Announcement

**Photoboy** · 07-06-2022, 02:50 PM

The third day of the 2022 Pacific Cup arrives with no shortage of action. A second wave of boats is now on the race course and sailing to Hawaii. The Monday fleet, heavily split between North and South, now sees the more southerly boats beginning to break out into pressure. One of the Monday starters - the Freedom 40/40 cruising boat Circe - returned to port, while one of the race’s most prestigious entries - the Volvo 70 Wizard - withdrew from their Friday start with delivery-related keel issues.

Slackwater Photos https://www.flickr.com/photos/266691...77720300346504

https://yb.tl/paccup2022

A standout boat among the Monday starters thus far appears to be Bill and Melinda Erkelens on the Moore 24 Foamy. Committing hard to the south early, the legendary husband/wife duo has shown consistently good boat speed during these first 44 hours at sea. Interestingly, Foamy carries both a Genoa and a Code 0, which could both prove to be very valuable sails during these first few days. As of this writing, Foamy was the quickest boat among the Monday starters and was making 6.5 knots on the tracker.

Just a tick off Foamy’s pace, many of the Monday starters are beginning to reach the breeze and sail at more than 5 knots of boat speed including a trio of Express 27’s, the Moore 24 Puffin and the Alerion Express 38 Surprise!. Off Foamy’s hip is the Hans Christian Cruising boat Solis, though it’s important to note that this boat is in the Cruising Division and used ten hours of allowed motoring to punch through the light stuff. That ten hours will be added to their elapsed time, but we think it will have been worth it.

Up North among the Monday starters, Rodney Pimentel’s Cal 40 Azure and Amanda and Brian Turner’s Beneteau 10R CruzSea Baby had been sailing nearTony Bourque’s Freedom 40/40 Circe. Unfortunately for Bourque and crew, they experienced a handful of technical issues including a leaking prop shaft, which prompted them to return to the Bay and withdraw from the race. All crew are safe and accounted for.

For Azure and CruzSea Baby however, the race is still very much on. While the two boats looked good in the early going and began to power up and stretch their legs, they have now firmly hit the brakes and tacked to the south, making very low boat speeds as of this writing. Going from hero to zero in the blink of an eye, these northerly boats’ saving grace could be that when the northwesterly finally fills in, they reach it first and make gains. As of this writing however, it appears that the dramatic North/South split that occurred is beginning to fall into the hands of the Southerly boats.

For the Tuesday starters, 19 boats made their way out the Gate in very light conditions with significant fog and moisture that just lingered in the atmosphere due to the distinct lack of a clearing breeze. Once into the Pacific, the second wave of boats didn’t seem to fare much better with boat speeds consistently registering sub-3 knots for much of the fleet during their first 12 hours. How things have changed on a Wednesday morning however! Beginning to hook into the same pressure that is propelling the southerly boats from the Monday start, the Tuesday starters are beginning to zoom along… relatively speaking.

Justin and Christina Wolfe’s J/111 Raku from Orcas Island, Washington, leads the charge to the south with Shawn Ivie’s Express 37 Limitless and Chad Stenwick’s J35 the Boss not far behind. Andy Hamilton’s Donovan 30 Wolfpack and Tracy Rogers’ J120 Hokulani are a bit further north in the lead pack, while the two Express 37’s Perplexity and Spindrift V are furthest north in this pack. All the boats on this NNW to SSE line that form the lead pack are making roughly 6 knots of boat speed as of this writing.

While the fleet struggles through light air that is just beginning to build, they are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the long-anticipated breeze that will actually take them to the trades and on to Hawaii. That breeze should arrive some time today, likely during daylight hours. Once that breeze does arrive however, there appears to be a pretty big incentive to head south before turning west. If the GRIBs prove to be accurate, boats will be setting spinnakers today to skirt the elongated High and stay in pressure, which makes the South look even more heavily favored.

Meanwhile, in the Bay, two more fleets of boats are preparing for their starts tomorrow and the final fleet is scheduled to start on Friday. Both fleets are forecast to start in much quicker conditions than the Monday and Tuesday starters, per the original forecast that was relayed at last weekend’s Skipper’s Meeting, which has proved to be more or less accurate up to this point.

Down South, many viewers will notice a cyclone spinning up and beginning to track towards Hawaii. This system is forecast to dissipate into a mere disturbance, though could throw up a ‘cross’ swell from the South which challenges the fleet and causes boats to round up. Another cyclone is predicted to form in this current system’s wake, and we will closely monitor that.

Ronnie Simpson

**Ian Rogers** · 07-11-2022, 09:59 AM

updates?

**Photoboy** · 07-11-2022, 11:19 AM

Overall Positions https://yb.tl/paccup2022

Although it may be Sunday, it’s no day of rest for the intrepid crews in the 21st edition of the Pacific Cup. While conditions have ‘normalized’ a bit since the early days, the five dozen boats racing to Hawaii still have their hands full in more ways than one.

Very much now in a downwind race to Hawaii, the fleet should be sailing with spinnakers up and due to the rather unique conditions of this year’s race, multiple boats have already begun to gybe over to a port pole earlier than is typical in a Hawaii race. Whether these end up being short-lived hitches to the south or long-term moves remains to be seen. While the breeze may have filled and the sailing has become more pleasant, the race will become no easier from a tactical and navigational standpoint as navigators begin contemplating when to gybe over and gybe back, to eke out small gains on competitors.

Roy Pat Disney’s turbo Volvo 70 Pyewacket 70 is working their way through the fleet at a rapid clip; aided by not just superior boat speed but a diminished ‘head start’ among the early starters that should see the big Volvo 70 take the lead of this race at an earlier stage than it normally would have. As of this writing the team is in a localized light spot that has slowed their progress from 16-17 knots to 10-11 knots, though they should be back up to speed soon. Unlike in many offshore races, Pyewacket is not only primed to be the fastest boat in the fleet and finish first, but they also have a very good chance to correct out over their divisional rivals. If Pyewacket 70 does manage to correct out and win the Alaska Airlines F Division, she likely could also claim the overall race win due to the Friday starters enjoying the quickest starting conditions in the race.

Pyewacket should get some sort of “Miss Congeniality” award for last night’s run, as they appear to have chatted with at least half a dozen competitors as they left them in the foamy dust. See the comments on our chat log here: https://pcup.org/publicfeed.php

As of this writing, Alan Lubner’s R/P 55 Zvi was the fastest boat on the race course at 12.9 knots, due to Pyewacket slowing in lighter winds. Stu Dahlgren’s Santa Cruz 70 Westerly trails Zvi by about 33 miles on the water, though once handicaps are applied, Westerly should be slotted into the runner-up position in the Alaska Airlines F Division, and quite possibly in the overall rankings as well. For those keeping score at home, Westerly is the slowest rated boat in the F division, meaning that her most immediate rivals, such as Zvi, would have to finish well ahead to beat her on handicap.

Alaska Airlines

The Thursday starters have a classic race to Hawaii with the three J/125’s providing one of the most intriguing battles on the course. With different sail inventories and configurations, Rufus Sjoberg’s J/125 Rufless rates a bit slower than the other two J/125’s in this race, and as of this writing, she holds a provisional lead in the BMW of San Rafael B division. Sailing lower and slower than her two rival sisterships - and other competitors such as Blue - Rufless could find themselves in a good position to be able to convert that southerly leverage into a boat-for-boat lead in a few days’ time. Blue has gybed over to port as of this writing and is one of a handful of boats to do so.

