2003 Start Dates: Tuesday, July 1st - Division V, CAL 40 Aloha A & B Friday, July 4th - Divisions III & IV Sunday, July 6 - Divisions I & II

42th Biennial Transpacific Yacht Race / Los Angeles to Hawaii

Transpacific Yacht Club, Brad Avery, Commodore
www.transpacificyc.org

April 02, 2003

COUNTING DOWN TO THE FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND.

LONG BEACH, Calif.---With three months still remaining until race time, the 60 current entries in the 42nd Transpacific Yacht Race to Hawaii are already maneuvering in their minds for position on crowded starting lines.

The three staggered starts off the Palos Verdes peninsula July 1, 4 and 6 will present a challenge to find clear air and a fast lane to the west end of Santa Catalina Island, 22 1/2 miles southwest and the only mark of the 2,225-nautical mile course. The race to Diamond Head looks to be a match between Philippe Kahn's defending Barn Door champion, Pegasus 77, and Roy E. Disney's record holder, Pyewacket, but first they'll have to shake off up to a dozen other of the largest boats who will offer them no special privileges on the starting line.

Typical of most competitors, Craig Reynolds of Balboa, Calif. is already excited. For him and several others, the race is a family affair. One of his crew members will be his son Carson, 19, a member of the Orange Coast College sailing team who will experience his first Transpac.

Reynolds, 50, has done only one other Transpac himself, sailing the same Olson 40 called Bolt to fifth place in Division 4 in 1999. But he got the bug much earlier from his grandparents, Charles and Verna Reynolds, who sailed the 63-foot cutter Wetona with less distinction in 1928.

"They almost missed Hawaii," Reynolds said. "It was a gentleman's game in those days and my grandfather had some professional guys running the boat. They were using RDF [radio direction finder navigation], and their celestial sights were so bad that they were parallel to the islands and had to turn to come in. My grandmother said she was terrified the whole way."

Bolt and the other boats in Divisions 3 and 4 will enjoy a special holiday start on the Fourth of July.

"I always wanted to go," Reynolds said. "I spent five years getting ready to go in '99, doing a succession of offshore races leading up to it. So now my son Carson is going. I'm not sure he has an appreciation for what a big deal it is. He's a ranked match racer and has done a couple of Newport-to-Ensenada races and went to New Zealand to do match racing, but I tell him, 'You don't understand. This is Transpac. There's nothing else like it.' "

TRANSPAC, US SAILING AGREE ON PFD'S AND HARNESSES AT NIGHT

Transpac's board of directors has endorsed US Sailing's modified Rule 5.02.5 of the Special Regulations governing offshore and oceanic racing, which parallels a rule that Transpac already had in place.

The new rule requires that crew members on deck between sunset and sunrise shall wear harnesses and personal flotation devices (PFDs). The rule doesn't require that the harnesses by connected---a key point in divided opinion among US Sailing members surveyed.

Transpacific Yacht Club Commodore Brad Avery wrote to US Sailing's Safety at Sea Committee: "The proposal is a logical step toward greater safety offshore. The proposal continues to leave the decision to connect or tether harnesses up to the skipper or crew member, thereby keeping the next level of safety preparedness in the hands of the competitors.

"The line between regulation and the ultimate responsibility of the offshore skipper must be approached carefully. We must continue to leave critical safety decisions in the hands of skippers. This proposal achieves such a balance."

TRANSPAC NOTES:

• The last Safety at Sea seminar before the race---required of 30 per cent of the crew within the last five years---is scheduled June 28 at the Orange Coast College of Sailing and Seamanship in Newport Beach. The most recent one in March drew a full house of 126 people, most of them Transpac participants, so those interested are urged to sign up by phone at (949) 645-9412, ext. 2.
• Several division assignments are still to be determined after the final entry deadline of May 23, but the current total would be the most in nine races since 1985. The list breaks down into 41 in the racing divisions, nine Cal 40s in their own class and 10 in the Aloha class.
• The Cal 40s, now separated from the Aloha fleet, will be eligible for overall corrected time honors if they race according to normal regulations---for example, no autopilot steering and no power-assisted winches.
• Smallest boat entered at this point is Starbuck, a Dutch-built Black Soo 31. Owner Greg Nelsen, of Piedmont, Calif., is well-known as a successful single- and double-handed sailor in the San Francisco Bay area. He'll sail double-handed with Allen Barth.

