Offshore Racing Benefits From Selective Memory

What’s remarkable about the human spirit is its ability to readily recall good moments and allow less favorable memories to fade away. This an important attribute for the biennial Transpac Race, as the sunshine and surfing on approach to Honolulu is the story that gets told, and not so much the cold and close-winded exit from the California coast.

Among the first 22 entries in Divisions 7 and 8 that started their 2225 nm LA-Honolulu race on July 13 is Vivianne Fagrell, who is doing her third Transpac Race on the 1D35 Alpha Puppy. Here she shares with PressureDrop.us some of her memorable offshore moments…

“Some of the night time sailing has been just epic. I don’t think I have ever seen such a big sky and some of those starlight evenings and moonlight evenings were ah-ma-zing. There were some squalls that were a gas as well.

“During the first Transpac, when we arrived at the Molokai Channel, we were carried in all the way by a 30 knot squall that led to some of the highest and lengthiest speeds runs we have enjoyed. There was a lot of hootin’ and hollering and giggling that night as we surfed for hours. On the next Transpac, we got to see the legendary channel during the day. It is so gorgeous.

“One of the crew quipped ‘Oh I see, you forget about the first 7 days because the last 3 are just amazing, that’s what brings you back!’ I also love the reception that each boat gets when you arrive. I think that is a fine, fine tradition.”

Race website – Tracker – Video analysis on July 15 – Facebook

Transpac schedule:
July 13: First Transpac Start: Divisions 7 & 8, 1300 PDT
July 16: Second Transpac Start: Divisions 4, 5 & 6, 1300 PDT
July 18: Third Transpac Start: Multihulls (1230 PDT), Divisions 1, 2 & 3 (1300 PDT)
July 29: Mt Gay Rum Party, Waikiki YC
July 30: Hawaii YC Bacardi Rum Okole Maluna Party
July 31: Honolulu Awards Ceremony – The Modern Hotel
Aug 1st: Kaneohe YC Party and Plywood Cup Regatta

ABOUT TRANSPAC
First organized by the Transpacific Yacht Club in 1906, the Transpacific Yacht Race or Transpac is an offshore sailing race from Point Fermin in Los Angeles to Diamond Head, just east of Honolulu, a distance of 2225 miles. This is among the world’s great ocean races, and biennially attracts some of the world’s fastest sailing yachts, some of its most talented offshore racing sailors, and a wide variety of offshore sailing adventurers.

Transpacific YC also conducts occasional races to Papeete, Tahiti. Membership is open to all sailors who have completed a TPYC race to either of these destinations in paradise.