Transpac 2005 Press Release 7

LONG BEACH, Calif.---Dan Sinclair's Renegade has arrived from Vancouver, B.C. as the first official resident of Transpac Village---and an adventure tale of big winds, big seas and sailing near the epicenter of a 7.2-magnitude offshore earthquake that brought tsunami warnings all along the West Coast of the United States.

The dark blue Andrews 70 reached Rainbow Harbor, where most of the 75 competitors will be berthed before next month's starts, shortly after midnight Thursday morning. The venue, flanked by the Queen Mary, the Aquarium of the Sea and Shoreline Village, will be the centerpiece of Long Beach's Sea Festival celebration.

Renegade at rest in Rainbow Harbor after a wild ride from Vancouver, B.C

Renegade's three-person professional delivery crew was complemented by nine recruits from eBay. They sailed the turobocharged ULDB 70 the 1,200 nautical miles---about half the Transpac distance---in 6 1/2 days under reduced sail through winds up to 50 knots at speeds as fast as 24.3 knots.

They never knew about the tsunami warnings until they reached Long Beach, although they were about 110 miles offshore from northern California at the time. Skipper Dan Mathieu recalled that as about the time "it suddenly got really black and the waves got bigger."

There never was a tsunami and the warnings were called off, but the winds continued through Wednesday night.

"There was 50 knots sustained for about eight hours, with one reef in a delivery main sail from a Santa Cruz 52 and a No. 3 jib," said Shawn Longworth, Mathieu's fiancée. "Then it calmed down to 30 knots. The seas were 15 feet, as high as our radar tower [on the transom]."

At times, Rick Sellens said, "There was green water around the mast."

Sellens, who drove through some of the strong winds, was one of the nine amateur sailors selected from applicants responding to an eBay offer to join the delivery crews for $1,200 each.

Renegade delivery skipper Dan Mathieu (left) with fiancée Shawn Longworth and recruits Rick Sellens, Megaera Fitzpatrick, Philip Hart and Valerie Linton.

"None of them had ever been offshore," said Sinclair, who was not on the boat. "The purpose was to give them an opportunity to go offshore, and to pay delivery expenses."

After Transpac, the three professionals will take the boat from Hawaii back to Vancouver with a new group of recruits.

Sinclair, a Vancouver businessman, has sailed four Transpacs, including 1995 when he chartered Merlin and won first overall on corrected handicap time. Renegade, launched in 1994, sailed the '97 Transpac and started in 2003 but dropped out early with a steering problem.

For this 43rd Transpac, the smaller boats will start July 11 off the Palos Verdes Peninsula, followed by the middle classes on July 15 and the big boats on Sunday, July 17.

Transpac Trivia Quiz

The two all-woman crews in the Centennial Transpac are the sixth and seventh in race history, starting with Terry Clapp's Concubine in 1979. What is unique about one of them? Answer below.

Bubala Can Relate to Its Hawaiian Host

Lloyd Sellinger's Bubala, the Cal 40 with every crew member 65 and older, has found an appropriate host for the traditional Hawaiian welcome.

When Bubala arrives in Waikiki it will be greeted and treated to island hospitality by Dick Troyer of Waikiki Yacht Club and his friends. Troyer is 80---just the host Bubala's crew needs to make them feel young after about two weeks at sea.

The host committee chairperson is Barbara Silvey. Offers of assistance and any special needs or requests may be addressed through her at hawaiipianolady@aol.com .

Defibrillator Deadline Extended to June 24

The deadline for requesting the free loan of AEDs (automated external defibrillators) for Transpac has been extended by the AED Institute to June 24.

That date will still allow time to ensure that at least two crew members are CPR/AED certified, the company said. For those who are still in need of the certification, classes may be scheduled according to need.

More information: (714) 488-0454 and ask for Pam or Shannon.

Trivia Answer

Patricia Garfield and Diane Murray of San Francisco, sailing Garfield's Catalina 47 Charmed Life, are the first women's doublehanded crew.

Entries at 75 As Atalanta Withdraws

The entry list stands at 75 following the withdrawal of Atalanta, Richard Hedreen's Tripp 73 ketch from Seattle, but the total remains the second largest ever. Entries closed June 3.

Class breaks are expected to be announced within a few days.

Official entries

Artemis (Andrews 53), Louis Bianco, Seattle,Wash.

Azure (Cal 40), Rodney Pimentel, Alameda, Calif.

Azure (Swan 441), Samuel Beckey, San Diego, Calif.

Barking Spider 3 (MacGregor 65), David Kory, Concord, Calif.

Beecom (Reichel/Pugh 72), Isao Mita, Yokohama, Japan

Bengal 2 (Ohashi 52), Yoshihiko Murase, Nagoya, Japan

Between the Sheets (Jeanneau 52), Ross Pearlman, Marina del Rey, Calif.

Blue (J/160), Ken and /Cheryl Sears, Nashville, Tenn.

Bolt (Nelson/Marek 55), Craig Reynolds, Newport Beach, Calif.

B'Quest (Tripp 41), Challenged America, San Diego, Calif.

Braveheart (Transpac 52), Charles Burnet, Seattle, Wash.

Brown Sugar (Express 37), Steve Brown, Santa Ana, Calif.

Bubala (Cal 40), Lloyd Sellinger, Newport Beach, Calif

California Girl (Cal 40), Don and Betty Lessley, Richmond, Calif

Callisto (Cal 40), Jim Eddy, Glendale, Calif.

