42nd
TRANSPACIFIC YACHT RACE
Transpacific Yacht Club
Starts July 1-4-6, 2003
www.transpacificyc.org
July 12, 2003 For Immediate Release
WIND
AT LAST --- DOOR OPENS A CRACK FOR A TRANSPAC
RECORD
LOS
ANGELES---Now, this is Transpac. Steady northeast
trade winds of 14 to 18 knots have boosted the
fleet of 54 boats in the 42nd Transpacific Yacht
Race to their top speeds so far, including near-record
one-day runs Friday into Saturday by Philippe
Kahn's Pegasus 77 and Roy E. Disney's Pyewacket.
 |
Bill
Turpin's Alta Vita from San Francisco (shown
before July 4 start) leads Karl Kwok's Beau
Geste by only six miles in a battle of Transpac
52s in Division 2. Photo by Rich Roberts
|
Both
averaged 14.5 knots as Pegasus 77 sailed 349 miles
and Pyewacket 347 in the 24 hours preceding Saturday
morning's daily roll call. The record is 353 miles
by Doug Baker's Andrews 70 Magnitude when it finished
a close second to Pyewacket's record of 7 days
11 hours 41 minutes 27 seconds in 1999.
Though
Pegasus 77's lead is now 60 miles, it still has
636 miles to go in the 2,225-nautical mile race
and would need to finish by 9:41:27 p.m. Sunday
Hawaii time (12:41:27 a.m. official Pacific race
time Monday) to beat Pyewacket's record.
"The
course record can only be achieved at this point
if the trades kicked up to a steady 25 knots,"
Kahn said. "That's very unlikely."
Behind
them, there's an intense contest between two Transpac
52s: Bill Turpin's Alta Vita, San Francisco, and
Karl Kwok's Beau Geste, Hong Kong. Beau Geste,
with Gavin Brady and other New Zealand stars on
board, romped 305 miles on the day to close to
within six miles of Alta Vita. Bob Lane's oft-modified
Andrews 61 Medicine Man, Long Beach, is between
them, boat for boat.
At
the same time, Alta Vita closed its corrected
handicap time gap behind Stan and Sally Honey's
Cal 40, Illusion, to less than an hour.
Kahn,
also charting that contest, noted: "Illusion
made a little incursion north that they seem to
have later regretted. They have now gone back
south for more breeze and sailed a few extra miles
in the process."
However,
handicaps and head starts aside, the first boat
to finish still may be the Aloha class pacesetter,
Lady Bleu II, Roger and Brenda Kuske's Dynamique
62 from San Diego, that started July 1, three
days ahead of Divisions 3 and 4 and five ahead
of Divisions 1 and 2.
 |
Chris
Busch's 1D35 Wild Thing from San Diego,
currently leading Division 4 on corrected
time and boat for boat, tunes up before
the July 4 start. Photo by Rich Roberts
|
All
boats reported Saturday, although Barking Spider,
David Kory's Catalina 38 from Point Richmond,
Calif. competing in Aloha B class, has radio problems
and is checking in by e-mail to Honolulu communications
officer Walt Niemczura, who forwards the position
report to the communications vessel Alaska Eagle.
"We've
been pulling our hair out in worry and frustration,"
Kory e-mailed, "and knowing that someone
knows our problem helps a lot."
Meanwhile,
the first Transpac crew reached Hawaii, as Honolulu
reporter Bobbie Jennings told her radio audience.
"That
woke a few people up," she said. "The
crew was from The Cone of Silence, and the Aussies
were on their way home (by plane, of course).
They stopped in at the club to thank everyone
for their help and support . . . even though they
didn't finish the race.
"The
story goes back to the day they retired. I was
sitting at home when the phone rang. It was a
bad connection and it took much repeating before
I heard the word 'Transpac.' 'Oh,' says I, 'you
must be looking for some information on the race.'
'NO,' he said---then more static and hissing.
I heard 'The Cone of Silence' and recognized the
Aussie accent. 'Oh,' says I, 'you are calling
from Australia and wanting to know how your boat
is doing.' 'NO!', he yells. We ARE The Cone of
Silence!'
"We
finally established our identities and I got the
story. They tried to contact Alaska Eagle or anyone
in L.A. without success. They happened to have
the WYC phone number so they tried there. The
office staff suggested they call me.
"I
never thought I would hear from them again, much
less see them, but by golly, there they were at
our yacht club last night. We hugged and cheered
and shared some mai tais---almost as good a party
as they would have received had their boat arrived
at Transpac Row."
Tracking
charts for selected boats or the entire fleet
may be viewed by clicking on the link at the right
side of the www.transpacificyc.org
home page. Daily position reports and photos also
will be posted until the completion of the race.
Boats'
handicap ratings may be checked at www.transpacificyc.org/03/tp03-ratings.html
JULY
12 POSITION REPORTS
(Listed
in order of corrected handicap time; actual miles
to go noted)
 |
Paul
Edwards' Catalina 42, Wind Dancer, from
Wilmington, Del., has been the handicap
leader in Division 5. Photo by Rich Roberts
|
RACING
DIVISION
Division
1 (started July 6)
1.
Pegasus 77 (Reichel/Pugh 77), Philippe Kahn, Honolulu,
636 miles to go.
2. Pyewacket (R/P 75), Roy E. Disney, Los Angeles,
696.
Division
2 (started July 6)
1.
