Lucas Oil Ocean Cup - 435 mile challenge commences October 12 + Video

by Barbara Biers on 9 Oct 2013 On October 12, the endurance team speeds away from under the Golden Gate Bridge, attempting to break their existing world record from San Francisco to Los Angeles and continuing on to create a new world record for the 435 mile run from San Francisco to Long Beach. Pilots Nigel Hook, Dan McNamara and Lance Ware are up for the challenge having outfitted Lance’s 48’ APISA with two of the latest Cummins QSB 6.7 550 diesel engines.

Endurance runs between San Francisco and Los Angeles date back to 1929 when the race was against the clock and the sea — a genuine sea race — run far offshore, not round and round on a spectator-friendly short course. This type of endurance run hearkens back to the old days of offshore racing, when it was man, machine, compass ... against the savage ocean.

This is one of the oldest ocean endurance records and it has a rich legacy. The record was initially set in 1927 by Seymour Johnson, founder of Johnson Controls when, at that time, it was a 3-day event with overnight stops in Monterey and Santa Barbara. Later various pioneers have broken the record including Mike Reagan (son of our late-President Ronald Reagan) in 1984, and again by actor and martial arts legend Chuck Norris in 1988.



Repeat offenders Hook and McNamara are part of the team holding the current diesel San Francisco to Los Angeles record which was set in 2003 (6 hours and 43 minutes), and the duo will be using the same hull for this attempt. When asked why break your own record? McNamara replied, 'Because I can and it’s a lot of fun. This boat is fantastic and with these new diesels, we have improved reliability and efficiency. I expect to shave up to an hour off of our current time into Los Angeles.'

Hook explains further, 'We plan not only to break our existing record to Los Angeles, but to also lay down a new and bigger challenge, called the Lucas Oil Ocean Cup - Golden Gate to Queen Mary which is an additional 35 miles. This perpetual trophy is sponsored by Lucas Oil and sanctioned by APBA.'

Boat owner and co-founder of APISA Sport Yachts, Lance Ware says, 'I’m excited to be taking part in this history making event and even more excited for our customers and potential customers. This event will further validate the true pedigree and design excellence of our vessels.'

Executive Director of APBA, Dan Wiener, has been working closely with the team, and he states, 'APBA wishes the team the best of luck. I anticipate hearing about the successful completion. This is a well-prepared team using state-of-the­-art satellite tracking and they have been coordinating their course with our Coast Guard.'

Bright and early this Saturday, October 12, the team will depart the St. Francis Yacht Club accompanied by the official America's Cup umpire boat, a 43' Willard Interceptor carrying APBA Assistant Referee Gloria Crim and APBA Inspector Franck Banducci, who are responsible for marking the exact time the APISA endurance boat passes beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. Sunrise is 7:16 and, barring fog, the team plans to pass under the Golden Gate at approximately 8:00.

An interesting fact is the 48’ APISA boat and the Willard Marine’s 43’ Assault High Speed Interceptor boat may be considered cousins, as both were built under license from Team Scarab, Inc.

The team expects to average 70mph over the 435 mile course and should arrive at the Queen Mary between 2:30 and 3:00 where they will be greeted by the Finish Boat, a Sunseeker Sportfisher captained by David Baker. Onboard the Finish Boat will be APBA Chief Referee Mike Quindazzi, as well as Larry Smith, Team Scarab designer of the APISA Endurance boat’s hull, alongside the 1984 record holder and ocean endurance veteran, Mike Reagan, who will be dropping the checkered flag.

Join the team for a dockside reception at Rainbow Harbor slip #5003 planned with the help of Stacie Jovancevic at Pacific Sailing & Catalina Charters or plan to stop by the Yard House afterwards to hear the blow-by-blow recap of the adventure.

Hook, McNamara and Ware would like to thank the team of experts at Team Archer Marine who have prepared the boat with shout outs to the various people and companies supporting this Event website