BMW

In the Goslings Rum G division, the fleet of mostly 40-something foot long displacement boats is creating some of the closest racing on the water with nothing in it as the top several boats are sailing in a pack that has them virtually tied on the water and in our own rankings. David Ryan’s Beneteau First 45 Athena looks to have derived a small lead over her divisional rivals while sailing in a condensed pack that includes the Aerodyne 43 Freja, the Andrews 43 Kahoots and the J/111 Lodos. Divisional rivals such as Bob Hinden’s custom Schumacher 46 Surprise and Jason Vannice and Kyle Reese Sydney 38 Mako are also very close to Athena in the rankings, though they have positioned themselves much further south than the northerly pack of boats that includes Athena. With the more southerly boats being slowed temporarily by lighter winds, we could expect Surprise and Mako to make a solid run back at Athena and the rest of the G fleet in a few days.

Goslings Rum

Weems and Plath

The Monday and Tuesday starters remain spread out with as of this writing. These fleets should eventually begin to merge as northerly boats have to begin gybing while the southerly boats can stay on a starboard pole for longer and eventually come back up closer to the rhumb line before lining up their port pole approach to the islands. Every division is still very much up for grabs with no clear leaders, though there are some standout boats that should begin to collect on some winnings roughly a week after making their initial wagers.

One standout again appears to be the Orcas Island, WA based J/111 Raku sailed by Justin and Christina Wolfe, who have owned the south harder than any boat in the fleet, and as of this writing have now gybed over to port and appear to be headed south to try to pick up stronger winds that are a result of the now dissipated tropical storm/ hurricane that is now working it’s way west. Will this strategy work? This writer does not know but is firmly planted in front of the tracker to see how this all plays out.

While the southerly boats are not looking as stellar as they were a few days ago, due to a couple of factors including lighter local winds and northerly rivals beginning to accelerate along a shorter and more direct route to Hawaii, we still expect those boats that dove south early to find themselves in a strong position later in the race, including Bill and Melinda Erkelens on the Moore 24 Foamy, who still lead their divisional rivals in the south, boat for boat, even though they are on a smaller, slower rated boat.

Other Monday/ Tuesday starters that didn’t look so hot a couple of days ago but are beginning to come on strong include Marc Andrea Klimaschewski and David Rogers on the Dogpatch 26 Moonshine and also Buzz Blackett and Jim Antrim on the custom carbon Antrim 27 ‘io. Both boats looked less than stellar when going upwind in light air, but these 26 and 27’ rocket ships are clearly beginning to enter their element in steady breeze with spinnakers up.

Another battle that is really shaping up to be a great race all the way to Hawaii is in the North Sails division where the three Express 37’s and the J/35 the Boss are all now locked into a solid race that sees Andy Schwenk’s Richmond based Express 37 Spindrift V and Chad Stenwick’s J/35 the Boss further north with John Wilkerson’s Express 37 Perplexity in the middle and Shawn Ivie’s E37 Limitless further south. Perplexity has gybed and Limitless appears to be getting back up to speed after finding the same localized light airs that many southerly boats found.

Aloha until tomorrow,

Ronnie Simpson

Pacific Cup Yacht Club

North Sails

"Going offshore brings new stresses to boat and crew alike. Several of our boats reported minor to intermediate mechanical problems: broken steering cable, jammed halyard, failed checkstay, leaking prop shaft.

Other boats discovered medical conditions that came out underway, severe seasickness being the most common.

Aboard Perplexity, and I hasten to add it has turned out ok, a crew member (Kirt) developed a bloody nose. Not a big deal except when it goes on for several days. Of course, this became a cause for concern. With basic medical supplies and no doctor on board, Perplexity reached out to our medical team for advice. At first, it was “pinch your nose, or pack it; it’ll be fine.”

It wasn’t.

As the situation developed, we put out a precautionary call to the fleet for nearby vessels with better ability to deal with this to be on standby to assist. To our immense satisfaction, several boats responded almost immediately with doctors, medical gear, and a willingness to meet Perplexity wherever needed.

Meanwhile, Perplexity continued communication with the Coast Guard and our Medical Team. Ultimately, the US Navy’s Pacific Tracker was dispatched from about 200 miles away to meet up with the stricken crewmember for treatment or evacuation.

Early Sunday night, Perplexity and Pacific Tracker met a few hundred miles offshore. The 660 foot navy vessel sent an inflatable over for what the skipper described as a smooth transfer. (From the image of the ship, we’re surprised they didn’t have a teleporter!).

As of this writing, Navy and Coast Guard are consulting on how best to get the patient to shore. His condition is good.

Our thanks to the US Navy, Coast Guard, George Washington University, and the several participants willing to interrupt their race to render assistance. With huge thanks from Perplexity as well, who is returning to racing."

Mahina DH2

Kolea DH1

Ocean Navigator

**Photoboy** · 07-11-2022, 04:47 PM

Janette Laffiitte provides the color from the course where family members are guiding the J-125 Hamachi
across the Pacific in The BMW division of speedsters heading to Kaneohe Bay

July 11th

Good Monday All! I wish the news was better but yesterday's elation turns into today's deflation. As the song goes, Monday Monday, can't trust that day.

Mind you they are still sailing hard but from the sounds of it, they let speed rule over course, sailing too high heading for Japan instead of Hawaii. The day started off well and good with their own private Idaho squall, ripping along and putting 6-10 nautical miles between them and their fleet in 2.5 hours.

The team was pushing Hamachi hot and fast on the edge to gain as much speed as possible. You feel the rush and get greedy and then the bottom falls out. In this case, they lost their wind angle while the rest of the fleet was sailing low and slow towards destination. Maybe Fred wanted to fish King salmon in Alaska?

Hamachi was forced to jibe at 10:30pm last night "in unfavorable conditions" meaning, it was not a shift in the wind. When a gybe is called, it's all hands on deck and this occurred in the middle of a watch so very little sleep was had. The next watch (midnight to 4am dog watch) had to grind it out in sloppy lighter wind conditions. All hands on deck at 1:30am for a sail change to switch from the A2.5 down to the A2 spinnaker. Touche' both watches got very little sleep and the results are displayed on the tracker.

Hamachi is now farther south but they gave up their advantage on the fleet. Gremlins are still wrecking havoc. Jason spent his day chasing/troubleshooting IT issues instead of downloading weather and navigating-his day and night job for this race. He thinks he has it sorted out for now. Fingers crossed.

As for the weather, Mother Nature has not waved her wand to bring the conditions back to normal for the race. In July, the Pacific High is usually well established. It's like a big blob of no wind that moves north south and dictates the weather patterns in the Pacific and the trade winds around Hawaii (a very simplistic description).

This year, a string of low pressures keep rolling through the Gulf of Alaska disrupting the normal high pressure resulting in lower pressure gradients, less wind. The brochure for West Coast to Hawaii races advertises champagne downwind sailing in 20 knots. But as every seasoned sailor knows, there is no real normal, just the conditions you are in.

