Singlehanded Transpac - Sailing California to Hawaii Solo

San Francisco, US - To say the Singlehanded Transpac from San Francisco to Kauai is no ordinary yacht race would be a huge understatement. No corporate sponsors, mostly low-budget boats, and the most non-competitive group of ocean racers we have ever met. As one person put it: "This race is like a bug light for weirdos." Well, we wouldn't go that far, but we would say that the boats - which range from a tiny Cal 20 bay racer to an old Open 60 racing yacht - as well as the competitors in this race, are anything but typical ocean racers.

 

The Singlehanded Transpac race does not, as its name may imply, cross the entire Pacific. It is a San Francisco to Kauai race that covers about 2100 nautical miles, putting it close to the distance range of races like the Artemis Transat which covers 2800 miles, and this is where the similarity between the races stops. Where the Transat is a high-profile race, with big, shiny boats and world-wide media coverage, the Transpac is basically a bunch of solo sailors who want to race to a certain tree at Hanalei Bay.

 

Walking the docks on the eve of the race, many owner-racers were still hard at work. Drills, duct-tape and last minute retrofits were the buzz on the planks, and few were without at least "one last thing" to do. In true Corinthian style, the sailor/owners are responsible for themselves and their boats, and beyond the required safety gear and inspections, the state of readiness of many of the yachts was a rather subjective issue.

 

Unless you sail in the San Francisco bay, you probably won't recognize the names of most of the racers in the Singlehanded Transpac, but you will recognize their personalities. They're just like that guy you know at your own marina - the one who's been talking about sailing across an ocean for years. He's been imagining conquering the "big blue" since he was a kid, and you'll find him on any given weekend working on that "junky old boat," with a screwdriver in his permanently-stained hand, and a dream in his heart. The only difference is that for this group, the dream is suddenly a reality.

 

As Tom Kirschbaum of the International Folkboat [Maria Home IFS] Feral, one of the smallest boats in the Singlehanded Transpac, said: "It is something that I first got interested in when I read Slocum in the fourth grade." The dreamers-turned-doers will be testing not only their boats and their sailing abilities, but their power to overcome the loneliness and isolation all long-distance solo ocean racers must confront. One sailor summed it up for most, when he told us on the eve of the race: "I'm sure I will learn alot about myself, and what I am capable of. The biggest challenge to handle I think will be the loneliness, I'm really going to miss my wife."

 

 

 

The singlehanded sailors raced out of the Corintian Yacht Club in Tiburon, California, in sailboats ranging from the speedy trimaran Hecla and "classic" Open 60 Dogbark, to average cruising boats and tiny bay racers. The smallest boat in the fleet is the little old Cal 20 Black Feathers, which will take nerves of steel to bring across the mighty Pacific.

 

In overcast skies, and a building 15 knot breeze, this year's Singlehanded Transpac fleet sailed out with the ebbing tide, under the Golden Gate, and towards their destination on Kauai. Conditions outside the Gate were looking good at the start, with a South wind at 10 knots, and a swell of 1 to 2 feet in patchy fog. The solo sailors were blessed with decent conditions at the infamous potato patch as well, with combined seas of 6 feet at 10 seconds. Unfortunately, the wind nearly died completely just a few hours off the California coast. At this point, it looks like the sailor with the best light wind boat and tactics might just win this race, but things change.

 

Although it is believed that the trimaran and Open 60 sailboats will be first to finish the Singlehanded Transpac in Hawaii for line honors, the boats most competitors are watching out for, after corrections, are a couple of the smaller yachts in the fleet. Mark Deppe, who won the race in 2006 on the J120 Alchera, is out sailing again in his fifth Singlehanded TransPac, and is unquestionably one of the favorites to win. Mark says of the Transpac: "There’s something very addictive about this race. It’s hard to explain to the uninitiated. Even though each skipper gives their best effort to do well in the race, no one hesitates to help out and support their fellow competitors as well. We all share the experience of getting our boats ready and passing the qualification inspections. Then we all share the experience racing to Kauai for two or more weeks, talking twice daily on the SSB. By the time we cross the finish, we are a close-knit family, having shared our best and worst moments, and we have made friends for life. Offshore sailing is a great way to break out of the mold of everyday life and its responsibilities, and making landfall at Hanalei Bay after two weeks alone with the ocean is an experience that should not be missed."

