News

The third day of the 2022 Pacific Cup arrives with no shortage of action. A second wave of boats is now on the race course and sailing to Hawaii. The Monday fleet, heavily split between North and South, now sees the more southerly boats beginning to break out into pressure. One of the Monday starters - the Freedom 40/40 cruising boat Circe - returned to port, while one of the race’s most prestigious entries - the Volvo 70 Wizard - withdrew from their Friday start with delivery-related keel issues.

A standout boat among the Monday starters thus far appears to be Bill and Melinda Erkelens on

Right now, there is a blob of, well, no wind sitting directly between San Francisco and Hawaii.  Our racing fleet is dealing with it by trying to go around it, of course.  While the northerly route is attractive, there's a risk of getting caught in even LESS wind when the Pacific High snaps into place.  So most folks are going south.

CruzSea Baby is our northern-most boat and now making the dive south to get under that blob.  Currently leading her division by dint of heading more towards Hawaii than other boats, it will be a nail-biter to see if she can get far enough south to avoid the light

This is a story of success, not failure. Two boats are out early on.

Circe, a Freedom 40/40 started and encountered a number of issues underway, the most alarming of which was a leak at the propellor shaft. They made the difficult decision to turn back some time last night.

Wizard, a Volvo Open 70, was discovered to have suffered damage at the head of the keel, which led to delamination around that area. Not suitable for an ocean crossing.  They'll be staying put to get that fixed before heading down under for the Sydney-Hobart race in December.

Withdrawing, rather than pushing on in

Nearly twenty-four hours into the 2022 Pacific Cup, the first wave of twenty starters are now well out of the Gate and past the Farallones in what surely been a long and challenging night at sea. With weather forecasts proving accurate, the fleet is still beating into light and variable pressure that appears to be softening even further as of this writing. A result of the light and upwind conditions, the fleet is largely split between port and starboard tack with most boats tacking back and forth as local breeze dictates.

The first boat to clear the Golden Gate and kiss the Pacific in this

Our first twenty starters: the Ocean Navigator, Double-handed 1, and cruising divisions started in light air and a modest ebb. Rodney Pimentel's  Azure was first across the line looking well-trimmed.  Following the advice offered at the pre-race Skipper and Navigator meeting, our starters were quite orderly with no conflicts or barging.  Best of luck to our racers.  Stand by for an uploaded race show!