Transpac first start on Monday

by Rich Roberts on 9 Jul 2007
With more than 100 years of its history firmly in place, the Transpacific Yacht Race will send the first 23 of 74 boats off the starting line Monday in the event's 44th run to Hawaii.

Following a festive, cannon-blasting departure from Long Beach's Rainbow Harbor---now the race's mainland home port---from 10 to 11 a.m., nine Division 6 racers will join 14 competitors in the Aloha A and B divisions for the 1 o'clock gun off Point Fermin Park in San Pedro.

Before the start, several boats will stage a flowery tribute to Wendy Siegal, a successful competitor and promoter of recent Transpacs who was found drowned Thursday near her Cal 40 boat, Willow Wind, in Long Beach.

Both venues are open to the public. At Rainbow Harbor, surrounded by the Aquarium of the Pacific and Shoreline Village's cafes and shops, visitors will see the 11 Transpac historical monuments---one for each decade---that have been planted in concrete in front of Gladstone's Restaurant and were dedicated in ceremonies Saturday night. At Point Fermin Park in San Pedro spectators will have a direct elevated view of the starting line from the tree-shaded area.

Other starts are scheduled Thursday for 27 larger, faster-rated boats and Sunday for the 22 largest and fastest boats, including Roy E. Disney's powered-up Pyewacket and his Morning Light team of young sailors on a smaller Transpac 52. Individual multihull boats will join the starts on Thursday and Sunday.

The start line will be set approximately square to the west end of Santa Catalina Island 22 miles off the coast, the only required passing mark of the 2,225-nautical mile race.

The weather forecast across the channel is for variable headwinds of 10 knots or less with relatively smooth two-foot seas---not as lively as competitors would like but more than they've seen for some agonizing starts in other years. Down the course, south of the dreaded 'Pacific High' zone of feeble breeze, there have been pockets of light air where the trade winds normally sweep the boats all the way to the islands. But that could change before the first starters get there.

Although Siegal's efforts generated turnouts of 10 Cal 40s in 2003 and 14 in 2005, there are only three this year when she did not plan to race. One of them is Psyche, which stunned race followers when Don Salisbury sailed it to first place overall on handicap time when the Cal 40s made their Transpac debut in 1965. Now its owner is Steve Calhoun of Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., who placed third in 2005 behind two boats that are not competing this time.

Calhoun said Siegal's death 'puts a different emphasis on the race. We're doing it in her memory [because] she did so much to revitalize the class. We owe a lot to her. When Transpac needed a shot in the arm, she was there. She was selfless in the work she did which, quite frankly, added to the value of the boat.

'It's also worth noting that a lot of people don't think they can do this race because they don't have a certain amount of money. Wendy was able to compete successfully on a limited budget, which was an inspiration for everybody regardless of what kind of boat they sail.'

One of those so directly inspired by Siegal was Don Grind of Placerville, Calif., who is sailing another Cal 40, Far Far.

'She is why I started looking for a Cal 40,' Grind said. 'Wendy found our boat, guided us through the first two years to prepare it for [the 2005 race], and this year she found us some used sails that we bought that are in great condition. Wendy was the den mother of the Cal 40 class.'

Archived press releases: http://www.underthesunphotos.com/Press%20Releases/PR-index.htm

More information: www.transpacificyc.org