 

Deppe expects the biggest challenge for the singlehanded sailors to be the area of low wind sitting directly off the California coast, and "the tropical storms which are coming up in the second week. I looked at the long range GRIB forecasts for the second week out, when we're closing in on Kauai. The remnants of some pretty decent tropical storms are going right across the race course. So let's hope those die out, and aren't very strong." These tropical storms may have a large effect on the outcome of the race as the winds veer, possibly causing the sailboats to beat to the finish, an unusual situation for the Singlehanded Transpac.

 

The Wylie 27 Wildflower of Santa Cruz California, with sailor Skip Allan at the helm, is the another boat with a great chance of winning this year's Singlehanded Transpac. While working at Tom Wylie's boat shop in Alameda in 1975, Skip and Tom, built this 27 foot performance sailboat from a half-tonner mold. Skip went on to win the first Singlehanded Farallones Race, before entering the very first Singlehanded Transpac thirty years ago. Back in those days Wildflower had no electronics, engine, radio or life raft. Remember the days when all navigation was by DR and celestial navigation? During that race, Skip had some tough times when the self-steering disappeared from the transom on day three of the Transpac. However, a tired but relieved Skip Allan arrived safely in Hanalei after fourteen days to finish second. Since then, Skip has cruised and raced her over 90,000 miles, including two trips to the South Pacific, five trips to the Pacific Northwest, and six passages to Hawaii.

 

This is Allan's 27th Race to Hawaii, and he won the Pacific Cup Race overall as a double-handed entrant on Wildflower in 2002. However, this is only Skip's second time competing in the Singlehanded Transpac. So why is Skip Allan at it again, in the same boat, 30 years after his first race? He says "the boat is due, it's the SHTP anniversary, and Hanalei bay is the best placed in the world to finish an ocean race!" Skip says his goals for this trip are "to have a good time, to arrive safely, and of course to win."

 

Another boat to watch in this year's Singlehanded Transpac may be the Westsail 32 Sunquest from Portland, Oregon, with Joshua Siegel at the helm. Although this is Joshua's first ocean yacht race, he has been planning for this voyage for more than ten years. Joshua told us at dockside that it was "exciting to have finally made it to the starting line, and that nobody is saying no to me anymore! I have been working on the boat for couple of years, but the last couple of months have been an absolute marathon. The work became progressively more challenging as the starting date came closer. Everyone who participates in the Singlehanded Transpac, at least in their minds, has a very high degree of self-sufficiency. If you look around the marina right now [18 hours before the race start], you will see people working on their boats, to get them prepared at the last minute. Everybody is here pretty much on their own, which is part of the fun of doing this race."

 

When we asked Siegel if he was "in it to win it?" He replied "the only reason you race is to win." Don't laugh - it wouldn't be the first time a Westsail (a.k.a. "WetSnail") 32 won a Pacific Ocean yacht race. In fact, aboard Sunquest was David King himself, the skipper of the famous Saraband that won the Pacific Cup back in 1988. David finished the crossing in 14 days 17 hours, an amazing feat in the relatively light winds on the sailing course that year. He told us that he was aboard Sunquest to give Joshua some last minute advice, saying "many people asked for my help in preparing for this race, but Joshua was the only one who told me he really wanted to win. Why race if you don't want to win?"

