Land preparations for the race

[Philpott]

Less than 6 weeks from the start of the 2023 SHTP, it's about time to start making plans.

Okay, raise your hand: Who wants to sail to Kauai on Sunday June 25? Oh! You say you have been preparing for two years? Three years? Well, that's just excellent. Now for the details that might interest everyone else:

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The race will be staged at the Richmond Yacht Club in Point Richmond, California. How to get there? Click here:

https://www.richmondyc.org/Default.aspx?p=DynamicModule&pageid=27&ssid=100039&vnf=1

The day before the race, on Saturday June 24, friends, family members and well wishers are welcome to come to RYC in order to have a look at the boats, chat with the sailors and everybody else.

David Herrigel is the 2023 Singlehanded Transpacific Race Chair. On Saturday morning David will meet with the sailors in the Regatta Room of RYC to give last minute instructions and answer last minute questions.

Skip Allan, who did the race in 1978 and again in 2008, will provide a weather update and advice regarding the trip across to Kauai. It's very interesting and a lot of fun except for the sailors whose boats aren't quite ready. Yeah. They won’t be having fun.

It will be a chance for people to put names to faces and to appreciate the incredible preparations that are required by the singlehanded sailors who will participate in this 2100+ journey across the Pacific.

We hope you’ll come to say hello and goodbye.

Then, the next morning? They’re OFF!

The race will start off the Golden Gate Yacht Club on the San Francisco City Front. There is plenty of free public parking over there, and start times will be announced well before the race. 9:42 am is the top of an ebb tide of 2.5 knots at the Golden Gate.

More to come. Got Questions? Ask 'em here.

[Philpott]

A week after my previous post and there are no further questions. That is just great. I'm glad everyone feels so confident.

One favor, though. Will racers advise David Herrigel of your jacket size? We will embroider your boat’s name on your jacket. Do it soon, please?

Also

The infamous swanky aloha luncheon is no more. This year, once the competitors have spent thousands of dollars preparing their boats, reserving their rooms, paying the airfare for friends and families? They won't be hit with the last minute expense of a $45+ goodbye luncheon. Why? Because we plan to offer bag lunches to racers and their immediate families instead. For FREE. Yes, that wonderful word.

Friends? Well, we will have extra sandwiches available for a nominal fee. Baked goods will be included. Of course.

[mpolkabla]

Jackets in Kauai in July??? That is a good one! Well, for me... Jacket size is typically a Large.
Cheers,

Michael Polkabla
Cal40 Solstice #4

[Philpott]

Thank you, Michael! You will appreciate that jacket when you sail home to Monterey!

[northwester]

So nice that the RYC is hosting again. Great place to visit. Thank you RYC, dura mater and everyone involved!

[Philpott]

A member of the race committee is already in Hanalei Bay aboard his Crealock s/v Pamela. Dennis Maggard has been sending us updates regarding what we can expect this year when we all make landfall: You from your boats, us from the airline of our choice. Here is a photo of Pamela on Hanalei Bay. She has a green hull. Similar to Green Buffalo’s, but different.

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First of all, Dennis says that all roads are open to Hanalei from the rest of the island. This is a good thing, and an improvement from 2021, when cars were allowed into and out of Hanalei Bay only twice per day.

Here is a photo of a Hanalei Bay rainbow from this morning. Yes, there will be rainbows for you, too.

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Dennis says the 2023 SHTP Command Central house is in a very central location, walkable from the Bay and Hanalei Town. It also has an outdoor shower.

Thank you to all sailors for sending me your jacket sizes. They have been ordered and will be embroidered with the SSS logo and the name of your boat. How cool is that?

Soon I will need to know how many bag lunches (sandwiches, baked goods, soft drinks) you would like to order for the Aloha Luncheon to be held after the Skippers’ meeting at RYC on 062423. They will not cost you anything for yourself or your immediate family members or a couple friends. You are singlehanders. How many friends could you have?

That’s it for now. Any questions? Ask here.

[Sailor Dennis]

What a time we are all gonna have together in Hanalei! there is no prettier place to anchor s/v Pamela. Me and the old girl have anchored in Mo’orea, Fatu Hiva, bora-Bora, Suwarro, minerva reef, and Ururapukapuka in the Bay of Islands— and those places are truly fabulous, so beautiful you could cry. But only Hanalei is Hanalei, and you are gonna be there soon.

[Philpott]

Organizing the sandwich orders. There. Will. Be. An Aloha luncheon.

Here are some videos for you.

A review of the Fleet from 2018: https://vimeo.com/304265355

Here is Synthia mixing up the medicine: https://vimeo.com/280102650

The start of the 2021 SHTP: https://vimeo.com/568119852

And here's Dennis, RC member already in Hanalei: https://vimeo.com/835610420

[Philpott]

Back in the Day: https://vimeo.com/287527690

This is from the 2008 SHTP. Video by Christine Weaver and Jonathan Gutoff of NorCal Sailing. Yes, they will be on island this year, too.

[Philpott]

Rainbow on Hanalei Bay Friday 060923

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[Philpott]

Okay, no more touchy feely posts. Here's some information that you all might find useful.

Yes, we will have a boat for arrivals. That said, we will collect you after you have crossed the finish line.

Once you have done that the RC Command post will pass you on to the Sea Squirrel via radio.

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If you arrive in the middle of the night, the Sea Squirrel will be the zoom zoom boat festooned with Christmas and/or Halloween lights, whatever kind of lights haven't already died from dead batteries. The RC crew will have their red headlamps on. In the past, this made arriving racers a little nervous. Don't worry. It's us. We come to help.

