All alone on a still, misty sea, the 76-foot catamaran Double Bullet II of Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club set off for Hawaii Tuesday afternoon as the last starter in the 40th Transpacific Yacht Race to Hawaii. There are no other multihull entries this year. The monohull classes all started earlier.
But skipper Bob Hanel and his crew of five were in good spirits as they headed for the west end of Santa Catalina Island in 7 knots of a southwesterly wind. A few minutes before the gun they asked the race committee for the positions of Zephyrus IV and Pyewacket--the powerful first-to-finish favorites that started three days earlier—so the game is on between the tortoise and the hare. Multihulls normally sail faster than monohulls.
Bob Dixon, who will alternate with Randy Smyth as watch captain, said the lonely start wasn't disappointing.
"Being a catamaran sailor for 20 years, I'm used to it," Dixon said. "Everybody has their own thing, and this happens to be ours."
Meanwhile, out in the middle of the Pacific, the 30-foot Doublehanded entry Two Guys On the Edge from Waikiki Yacht Club was still nearest Hawaii, but the maxi sleds Zephryus IV and Pyewacket were coming fast. Les Vasconcellos and Bruce Burgess stretched their lead on Cruising division leader Hurricane from 8 to 18 miles but lost 116 miles to Zephyrus IV, which started four days later last Saturday.
At the current rate, the fastest boats should take over the pace Thursday or Friday – and if they're thinking of breaking the old Pyewacket's record of 7 days 15 hours 24 minutes 40 seconds set in 1997, they'll have to finish by 4:24 a.m. PDT Sunday.
Bob McNeil of San Francisco, co-owner and skipper of Zephyrus IV with Bob Parrish of San Diego, told the Ko Olina Resort & Marina Media Center by Iridium satellite phone Tuesday, "It's very much a race. We gained a little bit [on Roy E. Disney's Pyewacket] last night. Don't know why, [but] it looks like they were trying to sail low."
For the first time, Pyewacket reported a more southerly position than its rival, perhaps indicating that navigator Stan Honey was positioning the boat for a better angle in the trade winds.
"I'm told that we're in the trade winds," McNeil said. "It feels like it, but I'll need to see some sun before we start looking for grass skirts. Right now we're in a nice breeze of 24 knots and there's a light rain. The wind has been up and down from this to 16."
The five Division 1 boats all made less mileage than the previous day. Pyewacket, which logged a record-tying 337 on Monday, made 288 Tuesday, while Zephyrus IV dropped from 333 to 297. For the race, Zephyrus IV is averaging 12.3 knots—two-tenths faster than the old Pyewacket's record average in '97.
"There's a long way to go," McNeil said. "We're not even halfway down the course. This race is just beginning."
Farther back—but not very far—in Division 2 was the black-hulled Velos, a 14-year-old Tanton 73 that's about the same size as Zephyrus IV and Pyewacket but enjoys a 62-seconds-per-mile handicap on those two because of its heavier displacement and older technology. Velos currently is projected to finish within the 1 1/2 –days handicap owed by the Division 1 boats.
Photos, e-mail from boats, daily position reports, crew lists and other information are available on the race web page, www.transpacificyc.org.
The 40th Transpac is sponsored by Iridium North America, the world's first global telephone and paging company. Several boats are carrying the phones. Through a constellation of 66 low-earth-orbit satellites circling the globe, customers can make or take calls and receive pages in the most remote regions on Earth. Additional information regarding the Iridium system is available at the web site at www.iridium.com or by calling 1-888-Iridium.
Publicity: Rich Roberts Phone: (310) 835-2526
1258 Lakme Ave. Fax: (310) 513-1664
Wilmington, CA 90744 e-mail: richroberts@compuserve.com
Standings (in order of corrected handicap time):
DIV. 1 (started July 3)—1. Zephyrus IV, Bob McNeil/John Parrish, St. Francis/San Diego YCs, 1,403 miles to go; 2. Pyewacket, Roy E. Disney, Los Angeles YC, 1,415; 3. Magnitude, Doug Baker, Long Beach YC, 1,436; 4. Pegasus, Philippe Kahn, UC Santa Cruz Sailing Club, 1,449; 5. Front Runner, Lou Grasso/Craig Lyons, Newport Harbor YC, 1,499.
DIV. 2 (started July 3)—1. Velos, Kjeld Hestehave, SDYC, 1,546; 2. Grand Illusion, James McDowell, Lahaina YC, 1,481; 3. Mongoose, Robert Saielli, SDYC, 1,511; 4. Medicine Man, Bob Lane, LBYC, 1,502; 5. Cheval, Steve Popovich, Cabrillo Beach YC, 1,520.
DIV. 3 (started July 3)—1. Gone With the Wind, Bill LeRoy/Jim Cascino, StFYC, 1,592; 2. Warpath, Fred Howe, Santa Cruz YC, 1,592; Stealth Chicken, Alamitos Bay Syndicate, Alamitos Bay YC, 1,588; 4. M-Project, Manouch Moshayedi, Bahia Corinthian YC, retired.
DIV. 4 (started July 2)—1. Tower, Don Clothier, Waikiki YC, 1,436; 2. Great Scot, Tom Garnier, LAYC, 1,563; 3. Glama!, Seth Radow, California YC, 1,484; 4. Prime Time, John Borkowski/Richard Sherlock, Channel Islands YC, 1,516; 5. Sweet Caroline, William Rawson, Royal YC, Australia, 1,572; 6. Uproarious, Robert Bussard, Silver Gate YC, 1,552; 7. Bolt, Craig Reynolds, Balboa YC, 1,607; 8. Apollo V, Ned Knight, Point Loma YC, 1,592.
DOUBLEHANDED DIV. (started June 29)—1. Two Guys On the Edge, Les Vasconcellos/Bruce Burgees, Waikiki YC, 1,085; 2. Vapor, Bill Boyd/Scott Atwood, Alamitos Bay YC, no report.
CRUISING DIV. (started June 29)—1. Hurricane, Kim Stebbens, Sloop Tavern YC, 1,103; 2. Esprit, Bob Pace, Oceanside YC, 1,108; 3. Endeavor III, Randy Bell/Eleanor Clitheroe, Royal Canadian YC, 1,137; 4. Pacifica, Doug Jones, Southwestern YC, 1,132; 5. Willow Wind, Wendy Siegal, Cortez Racing Assn., 1,141; 6. Tango, Howard Raphael, Palo Alto, Calif., 1,238; 7. Goodnight Moon, Carlton Vanderbeek, Dana Point YC, 1,167; 8. Derivative,, John Robert Misko, Seattle, Wash., 1,267.
