Transpac- Coastal Cup, Waikiki Offshore Series, and Kauai Channel Race

Fins - Overall winner of the Waikiki Offshore Series 2010 SW

Coastal Cup starting line near Golden Gate Bridge © SW

The Coastal Cup

For Northern California crews, this race from San Francisco Bay to Avalon Harbor, Catalina Island offers a double value.

First off, the Coastal Cup is a delivery to the Transpac. Second, there's likely to be some heavy reaching and running, so it's the perfect way to get a crew grooved-in and ready for a tradewind ride to Hawaii.

So far, we know of two Transpac boats in the Coastal Cup list. Those would be Bill Helvestine's Santa Cruz 50, Deception, and Richard Clarke's Open 60, O Canada.

Clarke is racing Stars in Europe until June 12, leaving him a narrow window for shifting time zones and prepping O Canada for the Coastal, which has two start dates.

One group goes off on Wednesday, June 15 at 1000. O Canada and Deception will be part of the Thursday, June 16 start at 1105.

Both starts, leaving from the permanent line in front of St. Francis Yacht Club, will be sailed against an incoming tide.

The one-hour adjustment, however, faces Wednesday and Thursday fleets with almost exactly the same amount of adverse current (with perhaps better odds of sea breeze for the later-starting group, but hey, you can't control every factor that goes into a handicap race).

The course record for 360 nautical miles is held by Doug Baker's 2011 Transpac entry, Magnitude 80. Her mark of 32 hours, 52 minutes, 41 seconds was set before Magnitude's canting keel was traded out for a fixed keel, to qualify to race for the Barn Door Trophy, Transpac's holy grail. For more info, check in with the good folks at host Encinal Yacht Club.

The Waikiki Offshore Series

The thoughtful hosts at Waikiki Yacht Club have scheduled their Waikiki Offshore Series for July 22-24, says regatta chair Steve Thomas, 'to allow Transpac boats to participate and still have plenty of time to make it to San Francisco for the Rolex Big Boat Series. We invite Transpac boats to stay and play off Waikiki.'

A medium-distance race kicks off the Series on July 22, then come two days with three buoy-races each. All seven races count for the King Kamehameha Trophy.

You say you’re one trip down the Molokai Channel just wasn't enough to satisfy you? There's much more on tap in the Waikiki Offshore Series. Past winners have included Transpac vets such as Philippe Kahn's TP52, Pegasus, and John Kilroy's TP52, Samba Pa Ti. It could be you in 2011, but first, you have to show up. Learn more from our friends at the Waikiki Yacht Club Offshore Series.

The Kauai Channel Race

The lush island of Kaui is an advantageous starting point for boats returning to the mainland from Transpac. There's one consideration, but the biggest attraction of the Kaui Channel Race is the event itself. Think of it as one more opportunity to go bombing off with the tradewinds at your back, ending with friendly locals greeting you with leis (just for starters) in one of the loveliest playgrounds on the planet. Dolphins streaking through crystalline waters and waterfalls cascading down flower strewn mountains.....What's not to like?

But you do have to get up early. Figure an 0700 start on July 29 off Oahu's Ko Olina Marina. You'll be in the lee of the island, so it could be shifty and puffy, but as you edge out of the lee, here come the trades. The Kauai Channel is wider than the Molokai Channel and has a reputation for 'cleaner' swells and easier driving.

New floors at Nawiliwili Yacht Club’s clubhouse © SW

Give it 78 miles or so, and you will find yourself crossing the Nawiliwili Yacht Club's finish line some time in the afternoon. You won't be sorry AND you get to walk on their brand-new, member-installed clubhouse floor.

Find them at Nawiliwili Yacht Club, Kaui Channel Race.