Pacific Cup - Mari Chai IV Is The Queen Of The Pacific As She Owns The Fastest Mainland-Hawaii Record: Magnitude 80 Also About To Beat Pyewacket Record

Kaneohe, HI -- With 140 feet of carbon fiber hull, 1800 square feet of sail and gobs of high technology throughout, Mari Cha IV blasted into the record books Wednesday, July 7, with a San Francisco to Kaneohe sail of 5 days, 5 hours, 38 minutes and 10 seconds. It was their contribution to the West Marine Pacific Cup and a run that beat the 1998 record broken by Roy Disney's Pyewacket -- itself, startling in its impact. The Pyewacket record was 6 days, 14 hours, 22 minutes and 20 seconds.

Robert Miller introduced his radically designed purpose-built speed machine in October, smashing two of world sailing's most historic and prestigious records -- the West to East transatlantic record and 24 hour distance record. The transatlantic record was lowered to six days from eight and the 24 hour run delivered 525.7 miles. Following that they beat the Guadeloupe to Antigua record and now the West Coast to Hawaii.

Owner/Skipper Robert Miller thanked his 23 member crew, crediting the success to teamwork. Their arduous record-seeking plans are extensive as the next effort will be the Sydney to Hobart race. Miller's major goal? "an attempt to become the first monohull to sail around the world in 80 days."

Mari Cha, drawing nearly 22 feet had intended to finish the race and go directly to a berth at Aloha Tower but Skipper Miller and crew decided to enter the bay and enjoy the KYC hospitality. The crew is a young mini-UN assembly sporting a variety languages and accents. One KYC member, noting that the record they broke belonged to Roy Disney tried to get the celebrating Mari Cha IV troops to all say, "We're going to Disneyland." No takers.

If the feat was not astounding enough, Magnitude 80, Doug Baker's Maxi Sled 80 is expected to cross the Kaneohe Bay finish line shortly after 6pm. Baker and crew will add another feather in the West Marine Pacific Cup cap as their run will also eclipse the Pyewacket record.

The balance of the fleet contests the ocean, winds and competition as Kaneohe draws closer. Downwind specialists in Division E are being credited with the corrected time fleet lead as well as their division. Winnetou, Morpheus and Natazak have held their lead for several days.

Eyrie, with Sylvia Seaberg and Synthia Petroka aboard maintain their several day dominance in the doublehanded division. Salty Hotel has moved into second, Pole Cat fell back to third in today's position reports.

Kaneohe Yacht Club entry, Ghost has retaken the Division A, lead held several days ago.

After working winds above the rhumbline (most direct to Kaneohe) Kim Ickler's navigation and Skipper Lou Ickler may have found the best place to mount a charge to the finish line. First Light moved into second with Cayenne in third place.

California Girl, Hawaii Yacht Club's Ikaika and Tutto Bene continue the lead in Division B. Bill Myers' Cirrus, another Kaneohe Yacht Club entry is in fourth place.

Inspired Environment, Punahele and Lightwave are leading Division C.

Sensation has moved into the front of the Division D competition. Gary Fanger's ID35 flies the Golden Gate Yacht Club burgee. Surprise, is second and Andiamo, third. Hawaii entries Kaimiloa and Niele are seventh and eighth. West Marine's ProMotion is last in the division but as this report will later note, they're not in the least bit concerned.

The Division F, maxis are still led by Braveheart on corrected time. Having finished, Mari Cha IV with no handicap is scored as second.

Optimum benefits of title sponsorships are clearly up to the companies who make the commitments. When maximum synergy is available, the partnership becomes seamless, the benefits quite mutual. West Marine and Pacific Cup are a shining example of mutual commitment and mutual benefits. The company's participation has included its regular entry, the Santa Cruz 40, ProMotion. We asked West Marine for their view of ProMotion's role. Aboard ProMotion, Elisa Williams found time to send this along:

Since becoming the title sponsor of the West Marine Pacific Cup in 1988, West Marine's own Santa Cruz 40 sloop, ProMotion , has been a participant in the race. In each race, and subsequent delivery back to its Santa Cruz home port, ProMotion is crewed by teams of the company's own employees. For each group that makes the trip to or from Hawaii, the objectives are always the same; be safe, learn a lot, and have fun!

West Marine picked up the theme from its own motto, "We make boating more fun!", when they became the title sponsor of the race, now known as "The fun race to Hawaii." As the event has grown in stature, it has attracted top-flight competitors seeking to post new records for the crossing to Hawaii. Yet, for most of the boats competing in the race, the primary objective continues to be fun and adventure.

While ProMotion has occasionally surprised everyone with a strong placing in the race results over the eight times it's entered the race, racing prowess has never been a prime consideration in the crew selection process. "For us, it's always been more important to provide an opportunity for our associates to experience the adventure of a lifetime," says Tony Gasparich, West Marine Vice-President and, himself, a veteran of the West Marine Pacific Cup.

"West Marine got involved to promote the fun of sailing and to help encourage ordinary people, families and friends, to really use and enjoy their boats," says Gasparich. "Our crews are similar to those of the average competitor's, ordinary folks who are taking on a real challenge, but for whom participation is more important than winning. Because win, place or simply finish, crossing an ocean is something to be proud of and, we hope, one of the most fun and exciting experiences our associates will have in their lives."

Elisa also shared on-board events of a couple of days and offered to respond to questions. We'll have that for you in tomorrow's report.