TRANSPAC: Awash in routine and reality of the race

(July 16, 2013) – During the span of the 2225-mile Transpac race, when the lights of Los Angeles are long gone, yet Honolulu is too far to wish for, you are awash in routine and the reality of the race.

“Sun is just about to come up here,” shared skipper Roy P. Disney on the Andrews 70 Pyewacket. “It is always a spiritual and existential victory to sail through the darkest of night and be rewarded with a blood orange sunrise. Our mood is great on the boat. We keep working hard to make the boat go fast and we work well together. The not so good news is that we run out of prepared meals today and start on freeze dried only food. I have always seen that as an incentive to finish quicker!”

When eat, sleep, and sail dominate the crew cycle, food becomes a topic. “There’s been a special request to know more about our meals,” explained Santa Cruz 50 Deception navigator Peter Shumar. “Life is not all caviar and sparkling wine aboard the good ship Deception, but we typically throw down the anchor and don our yachting jackets and have a pre-meal cocktail. Not really. Here’s the Menu so far:

Day 1: Green papaya ginger and chicken soup over brown rice.
Day 2: Beef stew over brown rice
Day 3: Pasta marinara, meatballs and garlic bread (homemade sauce and meatballs)
Day 4: Burrito night!
Day 5: Panko crusted chicken, Garlic sour cream mashed potatoes and spicy cole slaw.

“Some of our land lubbin’ friends ask us what we do at night. The answer is: go to the Holiday Inn, of course.”

Hotel accommodations would be particularly welcome at night as the fleet sails through the dense debris field, a likely result of the tragic tsunami that struck Japan two years earlier.

“We saw notifications of debris locations from other competitors, and today suddenly and out of nowhere, we spotted debris ourselves,” said Dave Rearick on the Santa Cruz 52 Bodacious IV. “Today’s tally: three fishing buoys, one large piece of plastic in a “T” shape, one large log about 15 feet long and one smaller narrow log about 8 feet long and 8 inches in diameter.”

The American classic Dorade has returned to the race which she won in 1936, and while the 52-footer still reflects the era for when she was built in 1929, she now carries the capability of sharing video from the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Click here to join her crew.

Race website: http://www.transpacyc.com/

B’Quest: Following the doublehanded B’Quest team’s entry being revoked prior to their start on July 8, and then their eventual start of the race, protest of the race, and eventual departure from the race route after 16 hours, the team has remained silent… until now. Click here for their statement.