Hamachi is wallowing in 12-14 knots. Everyone out there is in this predicament-just look at the speed of Pyewacket. If their speed is below 18- 20, it's just a light air year. What all this means is that this will be a LONG race and you may be stuck reading these emails for longer than you anticipated and I need to squeeze out all my creative juices to keep you on the edge of your seat!
It is Day 4, they want to finish on Day 9 but it could be Day 10. They think they have enough freeze dried food. But I think we need to use our Amazon Prime Days to order drone drops of mai tais to Hamachi!

On the good side, the team is in good spirits and working well together. The boat handling is phenomenal. The competition is on for who drives the boat fastest and is currently held by Shawn. Camera, lights, Shawn struck a pose for the GoPro.

Paper towels are a premium. And the last tidbit I'm so afraid to have it turn into another potty discussion but here goes: most, maybe all have changed their underwear. TMI!!I received a very good analysis of the difference between the Yellowbrick standings and the Official PacCup rankings from Jim Murray.

If anyone is interested, I'm happy to forward on or you can write to Jim directly. Basically, yellowbrick calculates from the start to the present position, whereas PacCup determines rankings based on the last 24 hours. That explains the discrepancy in the two rankings. Whichever way you look at it, Hamachi: sail hard, sail fast, sail smart and keep your eye on Kaneohe!

Go Team Hamachi!

*************************

July 10th

Good Sunday All!Three days offshore, three guys on watch trying to figure out what day it is. Life at sea where named days are unimportant and you are solely restricted by the change of watch. This is where we find Hamachi today.Jason reports that yesterday's brilliant skies lasted well into the dog watch (i.e. whoever has the 3-6AM watch). Clouds and squalls then settled in. The forecast is not matching the actual weather.

The boat has new instruments that are not fully calibrated so they may be reading higher or lower than the actual conditions. The wind has shifted aft 6-12 hours earlier than expected which means they are able to change from the Code Zero to the Spinnaker. The forecast is for 10-12 knots but they've had upwards of 15-18 knots. Boat speed is up also at 14 knots. Funny how wind can dictate the mood. Wind up, boat speed up, the mood is up. They are in the moment and enjoying the ride.

Offshore, meals are cherishable moments to look forward to. It breaks up the routine and you wait with anticipation of what will be on the menu. Everyone becomes a cook. Well, for Hamachi maybe not so much. They are down to the last of the frozen foods so burrito for every meal is soon history. As a side note, I have a sailing buddy who is on this email list, who has won PacCup with a sizable stack of pizza boxes (pizza inside of course) and called it good for food. (Don't hate me JG!)

They have made contact with some of the competition. Pyewacket, the modified Volvo 70 took their stern last night. They are a crack team, many of whom I have raced against in Etchells so Hamachi feels they must be doing something right. Hamachi passed some of the slower boats in the night also.Nature update: a juvenile humpback whale swam alongside the boat for 20 minutes the first night. A hitchhiker came aboard and was a dissatisfied customer leaving only squid ink all over the cockpit. No large garbage sightings yet.

Fred commented that the boat is cleaner than in 2019 and everyone seems more safety conscious. First, they haven't had the same wet conditions as in Transpac. Jason thinks it's an age thing as the younglings are maturing. I think if you or I walked on board we would disagree, that it still smells of heavy body odors. How can it not?

Hamachi is receiving fleet updates from the race committee and he swears they are determined over a mai tai. But if you look at today's official standings, not the yellowbrick standings, Hamachi is in1st (Division and ORR) and holds a 5:12 lead over their nearest competitor Rufless. Bartender, another mai tai please!

Go Team Hamachi!!!
JL

*****************************
July 9th

Evening Update:

Gremlins here, gremlins there, gremlins everywhere! Apparently gremlins do not survive on an empty battery. The onboard tablet battery ran dry and when restarted, it was able to communicate with the Iridium. Whether the weather is what they want, they now have access to the files. They have pulled the first grib files since the start of the race and, hang on to this intel they know where they are and where they need to go. Phew! I was afraid they were going to cross the equator.

The navigator is happy so the stress level is down. They still can't get yellow brick for everyone else's position, but they are good for now. Besides the glitch of not knowing where they were, the sailing has been good. The sunrise was beautiful with clear skies and light northerlies (6-10 knots). The wind shut down after lunch but now they are ripping along in 16 knots. They have the Code Zero flying and it has been up for the past 48 hours.

The merry maids put on their aprons and did some housekeeping today. The lee cloths which are strung across their berths (beds) to keep them in the berths were reworked. Some kind of cleaning occurred, white gloves not necessary. The spinnakers were unbricked in hopes of hoisting them in the near future. Water and power were also on the to do list.The trip so far has been warmer than expected. Long underwear and sleeping bags are not necessary.

The menu on board is so far the same for breakfast, lunch, and dinner: burritos.

The servings are hearty and the fixings remain frozen so they are able to fill 'er up with the healthy portions that were prepared ahead of time. The onboard weather routing puts them in Kaneohe Saturday morning (7/16). Go Team Hamachi!

*****************************

Good Saturday to All!

Day 2 on board and the Hamachi Boys have settled into a routine. Recounting the start, Jason felt it was a great start at the pin. They made a total of four tacks to exit the Bay and sail through the Golden Gate Bridge. The first day and night were breezy with 20 knots. As mentioned before, the weather is unstable and has actually produced three routes-North above the ridge of high pressure blob, middle or straight at the ridge, with the hope that it would dissipate, or South running well below course, adding extra miles.

It was obvious for the first starters in the beginning of the week but for the Hamachi Team, it was to throw up your hands and say a prayer. In the end, they chose the shortest route and so did most of their fleet which makes it a safe choice. That was the good news.
Now for the (bad) other news, there is digital drama onboard. We live in a digital world on land and the same is true for ocean racers.

Satellite communications allow racers to receive weather in the form of gribs which is what your local weather forecaster uses and can give you fleet position reports, i.e. where your competition is.. Software can provide you with optimum routes and long range forecasts. Unfortunately, the navigation software is no longer talking to the Iridium network, Iridium being the method for obtaining data. This puts Hamachi at a distinct disadvantage since their competition uses the same devices. They have been trying to fix the problem for the last THIRTY-SIX hours which is basically since they left San Francisco. There is an array of IOS devices onboard that will talk to the iridium but they have no way to interface the data from IOS to Windows and the navigational software is windows based.. A Call for any software techies, please!!! Hamachi is using the last set of weather data collected as they passed under the Golden Gate Bridge, as well as the routing it provided. They are able to receive the US government forecast which is a big picture forecast on the ipad. This is when the experience of a seasoned ocean sailor will be an asset.

I named Fred old but at least not coconut navigational old. We raced many times across the ocean with sextant, loran, rdf, single side band, weather fax, all devices used before the digital age. He can help fill the gap while trying to solve the problem. Marian is attempting to fix the problem here on land and without the devices on hand she has been able to make email communication available. Superstar Marian!

It takes a village. They hope to get the issue resolved but they have no sense of when they will finish but at least they can continue on.
The good news is they have plenty of food and snacks. The new 50W solar panel is generating needed power. The wind fluctuated between 4 to 12 knots in the last 24 hours. Fred is threatening to fish. Jason reflects that it is nice to be half blind in the ocean. They don't have enough data to second guess themselves. Is this the "stop and smell the rose" or "it's the journey cliche'?"

