LongPac Update

July 7, 2011

The rate of LongPac DNFs (Did Not Finish) increased today. We have this short report from Principal Race Officer AJ Goldman: "To say this year's LongPac has been a difficult race seems like a major understatement right now. Out of the 27 boats that started the race on Wednesday morning, only four boats are still in the race. Those boats are Ragtime!, Darwind, Moonshadow, and Tortuga.

"These boats are now retired from the race: Constellation, Joyride, Nancy, Ohana, Solar Wind, Tiger Beetle, Alchera, Archimedes, Crazy Rhythm, Culebra, Elise, Even Keel, Taz!!, Galaxsea, Gavilan, Grace, Humdinger, Mirage, Rainbow, Rosalita, Arcadia, Starbuck, and Xpression. It looks like Ragtime! has made the turning mark and is coming home. Great work Bob, now bring her home!"

Pat Broderick, skipper of the Wyliecat 30 Nancy, explains why they turned around early: "Well, we're home. We decided at 0730 yesterday morning that we would abandon the race and turned around, heading for the Golden Gate. After 22 hours of sailing, we'd had sailed 68 nm, but were still 186 miles away from 126º 40' - and our boat speed was 1.2 knots. Even though we'd sailed nearly 70 nautical miles, we were only about half that distance from San Francisco. It took nine hours to sail those 38 miles back to the berth, including five hours of motoring because there wasn't enough wind to sail. We sailed 113 nm total!

"After a brisk start the wind died once we exited the Golden Gate and entered the Gulf of the Farallones. The photo of Jeffrey steering us away from the San Francisco Shipping Channel (about seven miles offshore) sort of demonstrates that lack of wind. It became even 'lackier!'

Jeffrey Gould driving Nancy away form the shipping channel. ©2011 Pat Broderick

"Along with almost all of the boats in the fleet, we headed north once we could, seeking the shortest distance to the synoptic wind that was promised. We never made it. What light wind we had during daylight almost disappeared completely once darkness arrived. The only sounds we heard after dark were fog horns from the container ships going north and south in the nearby shipping lane, the clanging of our rigging and the slapping of water against the hull, and the blowing of humpback whales.

"Yes, we saw whales in the afternoon, sometimes a hundred yards or so away. And we heard them throughout the night, sometimes loud and sometimes faint. Luckily Moby Dick was off somewhere else doing his thing! A few boats were able to break out into the synoptic wind, where they found 25-35 knots and rough seas; most turned back, ironically because conditions were so rough they didn't want to stay out there."

Rob Macfarlane and Kristen Soetebier quit because of too much wind and high-tailed it to Drake's Bay with the J/120 Alchera for a little R&R. "Just before the Thursday 0900 check in Beetle made the decision to turn around," reported Kristen. "In the words of its wise skipper, 'This just isn't fun anymore. I've got nothing to prove so I see no reason to beat myself and the boat up to go 145 miles more in building conditions, only to turn right back around and go another 145 miles just to get back to where I am now. And still have to go another 60 or so miles to get home.'

Kristen shot this video after Tiger Beetle turned around. ©2011 Kristen Soetebier

"We had 6-8 foot lumpy wind swell with 25-28 knot winds out of the north and the last forecast expected the winds to only build. Water was pouring over the boat and splashing into the cockpit every so often. Not the worst the boat has ever seen, by far, but simply unpleasant for a summer sail. So, we ended up anchored in a very calm Drake's Bay for the evening with Mark Deppe and Alchera, and shared his birthday and a beer with him. More power to the four still out there slogging away…"

A peaceful evening in Drake's Bay. ©2011 Kristen Soetebier

Tiger Beetle's outbound and return track. "It shows the tacking we had to do inside the Gulf of the Farallones to play all the shifts before we finally reached the steady wind," said Kristen. ©2011 Google

"This year's LongPac proved difficult for almost all of the boats that started the race," said AJ. "But, that's sailboat racing. And it's Singlehanded Sailing Society racing at its best. I think members of the SSS are the best, safest sailors I know; they prepare themselves and their boats well, and they know their limits." See www.sfbaysss.org.