The 46th race from Los Angeles to Honolulu Transpac 2011 Transpac 2011 did not sail off


anyone's charts. It was not the fastest, slowest, largest, smallest, roughest or easiest. It was, instead, a race for the books, with two main features. First- wave starters on July 4 left in a seabreeze but soon sailed into a wind crater that left them bobbing without breeze for two days; any chance at an overall time allowance win for the smaller boats of Race Division 6 drooped away with the drooping sails right there. July 8 starters got off in perfect conditions, with solid wind all the way from the start to the synoptic trough to strong trades—and then a mid-race slowdown forced all the navigators to re-think their bets. Out of those bets came the winners,


including first-overall on corrected time, James McDowell's SC70, Grand Illusion, and Barn Door Trophy winner for first to finish, Hap Fauth's Bella Mente, a Reichel-Pugh design. En route to winning overall for the


second time - repeating from 1999 - McDowell and company aboard Grand Illusion sailed very nearly a shortest- distance course. They resisted mileage north early-on, when the High was centered way up yonder around 40° N. Mid-race, as the isobars sagged, they resisted the siren call of the south, and they led the handicap standings every day but one. Being the low-rater in the Sled Division, said navigator Patrick O'Brien, meant that, “If you're not 1-1 the first day out, you will not win the race.” But in holding 1-1, McDowell said, “That's the pressure.” Sailing through the early starters


and taking the lead among the 48 boats that would make the finish, Bella Mente made a determined bid to protect the north side of the course, for the sake of a long-predicted late windshift and a perfect layline to the finish. The only other first-to-finish threat, Doug Baker's Magnitude, could sail lower at better speed, but could not make enough speed to compensate. That opened the barn door to the Atlantic Ocean-based Bella Mente to finish first, by the dawn's early light, in a time of 6 days, 19 hours. Meanwhile, back in the handicap race for 1-1: “It looked as if Philippe Kahn


was taking Pegasus all over the place, trying to pass us,” McDowell said. “We focused on sailing the shortest distance, and sailing on the favored board. For a while, Pegasus looked fearsome in the south, but we were able to stop the bleeding." Leaving for Hawaii along with


any of the races from the Pacific Coast, whether it's Victoria-Maui from British Columbia, the Pacific Cup from San Francisco, or the classic Transpac from Los Angeles, navigators face a common problem. The calms of the Pacific High Pressure Zone block the shortest route, so they will add miles to the south for the sake of the breeze, the tradewinds, that circulate around the High. Add too many miles, and someone who cuts the corner on you holds the breeze and makes out. Cut the corner too close, lose the breeze, and your navigator will be feeling like Coleridge's Ancient Mariner as his crewmates sit to leeward, trying to keep the boat heeled while they divide reduced rations. Shortest distance would prove to


be a theme for several 2011 winners, including Jack Taylor's Horizon in the Santa Cruz 50s and Eric Gray's Morris 46, Gracie, in the Aloha Division. Three Mexican boats competed, including Jorge Ripstein's TP52, Patches, first in Division 2, and Lorenzo Berho's Kernan 70, Peligroso, second in Division 1. A J/145, Bad Pak, took Division 4, while a Hobie 33, Peregrine, took Division 6. Steve Smolinske's like-named


Catalina 38, Peregrine, after making voyaging all the way from Bellevue, Washington for the Transpac start, turned back early on with a failing watermaker and concerns that the boat's onboard supply would do for a 2,225- mile passage. It was a difficult year for entries from the Pacific Northwest, with Greg Constable making it two for two when his Fast 40, Narrow Escape, developed autopilot issues. Constable, sailing doublehanded with Doug Backhouse, chose to turn back rather than hand-steer all the way to the Diamond Head Buoy.


by Kimball Livingston Press officer for Transpac 2011


Started July 8 Division 1 1 8


Bella Mente


2 10 Peligroso 3 17 Magnitude 4 18 Medicine Man 4 28 Pendragon VI 6 29 O Canada 7 32 Truth


Division 2 1 5 Patches 2 6


Criminal Mischief


3 13 Vincitore 4 14 Katana


5 21 Locomotion 6 25 Bengal 7


7 36 Rapid Transit ret


Sleds 1 1


2 2 Pegasus-Motion X Andrews 70 3 3 4 4


Grand Illusion Alchemy


Holua


5 12 Pyewacket 6 20 Condor 7 24 Cheetah


Division 4 1 9 Bad Pak 2 16 Prevail 3 19 Cazan 4 26 Paranoia


5 27 Relentless 52 ret


Santa Cruz 50 1 7


2 11 Deception 3 15 Allure


Double Trouble Horizon


Bodacious 3 Santa Cruz 70 Andrews 70


Santa Cruz 70 Santa Cruz 70 Andrews 70 Peterson 68


J-145


Santa Cruz 52 DK 46


Santa Cruz 52 Santa Cruz 52 J-125


Santa Cruz 50 Santa Cruz 50 Santa Cruz 50


4 22 J World's Hula Girl Santa Cruz 50 5 23 Flaca


Santa Cruz 50


6 31 Roy's Chasch Mer Santa Cruz 50 Started July 4 Division 6 1 30 Peregrine 33 2 33 NAOS 2


Hobie 33 3 34 Paddy Wagon


Beneteau First 40 Ross 40


4 37 Relentless 32 Jeanneau S3200 5 39 Alpha Puppy 6 40 Bebe 7 44 Celerity 8 46 Victoire ret ret


OD35 J-130


Santa Cruz 37 Crash


Aloha 1 35 Gracie


2 38 Wind Dancer 3 41 Sauvage


6 45 Second Chance 7 47 Hassle ret


Multihull 1 47 Espiritu Santi


4 42 Between The Sheets 5 43 Traveler


Narrow Escape


Beneteau First 40.7 Aerodyne 34 Fast 40


Morris 46 Catalina 42


Wauq Cent 40 Jean SO52


Northwind 47 Swan 441 Catalina 38 Peregrine 38


Atlantic 57


Escort 1 48 Alaska Eagle results courtesy of www.transpacrace.com


48° NORTH, SEPTEMBER 2011 PAGE 73


Reichel/Pugh Kemen 68 Andrews 80 Andrews 63 Davidson 70 Open 60 Open 60


T/P 52 R/P 45 R/P 52


Keman 47 Andrews 45 Ohaski 46 Antrim 49


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