I'm sensing some zen moments with Shawn leading a chant on the cabin top.
Go Hamachi!
JL

*******************************

July 8th

Good Morning All,

First night, check, done. Now to settle into a routine and leave land worries/stress behind. Some people are able to adjust immediately to the motion of the boat while others may take longer. Of the six, four are fully functioning. Matt P. is now over his seasickness, Shawn not so much, yet. One day out and you would expect the aroma to be acceptable. However, Jason reports that the boat is starting to get warm and funky i.e. six male bodies in close quarters. This is really early to be overripe! Do I want to be out there? Answer: six guys, no head, no way!!The action is outside anyway where they are in a match race with Rufless. They are working hard to keep the boat speed up but the wind is backing down. Keep your fingers crossed that the ridge of high pressure dissolves in the next 12 hours, as per Windy TV. In the words of Jason, "The routings all suck!"No fish caught yet, no breakage to report.

All is well onboard.
Cheers,
JL

**Photoboy** · 07-12-2022, 12:10 PM

City Lights Position:
Good morning. Our 0800 position was 30 44.5N 138 45.5w.
All 9 souls in very good spirits despite the many sail changes in variable wind conditions at all hours of the night, and learning that our breakfast burritos would be incomplete since the bacon was forgotten on shore. After some consideration, our amateur meteorologist has proclaimed the Doyle J2 as our most comfortable lounging cushion, from which he now contemplates the clouds on the rail in search of squalls. We have started to regale him with ukulele tunes as the temperature heats up. Otherwise, we happily pass our time during the day with the 4 T?8099s: (debatably) good Tunes, Trimming kites, and playing our favorite new game, Trash or Turtle.

Mako!
we're alternating between aggressive bobbing and semi-controlled reaches.
It's inconceivable that this continues to go well. In related news, my wife and kid are already in hawaii. She wonders who to talk to to use the KYC pool. Good use of bandwith, I figure, so I'm passing that along. Allow me to add that you all run a fine yacht race and are also generally nice looking folks.
Oh, and we're at 31-10.36N 137-43.70W tell our division that we've averaged about fifty eleven bajillion knots.
wgk

pyewacket70
8am tuesday: 31 16n 145 44w
Same weather as yesterday light swell partial cloud cover winds 10 - 12kts 045No garbage in the water today after backing down 3 separate times yesterday and playing dodgeball all afternoon!

Spindrift V position: Surprise got us thinking and we were tallying up our crossings on SDV, not counting this one our boat has 63 in total, 54 for skipper Andy, 5 for Conrad, 3 for Lisa, and 1 for me, none for Gabe (YET!).
Position at 7/12 0800 : 31 degrees 25.5 north, 139 degrees 34.7 west
Thanks! Nick

DUENDE 0800 pos: 31 46.8N 140 00.5W
Our first taste of squalls last night. Saw some high boat speeds while pointed directly at Hawaii. Also finally installed our 12v fans. Makes a huge difference. all is well on board.

Raku Position: 28 52n 132 32w
Update on the quarterberth vs. bean bag choice for sleeping. The bean bag has been a clear winner. I think it is because the bean bag is like a box of chocolates. Each time you fluff it up and then lay down, you never know what you are going to get, but it will be probably be a nice contouring shape to fall asleep in.
Patagonia makes great stuff, but it turns out they can't make oatmeal! So bad. Took one bite and had to throw it overboard. I do love oatmeal, so fortunately, we still have some Whole Foods oatmeal packets thanks to the fresh granola we were given from Brenda before departure. Yay! Food ...crisis averted!

Moonshine, 8398, July 12, 2022: 0800 PDT Position is: 31 46.86 N, 140 04.71 W
Exhaustion is setting in. So far we have lost a pair of sunglasses, a headlamp, and the insole to my right deck shoe. We are 96.5% confident that all of these are in the boat somewhere. Somewhere in this tiny 26 foot boat, but we have no idea where. Anyways, we'll charge on without them. We have backups for the first 2 and it turns out that shoe fits better without the insole.- David

Rägeboge
July 12, 2022, 8:44 am PDT position update: 31d18.363N / 136d28.357W
Our kite saga continues... After Raffi put in a special shift to do a quick fix and made it ready so we can put it back up in the wee hours, we learned that that after the positive trial the clue insisted, in a 20+ gust, it still wants to separate from the rest of the kite. Another takedown and again it clutters then main cabin. We send the kite into deliberation with our on board psychologist, Raffi?s mom who has the best knowledge how to sew things together and the skipper. Together we made it clear to the kite it is not okay to separate from the rest of it. It is one family. It will be sewed together as good as we can do it with the tools we have.
Since then Andrea spent her off watch hours to do stitch after stitch. I am super impressed on the dedication and her fast progress. She is my current runner up for our board woman/man of the week award.
More on this in an upcoming report

Soup Position 7/12/22: 08:00 PDT 7/12/22 31 23.1N/139 19.1W
Feeling a bit more like the brochure every day... Couple light spots, but solid during the day and through the night albeit with a variety of sail changes. Hung with Westerly for a bit before they took off, and abeam of The Boss. Lots of garbage, thankfully no incidents; a home sized water heater, bins, etc.

Flyng fish jumped the boat under the mast andstepped on a squid that managed to find it's way into the cockpit this AM, fun little mess. Enjoying some good reaching speeds and ready for more wind/waves! Hopeful everyone is having a fun/safe sail!

PC22 CHANCE - Position-Report--12-Jul-22: 12-Jul-22 0800 -> N31 42.3 W137 50.7
Saw a Rainbow just before the 2000 watch-change. Very pretty and then it rained on us.Moonset was amazing too - big & orange right in front of us.
Having trouble making ice for our halfway party.
Simon

Navigator

Solis
July 12, 2022, 8:28 am PDT Position: 29.13.604N 132.46.320W
Engine run time
Like a blindfolded child violently swinging a bat at the piata, our boom rockets back and forth all night long looking for a good head to whack. No wind coupled with rippled sea swells gives cause to this lovely phenomenon. Praying, hoping, wishing, meditating for wind.20

Surprise's position at 0800 on 12 July 2022 was: 31 1.7 N 138 37.8 W
Found a squid on deck this morning, too small for breakfast.Generally a nice night, winds more or less in the right direction. Many sail changes in the last day, appears that we want to see if we can use everything in the same day.
We saw several Pac Cup boats in the last day, one came about .1 nm last night. We shined a spot light on our sails, and they did the same to acknowledge that they saw us.
All is well on Surprise. We reported technical assistance yesterday that was acknowledged.
Bob / Skipper

Freja, USA 2, July 12, 2022: 0800 PDT Position is: 31 44.330 N, 138 40.691 W
In response to Surprise's 54 crossings, we have a combined 2 (all from one person). We'd like to know if its always this reach-y. Freja has been comfortable and eating well. Enchilada casserole last night, breakfast burritos today and looking forward to some MacNCheese with pulled pork for dinner. A couple bird friends tried to stop and say hi, but thought better after getting a closer look.

