Rhumbline pays for Transpac leader.

by Rich Roberts on 5 Jul 2001 JAPANESE BOAT SHOWING THE (NEW) WAY

For Bengal II, the 41st Transpacific Yacht Race is just a way of
island-hopping home. The Japanese entry sailed all the way across the
Pacific to start the race and now is leading the way back along a risky
route that has brought it nearer Hawaii than any of the other 24 boats in
the four racing divisions.

Yoshihiko Murase's 52-foot sloop from Nagoya sails today where for the last
half-century Transpac racers have feared to tread -- all alone above the
rhumb (direct) line between Los Angeles and Honolulu. Normally, that would
mean living dangerously close to the ubiquitous Pacific High, the
high-pressure zone that lurks in the northeastern Pacific sucking the wind
out of the air.

The strategy has paid off so far, especially in the 24 hours before
Wednesday morning's roll call when Bengal II logged 251 nautical miles and
climbed to second place overall in corrected handicap time only four hours
behind Brent Vaughan's Cantata, an Andrews 53 from Oceanside, Calif.

Bengal II was 1,331 miles from Honolulu - not quite halfway - while the
larger Divisions 1 and 2 boats that started a day later were in winds of
only 10 to 12 knots but bearing down from behind, led by Philippe Kahn's
75-foot Pegasus at 1,561 miles after a 304-mile day. Bob McNulty's 74-foot
chance was six miles farther back and Roy E. Disney's 73-foot Pyewacket
another 11 miles.

Those three high-powered boats are all paralleling the rhumb from below,
but their savvy navigators - respectively, Mark Rudiger, Dale Nordin and
Stan Honey - must be wondering if Bengal II is on to something good.

Out in front with the eight Aloha Division boats that started five and six
days ahead of the others, Jim Warmington's 75-foot racer-cruiser Shanakee
II had 595 miles to go. Its ETA was upgraded to late Friday night or early
Saturday morning.

A few boats have found strong but isolated breeze. One of the smallest
boats, Mike Thomas' 1D35 Sensation from Detroit, Mich., currently second in
Division 3, reported: 'We repaired damaged power lead for [single sideband
radio] tuner and were able to communicate directly with [communications
officer] Grant [Baldwin] on Alaska Eagle. Big relief on board. Wild ride
burning south with small asymmetric spinnaker. Hit 18.3 knots on one ride.'

Michael Abraham, sailing doublehanded with Phil Rowe on Watercolors from
Newport Beach, Calif., told of their adventures: 'So far, Disasters 0,
Watercolors 4. It isn't because Disaster isn't trying. Shims in mast fell
out, spinnaker wrap and watermaker 86'd. All solved. Still [flying] jib and
main. Both need rest.'

And later: 'Making better progress. Wind is steady at 8-26 [knots]. [Boat]
speed 8-9 knots. Still reaching with jib and reefed main. Food is no joy
yet -- just sticking to business. Lots of porpoise yesterday. Sky is clear,
but sky is building.'

Meanwhile, although Transpac has introduced several breakthrough designs
over the years, this doesn't appear to be a race where one of those will
prevail. Only David Janes' J-Bird III from Newport Beach, Calif., one of
two new Transpac 52s, is in contention for honors.

J-Bird III, designed by Alan Andrews of Long Beach, currently leads James
McDowell's standard ULDB 70 Grand Illusion, boat for boat, by 10 miles in
Division 2. After a 293-mile day, almost as far as the three super sleds,
J-Bird III leads the other Transpac 52, Jim Demetriades' Yassou from
Beverly Hills, by 102 miles in their private contest for the race's newest
trophy. Yassou is a Nelson/Marek design.

The legendary Merlin, which held the Transpac record for 20 years, is now
Merlin's Reata, highly modified at a cost of almost $1 million by new owner
Al Micallef of Fort Worth, Tex. Micallef said before the start, 'If it's
light air to start, I think we'll have a chance to keep up with [Pegasus,
Chance and Pyewacket].'

The start was dreadfully light, and Merlin's Reata now trails Pegasus by
100 miles, averaging 8.4 knots to 9.9 for the leader.

Bob Lane, a Long Beach, Calif. pharmacist, also had hopes for his venerable
Medicine Man, now stretched from 56 to 61 feet. 'There's really no clue to
what we can do,' Lane said earlier. 'In 20 knots of breeze the boat's
supposed to be really fast.'

But there hasn't been much 20-knot breeze, so the blue boat - first to
finish with a three-day head start in 1997 - is among the stragglers in
Division 2, 40 miles ahead of what may be the race's most extreme boat,
Étranger, Howard Gordon's Open 50 from San Luis Obispo, Calif., which is
sailing doublehanded.