42nd TRANSPACIFIC YACHT RACE
Transpacific Yacht Club
Starts July 1-4-6, 2003
www.transpacificyc.org

June 26, 2003 For Immediate Release

WINDS OF CHANGE TEASE TRANSPAC AS FIRST START NEARS

LONG BEACH, Calif.---A promising but unsettled weather system awaits the first starters in the 42nd Transpacific Yacht Race to Hawaii next Tuesday. The first 25 boats---10 Cal 40s, 10 Aloha competitors and five boats in racing division 5---will leave the starting line near Point Fermin on the Palos Verdes Peninsula at 1 p.m.

Overall, the 59 entries form the largest Transpac fleet in 18 years. Twenty-two division 3 and 4 racers will start Friday, July 4, followed by 12 division 1 and 2 boats Sunday, July 6. Under normal conditions, the first boats---most likely Philippe Kahn's defending Barn Door winner Pegasus 77 or Roy E. Disney's record holder, Pyewacket, starting July 6---could finish off Diamond Head as early as Sunday, July 13.

But "normal" is a conditional term in Transpac. Two common variables are the strength of the Eastern Pacific trade winds and the location of the Pacific High, the ever-changing blob of high pressure and light wind that "normally" lies along and north of the rhumb (direct) line to Hawaii. The route measures 2,225 nautical miles in a straight line, but historically that has been the slow way to go.

In his special Transpac preview series, world-class sailor and weather guru Bill Biewenga most recently noted: "The QuikSCAT satellite data indicates a good breeze along rhumb line. There appear to be 20 knots of wind or more along much of the route . . . or slightly to the south of rhumb."

And Biewenga gives the early starters something else to ponder: "As you begin to think about how far and how fast to go to the south to dodge or ignore the high pressure ridge, remember to keep an eye on your back in the tropics. [There is] a lineup of tropical waves and one of them is already being labeled a Tropical Disturbance. You'll want to watch to see just how 'disturbing' it becomes. That can rearrange the pressure gradient along the normal location for the ridgeline. Or it can be FAR more disturbing than that."

Bon voyage!

Bill Biewenga's Web site: www.wxadvantage.com/

TRANSPAC NOTES

Challenged America's Transpac effort will be well documented. Independent film producer John Lutz will go along with the San Diego team of five disabled crew members and skipper Josh Ross, who are sailing the Tripp 40, B'Quest. "It's that one story any filmmaker would love to document," Lutz said. "Their personal stories about overcoming odds and demanding challenges to race across the Pacific in the 2003 Transpac will surely motivate and inspire anyone." . . .

Two Guys On the Edge's pre-race luck is running true to form, even though the boat has changed from a Sonoma 30 to a 1D35. Last year owner Dan Doyle and Bruce Burgess of Honolulu were the fastest doublehanders on corrected handicap time after borrowing a race-saving headfoil from former competitor Kirk Wilson at the starting line. This time they ordered a new spinnaker pole "but found due to a shipping glitch it had only one pole end fitting," Doyle reported from San Diego, where they are prepping the boat. However, this year they had time to get the right parts shipped from Rhode Island. . . .

The Aloha sendoff dinner is scheduled Saturday night, 6:30 p.m., at the new Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort, 21500 Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach. The skippers meeting will be at 5:30. Tickets are available to race non-participants by contacting AL GARNIER at (310) 816-6515. The price is $52. . . .

Last call for the final 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. The seminar is scheduled Saturday at the Orange Coast College of Sailing and Seamanship in Newport Beach. Those interested are urged to sign up by phone at (949) 645-9412, ext. 2.

OFFICIAL ENTRIES (as of June 25, 2003):

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.
Beau Geste (Transpac 52), Karl Kwok, Hong Kong.
Bengal II (Ohashi 52 ),Yoshihiko Murase, Nagoya, Japan.
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.
Renegade (Andrews 70), Dan Sinclair, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
Vicki (Andrews 68), Al and Vicki Schultz, Long Beach.

Division 3 (start July 4)

Dasher (Santa Cruz 50), Roger Groh, San Francisco.---DH.
Horizon (Santa Cruz 50), Jack Taylor, Dana Point, Calif.
Innocent Merriment (J/160), Myron Lyon, San Diego.
Jeito (J/145), Francisco Guzman, Acapulco, Mexico.
Lucky Dog (J/125), Peter Putnam, Newport Beach---DH.
Maitri (J/160), Peter Johnson, San Diego.
On Point (Schock 40), Nick Martin, Wilmington, Calif.
Pipe Dream IX (J/160), Scott Piper, Coral Gables, Fla.
Reinrag2 (J/125), Tom Garnier, Portland, Ore.
The Cone of Silence (Australian Super 30), James and Jenny Neil, Newport, NSW, Australia.

Division 4 (start July 4)

Beautiful Day (Beneteau 47.7), William Boyd, San Diego.
Bolt (Olson 40), Craig Reynolds, Balboa, Calif.
Cool Man Cool2! (Sydney 38), Harrell Jones, Dana Point, Calif.
Hot Tamale (J/120), Tom and Doug Jorgensen, Glendora, Calif.
Krakatoa (Young 32), Rod Skellet, Sydney, Australia.
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.
Tabasco (1D35), John Wylie, San Diego.
Tera's XL (ILC 40), Antony and Daniel Barran, Northridge, Calif.
Two Guys On the Edge (1D35M), Dan Doyle, Honolulu---DH.
Wild Thing (1D35), Chris and Kara Busch, San Diego.

Division 5 (start July 1)

B'Quest (Tripp 40), Challenged America/Urban Miyares, San Diego.
Masquerade (Choate 40), Timothy Coker, San Diego.
Starbuck (Black Soo 31), Greg Nelsen, Piedmont, Calif.---DH.
There and Back Again (Tripp 40), Robert Rice, Long Beach.
Wind Dancer (Catalina 42), Paul Edwards, Wilmington, Del.

CAL 40 (start July 1)

California Girl, Don and Betty Lessley, Point Richmond, Calif.
Celebrity, Gerald Finnegan, Redondo Beach, Calif.
Flying Cloud, Darrell and Scott Wilson, Long Beach.
Illusion, Stan and Sally 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.
Seafire, John T. Harrison, Honolulu.
Willow Wind, Wendy Siegal, Sunset Beach, Calif.

ALOHA DIVISION (start July 1)

Aloha A

Axapac (Wylie 39), Barry Ruff, Vancouver, B.C.
Beach Music (Tayana 52), Kirby Coryell, Lafayette, Calif.---DH.
Between the Sheets (Sun Odyssey 52.2), Ross Pearlman, Calabasas, Calif.
Enchanted Lady (Roberts 55 ketch), Andy Sibert, Seal Beach, Calif.
Incredible (Swan 53), Rick Gorman, Los Alamitos, Calif.
Lady Bleu II (Dynamique 62), Roger and Brenda Kuske, San Diego.
Marla R (Beneteau 50), Jon Richards, Mesa, Ariz.

Aloha B

Barking Spider (Catalina 38), David Kory, Point Richmond, Calif.
Pipe Dream (Choate/Feo 37), John Davis, Long Beach.
Sea Dancer (Ericson 35), Alvin Wheatman, Marina del Rey.

DH---Doublehanded.

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