Wildcard Position 0800 PDT Tuesday July 12: Wildcard 30 42.3n 137 14.5w
Sailing in the rain is not as fun,
When overnight winds drop to none,
Soon there will be squalling And ass we will be hauling!
The halfway party is soon to come

Pearl July 12: Position: 31*30N 137*06W
The last 24 hours has mostly just been more reaching. Hoping at some point that we can put up our kite. All of last night we sailed in and out of little rain systems so had a lot of confused seas, light wind and the occasional drag run of a reach. Spent the day yesterday doing a little fishing, only catch was a chunk of fish net. Passed within a few boat lengths of Sacagawea, nice to see some another boat.
Pearl Crew

Dash, Tuesday: Aloha, our position as of 0800 was N32-7 W138-5.
We know the "halfway cafe" is presented as a whimsical mirage to newbies, but we also know it is real. After 23 beers one evening, Andy Schwenck gave up the goods and shared it's exact lat/lon and also told us the secret passcode... "It's 5 o'clock somewhere."
So... now that you know we're coming, we'd like to pre-order our souffles. Ken would also like a double-bacon cheeseburger with pineapple, hold the onion, with a strawberry milkshake. Steph would like a giant salad with some Hawaiian ahi poke. Really looking forward to the visit tomorrow and especially the showers. Pac Cup RC is the best!
Steph and Ken
Mahina Div

Accelerando July 11 check in: 29 46.762 131 31.577
One could ask what happened to Accelerando? Well, we made of major error and that was not to stay the course. We instead, became frustrated with the light winds, crazy holes, and fear of the high. Therefore, we went on a zigzag hunt to dive as deep south as possible. In hindsight, a day too late and a dollar too short. Or in our case, a couple of days too late. While we made the deep dive we gave away any forward movement west. We have regrouped and hit the restart button. While we are most likely a day behind everyone, we will continue to make a charge westbound. Please save us a drink or two and we will see you in Hawaii. Aloha! Erica & Robin

Perplexity
July 11, 2022, 11:31 am PDT
Perplexity description of events:
If you would like to share information on the website, here's our perspective.
For several days a crew member with no prior history had been having recurring nosebleeds. We attempted increasingly intensive interventions based on consultations with limited success. The crewmember had lost a significant amount of blood and the concern was that continued bleeding might lead to an emergency situation. The crew member was already lethargic withan elevated pulse. We were therefore instructed to return to SF, then instructed to return to the fleet where we might be able to get additional supplies from other boats. Finally we were instructed to sail east to meet a navy ship for a transfer.
After about 8 hours of sailing east, the transfer to Pacific Tracker via tender went smoothly and we resumed racing. We are extremely grateful to the Pacific Cup Medical Team and to Coast Guard SF and Alameda district for their support

**Photoboy** · 07-12-2022, 03:02 PM

Good Tuesday All!

Here in the Seattle area, Tuesday is J24 racing on Lake Washington. The lake can be fickle, shifting winds, puffs you shouldn't go chase but watch your competitor sail thru your lee. The update from the boat resembles similar conditions.
Yesterday they did a great job of connecting all the wrong dots going from wind hole to wind hole. Sometimes too much information can make you forget about your instincts. The first 48 hours, without weather info, they were sailors and sailing "blindly" they did a good job. Now with weather intel, they are plotting the path to avoid the areas of high pressure/no wind.

We already know that the usual weather pattern does not exist. The low pressure gradients that are able to pass are creating pockets of high pressure blobs. The result is the weather data cannot keep up to provide all the competitors with accurate mid-ocean gribs. Hence, trying to sail around the constant fluid situation means you are really chasing patches of wind that might have already dissipated.

Sunday to Monday it was all they could do to keep the A2 kite up and full, in sloppy seas with 4-8 knots and will forward momentum. Their standings took a beating but in a race like this, everyone will get their turn. As one friend said, " I would not want to be the navigator on this mess of an ocean (mess, insert expletive).!"

Jason recalls the start where they had the option of going south or straight on the hope the high pressure blob would dissipate. It did sort of, not really, just weakened and everyone in that fleet has suffered the remnants. Pyewacket took Hamachi's stern on Saturday night, blazing by at 20 knots. Last night they were only 200 nautical miles off Hamachi's bow reaching back and forth to find some umph.

Look though at Raku, a double handed couple who take their show on the road and are very successful. They started July 5 and took the low route and are still sitting high in the overall standings. Whatever predicament Hamachi finds themselves in, it is shared in the fleet.
The mood on board remains convivial. The sun is out, the music is playing, the barca lounger is crowded and they have a line out. A wahoo took the lure but ate through the leader before they could get it onboard. No ono for Hamachi!

As many of you know, the Pacific High is also home to the largest garbage island. Without the high, the whole Pacific has become a debris field. Many boats have had to back down or dive to clear debris. Hamachi was able to back down and clear the keel of kelp and rope in under two minutes. The team was frustrated after the standings were announced last night but this morning they were able to catch a squall. The crew washed away their doubts and rode the back side for 2-3 hours in 13-15 knots. I'm also happy to report that sometime around 12:50PDT, Hamachi passed halfway.

Let's see what Act 2 has in store!Go Team Hamachi!

**Photoboy** · 07-15-2022, 12:24 PM

Ocean Navigator

Galatea position 7/15: on July 15, at 8:00 AM PDT, 27d 21m N, 145d 44m W
After careful consideration, the crew of Galatea is now striving for arrival _before_ the Luau. Our most recent calculations show arrival near the start of the Luau would incur too steep a reentry angle back to civilization risking burning up. Instead, we seek arrival in time to "pre-luau", thus easing our transition. We humbly request of Neptune a safe and timely passage to Kaneohe.

Duende 0800 position report: 27 49.06n 147 42.2w
What a night! surfing towards Hawaii under a full moon, what could be better? The spinnaker net is saving our behinds just enough to prove we're trying. Hooked a fish yesterday afternoon, but it managed to rip the barb off the hook and escaped. That makes 3 lures lost or damaged and no fish landed. Hoping for better luck today.

Azure 8:00 Position Report: Azure July 15th 0800 position: 27.21 N and 149.02 W
As of this writing it's 591 miles to Mai Tai's, woohoo!

Sacagawea position report july 15th: Lat 29 14.85n lon 143 42.9w
All is well on board. A beautiful night of sailing - even got to see a few stars! We are getting a lot of practice in with our gybes. Celebrated halfway w pineapple sangria and pringles and other fancy snacks at the watch change and shared an ample portion with Neptune.

DH1
Surprise 28098 position report: our 8am position was 25 47.6 N x 147 57.9 W
We crossed gybes a few miles from 'io yesterday morning. It was so wonderful to see and talk to friends so far from land!

DH2
Dash, Friday: Aloha, our position as of 0800 was N28-21, W144-25. After four days without seeing a single ship or racer, we finally crossed with a freighter and then ghost sailboat Puffin (no lights, no sighting, no radio response--just AIS at 2 miles out at 2am). We continue to chase the lighter winds. Hope we make it there for at least one day of Pac Cup fun!

North Sails
Good morning, SV/Limitless, position/ 26.48.23 N. 146.38.42 W Some squally condition this morning! - Shawn Ivie

CHANCE - Position-Report--15-Jul-22: 15-Jul-22 0800 -> N28 28.0 W146 35.1
It's Rush-Hour out here trying to get in lineon the GC-Route to the Finish - after you
no - after you - no I insist - after you! NO ROOM - don't go in there!
Drag Race from here - hope our Gear holds-up
Simon

Navigator

Weems & Plath

Soup position 7_15_22: 08:00PDT 28 58.7N/147 25.8W
Second night coming back together within 1.5mi. and having a nice chat including comparing freeze-dried dinners with the double-handed Eskorin, not quite close enough to throw them a bowl of soup (and would be outside assistance?!