 

 

 

Since sailing out from San Francisco Bay, the Singlehanded Transpac sailors have continued to deal with the low wind situation off the California coast. Al Hughes of the yacht Dogbark reported last night "Day 1 is in the books and someone forgot the wind. Nice start and good sail under the Golden Gate but the wind slowly died. Made it to just off the Farallon Islands by sundown and we are slowly creeping westward. Lots of marine life around the islands with many sightings of humpbacks, sea lions, seals, seabirds and near the main ship channel a lot of very large jellyfish. The head was about the size of a basketball and almost that color. Ankle Biter had a female sea lion get partially on board around 1600. Both front flippers and head under the lifeline till Alan swatted her with his foulies." Al added: "A lot of slatting about last night and it was cold, seemed almost like a pacific nw night all bundled up in fleece and foulies. Finally got a little breeze early this morning although still out of the south. A little fog and drizzle this morning with the wind coming and going. At this rate it will be a slow go for Dogbark and the rest of the fleet. [...] Dwight [Odom] on Na Na reported to me after check-in this morning that he is returning to SF because his batteries will not hold a charge. He will not be on the check-in this evening. He hopes to be able to restart and still complete the race."

 

We'll keep you posted on the progress of the sailors in the Singlehanded Transpac here at YachtPals, as we receive more reports and photos from the sailing fleet.

 

- Singlehanded Transpac - Sailing California to Hawaii Solo by Kim Hampton for YachtPals

 

 

Singlehanded Transpac

 

July 13 2008 Singlehanded Transpac Position Report
Name		Type		Skipper				Lat		Lon		DTF		COG		SOG		12hr dist
Division J - Multihulls
Hecla	Hammerhead 54	Jeff Lebesch		37.43	-124.17	2047	262	6.6	54
Division G - Sport Boats
Ankle Biter	SC 27	Alan Hebert		37.55	-123.68	2064	260	4.9	37
Polar Bear	Olson 30	Eric Thomas		37.43	-123.95	2068	252	5.4	47
Ragtime!	J/92	Bob Johnston		37.52	-123.80	2058	223	3.0	41
Warriors Wish	Jutson 30	Don Gray		37.10	-123.88	2047	244	5.6	54
Division F - Large Monohulls
Alchera	J/120	Mark Deppe		37.35	-123.88	2064	241	5.9	49
Chesapeake	Outbound 46	Jim Fair		37.65	-123.53	2072	260	2.6	33
Dogbark	X-Open 60	Al Hughes		37.30	-125.00	2040	245	7.2	58
Na Na	Saga 43	Dwight Odom		37.48	-123.77	2100	235	5.5	0
Wenlemir	Swan 47	Wen Lin		37.67	-123.08	--	350	2.0	--
Division E - Medium Monohulls
Dream Chaser	Valiant 40	John Hayward		37.32	-123.52	2066	233	5.9	37
Feolena	Valiant 32	Rob Tryon		37.62	-123.17	2102	200	3.0	4
Harrier	Finn Flyer 31	Ken Roper		37.23	-123.75	2056	240	5.9	46
Haulback	Spencer 35	Jim Kellam		37.58	-123.28	2083	250	2.0	22
Islander	Bristol 34	Barbara Euser		37.63	-120.10	2100	254	1.7	5
Sunquest	Westsail 32	Joshua Siegel		37.65	-123.10	2091	210	1.5	16
Division E - Small Monohulls
Black Feathers	Cal 20	Robert Crawford		37.53	-123.13	2089	255	1.1	22
Carroll E	Dana 24	Christian Humann		37.58	-124.50	2088	260	2.0	20
Feral	International Folkboat	Thomas Kirschbaum		37.55	-123.18	2086	269	2.5	22
Kali O Kalani	Harkfarm 28	Nicholas Ratto		37.38	-123.42	2073	260	3.7	28
Sparky	Pearson Electra 22	Ruben Gabriel		37.57	-123.37	2078	240	4.0	28
Wildflower	Wylie Custom 27	Skip Allan		37.45	-123.78	2057	255	5.6	45

 

 

 

READ MORE ABOUT THE Singlehanded Transpac :

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Submitted By YachtPals on 13 Jul

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