The J/Race Horses Are Back in the Barn and Celebrating!
(Honolulu, Hawaii)- First organized by the Transpacific Yacht Club in
1906, the biennial Transpac Race attracted a record fleet of 90 boats
for its 50th edition. Three waves of starts over a four-day period got
the fleet onto the 2,225.0nm race track from Los Angeles to Honolulu.
The early starters on Wednesday, July 10th (Classes 6 to 10) dove south
for better winds that never fully materialized; and they continued to be
plagued by lighter airs relative to the rest of the fleet as they
surfed to Diamond Head. The second wave of starters on Friday, July 12th
(Classes 3-4-5) had favorable, windy breezes, after fetching Catalina
Island on starboard tack, the fleet simply bore off, set Code Zeros,
then A3s and A2s as they flew down the track for the rest of the race!
However, the third group starting on Saturday, July 13th (Classes 1-2)
was not as lucky as they dealt with light winds for their escape from
California. As a result, the big winners in the “wind lottery” in the
first 72 hours were the second wave of starters.
J/125s crush 50th Transpac Race Overall!
For the first time in the fifty years of Transpac Race history, a
one-design class nearly swept the entire top five results overall- the
famous J/125s!! Congrats to all four teams!
Winning was Shawn Dougherty & Jason Andrews’s Seattle-based J/125
HAMACHI, taking both Division 3 and Overall honors. Taking silver in
both class and overall was Zachary Anderson & Chris Kramer’s San
Francisco-based J/125 VELVET HAMMER. Fourth in class and overall was
Mark Surber’s San Diego-based J/125 SNOOPY (ex-DERIVATIVE). And, fifth
in class and overall was Tom Garnier’s J/125 REINRAG from Los Angeles.
J/121 Smokes Division 6!
Congratulations to Scott Grealish’s J/121 BLUE FLASH from Portland,
Oregon! They easily won the “first wave” of starters overall (5 classes
in total). Amazingly, BLUE FLASH was eighth boat to finish on elapsed
time and won Division 6 by 4 1/2 hours corrected time!
Also, in that first wave of starts was Division 7, Paul Stemler’s
classic J/44 racer-cruiser, named PATRIOT, took the silver in her group.
For the first time, the 50th Transpac also had a Corinthians Division.
Winning Corinthians overall was Tom Garnier’s J/125 REINRAG 2, plus they
won it in Division 3 as well. Winning Corinthians in Division 6 was
Scott Grealish’s J/121 BLUE FLASH, and taking 5th overall. Finally,
winning Corinthians Division 7 was Paul Stemler’s J/44 PATRIOT, taking
8th overall.
To give you an idea of what it is like to sail a 2,225.0nm race, take
some time to read the various J/crews’ blogs they were posting over
satellite phone links. Some of them are pretty amusing.
J/121 BLUE FLASH- Scott Grealish
“After all the training we had done in the light airs Cabo San Lucas
Race and the moderate winds in the Ensenada Race, and sail testing off
San Diego prior to the race, we were excited to see what kind of legs we
would have on our new J/121 in the open Pacific on a 2,225nm race
track. We had no idea what to expect in the forecasted 10-20 kts winds,
other than to push hard, keep experimenting with sail combinations for
wind/wave angles and press on regardless.
On Wednesday, we had a good start, good lane, and we got to the right of
fleet. A Farr 57 and Swede 55 were water-lining us, but we got around
Catalina quickly in 16-18 kts breeze. The Farr just in front of us and
the 55 just behind. We were pleased with our speed, using the water
ballast upwind helped at this stage and we were fast.
Based on the forecast and grib files, we could see the Pacific High was
split in two, the east side was weaker, and the 500 mb pressure line was
wobbly. We hoped for a solid High that would recede NW, tighten the
gradients south, produce more winds, but that that didn’t happen.
Initially, we had to go south after passing Catalina, which adds a lot
of miles. But, that was not enough, in retrospect, as we never got the
winds the Friday starters got for the whole race.
After rounding Catalina, we held on to our J2 jib for some time, sheeted
to the rail. We wanted to hold higher (to the right) of the fleet so we
could set our Code Zero once we could get the wind around to 75-125
TWA. Once we did that, we ran our genoa staysails underneath
double-slotting- that was fast! Once the wind moved further aft, we had
what we called our “A10”, basically an A3/A5 flat reaching kit, flew
the J4 on the inner forestay- that was even faster! Two days into the
race we were constantly in the high teens boatspeed, hitting 22.5 kts at
time in just 17-19 kts TWS. Note, we also used this combo in the
reaching we encountered going into the finish like in the Molokai
Channel in 20-30 kts TWS.
