The sixth day of the 2022 Pacific Cup arrives with the entire fleet now at sea, and the weather conditions continuing to normalize. As of this writing, the fleet remains dispersed, though almost all of the boats - north, south and everyone in between - are in modest pressure and beginning to make tracks to Hawaii.
The fifth day of the 2022 Pacific Cup arrives with the latest sixteen starters out on the race course and the earlier starters now sailing in three distinct groups all with very different weather.
The fourth day of the 2022 Pacific Cup sees two waves of starters that have merged into one. The entire fleet is navigating a very complex weather pattern defining the early stages of this race.
Our fleet adds cheery information with their daily check-ins. Here's a representative summary that nicely captures the tone of the fleet.
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.
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.
This is a story of success, not failure. Two boats are out early on.
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.
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!
From a high point of 90 boats plus a waiting list, natural attrition, plus a few pandemic-driven issues, have pared our entry list to 63. "It's around what we expected," says PCYC Commodore Jim Quanci. "Things happen in life and on the water. Low 60s makes for a nice comfortable crowd at both ends of the race."