New spectator-friendly start line for Transpac

by Al Garnier on 9 Feb 2007 Further proof that sailing can be a spectacular spectator sport will be offered when the 44th biennial Transpacific Yacht Race to Honolulu starts off the Point Fermin Park and historic lighthouse in San Pedro this summer.

At the suggestion of Steve Dair, a San Pedro resident, veteran sailor and Transpac competitor, the event's board of directors voted unanimously to move the starting line from the point on the Palos Verdes Peninsula where the race has started for more than a quarter century back to where races started in the 60s and 70s. The new location will be 2 1/2 miles east closer to Los Angeles Harbor.

The site is where Gaffey Street ends atop the bluffs at the edge of the Pacific Ocean at the southernmost point of Los Angeles County. The park will be more accommodating to spectators with a much closer view, grassy areas for picnicking and shade from the July sun.

Starts for various classes are scheduled Monday, July 9; Thursday, July 12, and Sunday, July 15---the biggest and fastest boats last.

The site of the park was named by British explorer George Vancouver in 1793 for Father Fermin Francisco de Lasuen, and the lighthouse was built in 1874 before San Pedro was a town. The first Transpac was in 1906.

Transpac Commodore Al Garnier, a San Pedro resident, said, 'It's a good feeling to bring together all of this seafaring history for today's sailors and the public to appreciate. The sailors will be able to hear the people cheering for their favorites.'

Dair said, 'That's really exciting. Of all the races I've done Transpac has always been the best to finish, and now the start will be special, too.'

The change in location is expected to have little effect on strategy. The move lengthens the 2,225-nautical mile course by only nine-tenths of a mile and alters the compass heading toward the west end of Santa Catalina Island---the only mandatory mark of the course---from 210 to 218 degrees, which in normal conditions would tighten the upwind beat slightly.

Early entry deadline March 9; Psyche leads the way

The boat that led Transpac's Cal 40 revolution in 1965 is at the head of the line for this year's race, too. Psyche, owned by Steve Calhoun of Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., was the first of a current list of 20 official (i.e., paid) entries.

The early entry discount deadline is March 9. Also, a $50 discount will apply to the entry fee of an owner/charterer who is a current member of US Sailing.

Also entered are the unretired Roy E. Disney, chartering the maxZ86 Pyewacket that he donated to the Orange Coast College School of Sailing & Seamanship when he 'retired' after the 2005 race, and the Transpac 52 Morning Light that will be sailed by the youthful crew Disney's team is training to sail this race as a film project.

Hasso Plattner's maxZ86 Morning Glory, which broke Disney's record with an elapsed time of 6 days 16 hours 4 minutes 11 seconds in 2005, also is expected to enter, setting up another battle for the Barn Door.

Psyche, then owned by Don Salisbury, stunned the ocean racing world 42 years ago not only by winning Class C but by correcting out on handicap time against such formidable giants as Jim Kilroy's Kialoa II, Bob Johnson's Ticonderoga and Cornelius Bruynzeel's Stormvogel for first place overall.

With Calhoun as skipper 40 years later in 2005, Psyche didn't do badly, either, finishing second boat for boat among 14 Cal 40s and third overall behind Ralphie and Sally Honey's Illusion.

This year's early birds also include five Santa Cruz 50s, two of whose owners---Gib Black of Honolulu and Steve Hastings of Corpus Christi, Tex.---noted on their entry forms under where they were built as 'chicken coop,' an accurate reference to designer Bill Lee's original factory in Santa Cruz, Calif.
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Official entries to date:

Adrenalin (Santa Cruz 50), David Clark, Newport Beach, Calif.
Bolt (Nelson/Marek 55), Craig Reynolds, Newport Beach, Calif.
Chasch Mer (Santa Cruz 50), Gib Black, Honolulu
Cirrus (Standfast 40), William D. Myers, Honolulu
Enchilado (Jeanneau 54), Cesar de Saracho, Tucson, Ariz.
Fortaleza (Santa Cruz 50), Jim Morgan, Long Beach, Calif.
Ho'okolohe (Farr 58), Alyson and Cecil Rossi, Novato, Calif.
Hula Girl (Santa Cruz 50), Beau Gayner, Newport Beach, Calif.
Inspired Environments (Beneteau First 40.7), Timothy Ballard, Sausalito, Calif.
Medicine Man (Andrews 63), Bob Lane, Long Beach, Calif.
Morning Light (Transpac 52), Pacific High Productions, Los Angeles
Pacific High (Columbia 30M), Steve Washburn, Irvine, Calif.
Passion (Santa Cruz 50), Steve Hastings, Corpus Christi, Tex.
Peregrine (Hobie 33), Simon Garland, San Diego
Psyche (Cal 40), Steve Calhoun, Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.
Pyewacket (maxZ86), Roy E. Disney, Los Angeles
Recidivist (Schumacher 39), Ken Olcott, Los Altos, Calif.
Seaker II (Farr 33), Wes Stone, Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.
Stark Raving Mad III (Reichel/Pugh 60), Jim Madden, Newport Beach, Calif.
Stealth Chicken (Perry 56), Timothy Beatty, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.


Latest reports: Rainbow Harbor and Ala Wai.

The City of Long Beach has bigger and better plans for hosting boats and pre-race activities in downtown Rainbow Harbor after its introductory success as Transpac's mainland home port before the 2005 race during the annual Sea Festival celebration.

The Park, Recreation and Marine Department has guaranteed free mooring space for as many race boats as necessary, and plans call for a Race Headquarters tent in Shoreline Village, several pre-race events and send-off festivities for all three starts.

At the other end of the race, hopes of restoring the deteriorated and condemned traditional Transpac Row in Ala Wai Yacht Harbor have faded for this year. But Hawaii state officials promise that all Transpac boats will be accommodated elsewhere in the marina, where draft varies from 10 to 14 feet, according to the Ala Wai office. Boats exceeding that depth will be moored nearby in Honolulu Harbor.