For the main part of the course for a good 7+ days, the wind dropped
into 12-16 kts TWS. We were further north than most of our class/ fleet.
We used our A2 chute (running kite) up to 18-21 kts TWS with large
spinnaker staysail underneath. Late at night, we’d switch sometimes to
the A5/ J4 for squalls. The staysails were very effective!
As for driving and boatspeed, connecting wave-sets was key, especially
once we got up to 15 kts plus boatspeed. Like sailing our J/88, you had
to watch to not go too high or too low on TWA’s downwind. We watched our
VMC constantly and would adjust our angles based on wave trains and
wind angles/ pressure. Basically, we’d sail between 150 to 160 TWA for
best VMC. 165 was too deep, 145 was too high.
Finally, I have to give a shout-out to my crew- ‘Thank You, for being
such a fantastic team!’ We sailed all amateur with three youths (my son-
Sean- and two other 20-somethings) and three “old guys”
(50-something’s). As I've told others- sometimes we needed their energy,
sometimes they needed our wisdom, and sometimes the roles reversed.
But, they always stayed focused.
Andrew (our navigator) and I would spend 20 minutes pouring over the GFS
grib files, surface analysis, 500mb pressure lines, yellow brick
tracker, routing at various polar percentages, then give a discourse
about why we needed to do such and such an angle, etc. Then, in the end
they'd say ‘so you mean, sail fast, right?’ Haha, right! Reflecting on
the experience, it was priceless to share it with friends, my son Sean,
and having the added bonus of collecting silverware, we didn’t expect
that!”
J/125 HAMACHI blog- Shawn Dougherty / Jason Andrews
July 14- 1700- After solid 10-20 for the first 40 hours it got
light this morning. Hamachi switched to its A2.5 at the 4am watch shift
and worked south/southwest in 10 kts most of the day. The lighter air
and flat seas allowed us to do some much-needed house keeping, which
included going up the rig and doing a check as well as configuring
halyards. We flew the drone for the first time and captured these
pictures of the boat and crew with Matt Pistay aloft. A general funk has
permeated the boat and its been traced to many damp socks and gear.
It's now 5pm and the skies are clearing and the wind is filling.
July 15- Sunday- 1730- After a slow and cloudy Sunday, we had a
nice evening sail under partly to mostly cloudy skies and nearly full
moon. The skies cleared this morning and the wind filled around noon.
Currently 15-20 kts and Hamachi is rumbling along. The boys are eagerly
lined up awaiting their turn to drive and the Godfather Fred is sitting
in the barko lounger critiquing their performance. The Hamachi crew had a
relaxing lunch of fresh spaghetti bolognese on the back patio. The
tunes were pumping. Everyone is well fed, rested and loving the
experience!
July 16- Monday- 1600- Hamachi is approaching its halfway point
so we passed the flask, flew the drone and had a dance party… all while
hauling the mail!
July 18- Wednesday- Team Hamachi is laying down the gauntlet-time
to do the serious business of racing…. to win it all. Transpac is a
race within a race within a race. There are four J/125s, an above
average collection, who are competing with each other to be the fastest
J/125 on the west coast. Each boat has donated to a prize for the first
across the line. This was our main focus going into Transpac, as its
been a friendly rivalry and a great chance to meet other J/125 owners.
All four J/125's are racing within Division 3, which is highly
competitive and comprised of 13 boats. It's a great honor to win your
class at Transpac, especially in a class this competitive. Finally,
there is an overall winner based on corrected time for all 92 boats.
For Team Hamachi, we have been tracking the other J/125's from the
start. After day 2 we started tracking other boats in our Division and
were both surprised and excited to see Hamachi climb our Division
ladder. Then on Tuesday, Hamachi started trending towards the top of the
overall standings and now we've held the #1 in ORR (fastest boat
overall) title for 24 hours.
The crew is ecstatic but a little uneasy. We like being a pursuit boat,
quietly seeking to pass the leader. We are not used to being the boat
everyone is watching and trying to take down.
So, needless to say, the dance parties have stopped, along with the
drone flying. We spend every moment pushing to boat to go as fast as
possible. Living below is like driving your VW camper van down a black
diamond mogul run. We constantly pull weather and position reports, and
we are gybing to find the best wind and wind angles. We are 920 miles
from the finish and SENDING IT. Our current 24 hours record is 336.0nm
(a 14.0 kts average). Top boat speed is 21.8kts (David Rogers).
Summary: This may be the last at sea update as time is now very short: eat, sleep, sail fast, repeat…
Here are two well-done videos by the HAMACHI Team and commentary from co-owner Jason Andrews:
“Team Hamachi had a magical run to Hawaii. We power reached across the
line at 16 kts at 2:21 am Sunday (7/21) morning to complete the 50th
Transpac in 8 days 16 hours and 21 minutes, which gives us a corrected
time of 8 day 0 hours and 52 minutes.
