(Honolulu, HI)- The first wave of Transpac starters left Point Fermin
Monday, 4th of July, bound for Honolulu with a sea-breeze in the low
teens to get them "off the beach" and many a quiet prayer for the breeze
to hold through the night. It's no surprise in the inner coastal
waters of Southern California if the wind shuts off in the night. But if
you're trying to get to the big breeze in the outer coastal waters,
it's a pain. There is ample wind offshore for a fast passage. Amongst the ten racers in Division Six included Charles Browning's J/130 BEBE from Santa Barbara YC. Most boats took off on a long starboard tack towards Catalina Island and then tacked onto port. Their goal is to get past the Channel Islands, then head West out to sea in search of the fastest track around the Pacific High. As of Wednesday evening, BEBE is leading the Transpac Race boat-for-boat and headed off at a fast 8-10 knot pace with wind abeam on starboard tack. Next up, hoist the huge A-sail for maximum VMC down course. Next stop is the quaint little lighthouse off the Diamond Head finish line in about a week of sailing, literally surfing/ planing 24x7 in some epic conditions!
During
the Skippers' Meeting at the Long Beach Aquarium, skippers and
navigators were brought up to speed on the latest developments,
including meteorologist Lee Chesneau's upbeat assessment of a favorable
weather pattern developing in the Eastern Pacific. Compared to the
outlook a week ago, it was happy news (very happy news)! Chesneau said
something about winds to 20 knots out on the ocean, coming down the
coast from the North and bending ENE towards the islands. Plus, didn't
hurt to have a traditional, classic Hawaiian "send-off good luck dance"
(seen here), too.Another 34 boats, including the likely first-finishers, start on Friday, July 8 at 1 p.m. off Point Fermin. In the meantime, the storyline runs along that question of holding wind through the night - some crews are imagining a 10-day passage, but only if all the ducks line up smartly and the probability that the Pacific High Pressure Zone, now nicely formed and pumping gangbuster trade-winds toward Hawaii, keeps on a roll. There's a lot of pressure on the navigators to optimize the routing around the High for maximum VMC down course, knowing what sails and sailing angles to use when to maximize speed down the track-- it's remarkably easy to sail too high too long or dive too early and move away from better pressure gradients.
Next up to the start on Friday July 8th will the two offshore speedsters, the J/125 DOUBLE TROUBLE sailed by Andy Costello and the J/145 BAD PAK sailed by Tom Holthus. Both boats are capable of 20+ knot speeds sustained for days on end under their big asymmetric spinnakers and have the offshore trophies to prove it. In the 2009 Transpac, it was the J/145 BAD PAK that got the better positioning to overcome their tenacious J/125 compatriots to win their class. Andy's crew on DOUBLE TROUBLE just finished winning the windy offshore Coastal Cup Race from San Francisco down to Monterrey, California, so they should be well-prepared for what's in front of them for the next week of sailing. If the conditions hold true, these two speedsters will rapidly overtake the "small boat" fleet in front of them. For Transpac Race Sailboat Tracking For more Transpac Race sailing information and Facebook link
