race report
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 A crowd of family, friends, fellow 'bug-lighters' and well wishers gathered on the sunny deck of the Corinthian YC for the start of the Singlehanded TransPac. ©2010 norcalsailing.com |
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Singlehanded TransPac Sets Sail for Kauai June 19, 2010 The Singlehanded Transpac fleet got off the line this morning with no postponment, plenty of wind and sunshine, a strong ebb, choppy seas, and a good crowd to cheer them on. This year's weather seems to predict a fast start out the Gate, with the remains of gale conditions outside subsiding at the right time. But which way to go?
Some have said it's a rhumb line year for the boats. Others, like AJ Goldman on the Cascade 36 Second Verse, think a more southerly course may be the ticket. "I'm thinking of heading down to the 20 millibar line and following that if it works out." Second Verse only carries asymmetrical spinnakers so the trick is to sail a hotter angle, not dead downwind."There seems to be an alley out past the gales to the north and south." Those predicted gales looked bad at Wednesday's weather seminar and had the racers nervous anticipating a bash through 40 knots of wind. AJ was one of the ones with trepidation. "Rob Macfarlane gave the weather talk," said AJ, "and when he mentioned waves on top of waves up to 25 feet high the room went silent."
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