Transpac 2001 Little wind but plenty of action in final start.

by Rich Roberts on 2 Jul 2001 There was barely a breath of air but a rambunctious start punctuated by a protest Sunday as the last 12 boats set sail in the 41st Transpacific Yacht Race.

Rated by potential speed, four are in Division 1, the other eight in
Division II. Roy E. Disney's record holder Pyewacket emerged among the
early leaders from a high-anxiety scramble at the starting line. The fleet
spread out on opposite tacks seeking the fastest route to the west end of
Santa Catalina Island, 19.7 miles away and the only mark of the
2,225-nautical mile course to Honolulu.

The flat waters and warm day off the Palos Verdes Peninsula brought out a
flock of small spectator boats to churn up the sea and create a nautical
carnival atmosphere. With the wind only 3 knots, most of the competitors
crowded into the starting area in the final minutes before the gun so as
not to be left behind.

Philippe Kahn's new 75-foot Pegasus got off clear and ahead at the
committee boat end of the 300-yard-long line, but at the other end several
boats fell into a traffic jam not unlike a city street that suddenly
diminishes from three lanes to one. Merlin's Reata, with new owner Al
Micallef conspicuous in a white Stetson, tried to poke its star-studded bow
between Bob Lane's Medicine Man and the inflatable orange buoy. No way.
Members of Medicine Man's crew held Merlin's Reata off with their hands as
the latter went dead in the water.

The rebuilt Merlin's Reata, until recently known simply as Merlin since
1977 when it set a Transpac record that stood for 20 years, executed a
penalty turn for touching the mark, crossed the line again five minutes
later and unfurled a red protest flag. The claim apparently will be that
Medicine Man failed to give room. That issue will be resolved after the
boats finish in the next week to 10 days.

Pyewacket, which set the record of 7 1/2 days in 1999, started behind other
boats in the middle of the line but tacked once to get well left of the
fleet, then tacked back in what appeared to be a strong position. Grand
Illusion, James McDowell's overall winner on correct time in '99, and Bob
McNulty's new 74-foot Chance also were looking good as the fleet
disappeared into the haze of the San Pedro Channel at a general speed of 5
to 6 knots.

Brian W. Mock's chartered ULDB 70 Taxi Dancer, a former overall winner from
Corona del Mar, Calif., was 4 1/2 minutes late to the starting line.

It was a matter of great speculation what smart navigators like Stan Honey
on Pyewacket and Mark Rudiger on Pegasus would do after they passed
Catalina. Normally, they would head south to avoid the Pacific High and
pick up the trade winds. But Sunday's latest forecast indicated that the
best winds - at least for now - were along the rhumb (direct) line to
Hawaii, an uncommon occurrence for the race.

Among the smaller Division III and IV boats that started Saturday, Grant
Vaughan's Andrews 53 Cantata from San Francisco and Seth Radow's new Sydney
40 OD-T, Marina del Rey, Calif., held early leads, respectively, averaging
7.9 and 7.0 knots in moderate breeze.

Hawaii's Dan Doyle, sailing the 30-foot Two Guys On the Edge doublehanded
with Bruce Burgess after a 47-minute delayed start, was in the chase
virtually alongside Bill Allan's fully crewed Canadian entry, LawnDart.

Doyle reported by radio: 'We are moving along doing 6.75 to 7 knots. The
weather is gorgeous. We rounded [the] west end of Catalina around 5 p.m.
[Saturday] and have been playing pass and be passed with LawnDart.
Currently they are 500 feet in front of us. The borrowed headfoil was very
brittle and one of the foils broke while installing it. We have one foil
and will be doing baldheaded changes for the race. We are delighted that
this race-ending disaster has turned into a minor setback. We are in good
spirits and looking forward to hitting the trade winds. Aloha to all.'

Out front, the eight Aloha boats also continued to search for robust
weather, but Wendy Siegal's Willow Wind, Sunset Beach, Calif., seemed about
to steal the show from larger rivals. The 36-year-old Cal 40 took a bold
dive south for stronger winds early on and now has worked its way from
sixth and last to first on corrected time in the Aloha-A Division.

Brookfield Homes' Coconut Plantation at Ko Olina is a supporter of Transpac
2001. Stratos Mobile Networks is the official communications supplier,
providing satellite telephones to facilitate monitoring of the fleet. For
more information please contact Stephanie Thomassen at (800) 250-8962 or
(206) 633-5888.

Standings on July 1 (by handicap ratings):

DIVISION III (started June 30)

1. Cantata (Andrews 53), Brent Vaughan, Oceanside, Calif., 2,074 miles to
go.
2. Firebird (Nelson/Marek 55), Greg Sands, Long Beach, Calif., 2,081.
3. Bengal II (Ohashi 52), Yoshihiko Murase, Nagoya, Japan, 2,082.
4. Rocket Science (Riptide 55), Nguyen Le, Amsterdam, 2,085
5. Baronesa V (Open 40), Shuichi Ogasawara, Miyagi, Japan, 2,097.

DIVISION IV (started June 30)

1. Bull (Sydney 40 OD-T), Seth Radow, Marina del Rey, Calif., 2,091.
2. Ouch (J/120), Ted Mayes, San Juan Capistrano, Calif., 2,098.
3. Sensation (1D35), Mike Thomas, Detroit, Mich., 2,105.
4. Mystere (Swan 42), Jorge Morales, Laguna Niguel, Calif., 2,125.
5. DH--Watercolors (Sabre 402), Michael Abraham, Newport Beach, Calif.,
2,124,
6. Uproarious (Olson 40), Robert Bussard, Santa Fe, N.M., 2,127.
7. DH--Two Guys On the Edge (Sonoma 30), Dan Doyle, Honolulu, H.I., 2,137.
8. LawnDart (Fast 40), Bill Allan, Nanaimo, B.C., 2,137.

ALOHA DIVISION A (started June 25)

1. Willow Wind (Cal 40), Wendy Siegal, Sunset Beach, Calif., 1,381.
2. Seda (Ericson 41), Josef Sedivec, Bonita, Calif., 1,423.
3. Shanakee II (Pedrick 75), Jim Warmington, Balboa, 1,229.,
4. Sea Dancer (Ericson 35), Al Wheatman, Marina del Rey, 1,458.
5. Bonaire (Moody 65), Gil Jones and Associates, Newport Beach, 1,342.
6. Gecko (Tartan 41), Jim Fabrick, Laguna Beach, 1,444.

ALOHA DIVISION B (started June 25)

1. Axapac (Wylie 39), Barry Ruff, Vancouver, B.C., 1,337.
2. Stardust (Wylie 46), Peter and Patricia Anderson, Laguna Beach, 1,291.

TRACKING CHART
Which boats are making the boldest moves south? Who's hanging too long in
the north? Who's running the rhumb line? Follow your favorite Transpac
boats across the Pacific with the tracking chart on the official Web site
at www.transpacificyc.org.