)

Goslings Rum

0800PDT Position Report - Freja, 27 13.541n, 148 17.883 W
Yesterday evening, we turned on our navigation lights and just a few minutes later we spotted the green tri-color light of a sailboat coming at us. At first we weren't sure who was going to cross who, but we ended up coming out in front -- by less than ~50 yards. We shouted obscenities at each other, like "your mother was a hamster, and your father smelled like elderberries", and our bowman dropped his trousers. Wolfpack's crew appeared rather confused. (jk, we exchanged friendly waves and cheers). We never expected to be crossing so closely to another boat this far out in the ocean.

Athena's position at 0800 on 15-Jul-2022: 28deg 10.578N 147deg 05.403W
We just had our first significant squall at 0600 this morning. Continuing to nurse our A2 while we make our way down to K-town, we will see if it's more sail repair tape than material when we arrive, right now it has that grandparent with missing dentures look.
In spite of that, and the lack of peanut m&ms, yesterday was a nice run, good music, good food, good fun. Still trying to find that half way cafe thing that was mentioned at the skippers meeting...
Crew is happy, things are good. We are hurrying because we can hear that mai tai, some cold poke, and a shave ice calling.

Pearl Position Update July 15: Pos: 28*36N 146.21W
Squall-topia last night. Skipper Eric was assaulted in the face by a flying fish, the fish was recovered and released unarmed. Moving along bit by bit.

Lodos text report:
BIG NEWS! we sailed on port gybe for a few hours, everyone forgot which way was up or down. Thankfully we are back to starboard and up is up and down is down again.
More disorientation, our russian muscle, turned photographer, held the speed record for all of yesterday into this morning. Fortunately up is up again and the non-boat owner onboard quickly stole the record back this morning.
We finally saw enough breeze this morning to justify giving big red, A2.5, a break after more than a day, or was it 2, of being up. We hoisted the yellow A4, now dubbed 'Mellow yellow.'
The boat is getting messy, but no more funk to be found. Welcome party be warned....
We had our halfway celebration yesterday with dark and stormies, sponsored by Gosling's rum. Well Ev's was as the only one brave enough to spike his with all the heat we've had. It made us all quickly question the stereotype that russians can handle their liquor...
John man

BMW

Hamachi July 15 Position Report: 24 8.0N 151 0.1W
Updates: The "French Revolution Watch" had a wonderful Bastille day yesterday, and was treated to a great surf session in front of a squall line. Boat speed records were set and broken with "The Godfather" topping the charts with a 22kt burst in a 23 kt puff ripping down a wave.

In other news, Hamachi has had a nagging steering issue as a result of repeated back downs that got worse yesterday. The wheel had been getting stiffer and stiffer and we've tried all methods to lubricate the bearing, which has included body soap, WD40 and soy sauce (now termed bearing sauce). Around noon it nearly froze up completely while bombing downwind in spicy conditions. We called all hands on deck to check the various elements (again) and we opened up the binnacle to find the steering line had jumped the worm drive and was wedged between the drive and the housing. We struck the kite and continued under full main and stay sail with the emergency tiller while

Alaska Airlines
Pyewacket70 25mi report: posn:21 48.294n 157 28.181w 25nm to finish eta;1110 HST
As previously stated, though we would love to come and join the party at KYC, our draft of 18' precludes us from enjoying the party there.. so we will be headed immediately to Honolulu as planned and previously arranged. We have 13 crew members aboard

**Photoboy** · 07-15-2022, 09:21 PM

As Friday’s dawn breaks in Hawaii, just one boat is happily nestled in the barn while the rest of the fleet is lining up their approaches to the islands. The next competitor to finish should be Alan Lubner’s Seattle based R/P 55 Zvi, though they are not slated to arrive until the early hours of Saturday. After Zvi, we should see a handful of boats also cross the finish some time on Saturday night before the floodgate gets thrown wide open on Sunday.

On Thursday morning at approximately 11:05 AM HST, Roy Pat Disney’s turbo Volvo 70 Pyewacket 70 came ripping across the finish line just off Kaneohe Bay to claim not just the fastest elapsed time and first to finish honors, but likely the Alaska Airlines F Division and the overall race win as well. Accelerating into the finish as the wind strengthened closer to the islands, Pyewacket 70 blasted through their final night and morning at sea and made up a lot of time on their rivals in the process. “We gybed to port probably an hour too late, maybe less”, explained legendary Australian sailor Kyle Langford. “We came in HOT. We were really ripping last night!”, Langford added with a laugh.

Once Pyewacket crossed the line they furled their downwind sails and tucked a reef into the main before sailing around to Honolulu. Due to draft limitations, Pyewacket doesn’t quite fit into Kaneohe Yacht Club and is instead berthed at Rainbow Tower in Honolulu Harbor. Even on a ’slow’ year, this incredible new addition to the Pyewacket story sailed the course less than 24 hours off of record pace. Given a better weather window, we have no doubt she could make a run at Rio 100’s existing course record.

An incredible voyage to Hawaii and accomplishment by Roy P. Disney and his entire team of talented sailors and shore crew, we would like to extend our most heartfelt congratulations and Aloha. Thank you for being a part of this race. The incredible images and the many stories of your boat ripping through the fleet and warmly chatting with competitors on the radio is the stuff of yacht racing legend. Mahalo for being a part of the ‘Fun race to Hawaii’.

For the other nearly dozen five boats that are still on the race course, there is still a lot of sailing to be done and many divisions are still up for grabs. In Alaska Airlines F Division, Stu Dahlgren’s Santa Cruz 70 Westerly is looking solid for a second place in division {with a razor thin chance at first) and likely second place overall. Alan Lubner’s R/P 55 Zvi and David Raney’s Wylie 70 Rage are virtually tied on the leaderboard to round out the podium in the Pacific Cup’s premier division. With the remnants of Hurricane Darby passing over the weekend however, these fast boats that are in Pyewacket’s wake could see an increase in breeze that could also re-shuffle the rankings while sailing into the finish.

The BMW of San Rafael Division remains red hot with Jason Andrews and Shawn Dougherty’s J/125 Hamachi still holding a small corrected time lead over Rufus Sjoberg and crew the J/125 Rufless. With renowned Navigator Skip McCormack onboard, watch closely to see if Rufless can manage to out maneuver her rival and sneak back into the lead. The final podium spot is again being hotly contested in the BMW of San Rafael Division by the Riptide 41 Blue and the J/125 Velvet Hammer.

In the Goslings Rum G Division, Bob Hinden’s Schumacher 46 Surprise is still looking solid to take out the divisional win, though fellow Richmond Yacht Club boat Kahoots is coming on strong. Based on our calculations and what is posted on the YB leaderboard, there are no fewer than five boats competing for second place. Separated by just minutes or hours on the leaderboard, one good squall or one mistake could re-shuffle the leaderboard in the few days of racing left.

