Singlehanded TransPac Update

June 20, 2010

Thirteen 'bug-lighters' continue the solo race to Hawaii in windy conditions. One of them, Ben Mewes on the Black Soo Mirage, turned back at 2100 last night, when he was about 60 miles out. "He's out of juice," wrote wife Lucie on her Facebook page. "And slightly damp." Singlehanded TransPac Race Co-Chair Rob Tryon met Ben at the Golden Gate Bridge this morning and towed Mirage in to Schoonmaker Point Marina in Sausalito. The 'out of juice' puzzle was solved: a computer's energy saver mode had been set to 'never sleep', and those suckers draw a lot of power.

The 'slightly damp' part is a vast understatement and a vastly bigger problem. Everything onboard Mirage was soaking wet from big seas and a leaky deck. "It was raining inside," said Lucie. She took all the saltwater-soaked washables up to the local laundromat while Ben napped on Rob's boat. After that, the couple set to work cleaning up the interior of Mirage.

Ben has been getting a lot of encouragement to restart; we'll let you know what he decides.

As of the Sunday morning check-in, Hecla was in turbo mode, and the furthest south, about 56 miles ahead of Idefix and a 'southern pack' of six boats. Max Crittenden's Martin 32 Solar Wind is doing a great job hanging onto Idefix's hip. Up north at the rhumb line and beyond are five boats that include Pakele above the line and Warriors Wish below. All are in close proximity of each other, except Bandicoot, which is about 40 miles behind. Taz!! failed to check in and looks far behind, but we shall see after tonight's position report is posted at 2215 on http://sfbaysss.org/TransPac/transpac2010/transpac_2010_index.html.