New names grace Transpac Walk of Fame

by Rich Roberts on 8 Jul 2005 Any sailor seeking inspiration to race across the Pacific need only stroll past the historic names along the esplanade of Rainbow Harbour, which has been transformed into Transpac Village as staging area for the Centennial Transpacific Yacht Race this month.

‘I just had the itch to go to Hawaii from here,’ Roy Disney said before he, his son Roy Patrick and other winners dating through 42 races to 1906 were inducted into the new Transpac Walk of Fame Thursday.

Gladstone's Restaurant, owned by former America's Cup sailor John Sangmeister, hosted the ceremony attended by more than 200 on the veranda overlooking the harbour and the Walk of Fame.

Long Beach Mayor, Beverly O'Neill, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, delivered opening remarks. Chris Pook, who founded the Long Beach Grand Prix street race in the 70s and is now executive director of the Sea Festival Association of Long Beach, was emcee. Top city officials mingled with sailors and other guests.

The city offered Transpac the downtown harbor as its first permanent mainland base, with activities revolving around the annual Sea Festival. There is a 12x18-foot ‘scoreboard’ outside Gladstone's to chart the progress of the 75 racers who will start at 1 p.m. next Monday, Friday and Sunday off the Palos Verdes Peninsula at 33-42.8 north latitude and 118-20.3 west longitude.

Sangmeister has been so caught up in the enthusiasm that he agreed to sail as a trimmer on Windquest, the DeVos brothers' maxZ86 moored at the end of the Pine Avenue Pier in the center of the harbor.

Disney, 75, has said that this race - his 15th - on his maxZ86 Pyewacket will be his last, and he hopes to go out holding the record - either the one of 7 days 11 hours 47 minutes 27 seconds he set in 1999 or one he might set in a battle with Windquest, Hasso Plattner's Morning Glory, Randall Pittman's Genuine Risk and Doug Baker's Magnitude 80.

Disney's record broke the one set in the previous race by his son, which put Merlin's 20-year-old record to rest as the father sat it out with a broken leg.

'He [Roy P. Disney], set the record that I had to build a whole new boat to break,’ the elder Disney said.

Other Walk of Fame figures present included Bill Lee, now Transpac's entry chairman, and John DeLaura, two-time Barn Door winner who achieved the race's last clean sweep - fastest time, first in class and first overall on handicap time - in 1993. Offspring representing former winners included Doug Ayres, Dave Ullman, and Leslie DeMeuse.

Other speakers included Dick Simon, former Indy 500 driver and car owner who will be sailing his first race, and Wendy Siegal, the Cal 40 class organiser who said, ‘With all of these great sailors around me, I feel like the small fish in a big pond.’

Transpac sponsors are: Ayres Hotels, West Marine, Warmington Homes and Community Bank.

Transpac partners are: the Sea Festival, Shoreline Yacht Club, Long Beach Yacht Club, Gladstone's Restaurant and Raider RIBS boats.

A complete list of the century's winners and other historical information may be seen at www.transpacificyc.org (click ‘Race History’ and then ‘Transpac lists’).