Monday July 15 will be a big day for Pac Cup. In addition to starting our less speedy boats, ALL doublehanders will set out that day.
"It's a bit of a balancing act," explained PRO Michael Moradzadeh, "on the one hand, we want the boats to finish around the same day, but on the other hand, if they all start the same day, at least they have start-day weather in common."
Because of the range in rated speeds of the doublehanded fleet, we expect up to four days difference in finish times. Jim Antrim, yacht designer and participant on the doublehanded 'io, weighed in on the conversation, pointing out that the weather on the day of the start generally has profound impacts on finish order, so starting them all the same day lets us have the most even competition.
Starting all the DH boats on the same day, it must be noted, also allows race organizers to defer a decision on decision splits till all ratings are in and any more dropouts or late entries can be processed.
Final start times and division splits will be announced in June. Start time is expected to be around 10:30 to 11 am to take advantage of ebbing tide and building breeze.