRIDAY FOR 42ND TRANSPAC
LONG
BEACH, Calif.---The final entry deadline for the
42nd Transpacific Yacht Race is this Friday, May
23. The first of three starts will be 39 days
later.
G'day,
mates, and no worries, say three Australian entries
already signed up for the 2,225-nautical mile
romp from Los Angeles to Honolulu. Uncommitted
contestants are urged to contact entries chairman
Bill Lee at (831) 464-4872 or by e-mail at wizard@fastisfun.com.
Entries
currently total 60, which would be the most since
64 boats sailed in 1985.
The
turnout from Down Under features William Rawson's
Helsal II, an Adams 60 from Melbourne; Rod Skellet's
Krakatoa, a Young 32 from Sydney, and---just in
this week---James and Jenny Neill's The Cone of
Silence, an Australian Super 30 from Newport,
New South Wales. All have extensive ocean racing
records, including the Sydney-Hobart race.
"We
poor people who sail small boats are always looking
for the next challenge," Skellet said. "Doing
offshore races in small boats sparks a bit of
interest from the yachting media as most of them
think we are nuts even contemplating a Hobart
or a Transpac."
Not
for long. Krakatoa finished the last Sydney-Hobart
in 3 days 7 hours---the fastest time ever for
a boat less than 10 meters (32 1/2 feet) long.
"We
actually came within 15 minutes of breaking the
40-foot record, but the wind god was against us,"
Skellet said. "It took us two hours to cover
the last two miles."
Like
Krakatoa, The Cone of Silence also is rated exceptionally
fast for its size, without sacrificing speed---a
design concept fostered by the tragic 1998 Sydney-Hobart
when six sailors were lost.
 |
"Krakatoa"
|
Skellet
said, "The IMS [rating rule] encouraged tender
boats with small kites and poles, which is both
less seaworthy and slow. I wanted something stiff,
strong, seaworthy, fast and safe so my crew could
venture out in all but the worst conditions and
have a pretty good chance of finishing and have
a lot of fun at the same time."
Skellet
and the Neills have won several Australian national
small boat championships. At the other end of
the scale, Rawson will sail Helsal II with a 16-person
crew including three women. He has competed in
five Sydney-Hobarts, as well as the recent Cape
Town to Rio de Janeiro race. Transpac will mark
his third participation in the 13 events considered
to be the top offshore/ocean races, including
three in which size doesn't count.
Skellet
said, "I have a tremendous crew of experienced
offshore small boat sailors, as compared to experienced
offshore big boat sailors, and a preparedness
and commitment to give our best on the water,
and I am really looking forward to that famous
Transpac welcome in Honolulu."
TRANSPAC
CAMEOS
Some
Transpac boats, including Roy E. Disney's record-holder,
Pyewacket, and Wendy Siegal's 2001 Aloha class
winner, the Cal 40 Willow Wind, are expected to
compete in the 23rd annual Around Catalina race
organized by Cabrillo Beach and Dana Point Yacht
Clubs this weekend. The 75-nautical mile course
starts near the Los Angeles Harbor entrance lighthouse,
leaves Santa Catalina Island 22 miles offshore
to port and finishes at the Dana Point Harbor
breakwater down the coast. . . .
The
2003 Transpac is scheduled for a half-hour presentation
Sept. 8, 10 p.m. Pacific Time, on ESPN2. A re-air
is scheduled Sept. 9 at 9 a.m. Pacific. Advertising
opportunities are available by contacting producer
Leslie DeMeuse at (949) 916-7669. . . .
 |
"The
Cone of Silence"
|
Karl
Kwok's new Transpac 52, Beau Geste, is on a ship
from New Zealand bound for San Francisco. The
crew includes Gavin Brady and several other world-class
Kiwi sailors. The Hong Kong businessman plans
to sail it in the Coastal Race June 14 from San
Francisco to Santa Catalina Island as a tune-up.
. . .
The
last Safety at Sea seminar before Transpac---required
of 30 per cent of the crew and both members of
a doublehanded crew within the last five years---is
scheduled June 28 at the Orange Coast College
of Sailing and Seamanship in Newport Beach. The
most recent one in March drew a full house of
126 people, most of them Transpac participants,
so those interested are urged to sign up by phone
at (949) 645-9412, ext. 2.
OFFICIAL
ENTRIES (as of May 20, 2003):
(Division
assignments provisional)
RACING
DIVISION
Division
1 (start July 6)
Pegasus 77 (Reichel/Pugh 77), Philippe Kahn, Honolulu.
Pyewacket (R/P 75), Roy E. Disney, Los Angeles.
Division
2 (start July 6)
Alta
Vita (Transpac 52), Bill Turpin, Santa Cruz, Calif.
America's Challenge (Volvo 60M), Neil Barth, Los
Angeles---DH.
