Ragtime beats old Tahiti record and its rivals

by Rich Roberts on 8 Jul 2008 Ragtime the wooden wonder boat added to its legend Monday when, undeterred by a disabled engine, a torn main sail and broken gooseneck, it finished the Transpacific Yacht Club’s Tahiti Race not only faster than the old record already beaten by two other boats but in strong position to claim overall victory on corrected handicap time.

Without proper power---not for propulsion but to run its instruments and electrical systems---Ragtime finished the 3,571 nautical miles from Los Angeles off the Pointe Venus lighthouse at 5:24 a.m. PDT Monday (2:24 a.m. local time).

Ragtime had to be towed to its berth, but its elapsed time of 14 days 16 hours 24 minutes 23 seconds was almost five hours better than the former race record of 14:21:15:26 set by Kathmandu in the previous race in 1994---beaten this past week first by Doug Baker’s Magnitude 80 in 11:10:13:18 and just Sunday by Bob Lane’s Medicine Man in 13:08:35:23.

But Ragtime, recently modified with a new keel, rudder and mast, has the larger, faster Mag 80 and Medicine Man beaten on handicap time by about 12 and 16 hours, respectively, and the only other boat still racing---Jim Morgan’s Santa Cruz 50, Fortaleza---would have to make up about six hours in the last 437 miles it had to go as of Monday’s 6 a.m. position reports.

'Interesting times,' Ragtime reported on its 100-mile check-in to the race committee. 'Mainsail just split across [and] during repair effort the boom gooseneck gave way. Made main repairs, made gooseneck repairs (Egyptian lashing technique), [now] underway full speed ... this race needs to end soon!'

But this race is only the first leg of a nostalgic return to Ragtime’s origins Down Under, where in the mid-60s the late John Spencer created the sleek, black, hard-chined, low-freeboard (and wet) one of a kind boat that by many accounts became the single most influential offshore racer of the last half-century.

After a layover in Papeete, owner/skipper Chris Welsh of Newport Beach and his crew will take the boat on to New Zealand, where it was known as Infidel and was once so dominant as to prompt a rule change to ban it from competing in neighboring Australia’s Sydney-Hobart Race.

Thus snubbed, in the early 70s it was sold to a Long Beach syndicate of sailors, who promptly turned West Coast racing on its ear by beating the classic Windward Passage by 4 1/2 minutes to finish first in the 1973 Transpac to Hawaii.

This time Ragtime was sailed by Welsh, Daniel Capunetto, Genny Tulloch, Erik Berzins, Matt Padkerian, Hubie Laugharn, and Mark Ivey.

Earlier, they sent a message: 'So we’re past [the atoll] Mataiva, 160 miles to go to Papeete. Making 11-12.5 knots close-reaching in 20-25 knots of breeze with the main reefed and #3 jib (the #3 JT blew out a few hours ago). About to make the 100-mile call-in.

'Crew looks up and the main has split from front to back, 10 feet down from the top. Every … take the main down and make repairs below deck. When we went to rehoist, the boom gooseneck had broken due to fatigue. Took an endless amount of spectra and did an Egyptian lashing job to string the thing together. Got the main back up and on our way again, feeling a little fragile. 093 miles to go now, 8 hours. Maybe lost a half-knot while making repairs, the boat slips along so well doing 9.5 – 10 knots on the #3 alone. We’re now 87 miles out and just praying for a few less squalls tonight, and a quick crossing. And a beer. Will attempt SSB [radio], however power low now.'

Blogs from the boats

Fortaleza (Darren Garnier): Congrats Ragtime on great race! See you at the bar. After long day of big header and 25 knots, wind and seas are moderating. I'm going to have to make today's update another short one, and the pictures will have to wait another day. We had a great, if tiring, night, on a beam reach with blaster and full main, falling down course a little. I saw the moon last night for the first time in a week ... beautiful crescent with three bright stars in a row pointing towards it. Very cool, seen between towering stratocumulus clouds.

'This morning we had some weird squalls with lifts and light winds---almost tempted to try the kite again---but soon enough that ended and the afternoon was filled with squalls with 30 knots of wind and rain hard enough to shower in (ask Dad, he did; I just rinsed my laundry). By the afternoon the wind had begun to pick up even between squalls, and just as Day 15 began we called Jim [Brown] off his off-watch to reef the main ... too late. We sat there in 28 knots and a 30-degree header, running off course, while we waited for the wind to moderate so we could get the main down without ripping it out of the track. Finally reefed, we're back on course and zooming along ... all at a 45-degree angle (the only reason I can write this is we are currently on a 'comfort course' so that important 'business' can be taken care of. You figure it out).

'Pretty exciting stuff really ... but we're all beginning to talk about how soon it will be over. Probably Tuesday night, but I'm still hoping for that 40-degree lift so we can make in before sundown.'

Tahiti Race 2008 standings - (boat for boat at 6 a.m. PDT Monday)

1. Magnitude 80 (Andrews 80), Doug Baker, Long Beach, finished, elapsed time 11 days 10 hours 13 minutes 18 seconds (betters record of 14:21:15:26 by Kathmandu, Santa Cruz 70, Fred Kirschner, 1994); corrected time same.

2. Medicine Man (Andrews 63), Bob Lane, Long Beach, ET 13:08:35:23; CT 11:13:57:05.

3. Ragtime (Spencer 65), Chris Welsh, Newport Beach, ET 14:16:24:23; CT 10:20:11:18.

4. Fortaleza (Santa Cruz 50), Jim Morgan, Long Beach, 236 miles in last 24 hours; 437 miles to go.