| Rob Macfarlane Tiger Beetle N/M 45 Tiger Beetle's web page |
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 Rob is a returning TransPac veteran, in '96 he sailed that last 500 miles into Hanalei on emergency rudder after the rudder stock sheared off on his Newport 33. For the' 02 race he paid penance as the TransPac Race Chair - "It was a sad thing to watch the fleet head offshore and I was left behind on the race deck at Corinthian YC. It was time to go again!"He's racing over on his new boat, a 1983 IOR two ton racer designed for a crew of twelve. "It was state of the art in 1983, but state of the art has moved a long way since then." "It's actually not that hard to singlehand," he claims. "The deck layout has been reworked, roller furling is great when the kite goes up, and ATN socks are great for when the kite comes down. And a lot of winches - there's nothing on the boat you can do by just pulling on a line." The original rudder was replaced with a carbon stock (Advanced Composites) and blade (Brookes, Joakim & a lot of elbow grease). The interior has been replaced, and three new sails set the boat up for a trans-ocean good time. Beetle has crossed the pond before; Rob singlehanded from Kaneohe to SF - "The boat was definitely not singlehander-friendly - changing down from the no. 1 when a squall strikes is not easy by yourself on the foredeck!" This will be his fourth passage to Hawaii, and he's been to Hawaii more often by boat than by air. Every trip has taken fifteen days, therefore the mantra is "anything less than fifteen would be a good thing!"
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Rob, who turns 42 days before the race start, grew up sailing with his parents on the east coast and later in Southern California. For the past fifteen years he's been a keen enthusiast in the local singlehanded community, especially offshore racing. The long term
plan is to sail the world with Beetle and the TransPac presents a wonderful opportunity to get out and enjoy the Big Blue Highway. "That and the people," he says. "The people are the best part of the event. It will be great to be on the line with the General, Mark, Erik and the gang. Looking forward to five o'clock Tree Time in Hanalei."