Beau Geste (Transpac 52), Karl Kwok, Hong Kong.
Grand Illusion (Santa Cruz 70), James McDowell,
Lahaina, H.I.
Helsal II (Adams 60), W.E. Rawson, Melbourne,
Australia.
Icon (Perry 65), Richard Robbins/Jim Roser, Seattle.
Medicine Man (Andrews 61), Bob Lane, Long Beach,
Calif.
Pendragon 4 (Davidson 52), John MacLaurin, Marina
del Rey, Calif.
Vicki (Andrews 68), Al and Vicki Schultz, Long
Beach.
Division
3 (start July 4)
Bengal
II (Ohashi 52 ),Yoshihiko Murase, Nagoya, Japan.
Dasher (Santa Cruz 50), Roger Groh, San Francisco.
Horizon (Santa Cruz 50), Jack Taylor, Dana Point,
Calif.
Innocent Merriment (J/160), Myron Lyon, San Diego.
Maitri (J/160), Peter Johnson, San Diego.
Pipe Dream IX (J/160), Scott Piper, Coral Gables,
Fla.
Reinrag2 (J/125), Tom Garnier, Portland, Ore.
Division
4 (start July 4)
Bolt
(Olson 40), Craig Reynolds, Balboa, Calif.
B'Quest (Tripp 40), Challenged America/Urban Miyares,
San Diego.
Cool Man Cool2! (Sydney 38), Harrell Jones, Dana
Point.
Lawndart (Cape Bay Fast 40), Bill Allan, Nanaimo,
B.C.
Paddy Wagon (Ross 40), Richard Mainland, Marina
del Rey, Calif.
Swept Away (J/120), Louis Bianco, Seattle.
Tera's XL (ILC 40), Antony and Daniel Barran,
Northridge, Calif.
There and Back Again (Tripp 40), Robert Rice,
Long Beach.
Uproarious (Olson 40), Robert Bussard, San Diego.
CAL
40 (start July 1)
California
Girl, Don and Betty Lesley, Point Richmond, Calif.
Celebrity, Gerald Finnegan, Redondo Beach, Calif.
Flying Cloud, Darrell and Scott Wilson, Long Beach.
Illusion, Stan Honey, Palo Alto. John B, Greg
Boyer, Newport Beach, Calif.
Ralphie, Jill and Taylor Pillsbury/Eleanor and
Davis Pillsbury, San Francisco.
Ranger, William Partridge, Richmond, Calif.
Redhead, Andrew Opple, Ketchum, Idaho.
Willow Wind, Wendy Siegal, Seal Beach, Calif.
Divisions
to be determined
Axapac
(Wylie 39), Barry Ruff, Vancouver, B.C.
Beach Music (Tayana 52), Kirby Coryell, Lafayette,
Calif.---DH.
Beautiful Day (Beneteau 47.7), William Boyd, San
Diego.
Krakatoa (Young 32), Rod Skellet, Sydney, Australia.
Lucky Dog (J/125), Peter Putnam, Newport Beach---DH.
Masquerade (Choate 40), Timothy Coker, San Diego.
On Point (Schock 40), Nick Martin, Wilmington,
Calif.
Pipe Dream (Choate/Feo 37), John Davis, Long Beach.
Starbuck (Black Soo 31), Greg Nelsen, Piedmont,
Calif.---DH.
The Cone of Silence (Australian Super 30), James
and Jenny Neil, Newport, NSW, Australia.
Tabasco (1D35), John Wylie, San Diego.
Two Guys On the Edge (1D35M), Dan Doyle, Honolulu---DH.
Wild Thing (1D35), Chris and Kara Busch, San Diego.
DH---Doublehanded.
ALOHA
DIVISION (start July 1)
Aloha
A
Between
the Sheets (Sun Odyssey 52.2), Ross Pearlman,
Calabasas, Calif.
Enchanted Lady (Roberts 55), Andy Sibert, Seal
Beach, Calif.
Incredible (Swan 53), Rick Gorman, Los Alamitos,
Calif.
Just Imagine (49' cutter), Thomas Camp, Walnut
Creek, Calif.
Lady Bleu II (Dynamique 62), Roger and Brenda
Kuske, San Diego.
Marla R (Beneteau 50), Jon Richards, Mesa, Ariz.
Windborne (Gulfstar 50), Tom Ryan, Marina del
Rey.
Aloha
B
Barking
Spider (Catalina 38), David Kory, Point Richmond,
Calif.
Sea Dancer (Ericson 35), Alvin Wheatman, Marina
del Rey.
Tango (Beneteau 40), Howard Raphael, Sausalito,
Calif.
Wind Dancer (Catalina 42), Paul Edwards, Wilmington,
Del.
COMMODORE
Brad 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