Alta Vita (Transpac 52), Bill Turpin, Santa Cruz,
Calif., 806.
2. Beau Geste (Transpac 52), Karl Kwok, Hong Kong,
812.
3. Pendragon 4 (Davidson 52), John MacLaurin,
Marina del Rey, Calif., 919.
4. Grand Illusion (Santa Cruz 70), James McDowell,
Lahaina, H.I., 900.
5. Medicine Man (Andrews 61), Bob Lane, Long Beach,
Calif., 808.
6. Icon (Perry 65), Richard Robbins/Jim Roser,
Seattle, 896.
7. Bengal II (Ohashi 52 ),Yoshihiko Murase, Nagoya,
Japan, 994.
8. Vicki (Andrews 68), Al and Vicki Schultz, Long
Beach, 951.
9. Helsal II (Adams 60), W.E. Rawson, Melbourne,
Australia, 1,062.
WD---Renegade (Andrews 70), Dan Sinclair, Vancouver,
B.C., Canada.
Division
3 (started July 4)
1.
Maitri (J/160), Peter Johnson, San Diego, 607.
2. Reinrag2 (J/125), Tom Garnier, Portland, Ore.,
623.
3. Innocent Merriment (J/160), Myron Lyon, San
Diego, 655.
4. Jeito (J/145), Francisco Guzman, Acapulco,
Mexico, 634.
5. Pipe Dream IX (J/160), Scott Piper, Coral Gables,
Fla., 719.
6. Horizon (Santa Cruz 50), Jack Taylor, Dana
Point, Calif., 734.
7. On Point (Schock 40), Nick Martin, Wilmington,
Calif., 848.
WD---The Cone of Silence (Australian Super 30),
James and Jenny Neill, Newport, NSW, Australia.
WD---Lucky Dog (J/125), Peter Putnam, Newport
Beach (DH).
Division
4 (started July 4)
1.
Wild Thing (1D35), Chris and Kara Busch, San Diego,
745.
2. Tabasco (1D35), John Wylie, San Diego, 784.
3. Hot Tamale (J/120), Tom and Doug Jorgensen,
Glendora, Calif., 816.
4. Cool Man Cool2! (Sydney 38), Harrell Jones,
Dana Point, Calif., 837.
5. Tera's XL (ILC 40), Antony and Daniel Barran,
Northridge, Calif., 765.
6. Two Guys On the Edge (1D35M), Dan Doyle, Honolulu,
817 (DH).
7. Paddy Wagon (Ross 40), Richard Mainland, Marina
del Rey, Calif., 789.
8. Swept Away (J/120), Louis Bianco, Seattle,
865.
9. Krakatoa (Young 32), Rod Skellet, Sydney, Australia,
893.
10. Bolt (Olson 40), Craig Reynolds, Balboa, Calif.,
872.
11. Lawndart (Cape Bay Fast 40), Bill Allan, Nanaimo,
B.C., 927.
Division
5 (started July 1)
1.
Wind Dancer (Catalina 42), Paul Edwards, Wilmington,
Del., 430.
2. There and Back Again (Tripp 40), Robert Rice,
Long Beach, 346.
3. Masquerade (Choate 40), Timothy Coker, San
Diego, 450.
4. B'Quest (Tripp 40), Challenged America/Urban
Miyares, San Diego, 464.
CAL
40 (started July 1)
1.
Illusion, Stan and Sally Honey, Palo Alto, 407.
3. Ranger, William Partridge, Richmond, Calif.,
506.
3. Seafire, John T. Harrison, Honolulu, 507.
4. Ralphie, Jill and Taylor Pillsbury, Laguna
Beach/Eleanor and Davis Pillsbury, Snowmass, Colo.,
505.
5. John B, Greg Boyer, Newport Beach, Calif.,
531.
6. Flying Cloud, Darrell and Scott Wilson, Long
Beach, 529.
7. Celebrity, Gerald Finnegan, Redondo Beach,
Calif., 545.
8. California Girl, Don and Betty Lessley, Point
Richmond, Calif., 525.
9. Willow Wind, Wendy Siegal, Sunset Beach, Calif.,
537.
10. Redhead, Andrew Opple, Ketchum, Idaho, 623.
ALOHA
DIVISION (started July 1)
Aloha
A
1.
Between the Sheets (Sun Odyssey 52.2), Ross Pearlman,
Calabasas, Calif., 304.
2. Enchanted Lady (Roberts 55 ketch), Andy Sibert,
Seal Beach, Calif., 409.
3. Incredible (Swan 53), Rick Gorman, Los Alamitos,
Calif., 363.
4. Beautiful Day (Beneteau 47.7), William Boyd,
San Diego, 355.
5. Axapac (Wylie 39), Barry Ruff, Vancouver, B.C.,
454.
6. Marla R (Beneteau 50), Jon Richards, Mesa,
Ariz., 396.
7. Lady Bleu II (Dynamique 62), Roger and Brenda
Kuske, San Diego, 274.
8. Beach Music (Tayana 52), Kirby Coryell, Lafayette,
Calif., 544 (DH).
Aloha
B
1.
Barking Spider (Catalina 38), David Kory, Point
Richmond, Calif., 590.
2. Sea Dancer (Ericson 35), Alvin Wheatman, Marina
del Rey, 757.
3. Pipe Dream (Choate/Feo 37), John Davis, Long
Beach, 798.
DH---Doublehanded.
WD---Withdrawn.
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