It’s been a hell of an adventure and one that will not be repeated
anytime soon. We were fortunate to start on the “right day” and the
high pressure materialized in a manner that allowed us to power reach
the whole way to Hawaii in winds that averaged between 15-20 kts. We
never saw winds above 22 kts except for a few minutes, and always
between midnight at 2 am to make it more exciting. We couldn’t have
asked for a better crew and having one additional crew member became a
clear advantage in the heavier wind versus the other J/125s. It’s going
to take several days to catch up on sleep and begin to process the
magnitude of this adventure and accomplishment. We have really
appreciated all the support from our friends, family and Pacific
Northwest sailing community. Mahalo!” A few videos from Hamachi for your
amusement:
J/125 SNOOPY blog- Mark Surber
July 16- 1830- Transpac day 5. The last 24 hours has been fast.
Great trade breeze, great tunes, beautiful sailing and we remain in
touch with our other J/125 competitors. Before the trade winds, the game
was straightforward: Sail to the right point to enter the trade winds
in the desired position against your competitors. Once entered into the
trade winds, the game is even simpler: sail as fast as you can to the
right corner (depending on its location, on the west/southwest side of
the high, or northeast of Hawaii).
We did a great job executing on the first, entering the trades just to
the south of our competitors. Since entering into the trades yesterday,
we have sailed as fast as we could while near-parallel tracking our
competitors (Hamachi north and ahead, Velvet Hammer directly to the
north, and Reinrag2 south and behind).
It was funny, about three hours ago we saw Velvet Hammer for the first
time since day 1. We were sailing a bit higher and they a bit lower and
we came within sight. Almost as soon as we saw each other, we again
diverged to our private missions.
What happens next is the effect of the high. The wind slowly changes
direction in a clockwise fashion until it is almost directly out of the
east heading into Hawaii. The effect of this is that we slowly turn
towards the north and ultimately jibe toward Hawaii. Thus, the boats to
the north, will gain on the boats to the south. If all things stayed as
they are now, Hamachi would likely be ahead of us, Velvet Hammer close
to slightly behind, followed by Reinrag. Of course, this slow right turn
won't fully develop for a couple more days making any outcome possible.
All aboard is very good. Typical breaks and fixes, but nothing worth
writing about. Food remains my most pleasant surprise. Kinda like the
Jetsons… just add water and presto! A ten-course meal (almost). The
flying fish watch continues. No one has been hit, but one about a foot
long flew over Pike's head while he was driving. Then an hour ago, a
baby was found on the deck grasping at every last breath to reach Scott.
He had made the hazardous voyage onto the boat only to fall a foot
short. So sad. We took a picture.
Weather continues to warm. I wore swim trunks, a dry shirt and straw hat
today. A bit cold for 20 kts breeze, but way better than sweating in
the foul weather gear.
(Oh, we just hit 20 kts again. It’s just not as special as it used to be!)
J/125 REINRAG 2 blog- Tom Garnier
July 16- 1700- Last night in the Pacific was spectacular. The
wind was blowing us towards Hawaii with enough pressure to allow Reinrag
2 to surf from 12 to about 20 kts on the smallish 2 to 4 foot seas. The
air was in the low 70s, chilly with wind on wet clothes, but pleasant
to my New England accustomed senses. Oh, and the moon was full and
shining down on all, the white foam of breaking waves, the sparkle of
the spray from the bow, and the ghostly white of the spinnaker curl in
trim.
As I relieved Tom and took my turn at the helm, he admitted
understatedly, “Ok, maybe I had fun for a few moments there.” Pointing
out that, there is something here in these moments of driving a small
boat across this wide ocean that make it worth the price of admission.
The expense, the months of preparation, even for a boat and crew that’s
done it before, and the time away from family and career. Why do we do
it? And, why do we come back and do it again? We do it for last night,
that feeling.
Behind the wheel, I started to think how I can describe it. I chuckle to
myself as I think in my SoCal raised way, “it’s just awesome dude!” And
in a way it is… a feeling of awe. No, not so much in the natural world
around us; it is just too alien.
The ocean raging from the trade winds, the tiny sails of the jellyfish,
the moon and Jupiter beside it are indifferent to our passing (although
the porpoise do check in on us from time to time).
No, I feel the awe about the humanity invading this night so far from
land. This boat, these five primates on it, riding, crashing, bursting
towards Hawaii.
I stand behind the wheel, my feet firmly planted on the deck, through
which I feel the boat almost as though it were an extension of my body.
