(San Diego, CA)- “K-Mag” (a.k.a. Keith Magnussen from Ullman Sails Newport Beach) is
getting ready to race again on Viggo Torbensen’s J/125 TIMESHAVER on the
Puerto Vallarta Race from San Diego to PV, Mexico. Here’s the latest word from K-Mag as they get ready to rumble in this weekends start (thanks to SailingAnarchy.com):"Here we go again. Another journey down the coast of Mexico might seem like déjà vu, but this time it feels so much different. You are probably thinking, “What could possibly make this trip so different?” Easy to answer if you skipped ahead or already know who we have coming. This year I have decided to spend all my sailing time with the Shampain family and we have hired John Shampain to navigate us down the coast (his son Erik is the tactician on board the C&C30 Loco).
With John came long time offshore sailor Tom O’Keefe who is one of the better driver/trimmers around. New guy Mike “Polish” Radziejowski joins as fill in bow for Cody Schlub who is off with my inshore program “Loco” in Miami. Mike works for Ullman Sails San Francisco so it is good to have another Ullman player on the boat. Blake Hamilton, Viggo Torbensen and I have been the core group of the team for the past 4 years and know the boat well. I am happy to just focus on making her go fast and have the Hippy put us in the right direction.
What
excites me is the chance to sail with the Hippy (John) who I have known
since my days in the junior program at Oceanside Yacht Club. Preparing
for this journey has been an experience all on its own. The Hippy is
not so much of a hippy when it comes to boats… he is more like a
dictator, which is one thing I admire about him. Everything has been
thoroughly thought through and every situation accounted for. We still
have some projects and bugs to iron out but it would not be the
Timeshaver without a last minute fire drill. I am sure that the hairs
on the back of the Hippy’s neck are standing up right now.I guess I should talk more about the race? There are some boats in our fleet, and some other big boats in another fleet, and a bigger boat sort of all on its own, and a big boat with more hulls. Some are blue, others white, and some have kitchens that make real food. We will sail with the coast on our left and make maneuvers and try to go fast. Sometimes we will go faster than others and sometimes not. In the end, we cross a sea and end up in PV. We are looking to do well and hope that with a little bit of luck we can improve on our second place overall in 2012 (I think that was the year but don’t quote me).
I
got a call from the Hippy this morning and the long range forecast
looks good. Last time I did it on this boat we saw 30kts of wind for
nearly 3 days and had an epic ride down to Cabo. Perhaps we can get a
front to push us all the way to PV this time? The earlier we get there
the sooner I can surf!Sailing with my friends is a must (read any of my stories and you will see this) so the chance to race with this group is something that I have been thinking about for a long time. 2016 has already been jam packed for me and this is another journey for me to learn and grow from."
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