Now it’s a Numbers Game

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TRANSPAC 2001 41st Transpacific Yacht Race/L.A.-Honolulu
Transpacific Yacht Club, Sandy Martin, Commodore

July 10, 2001

NOW IT’S A NUMBERS GAME

HONOLULU – The Barn Door is settled. Now comes the scramble for handicap honors.

With Philippe Kahn’s Pegasus tucked safely in its slip at Ala Wai Yacht Harbor with honors secured for fastest elapsed time in the 41st Transpacific Yacht Race, several smaller boats were due to finish before the Hawaiian sun sets Tuesday. This is when a calculator becomes more important than a GPS.

Barring unforeseen difficulties, among those finishing Tuesday will be James McDowell’s Grand Illusion, the overall winner in 1999, and David Janes’ J-Bird III, one of two new Transpac 52s competing boat for boat as well as counting their corrected time in Division 2.

The real test may come Wednesday when Seth Radow’s new Sydney 40 Bull from Marina del Rey, Calif., comes past the Diamond Head lighthouse, bidding to correct out on Pegasus, which owes the smaller boat about 65 hours in handicap time. Another Division 4 boat, Mike Thomas’ 1D35 Sensation from Detroit, Mich., has an outside shot.

Either one could deprive Pegasus of Transpac’s first sweep of honors since 1993. Bull already has picked off Bob McNulty’s Chance for third overall behind Pegasus and Roy E. Disney’s Pyewacket.

Others realize they’re out of the running but haven’t lost their senses of humor and adventure. Michael Abraham of Newport Beach, Calif., doublehanding Watercolors with Phil Rowe, e-mailed from the boat: “Looks like we win last to finish trophy but won’t be there to pick it up.”

The awards banquet is Friday night. Watercolors’ ETA is Sunday.

But Abraham said, “What a fun adventure this has been for all of us!”

The Renaissance Ilikai Waikiki is the official Transpac hotel. Brookfield Homes’ Coconut Plantation at Ko Olina is a supporter of Transpac 2001. Stratos Mobile Networks is the official communications supplier, providing satellite telephones to facilitate monitoring of the fleet. For more information please contact Stephanie Thomassen at (800) 250-8962 or (206) 633-5888.

Standings in order of handicap ratings at 8:30 p.m. PDT July 10:

DIVISION 1 (started July 1)
1. Pegasus (Reichel/Pugh 75), Philippe Kahn, Santa Cruz, Calif., finished 8 days 2 hours 34 minutes 3 seconds.
2. Pyewacket (Reichel/Pugh 73), Roy E. Disney, Los Angeles, Calif., 8:03:36:58.
3. Chance (Reichel/Pugh 74), Bob McNulty, Corona del Mar, Calif., 8:05:08:24.
4. Merlin’s Reata (Lee 68), Al Micallef, Ft. Worth, Tex., 8:17:45:35.

DIVISION 2 (started July 1)
1. Grand Illusion (Santa Cruz 70), James McDowell, Haiku, H.I., 258/94. 2. J-Bird III (Transpac 52), David Janes, Newport Beach, Calif., 277/58.
3. Taxi Dancer (R/P 68), Brian W. Mock, Corona del Mar, Calif., 279/114.
4. Yassou (Transpac 52), Jim and Nancy Demetriades, Beverly Hills, Calif., 290/136.
5. Medicine Man (Andrews 61), Bob Lane, Long Beach, Calif., 268/101.
6. Ragtime (Spencer 65), Hui Holokai Syndicate, Owen Minney/Trisha Steele, Honolulu, 249/236.
7. Mongoose (SC 70), Robert Saielli, La Jolla, Calif., 253/242.
8. DH–Étranger (Jutson 50), Howard Gordon, San Luis Obispo, Calif., 262/330.

DIVISION 3 (started June 30)
1. Cantata (Andrews 53), Brent Vaughan, Oceanside, Calif., 227/124.
2. Firebird (Nelson/Marek 55), Greg Sands, Long Beach, Calif., 225/139.
3. Bengal II (Ohashi 52), Yoshihiko Murase, Nagoya, Japan, finished 9:16:20:56.
4. Rocket Science (Riptide 55), Nguyen Le, Amsterdam, 231/66.
5. Baronesa V (Open 40), Shuichi Ogasawara, Miyagi, Japan, 261/70.

DIVISION 4 (started June 30)
1. Bull (Sydney 40 OD-T), Seth Radow, Marina del Rey, Calif., 241/221.
2. Sensation (1D35), Mike Thomas, Detroit, Mich., 215/276.
3. DH–Two Guys On the Edge (Sonoma 30), Dan Doyle, Honolulu, H.I., 178/555.
4. Ouch (J/120), Ted Mayes, San Juan Capistrano, Calif., 208/344.
5. Uproarious (Olson 40), Robert Bussard, Santa Fe, N.M., 200/425.
6. Mystere (Swan 42), Jorge Morales, Laguna Niguel, Calif., 146/654.
7. DH –Watercolors (Sabre 402), Michael Abraham, Newport Beach, Calif., 169/657.
RETIRED — LawnDart (Fast 40), Bill Allan, Nanaimo, B.C., 2,175. DH-Doublehanded

ALOHA DIVISION A (started June 25)
1. Willow Wind (Cal 40), Wendy Siegal, Sunset Beach, Calif., finished 14:06:48:25.
2. Shanakee II (Pedrick 75), Jim Warmington, Balboa, finished 11:15:51:38.
3. Seda (Ericson 41), Josef Sedivec, Bonita, Calif., 151/113.
4. Sea Dancer (Ericson 35), Al Wheatman, Marina del Rey, 152/202.
5. Bonaire (Moody 65), Gil Jones and Associates, Newport Beach, finished 13:22:53:56.
6. Gecko (Tartan 41), Jim Fabrick, Laguna Beach, 155/144.

ALOHA DIVISION B (started June 25)
1. Axapac (Wylie 39), Barry Ruff, Vancouver, B.C., finished 13:23:55:26.
2. Stardust (Wylie 46), Peter and Patricia Anderson, Laguna Beach, finished 13:05:01:24.