42nd
TRANSPACIFIC YACHT RACE
Transpacific Yacht Club
Starts July 1-4-6, 2003
www.transpacificyc.org
July 6, 2003 For Immediate Release
PYEWACKET
LEADS PEGASUS 77; TWO BOATS DROP OUT
LOS
ANGELES--- Roy E. Disney's Pyewacket led Philippe
Kahn's Pegasus 77 past the West End of Santa Catalina
Island and into open ocean as the great match
race of the 42nd Transpacific Yacht Race to Hawaii
unfolded Sunday.
 |
Philippe
Kahn (center) and Pegasus 77 crew bid family
and friends goodbye before Sunday's start.
Photo by Rich Roberts
|
"We're
about a mile ahead of Pegasus, which is dead astern,"
Peter Isler, Pyewacket's navigator, reported by
phone. "I can't see anybody else right now
in the haze."
The
two lead boats passed the island 23 miles off
the Pacific Coast a bit more than 2 1/2 hours
after the start.
Meanwhile,
two smaller boats that started Friday dropped
out. Lucky Dog, a J/125 being sailed doublehanded
by Peter Putnam and Len Bose of Newport Beach,
Calif., returned to its home port at noon Sunday
because of a leak in the steering column of its
rudder.
The
Cone of Silence, a Super 30 from Australia and
the smallest boat in the race at 31 feet, withdrew
reporting "structural damage." Skipper
James Neill said he did not require assistance.
Putnam
said, "We got out 150 miles and found Saturday
afternoon that the rudder was letting water into
the boat. We thought it would be better to withdraw.
We're OK but disapppointed."
Another
boat transmitted an automatic distress signal
early Sunday morning---apparently accidentally.
A Coast Guard C-130 responded to an EPIRB (emergency
position indicator radio beacon) alarm sent by
Nick Martin's Schock 40, On Point, from Wilmington,
Calif. On Point reported later that it had taken
a wave over the side that activated the alarm
but caused no damage.
The
last 12 of 57 boats to start (now numbering 55)
were surrounded by a sun-splashed spectator fleet
at the end of the Independence Day holiday weekend
in the U.S. They started in light wind off the
cliffs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Their destination
is the landmark Diamond Head finish line 2,225
nautical miles away.
 |
Roy
Disney (right) must be working on another
film as Robbie Haines
(left) and Dean Barker tune up Pyewacket
for the start. Photo by Rich Roberts
|
Among
the final starters, the oddity was that all boats
started on port tack, with the wind at 5 knots
from the south and coming over their left
(port) sides. Normally, boats prefer to start
on starboard tack, which has right of way over
port tack, but the wind direction was such that
everyone was able to sail straight up the course.
James
McDowell's Grand Illusion, the race's overall
handicap winner in 1999, was hugging the line
headed toward the committee boat as the gun fired,
but the race committee hailed "all clear."
However, at the other end of the line, Bill Turpin's
Alta Vita appeared to be trying to start on starboard
tack but realized too late that it couldn't clear
the inflatable buoy marking the "pin"
end. As the gun sounded, Alta Vita, a Transpac
52 from San Francisco, was sailing the wrong way
to turn around and start properly.
The
best start was claimed by another Transpac 52,
Karl Kwok's Beau Geste from Hong Kong that has
Gavin Brady and other world-class New Zealand
sailors on board---all sailing their first Transpacs.
Beau Geste started to windward of Alta Vita and
slightly ahead of John MacLaurin's fire engine-red
Pendragon 4, the Davidson 52 prototype for the
Transpac 52s.
Pyewacket
started near the middle of the line directly windward
of Pegasus 77, which then played the puffs and
zephyrs expertly to sail higher and faster until
Pyewacket was directly behind. That changed in
mid-channel, and Pyewacket seized the lead as
a fresh westerly breeze of 9-10 knots arrived,
allowing tacks to starboard for the first time.
 |
Lucky
Dog, shown before Friday's start, dropped
out because of a leak in its rudder housing
and returned to Newport Beach. Photo by
Rich Roberts
|
"It
was pretty fickle," Isler said. "It
kept teasing us halfway across [the San Pedro
Channel]. But we're easily laying the West End
by about four miles."
Isler,
talking within earshot of Ben Mitchell, also a
teammate with Team Dennis Conner's America's Cup
team last year, said, "Benny Mitchell used
his vast experience to position us to the right
of the enemy. He said the right side has always
paid off in every test we did, and he finally
had his chance to prove it."
To
some observers, it appeared that Grand Illusion
had jumped the gun. But a race committee official
said, "They were within two inches of being
over. We started to write down their number but
they just got back."
Among
the boats already at sea, Peter Johnson's Maitri,
a J/160 from San Diego that started Friday, had
the best 24-hour run of 246 miles, averaging 10.3
knots, to stretch its lead in Division 3. The
frontrunner was still Roger and Brenda Kuske's
Dynamique 62, Lady Bleu II, from San Diego that
started Tuesday in the Aloha fleet. Lady Bleu
II was almost halfway, 1,271 miles from Honolulu.
Grant
Baldwin reported from the communications vessel
Alaska Eagle that the wind had gone light during
the night and the air was "still cold."
