42nd
TRANSPACIFIC YACHT RACE
Transpacific Yacht Club
www.transpacificyc.org
July 13, 2003 For Immediate Release
LADY
BLEU II THE TOAST OF WAIKIKI FOR A DAY
HONOLULU---Lady
Bleu II, an Aloha A class entry, blew into town
at mid-day Sunday to grab its 15 hours or so of
fame in the 42nd Transpacific Yacht Race from
Los Angeles, as Philippe Kahn's Pegasus 77 bore
down on Diamond Head with a one-day mileage record
in its log and its sights on a rare clean sweep
in the 2,225-nautical mile contest.
 |
Lady
Bleu II, taking full advantage of a head
start for the Aloha class, breezes past
Diamond Head in 30 knots of wind as the
first boat to finish Transpac 2003. Photo
by Rich Roberts
|
The
Reichel/Pugh 77 seemed to put away its chief rival,
Roy E. Disney's R/P 75 Pyewacket, by breezing
356 miles in the 24 hours leading to Sunday morning's
roll call and was 74 miles in front with 288 to
go. The former record was 353 miles by Doug Baker's
Andrews 70 Magnitude, in 1999.
Roger
Kuske, who owns a plumbing and appliance business
in San Diego, knows that his dark blue Dynamique
62 was the first boat to finish only because he
got a five-day head start on Pegasus 77 and the
other high-speed, high-tech racing machines When
Pegasus 77 finishes early Monday morning the spotlight
will shift to the boat that has a shot at becoming
the first in 10 years and fourth in history to
score a sweep of honors for fastest elapsed time,
as well as first in class and overall on corrected
handicap time.
But
Kuske will still be parked in the No. 1 spot on
Transpac Row at the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor, and,
he said, "We're happy with that."
Or,
as navigator Barry Ault said as he swigged an
island refreshment, "We are looking forward
to greeting everybody else in the [54-boat] fleet."
Generally,
the Aloha boats are either older or more heavily
laden with creature comforts than the single-purpose
competitors in the racing divisions. Sailors call
them "furniture boats." Lady Bleu II,
for example, has three staterooms, three heads
(bathrooms to landlubbers), a TV and a large refrigerator.
It weighs 30 tons, about equal to the longer Pegasus
77 and Pyewacket, combined.
"It's
a very comfortable boat," said Brenda Kuske,
who greeted her husband from the official escort
boat at the finish line off Diamond Head. "We
did have a washer-dryer, but we took it out for
more refrigeration."
Such
are the sacrifices of the Aloha class, although
Ault also said, "We sailed the boat hard
all the time, 24 hours a day."
Ault
was hauled up the mast four times to make repairs.
His wife Sally and Kuske's 77-year-old mother
Helga also braved the heaving seas and 30-knot
winds to meet the boat off Waikiki Beach. The
winds were so strong that Lady Bleu II blew out
a spinnaker within sight of the lighthouse that
marks the end of the race but hoisted another
well before crossing the line.
 |
Philippe
Kahn at the helm of Pegasus 77. Other crew
members are (from left) Adam Beashel, Morgan
Larson, 13-year-old Samuel (Shark) Kahn
and Sean (Doogie) Couvreux. Pegasus Racing
photo
|
Helga
Kuske, a native of Germany, told her son by radio,
"Honey, I'm so proud of you. This is the
most fantastic day of my life."
Brenda
Kuske said, "This race was one of the top
10 things Roger wanted to do in his life."
Lady
Bleu II was the race's frontrunner from the day
it started July 1. The most stressful time was
having to surrender most of the lead to seek stronger
winds to the south, well off the direct course
to Honolulu.
"We
got sucked up into a hole," Kuske said. "We
had to do it."
But
they came out still a few miles in front then
stretched their lead again.
A
few other Alohas were projected to beat Pegasus
77 to the finish line, but Kahn will collect his
second consecutive Barn Door award for the fastest
elapsed time, although missing Pyewacket's '99
record of 7 ½ days by just a few hours
after suffering light winds earlier in the race.
"Our
projections show that we will be crossing the
finish line around [5 a.m. Hawaii time],"
Kahn said through his Web site, "or maybe
a little earlier, before daybreak. [The wind is]
lighter but we are pushing really hard."
His
remaining goal is to correct out on Bill Turpin's
Transpac 52, Alta Vita, and Stan and Sally Honey's
Cal 40, Illusion, in handicap time.
"We
just realized that we had a chance at top three
in corrected time," Kahn said. "We really
never thought that we'd play in the handicap game.
So, now we have a new goal."
Meanwhile,
Alta Vita still had its hands full of Karl Kwok's
Transpac 52, Beau Geste, as the two were virtually
even, boat for boat, and due to finish around
mid-day Tuesday.
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
 |
The
welcoming party at the finish for Lady Bleu
II included skipper Roger Kuske's mother
Helga, left; wife Brenda, right, and navigator
Barry Ault's wife Sally. Photo by Rich Roberts
|
JULY
13 POSITION REPORTS
(Listed
in order of corrected handicap time; actual miles
to go noted)
RACING
DIVISION
Division
1 (started July 6)
1.
Pegasus 77 (Reichel/Pugh 77), Philippe Kahn, Honolulu,
288 miles to go.
