race report
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Great Pacific Longitude Race July 6, 2011 The Singlehanded Sailing Society's 2011 Great Pacific Longitude Race (aka LongPac) is underway, and it may just as well be called the LongRace because it was very slow getting out the Gate.
The LongPac was originally set up to be a qualifying sail for the Singlehanded TransPac and is unusual because the windward mark is the longitude line of 126 degrees 40 minutes 200 miles out from the Golden Gate - just enough distance to get seasick, but not enough to see warm water and the sun. Twenty-six boats started in low fog just after 1000 hours, and they still haven't made it past the Farallones at 2000. But wait, there is breeze 100 miles out and if the weather predictions are true the racers should have a very windy ride home in a day or so.
To follow the progress and learn more go to the SSS website at www.sfbaysss.org and follow the boats on the tracking page at http://track.pacificcup.org/longpac.php.
"The dots and lines show how the LongPac boats are doing," explained Pat Broderick, whose Wyliecat 30 Nancy is sailing doublehanded. The system is set up to record positions every two hours between 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time. After 10:00 p.m. there will be no more dots until 5:00 the next morning. That doesn't mean we're not moving; it just means the tracking system goes to sleep and wakes up. No, there are no motels or anchorages out there. We just keep sailing all night, taking turns sleeping and steering. "But, here's the caveat. Things fail. If our dots should disappear or stop, not to worry. It just means our satellite transponder isn't getting its message to the satellite. Could be a dead battery or something like that. We can't repair it, so if it goes blank, so will we. Don't call for help!" July 7, 2011 The wind has arrived for a lot of the boats - so much that some have turned around early to head home because of it. Eight boats have retired including some of the big boats, like Mark Deppe's J/120 Alchera and Rob MacFarlane and Kristen Soetebier on Tiger Beetle. The charts say 25-30 knots of wind, but it may be rough. The leader of the LongPac so far is Bob Johnston on his J/92 Ragtime! out ahead by 50 miles of the other boats. More to come.
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