[sleddog]

Only if. If the 2023 SHTP had started today, it would be a fast race, with a strong EPAC centered well above the course, relatively stationary, and strengthening. The vanguard would be arriving in 11-12 days. She's a nice. But don't hold your breath.

[Philpott]

2023 Transpackers are arriving from other places into the Bay and in the RYC harbor. Here are David Garman, Jim Quanci, Brian Boschma and Randy Leisure.

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Mr Pelagic drove up to make final tweaks to some of the boats. Every time he drives up from the South Bay he complains about the traffic. As if there's none down there.

It was Wednesday night at the races, so Green Buffalo took to Potrero Reach with four singlehanders aboard. Was this a bad idea? Jim laughed:

"It's Wednesday night! What could go wrong?"

Well, in the starting scrum a whole lotta big boats showed up at the same time. From the safety of another big boat I will attest to the fact that things almost went sideways for our four brave Ullyseses.

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Gary Burton was aboard GM. Tony Bourque stayed behind to work on the 20% of preparation that needs doing on Circe.

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David Garman is still tweaking Such Fast, so he stayed behind, too. Who woulda thunk that David would be the sensible one?

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Green Buffalo looked beautiful out there, though! And she's no slouch, keeping up with the Santa Cruz 37 Wild Card, a twitchy boat owned by Nick Grebe.

John Wilkerson is on his way down the coast from Bainbridge Island, Tortuga is ready to go, Randy will bring her over to RYC for the Aloha luncheon, Bill Stange and Hula are in Sausalito, Gary Burton's boat is in the RYC harbor ... the club has been almost completely colonized by singlehanders.

Speaking of the Aloha Luncheon, I will be sending out menus for sandwiches soon. For all of you who want to come to the Aloha luncheon on Saturday June 24, bring your own bag lunch and join us. It will be great to see you all.

[Philpott]

The boats are coming in: Perplexity from Bainbridge Island, Washington, Elmach from British Columbia. Here's a screenshot. Perplexity is just north of Bodega Bay, Elmach is off Crescent City.

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We'll post the Jibeset tracker before the start of the race. Until then, go to Jibeset here, although boats will be clustered at RYC until Sunday 062523:

http://www.jibeset.net/tv.php

[Philpott]

2023 SINGLEHANDED TRANSPAC ALOHA LUNCH

This year the 2023 SHTP is again being staged at the Richmond Yacht Club.

The race will start off the Golden Gate Yacht Club on Sunday June 25. The tentative start time will be 10 am.

The SHTP Aloha Lunch will be a bag lunch affair, held immediately after the Skippers’ Meeting, which will be at RYC in the downstairs Regatta Room at Noon on June 24. Bring your own bag lunch and join us as we send 18 racers off to Kauai.

Soft drinks will be available and there is a water station just outside the Regatta Room for refilling water bottles. The RYC bar will open at 1 pm.

Everyone is invited. It would be great to see you all.

Regards, Jackie

[Philpott]

Solstice has landed.

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Perplexity is on E Dock. John Wilkerson said he saw 51 knots of wind on the way down from Bainbridge Island. Fifty. One. Knots.

[Philpott]

Drove by the Berkeley Marine Center to deliver pre LA Transpac oatmeal raisin cookies to Cree. What is this? It's the beautiful Gwendolyn being pampered before getting re-inserted into the water under Todd Olsen's watchful eye.

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Todd will sail her over to the SHTP staging area of Richmond Yacht Club tomorrow afternoon. Will he take the outboard with him to Hanalei Bay? No. A friend will sail from Hanalei Bay to Oahu with him after the Awards Ceremony on island. Who's the friend? It's Synthia. If you've got Petroka aboard? You don't need no engine.

[todd22123]

We'll post the Jibeset tracker before the start of the race. Until then, go to Jibeset here, although boats will be clustered at RYC until Sunday 062523:

http://www.jibeset.net/tv.php

Is there a link to the tracker for the race? I would like to send to family and friends. Thank you, Todd

[jakmang]

Some fanboy questions:

Are there divisions this year?
What happened to Gary Burton's rating?
What is the real rating for the Swan 371? Normal rating is usually 114. Downwind, it cant be as good as a Cal 40.

Thanks
-jak

[Philpott]

The Aloha Luncheon was quite the epicural spectacle. Remember what Mary Poppins said,"Enough is as good as a feast"

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[Philpott]

And now, for something slightly different:

I mentioned to Ray Irvine (Jibeset) that there are three University professors on the course this year. John Wilkerson teaches Political Science at U Washington, Alex Benderskii Chemistry at USC and Mike Smith Electrically Engineering at U Hawaii.

Ray's response? " What does that tell you about this race?"

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Well, I didn't know, so I got out that old Analysis Trigger. Let's analyze ALL these people out there: Their choice of boat, their racing style, their degree of competitiveness, even possible mommy daddy issues if you are a Freudian. Why not? The safety requirements for the race don't include a Rorschach test. Maybe it should? The tracker doesn't collect that data. Maybe it should? Spouses and significant others are welcome to participate in this silliness.

We are all friends here. We want the best for everyone on the course. Yet there are those - like me - who wonder: Why would anyone race across an ocean in a small boat alone?

[Daydreamer]

"We are all friends here. We want the best for everyone on the course. Yet there are those - like me - who wonder: Why would anyone race across an ocean in a small boat alone?"

What else are you gonna' do?