2. Pyewacket (R/P 75), Roy E. Disney, Los Angeles,
362.
Division
2 (started July 6)
1.
Alta Vita (Transpac 52), Bill Turpin, Santa Cruz,
Calif., 529.
2. Beau Geste (Transpac 52), Karl Kwok, Hong Kong,
528.
3. Pendragon 4 (Davidson 52), John MacLaurin,
Marina del Rey, Calif., 642.
4. Grand Illusion (Santa Cruz 70), James McDowell,
Lahaina, H.I., 620.
5. Icon (Perry 65), Richard Robbins/Jim Roser,
Seattle, 618.
6. Medicine Man (Andrews 61), Bob Lane, Long Beach,
Calif., 527.
7. Bengal II (Ohashi 52 ),Yoshihiko Murase, Nagoya,
Japan, 734.
8. Helsal II (Adams 60), W.E. Rawson, Melbourne,
Australia, 813.
9. Vicki (Andrews 68), Al and Vicki Schultz, Long
Beach, 681.
WD---Renegade (Andrews 70), Dan Sinclair, Vancouver,
B.C., Canada.
Division
3 (started July 4)
1.
Maitri (J/160), Peter Johnson, San Diego, 378.
2. Reinrag2 (J/125), Tom Garnier, Portland, Ore.,
373.
3. Innocent Merriment (J/160), Myron Lyon, San
Diego, 426.
4. Jeito (J/145), Francisco Guzman, Acapulco,
Mexico, 394.
5. Pipe Dream IX (J/160), Scott Piper, Coral Gables,
Fla., 509.
6. Horizon (Santa Cruz 50), Jack Taylor, Dana
Point, Calif., 558.
7. On Point (Schock 40), Nick Martin, Wilmington,
Calif., 606.
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,
521.
2. Tera's XL (ILC 40), Antony and Daniel Barran,
Northridge, Calif., 527.
3. Hot Tamale (J/120), Tom and Doug Jorgensen,
Glendora, Calif., 611.
4. Tabasco (1D35), John Wylie, San Diego, 581.
5. Two Guys On the Edge (1D35M), Dan Doyle, Honolulu,
585 (DH).
6. Cool Man Cool2! (Sydney 38), Harrell Jones,
Dana Point, Calif., 630.
7. Swept Away (J/120), Louis Bianco, Seattle,
639.
8. Paddy Wagon (Ross 40), Richard Mainland, Marina
del Rey, Calif., 572.
9. Krakatoa (Young 32), Rod Skellet, Sydney, Australia,
686.
10. Bolt (Olson 40), Craig Reynolds, Balboa, Calif.,
686.
11. Lawndart (Cape Bay Fast 40), Bill Allan, Nanaimo,
B.C., 697.
Division
5 (started July 1)
1.
Wind Dancer (Catalina 42), Paul Edwards, Wilmington,
Del., 255.
2. There and Back Again (Tripp 40), Robert Rice,
Long Beach, 155.
3. Masquerade (Choate 40), Timothy Coker, San
Diego, 273.
4. B'Quest (Tripp 40), Challenged America/Urban
Miyares, San Diego, 300.
CAL
40 (started July 1)
1.
Illusion, Stan and Sally Honey, Palo Alto, 236.
3. Seafire, John T. Harrison, Honolulu, 328.
3. Ranger, William Partridge, Richmond, Calif.,
330.
4. Ralphie, Jill and Taylor Pillsbury, Laguna
Beach/Eleanor and Davis Pillsbury, Snowmass, Colo.,
330.
5. Flying Cloud, Darrell and Scott Wilson, Long
Beach, 348.
6. John B, Greg Boyer, Newport Beach, Calif.,
364.
7. Celebrity, Gerald Finnegan, Redondo Beach,
Calif., 372.
8. California Girl, Don and Betty Lessley, Point
Richmond, Calif., 345.
9. Willow Wind, Wendy Siegal, Sunset Beach, Calif.,
365.
10. Redhead, Andrew Opple, Ketchum, Idaho, 454.
ALOHA
DIVISION (started July 1)
Aloha
A
1.
Between the Sheets (Sun Odyssey 52.2), Ross Pearlman,
Calabasas, Calif., 114.
2. Enchanted Lady (Roberts 55 ketch), Andy Sibert,
Seal Beach, Calif., 235.
3. Incredible (Swan 53), Rick Gorman, Los Alamitos,
Calif., 163.
4. Beautiful Day (Beneteau 47.7), William Boyd,
San Diego, 169.
5. Axapac (Wylie 39), Barry Ruff, Vancouver, B.C.,
269.
6. Marla R (Beneteau 50), Jon Richards, Mesa,
Ariz., 211.
7. Lady Bleu II (Dynamique 62), Roger and Brenda
Kuske, San Diego, 61.
8. Beach Music (Tayana 52), Kirby Coryell, Lafayette,
Calif., 374 (DH).
Aloha
B
1.
Barking Spider (Catalina 38), David Kory, Point
Richmond, Calif., 424.
2. Sea Dancer (Ericson 35), Alvin Wheatman, Marina
del Rey, 598.
3. Pipe Dream (Choate/Feo 37), John Davis, Long
Beach, 636.
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
