2000 – 2001
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Pacific Cup Updates
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July 17, 2000 |
San Francisco, CA |
12:36am pdt
Position: 30 35N 130 50W
Really really light air. Shifting constantly. It is beautiful out here but very frustrating. Thank goodness for our “Whomper”. Without it we’d hardly be moving. Bill & I are so glad we made it on the flat side, since in this light air we are constantly reaching up to get moving.
We hope like hell that Taxi Dancer and Pegasus are hurtin for wind too!
We had some nice wind off of a “mist” squall for a while. Have you ever seen a “Moon Rainbow?” The moon is so bright we could see one for about a 1/2 hr. really cool.
Later,
Bruce
Position: 30 09N 132 10W
11:24pdt
We are happy! At dawn we noticed a boat square behind us on the horizon. Turns out we took 14 miles out of Taxi Dancer and put another 16 miles between us for a net gain of 30 miles in 24 hrs. Pegasus and us sailed exactly the same miles, but our course was slightly further north so we gain a mile closer to Hawaii. Their lead is now 15 miles closer to Hawaii than us.
They have more leverage to the south, but we have great angle and speed right now. Us hounds are on the trail and won’t let up on the scent!
Attached is pic of some nut on the pole, and also Commander Rander.
Thanks for the good wishes, and Mark Wiltz radioed us off of Anomaly to say hi to his family in Hood River.
More later,
Bruce “Wocket Man”
Bruce here on Rage again, Monday 5pm,
More news on the fleet: Most boats stuck in light air. Several have abandoned in frustration. Some of those who quit are trying to motor to more wind, and at least one, Stray Cat Blues (a J35) is heading back to SF.
Wind is light for us on the sleds, but we can go 8kts in only 6kts of wind and it is actually very pleasant sailing. For once the big boats may do well on corrected time! The wind can be really off & on around the squalls which are starting to show up.
With the boats so spread out it is hard to figure out how everyone measures up on handicap. But Jay our navigator has a spreadsheet on most of the boats progress and miles to go. I’ve been checking it out and here is a list of who’s doing well, boat for boat:
Class H: Pegasus (Andrews 70+) leads us on Rage (Wylie 70) by about 15 miles
G: Triumph (Santa Cruz 52)
F: White Caps (Santa Cruz 50)
E: Osprey (Santa Cruz 40?)
D: Bodacious (Modified Farr IOR one tonner)
C: Elan (Express 37) and Soldini (J-105)
B: Alicante (?) and Red Sky (?)
A: Diminished Capacity (?)
Doublehanded 2: Punk Dolphin (Wylie 39)
Doublehanded 1: Wildflower (Wylie 28) and Mirage (Express 27)
I think 80 boats started this race! It will be interesting to see how all this sorts out.
Naptime,
Bruce
Special thanks to our Pacific Cup Sponsors!:
Doyle Sails Alameda: Official Supplier of sails to Made in America
Titan winch handles: Makers of the superlight “Viper” carbon winch handles
Forespar Mfg: Makers of our badass 32ft “Turbo” spinnaker pole
Samson Cordage: Suppliers of “Amsteel Blue” running rigging, the strongest and most durable line
MAS Epoxies: Suppliers of Epoxy resin to Made in America
Nobeltec: Providing World-Wide charting software to Made in America
Complete Cruising Solutions:
Waypoint: Knowledgable dealers of Navigation and Weather software, charts, and books
HF Radio on Board: Experts in Marine Communication