Weems and Plath W Division sees Eric Hopper and Douglas Schenk’s J/105 Free Bowl of Soup maintaining their lead in division, though a three-way battle is shaping up for second place between the Express 34 Double Espresso, the Beneteau First 40 Vera Cruz and the Olson 30 Concussion.

The North Sails Division looks like it may end up as a to-the-wire battle between Andy Schwenk’s Express 37 Spindrift V and Chad Stenwick’s J/35 the Boss. Sailing in close formation since leaving the Golden Gate, the duo is just an hour apart on corrected time (about three hours apart on the water). As of this writing, Spindrift V holds a slight lead. Behind them, Shawn Ivie’s Express 37 Limitless will be trying to dig themselves out of a hole that they dug when they lost out on the initial North/ South gamble. There is still plenty of race track left for these boats, so keep a close watch on this fantastic battle.

Christina and Justin Wolfe have impressed this writer immensely since day one. At every check in, their J/111 Raku seems to hitting above her weight and moving as well as one could expect a J/111 to go. Right now they are making 11 knots and holding pace with faster-rated boats. Respect. For these multi-time Pac Cup doublehanded veterans, it looks as though the third time in this race may be a charm. Sailing a masterful race from the start, the husband and wife team look set to take home some well deserved First Place hardware for their efforts. Behind them, Andy Hamilton’s Donovan 30 Wolfpack is looking good in second place while Erwan Menard’s Pogo 30 eskori? is locked into a close corrected time battle with Buzz Blackett’s Antim 27C ‘io.

In Kolea DH1, we’re all about that Dogpatch 26 Moonshine. Working the North early, Marc Andrea Klimaschewski and David Rogers have sailed a stellar race. This writer will be the first to admit that he did not have the most confidence in Moonshine’s early routing choices. In the mid to late stages of this race however, it has become clear that new Moonshine owner Marc and his co-skipper David have played their hand beautifully. The duo now appear to be sailing their ultra-famous and pedigree’d plywood boat to yet another win in the Pacific Cup. Amanda and Brian Turner’s Beneteau First 10R CruzSea Baby is looking good in second place, while the revered husband and wife team of Bill and Melinda Erkelens are looking to round out the podium with Foamy.

In the Ocean Navigator Division, Rodney Pimentel’s Cal 40 Azure looks to be extending her lead over fellow Cal 40 Duende, with the Islander 36 Galatea maintaining position in third place.

There is still a lot of racing left for some of the slower boats that set off on Monday and Tuesday, and these boats are now finding themselves in a race against the clock to make the party! We are wishing these boats a solid breeze and nice following swells on their last week at sea.

This weekend will be a big weekend for the Pacific Cup, so stay tuned to this page, our tracker, our website, and to all of our social media channels.

Aloha,

Ronnie Simpson

Pacific Cup Yacht Club

**Photoboy** · 07-15-2022, 09:27 PM

Good Friday All!Yes, this is late, but I traveled from Seattle to the Kaneohe Yacht Club where I had to reacquaint myself with the staff, the bartender, and my best friend, the mai tai. I am happy to report, all is in order.

Les Bleu have encore gagn?. The Godfather set up for a cranking wave in a squall and pushed the boat to 22 knots in a 23 knot burst of wind. Killer Dude!

Issues never cease onboard Hamachi. Here in Jason's words are the problems, troubleshooting and attempted and successful resolutions:
In other news, Hamachi has had a nagging steering issue as a result of repeated back downs that got worse yesterday. The wheel had been getting stiffer and stiffer and we've tried all methods to lubricate the bearing, which has included body soap, WD40 and soy sauce (now termed bearing sauce). Around noon it nearly froze up completely while bombing downwind in spicy conditions. We called all hands on deck to check the various elements (again) and we opened up the binnacle to find the steering line had jumped the worm drive and was wedged between the drive and the housing. We struck the kite and continued under full main and stay sail with the emergency tiller while the team tore apart,inspected, and reinstalled the steering line system.

We were back underway in less than 30 minutes but we appreciated Pac Cup's insistence that we should all practice these systems and procedures. All good now and the bearing is as smooth as butter but has many distinct odors!

The boat has had a lot of gremlins (like the water maker stopped working this morning) but we've all improvised and come up with solutions. For example, we have a new set of cutlery made from empty Noon tablet containers. But that is a result of blasting across the ocean at more than 10 kts (our average since the start).

For this final part of the race, it is all about positioning yourself for the best run into the finish line. For all the tracker junkies, you have been watching boats like Zvi andBlue bang the NW corner of the course. What they are doing is consolidating leverage on others in the fleet and setting themselves up for a final run to the finish. We had intended to do that as well, but first we needed to get south to avoid the descending high pressure. The Bastille Day surf session, while awesome, resulted in us punching through a heavy squall line, and suddenly we saw the wind go right from 45 to 75 degrees.

The good news is that we were now pointed almost directly at Oahu. The bad news was that it was impossible to gybe west and set ourselves up in the corner like Zvi and Blue - we were pinned on the southeast side of the course. We expected it to go back, but it
never did, so we sailed the wind we had. As a result you see us working our way down the east side of the course. This is OK, but not ideal.
What it did allow us to do was get into the trade winds before anyone else and you can see this long run overnight with high speeds. It was an epic night with a near full moon, clear skies, massive stars and long blasts in 15 to 17 kts of wind.

We were treated to a rare sight in the tropics: a moon rise on a clear horizon! Let's just hope they can come in with a good angle to the finish.

Onboard, the tension is real as they have been tested time again with equipment, weather, and routing issues. It is a testament to their endurance that they have been able to improvise thus far. And I'm certain they are not alone in their angst. The temperature is sweltering as they descend in latitudes. The dissipating hurricane will be displaced by Hurricane Hamachi and the shore crew is ready with drinks, food and clean towels!

Jason wishes to thank all of the family and loved ones from each crew member who have made this adventure possible. Bring it on in for a group hug.....but not yet, they still have to sign, seal, and deliver the deal. Get over the mushies and get your game face back on. Close it out and bring it home.

Go Hamachi!

**Photoboy** · 07-19-2022, 09:53 AM

Nearly two weeks into the 2022 Pacific Cup, the docks are filling up as boats are arriving at Kaneohe Yacht Club at all hour. The bulk of the fleet however - specifically the smaller and earlier starters - is still at sea and lining up their final approaches to Oahu. As the remnants of Hurricane Darby have passed south of the Hawaiian Islands, the boats still at sea are dealing with increasingly rainy and squally weather as well as a large south swell component. In Kaneohe however, seas are calm and the party has started as finishing sailors are trading in their foul weather gear for an aloha shirt, a lei and a well-deserved Mai Tai.

All of the boats in the Alaska Airlines F Division and the BMW of San Rafael Division have finished and are safely tied up. With the conclusion of these two fleets’ races, we can now confirm the results of these two divisions. We can also now confirm that Roy P. Disney and his crew on the turbo Volvo 70 Pyewacket 70 have indeed claimed not only first place in the Alaska Airlines F Division, but also First Place Overall in the Pacific Cup! A truly outstanding accomplishment for this accomplished owner, team and vessel that are truly world class in every respect. Less than six hours behind Pyewacket 70 on corrected time is Stu Dahlgren’s Vancouver based Santa Cruz 70 Westerly who will finish both second in division and second place overall. With four more years of accumulated experience, re-fitting and preparations, the Westerly program has upped their game significantly since 2018 and we are honored to have them in the Pacific Cup and see them achieve this result! Well done Westerly!