OFFICIAL ENTRIES (as of April 2, 2003):

(Division assignments provisional)

RACING DIVISION

Cal 40 (starts July 1)

• California Girl (Cal 40), Don and Betty Lesley, Point Richmond, Calif.
• Celebrity (Cal 40), Gerald Finnegan, Redondo Beach, Calif.
• Flying Cloud (Cal 40), Darrell and Scott Wilson, Long Beach.
• Illusion (Cal 40), Stan Honey & Sally Lindsay Honey, Palo Alto.
• John B (Cal 40), Greg Boyer, Newport Beach, Calif.
• Ralphie (Cal 40), Jack and Taylor Pillsbury/Eleanor and Davis Pillsbury, San Francisco.
• Ranger (Cal 40), William Partridge, Richmond, Calif.
• Redhead (Cal 40), Andrew Opple, Ketchum, Idaho.
• Willow Wind (Cal 40), Wendy Siegal, Seal Beach, Calif.

 

Divisions to be determined

• Axapac (Wylie 39), Barry Ruff, Vancouver, B.C.
• Beach Music (Tayana 52), Kirby Coryell, Lafayette, Calif.---DH.
• Beautiful Day (Beneteau 47.7), William Boyd, San Diego---DH.
• Krakatoa (Young 32), Rod Skellet, Sydney, Australia.
• Lucky Dog (J/125), Peter Putnam, Newport Beach---DH.
• Masquerade (Choate 40), Timothy Coker, San Diego.
• On Point (Schock 40), Nick Martin, Wilmington, Calif.
• Pipe Dream (Choate/Feo 37), John Davis, Long Beach.
• Starbuck (Black Soo 31), Greg Nelsen, Piedmont, Calif.---DH.
• Tabasco (1D35), John Wylie, San Diego.
• Two Guys On the Edge (1D35M), Dan Doyle, Honolulu---DH.
• Wild Thing (1D35), Chris and Kara Busch, San Diego.

 

DH - Doublehanded

ALOHA DIVISION (starts July 1)
Aloha A

• Enchanted Lady (Roberts 55), Andy Sibert, Seal Beach, Calif.
• Incredible (Swan 53), Rick Gorman, Los Alamitos, Calif.
• Just Imagine (49' cutter), Thomas Camp, Walnut Creek, Calif.
• Lady Bleu II (Dynamique 62), Roger and Brenda Kuske, San Diego.
• Marla R (Beneteau 50), Jon Richards, Mesa, Ariz.
• Windborne (Gulfstar 50), Tom Ryan, Marina del Rey.

 

Aloha B

• Barking Spider (Catalina 38), David Kory, Point Richmond, Calif.
• Sea Dancer (Ericson 35), Alvin Wheatman, Marina del Rey.
• Tango (Beneteau 40), Howard Raphael, Sausalito, Calif.
• Wind Dancer (Catalina 42), Paul Edwards, Wilmington, Del.

   

 

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.

COMMODORE
      Brad Avery
      (949) 645-9412
      brad@occsailing.com

ENTRIES
      Bill Lee
      (831) 464-4872
      wizard@fastisfun.com

PRESS OFFICER
      Rich Roberts
      (310) 835-2526
      richsail@earthlink.net

WEB PAGE
      www.transpacificyc.org
      Lisa Niemczura, Web Master

The official 2003 TransPac Yacht Race Website http://www.transpacificyc.org
Website © 2002/2003
Doug Vann, Lisa Niemczura, Walt Niemczura