The Singlehanded Sailing Society was conceived in the spring of 1977, the brainchild of promoter and barnstorming pilot George Sigler, owner of Survival and Safety Designs.

Sigler, a maverick ex-Navy carrier pilot, had several years previously set out for Hawaii from San Francisco with no water and six pounds of food in an inflatable raft to test his experimental survival kit. After 56 days he had lost 50 pounds, and was rescued by the Coast Guard 50 miles east of Hawaii, proclaiming his voyage a success.

Sigler's fledgling business on the Oakland waterfront needed customers, and single-handed sailors seemed a likely source of business for survival equipment. With ambivalent press from the new waterfront monthly publication Latitude 38, Sigler appointed himself commodore of SSS and staged the first single-handed Farallones Race April 9, 1977.

It was a windy affair, with white cap conditions outside the Gate building from 20 to 35 knots. Bill Lee on the new 67 foot ultra-light MERLIN left the dock with a double-reef main and storm jib, and was first to finish at 7:05 pm. A trimaran flipped, the Mull 41 footer SUNSHINE began to sink, and only 15 out of 53 starters made it out to the Farallones and back to the finish line down the Oakland Estuary, off Sigler's shop.

The Coast Guard had a busy afternoon. Unbelievably, the 8' El Toro KATIDID had set out as an entrant in this first Farallones Race. But Katherine La Fata abandoned her attempt before even getting outside the Golden Gate. What was she thinking?
Last to finish, but division winner after more than 20 hours on the course was “Max Ebb” (Paul Kamen) onboard his Santana 22 MAMBO. Overall winner was the Wylie 27 WILDFLOWER sailed by Skip Allan. Having beat out to the SE Farallone under double-reefed main and working staysail, WILDFLOWER finished at 10:53, just ahead of fellow competitor Norton Smith on the Ericson 41 EOS. Sigler had a beautiful bronze sextant as the winning trophy, but this disappeared when Sigler's closed his shop two years later.

The “success” of this first singlehanded race prompted Sigler to announce a singlehanded race to Hawaii (SHTP) to be held in June of 1978. Pacific Skipper Magazine was enlisted as a sponsor, and Club Med at Hanalei Bay promised a finish welcome. Entry fee was set at $200, and by May of that year there were 31 paid up entrants.

The size range of boats in the first SHTP ranged from the Columbia 57 MAGIC to the Santana 22 ABLE SUGAR. Two starts were scheduled: boats under 30 feet were to start June 15th, and boats over 30 feet on June 19th. Safety rules were minimal: liferafts were not required, nor were radios. Navigation would be primarily celestial as LORAN became unreliable about the halfway point.
Early favorites in this first SHTP were Smith on the Santa Cruz 27 SOLITAIRE, Allan on WILDFLOWER, Alan Rutherford on the Cal-40 QUEST from Seattle, Bill Cannon from Santa Cruz on the Moore 24 FLYER, and Aussie Jim Gannon on his new Freya 39 GOLDEN EGG. Gannon, local builder of the fiberglass Freyas, was still completing his boat during the race, and hoped to promote this three time Sydney-Hobart Race winner as a fast and seakindly design for West Coast sailing. Controversy arose just days before the start when Sigler bumped 18 year old Amy Boyer from entering another Freya, the ROBERT QUINN. Sigler claimed Boyer wasn't prepared, and appointed a new skipper, Bill Collins. Boyer was distraught, but flew to Hanalei anyway.

Both classes started in fresh conditions, and in the 14 strong small boat class, five boats abandoned the Race the first night as winds rose to 30-35 knots with 15 foot seas. A strong Pacific High made the inaugural SHTP a fast one, and records were set that were to last for more than ten years.

Ironman Norton Smith on SOLITAIRE was first to Hanalei in the fine time of 13 days, 2 hours. Smith had lost his self-steering early on, and resorted to mostly hand steering, combined with a tiller to sheet method while he slept. Upon arrival, Smith was surprised to find little welcome, as Club Med management had changed since the start, and no one had bothered to tell the new management there was a race arriving at their doorstep.

24 hours after Smith, WILDFLOWER finished at Hanalei, also having lost self steering when a weld on a Sail-O-Mat vane gave way. Greeting Allan on WILDFLOWER was local sailor and Matson Captain Bob Buell on the L-36 BELLWETHER. Buell, Allan, and Smith assumed responsibility for finishing the remainder of the fleet, standing by the VHF radio, and delivering cold beer to weary racers. This home grown welcoming tradition, and a trophy presentation under the ironwood trees in the Beach Park, set a standard for self-sufficiency that continues proudly to this day.

Twenty-one boats eventually finished the 1978 SHTP, with 10 DNF's. MAGIC put into Lahaina with crew exhaustion, and the ROBERT COLLINS badly overshot Kauai by several days, and had to beat back against the trades. Winner of the “Big Boat” class was GOLDEN EGG, followed by the Crealock 37 INTENTION, and the Cal-40 QUEST.

On hand to gather a story for his magazine, the editor of Latitude 38 also welcomed the fleet. Club Med, on the hill above the Hanalei River, grudgingly allowed singlehanders to their bar and became the de-facto night time hangout. One late and dark night, the editor of Latitude 38 joined SHTP competitor Don Keenan to row an inflatable out to Keenan's LANI KAI. Not aware of the shoal at the Hanalei River mouth, the editor rowed and rowed with no progress until both he and Keenan passed out and fell asleep inside the raft, and were discovered next morning, sleeping and still hard aground on the Hanalei River mouth shoal.

So ended the first SHTP, competed by a group of boats and amateur sailors you could find hanging out at most marinas. Life long friends were made, no lives were lost, and this group of “crazies” set the standard for future SHTP's that continues every even year.