Third place overall and first place in the BMW of San Rafael Division is Jason Andrews and Shawn Dougherty’s Seattle based J/125 Hamachi. After an overall win in the 2019 Transpac, the team is back on the box in a Hawaii race after yet another fantastic crossing. With a slower rating than Hamachi, Rufus Sjoberg’s J/125 Rufless finished just a couple of hours behind Hamchi but seemingly corrected out to claim the divisional win. We say apparently because Hamachi had lodged a protest against Rufless’ ORR rating, claiming a rating discrepancy. After much deliberation, the crew on Rufless has decided to withdraw themselves from the Pacific Cup. While this is a sad occurrence for all of us here at Pac Cup, who view Rufus Sjoberg and his Rufless team as part of our ohana (family), we support their decision and wish them the best of luck in having their boat re-measured, re-rated and coming back stronger in 2024. Rufus, Navigator Skip McCormack and the entire Rufless crew were incredibly gracious in coming to this decision. The Corinthian spirit of sailing is alive and well here in Kaneohe as the Rufless crew and Hamachi crew congratulated each other on a hard-fought race and shared a warm and friendly debrief.

With the fastest couple of divisions both nestled safely in the Barn, the focus now turns to the smaller and slower boats who are still at sea and racing hard to the finish. With an increase in pressure, squalls and south swell due to the remnants of Hurricane Darby passing, we are hearing many stories of white-knuckle sailing and huge waves being surfed.

In the Mahina DH2 division, Christina and Justin Wolfe sailed their J/111 Raku into Kaneohe this morning to become the first doublehanded finishers in the race. While they are still classified as first place in division, there is still an outside shot that Andy Hamilton’s Donovan 30 Wolfpack could pass them so we can’t yet confirm their victory. For that matter, Wolfpack, eskori? and ‘io are all scheduled to finish between late tonight and tomorrow morning which will provide more clarity in the results for what has been a super fun race to follow.

In Kolea DH1, Moonshine is less than a day out and still has a large lead in this division. Bill and Melinda Erkelens on the Moore 24 Foamy certainly appear to have now passed Amanda and Brian Turner’s Beneteau First 10R CruzSea Baby for second place in division. In what has truly turned into a marathon of a race, much of this fleet still has more than two or even three days left at sea.

In Ocean Navigator, the podium positions remain the same as yesterday with Azure, Duende and Galatea currently holding down the top three spots. Rodney Pimentel’s beautiful blue Cal 40 Azure should be finishing tomorrow morning to claim first in division. Like Kolea DH1 however, many boats in this fleet still have multiple days left to sail with a few boats very seriously at risk of missing the awards ceremony.

Goslings Rum G Division is one of the next fleets to begin sailing into Kaneohe with Bob Hinden’s Schumacher 46 Surprise still looking solid to claim a well-earned victory. Behind Surprise however, there’s still a five-way battle for the final two podium spots. Weems and Plath Division will also begin sailing into port tomorrow with Free Bowl of Soup still on top while Vera Cruz, Concussion and Double Espresso are still in contention for second and third place.

One of the most exciting races still on the race course is the North Sails Division. Andy Schwenk’s Express 37 Spindrift V still holds onto a very narrow lead over Chad Stenwick’s J/35 the Boss. These two boats have battled it out the entire way across the Pacific and we can’t wait to see them greet each other on the dock. Shawn Ivie’s Limitless still looks solid in third place but has been unable to make any appreciable gains on the leaders.

While boats have been trickling in over the weekend, the bulk of the fleet is slated to finish Monday and Tuesday, so expect these articles to become pretty short and light. On the flip side however, our Media Team and Race Committee will be on the dock greeting every boat that rolls in, so don’t forget to follow our Instagram and Facebook feeds to stay up to date on all of the action!

Aloha,

Ronnie Simpson

Pacific Cup Yacht Club

**Photoboy** · 07-19-2022, 10:05 AM

We have officially reached ‘arrival day’. After a slow and challenging start to this marathon ocean race, boats are coming in around the clock, and Kaneohe Yacht Club is filling up quickly. With the remnants of Hurricane Darby still affecting local weather conditions, weather has been breezy, rainy, and squally for our Sunday and Monday arrivals. As a historically large south swell pounded Hawaii’s south facing shores, competitors are coming in with adrenaline-enhanced stories of surfing down the biggest and steepest seas of their lives. The PCYC race committee, various KYC volunteer committees and the media team are running full throttle to help escort, finish, inspect, photograph, and film the arrivals.

As boats finish, on-the-water battles are being resolved. In the Goslings Rum G Division, Bob Hinden’s custom Schumacher 46 Surprise romped into Kaneohe late last night to claim an impressive divisional win. Met by a large and enthusiastic group of family members, supporters, and spectators, Surprise’s dockside arrival was nothing short of epic. Somewhat unsurprisingly, second place is still up for grabs as half of that fleet is closely clustered on corrected time.

In Kolea DH1, Marc-Andrea Klimaschewski’s Dogpatch 26 Moonshine arrived on a rainy Monday morning to an equally enthusiastic greeting courtesy of the huge Pacific Northwest contingent that has been a focal point of this year’s race. Navigator David Rogers could finally breathe a deep sigh of relief as his “Northern Strategy” paid off and their legendary hard-chined plywood boat officially added another Pacific Cup victory to its already storied. Bill and Melinda Erkelens on the Moore 24 Foamy are still nearly a day away from the finish. Also coming in early this morning to claim a resounding divisional win is Rodney Pimentel’s beautiful blue Cal 40 Azure.

We were astonished at the last-day performance of Andy Hamilton’s Donovan 30 Wolfpack. They made huge gains overnight and appear to have nipped Christina and Justin Wolfe’s J/111 Raku at the finish to claim the Mahina DH2 division by about an hour. In the stronger winds and big seas of Hurricane Darby, Wolfpack must have had a fast and wild ride to the finish, and we can’t wait to hear the story. Again, all results posted in these articles are provisional until confirmed by the PRO. Erwan Menard’s Pogo 30 eskori? rounded out the DH2 podium with Buzz Blackett and designer Jim Antrim finishing 4th on ‘io.

Andy Schwenk’s Spindrift V appears to have come out on top of Chad Stenwick’s J/35 “the Boss” after a race long battle that saw both boats separated by just minutes for most of the race. the Boss is finishing as this article goes to press, so these results are again not confirmed as so many of these battles are coming down to the wire in this year’s fascinating navigator’s duel punctuated by dead air at the start and white-knuckle surfing at the finish.

Eric Hopper and Douglas Schenk’s Portland based J/105 Free Bowl of Soup is steaming into the finish right now with what appears to be a secure lead over Nick Schmidt’s Olson 30 Concussion. Media Team is about to dip out on a power boat to try to film Free Bowl of Soup with the drone.

Stay tuned as today’s big day of finishers is set to continue into Tuesday as the bulk of the fleet sails into Kaneohe.

**Photoboy** · 07-19-2022, 10:09 AM

Provisional Result as of July 19th:

Announcement

A Case Of The Slows

A Case Of The Slows

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