They’re off and running. Unlike the SSS TransPac fleet, the fast boats in the Pacific Cup enjoyed a windy send-off late last week, immediately diving south once past the Farallon Islands. Some of the boats are past the halfway mark on their way to what seems to be the consistent trade winds all the way to Hawaii.

The singlehanders racing to Kauai are all spread out, with the northern bunch getting stuck in a expanding high pressure system that makes for slow going. Alan Hebert on a Santa Cruz 27 explains: “Greetings from the good and extremely pungent ship, Ankle Biter. It's slow out here. Down south, two of my competitors are rocketing away on Polar Bear [an Olson 30] and Ragtime! [a J/92], but up north 60-70 miles there's not a lot of wind. I am in a dilemma.”

While Alan seeks wind, Eric Thomas on Polar Bear is kicking ass. His only comments are about the perfect conditions: “The stars tonight are awesome - watched a plane fly towards the mainland, looked really low even though it’s at 35,000 feet - the stars are just much higher. Did a couple of spinnaker jibes today as the wind was slowly moving more easterly. Currently running dead down in 20 knots with the sails set wing and wing as the kite is kind of sketchy in the dark when you cannot see the squalls coming and you are half asleep.”

But wait... Funny things are happening weather-wise between the boats and their goal. A small hurricane named Fausto may mess things up after all. To all of us sailing nerds sitting at home this is the Nintendo days. Which way would you go? To join the fun, check out these sites and make your predictions: www.opc.ncep.noaa.gov/Loops and www.opc.ncep.noaa.gov. And if you haven’t already, be sure to see www.pacificcup.org and www.sfbaysss.org. Check back here for videos and reports of the SSS TransPac finish. We'll tough it out in Kauai so that you don’t have to.