Daily
position reports, charts, news summaries, photos
will be posted at www.transpacificyc.org
until the completion of the race.
JULY
6 POSITION REPORTS AND START SCHEDULES
(Listed
in order of projected corrected handicap time,
noting actual miles to go)
 |
Australian
entry The Cone of Silence reported structural
damage Sunday afternoon and withdrew. Photo
by Rich Roberts
|
RACING
DIVISION
Division
1 (started July 6)
Pegasus
77 (Reichel/Pugh 77), Philippe Kahn, Honolulu.
Pyewacket (R/P 75), Roy E. Disney, Los Angeles.
Division
2 (started 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 (started July 4)
1.
Maitri (J/160), Peter Johnson, San Diego, 1,835
miles to go.
2. Pipe Dream IX (J/160), Scott Piper, Coral Gables,
Fla., 1,856.
3. Horizon (Santa Cruz 50), Jack Taylor, Dana
Point, Calif., 1,859.
4. Innocent Merriment (J/160), Myron Lyon, San
Diego, 1,861.
5. Jeito (J/145), Francisco Guzman, Acapulco,
Mexico, 1,860.
6. On Point (Schock 40), Nick Martin, Wilmington,
Calif., 1,871.
7. Reinrag2 (J/125), Tom Garnier, Portland, Ore.,
1,876.
8. The Cone of Silence (Australian Super 30),
James and Jenny Neill, Newport, NSW, Australia,
withdrawn
9. Lucky Dog (J/125), Peter Putnam, Newport Beach,
withdrawn---DH.
Division
4 (started July 4)
1.
Hot Tamale (J/120), Tom and Doug Jorgensen, Glendora,
Calif., 1,888.
2. Tera's XL (ILC 40), Antony and Daniel Barran,
Northridge, Calif., 1,881.
3. Wild Thing (1D35), Chris and Kara Busch, San
Diego, 1,894.
4. Tabasco (1D35), John Wylie, San Diego, 1,897.
5. Krakatoa (Young 32), Rod Skellet, Sydney, Australia,
1,912.
6. Swept Away (J/120), Louis Bianco, Seattle,
1,914.
7. Cool Man Cool2! (Sydney 38), Harrell Jones,
Dana Point, Calif., 1,913.
8. Bolt (Olson 40), Craig Reynolds, Balboa, Calif.,
1,913.
9. Two Guys On the Edge (1D35M), Dan Doyle, Honolulu,
1,911---DH.
10. Paddy Wagon (Ross 40), Richard Mainland, Marina
del Rey, Calif., 1,911.
11. Lawndart (Cape Bay Fast 40), Bill Allan, Nanaimo,
B.C., 1,933.
Division
5 (started July 1)
1.
Wind Dancer (Catalina 42), Paul Edwards, Wilmington,
Del., 1,401.
2. There and Back Again (Tripp 40), Robert Rice,
Long Beach, 1,366.
3. B'Quest (Tripp 40), Challenged America/Urban
Miyares, San Diego, 1,402.
4. Masquerade (Choate 40), Timothy Coker, San
Diego, 1,437.
CAL
40 (started July 1)
1.
Illusion, Stan and Sally Honey, Palo Alto, 1,393.
2. Redhead, Andrew Opple, Ketchum, Idaho, 1,421.
3. Flying Cloud, Darrell and Scott Wilson, Long
Beach, 1,421.
4. Ralphie, Jill and Taylor Pillsbury, Laguna
Beach/Eleanor and Davis Pillsbury, Snowmass, Colo.,
1,421.
5. California Girl, Don and Betty Lessley, Point
Richmond, Calif., 1,420.
6. Seafire, John T. Harrison, Honolulu, 1,437.
7. Ranger, William Partridge, Richmond, Calif.,
1,450.
8. John B, Greg Boyer, Newport Beach, Calif.,
1,453.
9. Celebrity, Gerald Finnegan, Redondo Beach,
Calif., 1,468.
10. Willow Wind, Wendy Siegal, Sunset Beach, Calif.,
1,462.
ALOHA
DIVISION (started July 1)
Aloha
A
1.
Between the Sheets (Sun Odyssey 52.2), Ross Pearlman,
Calabasas, Calif., 1,315.
2. Beautiful Day (Beneteau 47.7), William Boyd,
San Diego, 1,313.
3. Incredible (Swan 53), Rick Gorman, Los Alamitos,
Calif., 1,332.
4. Marla R (Beneteau 50), Jon Richards, Mesa,
Ariz., 1,328.
5. Lady Bleu II (Dynamique 62), Roger and Brenda
Kuske, San Diego, 1,271.
6. Axapac (Wylie 39), Barry Ruff, Vancouver, B.C.,
1,415.
7. Enchanted Lady (Roberts 55 ketch), Andy Sibert,
Seal Beach, Calif., 1,424.
8. Beach Music (Tayana 52), Kirby Coryell, Lafayette,
Calif., 1,427---DH.
Aloha
B
1.
Barking Spider (Catalina 38), David Kory, Point
Richmond, Calif., 1,472.
2. Pipe Dream (Choate/Feo 37), John Davis, Long
Beach, 1,447.
3. Sea Dancer (Ericson 35), Alvin Wheatman, Marina
del Rey, 1,547.
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