Camille (Stewart 42), James Read, San Francisco, Calif.

Charmed Life (Catalina 470), Patricia Garfield, San Francisco, Calif. (DH)

Cipango (Andrews 56), Bob & Rob Barton, San Francisco, Calif.

Chasch Mer (S/C 50), Gib Black, Honolulu, Hawaii

Coruba (sled), Rob and Suzanne Fleming, Seattle, Wash.

Dancing Bear (Cal 40), Mark Schrader, Sitka, Alaska.

Dasher (S/C 50), Roger Groh, Sausalito, Calif.

Diablo (J/35), Reed Barnard, Anacortes, Wash.

Enchilado (Jeanneau 54), Cesar de Saracho, Mazatlan, Mexico.

Far Far (Cal 40), Don Grind, Naples, Fla.

Genuine Risk (Dubois 90), Randall Pittman, La Jolla, Calif.

Iataia (Beneteau First 40.7), Marcos Rodriguez, Acapulco.

Illusion (Cal 40), Sally Honey, Palo Alto, Calif.

Incredible (Swan 53), Rick Gorman, Los Alamitos, Calif.

Innocent Merriment (J/160), Myron Lyon, San Diego, Calif.

Jacaré (J/35), Jeff Young/Rich Blackman, San Diego, Calif.

Jeito (J/145), Francisco Guzman, Acapulco, Mexico

Kahoots (Andrews 43), Kerry Deaver/Bob Williamson, Newport Beach

Madrina (Cabo Rico 56), Dick Simon, Dana Point, Calif.

Magnitude 80 (Andrews 80), Doug Baker, Long Beach, Calif.

Medicine Man (Andrews 61), Bob Lane, Long Beach, Calif.

Merlin (Lee 68), Patricia Steele, Maui, Hawaii

Mongoose (Santa Cruz 70), Bradley Thorson, Bellevue, Wash.

Morning Glory (R/P maxZ86), Hasso Plattner, Kiel, Germany

Odyssey (58' yawl), Audrey Steele Burnand, Long Beach, Calif.

Pegasus 52 (Transpac 52), Philippe Kahn, Honolulu.

Pendragon IV (Davidson 52), John MacLaurin, Encino, Calif.

Pipe Dream (CF 37), John Davis, Long Beach Calif.

Plan B (Peterson 48), David Johnson, Long Beach, Calif.

Psyche (Cal 40), Steve Calhoun, Los Angeles, Calif.

Pursuit (Custom 48), Norman and Rosemary Dawley, Solomons, Md.

Pyewacket (R/P 86), Roy E. Disney, Los Angeles, Calif.

Radiant (Cal 40), Fin Beven, Pasadena, Calif.

Ragtime (Spencer 66), Peterson/Richards/Welsh/Zimmer, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Ralphie (Cal 40), Taylor and Davis Pillsbury, Woody Creek, Colo.

Reinrag2 (J/125), Tom Garnier, Portland, Ore.

Renegade (Andrews 70), Dan Sinclair, Vancouver, B.C.

Rosebud (Transpac 52), Roger Sturgeon, San Francisco, Calif.

Scout Spirit (R/P 77), Bill Turpin, Newport Beach, Calif.

Seafire (Cal 40), John Harrison, Honolulu, Hawaii

Sensation (1D35), Gary Fanger, San Fransisco, Calif.

Serena (T1150), David Kuettel, Bel Marin, Calif.

Shaman (Cal 40), Steve Waterloo, Alameda, Calif.

Shanakee II (Pedrick 74), James Warmington, Costa Mesa, Calif.

Showdown (IMX 38), Pete Meade/Mike Luna/ Paul McDonald, Irvine, Calif.

Skylark (S/C 70), Doug Ayres, Newport Beach.

So Far (Swan 48), Larry Hillman, Chicago. Ill.

Soap Opera (Hobie 33), Scott Self/Nigel Brown, Rockwall, Tex.

Spectre (Cal 40), Lee Rogge, Seattle., Wash.

Stealth Chicken (Andrews 56), Timothy Beatty, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

Super Gnat (Beneteau First 40.7), Cliff Thompson, San Diego, Calif.

Tabasco (1D35), Alamitos Bay Syndicate, Long Beach, Calif.

The Cone of Silence (Super 30), Jamie and Jenny Neill, Sydney, Australia.

Trader (Transpac 52), Fred Detwiler, Pompano Beach, Fla.

Two Guys On the Edge (1D35), Dan Doyle, Kailua, H.I.

Uproarious (Olson 40), Robert Bussard, San Diego.

Wild Impulse (J/120), Larry Barels, Santa Barbara, Calif.

Willow Wind (Cal 40), Wendy Siegal, Sunset Beach, Calif.

Wind Dancer (Catalina 42), Paul Edwards, Ventura, Calif.

Windquest (R/P maxZ86), Dick & Doug DeVos, Holland, Mich.


Ayres Hotels Participating sponsor		Warmington Homes Participating Sponsor		Community Bank Participating sponsor


West Marine Participating Sponsor		Official Airlines for the Centennial Transpac

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 here. 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.

HONOLULU CHAIRMAN
     Don Brown
     h. (808) 262-7001/b. 438-8633
     browndr@shafter.army.mil

PRESS OFFICER
      Rich Roberts
      cell phone (310) 766-6547
      richsail@earthlink.net