The pitch and roll of the boat tells me what the waves are doing, though
I see only a crest reflecting the moonlight. The boat pitches down and
begins to roll to leeward as the stern is lifted by the oncoming wave.
Like a dinghy, I shift my weight unconsciously to windward and will the
boat to catch (in fact, I move the wheel to leeward and the boat rolls
windward). She catches the wave and accelerates. Tom is watching the
sail and grinds in to keep her pulling as the apparent wind shifts
forward. The boat is now doing half again as much speed as before and I
hunt by feel and moonlight for a second wave to catch, or a clean exit
from the one I’m on. Eventually the boat slows and Tom eases the sheet.
There are instruments to help… a compass, apparent wind angle, boat
speed etc… but these are secondary checks. Surfing is done by feel. You
feel the wave, and you move the boat… and it’s a wonder. Standing at the
wheel, riding over the ocean is just awesome.
J/145 KATARA blog- Roger Gatewood
July 21- 0630- We're on the final approach! Yesterday in the
afternoon, we took some of our medicine and went West to get to the
corner despite non-ideal VMC numbers. We gybed on to port tack for the
500+ mile run in to Molokai where we'll gybe again near Kalaupapa in the
accelerated pressure zone that surrounds the NW corner of Molokai. From
there we will gybe down that coast and around it's western edge before
lining up for a final gybe over to starboard to finish the race off
Diamond Head in Honolulu. We're told that channel has some of the finest
big-boat surfing conditions seen anywhere. I'm looking forward to the
ride. Might be a bit more excitement than we originally anticipated as
we're almost guaranteed to hit it at night. Luckily, we've had an
excellent near-full moon to guide our way each night.
Wind pressure was lighter than hoped for yesterday afternoon and in to
the night, so our arrival has been delayed slightly. Estimating some
time in the early morning on Monday.
Conditions being quieter we've been able to get most of the crew caught up on sleep and everyone seems to be doing well.
Just witnessed an absolutely stunning sunrise on deck with the Blue
watch. They've got the reigns until Green takes over in about an hour.
The fight to capture the most miles in this final push is on, and the
helmsmen are focused as can be.
Inventorying the food reserves, we appear to have sufficient rations
aboard to sail right past Honolulu and head for Fiji instead. The only
things running low are the chocolate covered espresso beans and the
trail mix.
Our trusty little water maker has been treating us right. We run it
about an hour a day during charging and it whips up 6-8 gallons of good
tasting safe potable water straight out of the sea.
It's pretty weird on port tack at the moment after nearly a week on
starboard. Exercising muscles we haven't tried in a while and we had to
do some clean up as everything went flying from its starboard tack
optimized positioning. Roger was threatening to lead crew-yoga on the
foredeck to get everyone stretched out again, but it's still mighty wet
on that end of the boat.
The captain just gave up the helm a bit ago and is now sitting back and
enjoying a nice hot up of tea as he surveys our progress. Seems to be
having a blast.
Sailing photo credits- Sharon Green/ Ultimate Sailing.com. Analyze
how the J/121 and J/125s crushed the 50th Transpac here on YB Tracker For more
50th Transpac Race sailing information
Add to Flipboard Magazine.
(Los Angeles, CA)- Mere mention of the beautiful island chain of Hawaii
amongst serious offshore sailors immediately sparks conversation of the
world-famous Transpacific Race, which starts on the waters off of Los
Angeles and finishes off of Honolulu’s Diamond Head formation, yielding a
racetrack of some 2,225 nautical miles. Transpac, as the race is
affectionately known, is organized by the Transpacific Yacht Club and
now raced biennially (odd-numbered years) and has a proud and rich
history hailing back to 1906.
(San Diego, CA)- The San Diego Yacht Club and Newport Harbor Yacht Club
are celebrating the 10th annual Islands Race on February 15-16, 2019.
The decade old, 134.0nm race is a signature SDYC offshore regatta
co-hosted with Newport Harbor Yacht Club. An expected 25+ boats will
start from Long Beach Harbor, make way around Santa Catalina and San
Clemente Islands and finish in Point Loma.
(Long Beach, CA)- Former J/Boats J/24 builder, dealer, and sailor extraordinaire- Jeff Trask- recently passed away from battling pancreatic cancer. Here are two memorials from two people who knew him well in southern California.
Following
30 years in the boat business and a professional racing career that
spanned almost 20 years, he shifted his focus full time to the Porsche
racing car community. The solid foundation of a unique and quirky group
of car enthusiasts allowed him to lead a fulfilling career that kept him
in close contact with his dearest friends and favorite cars, vintage
Porsches.
