42th Biennial Transpacific Yacht Race / Los Angeles to Hawaii Transpacific Yacht Club, Brad Avery, Commodore June 26, 2003 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. EDITORS: A press/photo boat will be available to accredited media for all three starts. Complimentary, copyright free photos in high and low resolution also are available. Please contact the press officer (below) concerning either matter. OFFICIAL ENTRIES (as of June 13, 2003):(Some division assignments provisional) RACING DIVISION
Division 1 (starts July 6)
DH - Doublehanded ALOHA DIVISION (starts July 1)Aloha A
Aloha B
Transpac Documentary Video/DVD The two-hour historical documentary "Transpac/A Century Across the Pacific" is on sale in marine stores and nautical museums or may be ordered online with a credit card through a link on the Web site home page www.transpacificyc.org. The Web site also has a mail-order form. The video format $39.95, DVD $49.95 and PAL $49.95 for countries requiring that medium. COMMODOREBrad Avery (949) 645-9412 brad@occsailing.com ENTRIES PRESS OFFICER WEB PAGE
The official 2003 TransPac Yacht Race Website http://www.transpacificyc.org
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