42th Biennial Transpacific Yacht Race / Los Angeles to Hawaii Transpacific Yacht Club, Brad Avery, Commodore March 10, 2003 57 TRANSPAC ENTRIES FROM 5 COUNTRIES AND ACROSS THE U.S. LONG BEACH, Calif.---A total of 57 entries and counting at the discount entry fee deadline promises that the 42nd biennial Transpacific Yacht Race to Hawaii will have its largest fleet since the mid-80s when the ULDB 70 "sleds" held sway. From what looms as a match race for the Barn Door trophy between Philippe Kahn's Pegasus and Roy E. Disney's record holder Pyewacket to a vintage mix of competitive Cal 40s, the West Coast's most prestigious offshore event offers a wide range of rivalries at every level, large and small. The current list, representing five countries, three continents and home ports from Honolulu to Florida, includes 34 boats in the four racing divisions and 10 in the Aloha class, along with four doublehanders and nine Cal 40s celebrating the 40th anniversary of the class and their dominance of the race in the 60s. Entry fees were discounted until March 7, but more entries are anticipated before the final deadline of May 23. Transpac entries hit a peak with 80 in 1979, followed by 74, 66, 64 and 55 through 1987. This year's race, scheduled to start July 1, 4 and 6 off the Palos Verdes Peninsula south of Los Angeles, includes six foreign entries---two each from Australia and Canada, one from New Zealand and Karl Kwok's new Transpac 52, Beau Geste, from Hong Kong, with Gavin Brady on board.
One of the Canadians is Bill Allan, sailing Lawndart, a Cape Bay Fast 40 from Nanaimo, B.C. with a past and a purpose. Allan is an investment advisor who said, "I work with ordinary people who have dreams and goals that are a part of what makes up the real world." Allan's lifelong dream has been to sail---and finish---the Transpac. He fell somewhat short two years ago when he dropped out on the second day at sea and returned to the mainland. Those daunting 2,225 nautical miles still separate him from his dream. "I have been working hard to ensure that the boat is perfectly prepared this time, and I am mindful of the lessons learned last time," he said. Allan became enamored of the Transpac at age 10 while reading an uncle's sailing magazines. "Never did I think a time would come that I would have the courage or the opportunity to cross the ocean in a Transpac race, to follow in the wakes of other great men and great sailors who made the trip before me," he said. "Now wild horses could not keep me away. My crew and I have a sense of unfinished business." Disney, who raced his first Transpac in 1975, could relate to Allan's feelings for the Transpac. "My first two races that's all I was thinking about---finishing," he said. "Just getting that boat there was a reward in itself." Nowadays Disney's goal is the Barn Door, a 3 1/2-by-4-foot slab of carved native koa wood awarded to the monohull with the fastest elapsed time, dating to 1949. Pegasus and Pyewacket, the only entries to date in Division 1, have dominated it for the last three races and will be "turbocharged" into even faster configurations this time. However, there is plenty of hardware at stake for large and small boats alike, including the equally prestigious King Kalakaua trophy for first place overall on corrected handicap time. The 2001 winner was Bull, Seth Radow's Sydney 40 from Marina del Rey. Meanwhile, a safety at sea seminar is scheduled March 15 at the Orange Coast College School of Sailing and Seamanship in Newport Beach. A Transpac rule requires that 30 per cent of the crew have attended a Safety at Sea Seminar within the last five years. Information: (949) 645-9412. OFFICIAL ENTRIES (as of March 7, 2003):(Division assignments provisional) RACING DIVISION
Division 1 (starts July 6)
Division 2 (starts July 6)
Division 3 (starts July 4)
Division 4 (starts July 4)
Divisions to be determined
ALOHA DIVISION (starts July 1) Aloha A
Aloha B
Aloha B/Cal 40
DOUBLEHANDED (start dates to be determined)
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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