Solo Tahiti 2013?

[BobJ]

Any interest in a solo Tahiti race?

Follow the LA-Tahiti Race setup to some extent (see 2008 at TPYC) except start somewhere near here (low profile), reduce the minimum LOA from 33' to 30', maybe only SHTP vets initially but not many other rules.

2013?


E-mail if interested.

[Phil MacFarlane]

Reduce minimum length to 21.5 feet and I'm interested.

[BobJ]

TPYC also has a maximum rating of 114. Maybe do that instead of a minimum length and WAFI would be in. It's still a shorter race than the TransAt, right?

[Phil MacFarlane]

Sounds good to me Bob. Can't wait.

[koh samia]

It's a big longer than the second leg of the transat (3700 vs 3100 miles), but I think that could be lots of fun... if we manage to find a place to store all the water!

What's wrong with a LA start? ;-)

SHTP in 2012 and Tahiti in 2013? I'd love to be there!

[BobJ]

That's a good start - two Mini protos and a kick-ass J Boat. How about the arch enemies?

Haulback will be retired by then and if I remember right, he missed seeing Tahiti on his circumnavigation.

re LA start - It's kinda been done, ya know?

re water, stacking might be permitted.

[Critter]

Remember Alan tried to set up something like this about 10 years ago. I think he got one entry before he pulled the plug. I'd like to hear his take.

[BobJ]

CrossPac was SF to O'ahu, then on to Australia with the thought of tying into the Melbourne-Osaka Race. It was 2003 and they got three entries (all DH I think).

If a Tahiti race started early enough (early June?) with a rating limit and say, a 30-day finish deadline, and don't dally too long in Tahiti - boats could be back up to O'ahu before cyclone season starts. Then ship or sail home.


P.S. I know Haulback rates a bit higher than 114. I just figure that when Jim finishes the bendy triple-spreader rig, big roach main, sprit and 120 s/m a-sail setup, he'll be down around there. It is a reach, after all.

[AlanH]

Bob has it right. CrossPac was to be SF to Hawaii, then Hawaii to Fiji or Samoa, then to Australia. Near the end I dropped the Fiji/Samoa thing. It was to be three, 2,000 mile legs, roughly. It got you in Australia a couple of months before the Melbourne-Osaka so you could do that race as well. Nobody was much interested. I had three boats "interested" one of which was an absolute asshat of an Aussie who turned out to be all money and talk but no action. The other two entries were very competent, but obviously....

Matson serves Tahiti, so shipping boats back from there is quite possible.

Don't bother looking outside the West Coast of the USA and Canada for participants, there won't be any. Nobody outside this fringe community of bug-liters will give a rip so it will have to be an SSS event, or "Bob's Yacht Club". However, if 8-10 people sign up to to it, you might have something. I mean, in the end what you need for a race is boats that will sail from point A to Point B, right? Everything else is extra...the hotels, the belt buckles, the trophies, the big dinner, etc. etc. You don't HAVE TO HAVE any of that, especially the first time out of the blocks. Of course there will be people who think that if there's not a massive web site and radio tracking and naked dancing girls (or boys, if Synthia does it) at the other end, then well. *huff*...why would anybody want to do THAT? Also, of course, there will be dozens of people who are "interested" but who will do nothing, as well as a certain contingent of sailors with small boats who mostly talk a lot but never apparently DO anything, (Phil will be an exception) who will be all over the event telling you how it must be done if it's going to be a success.

I'm sure y'all can figure it out, though.

The question in my mind is whether or not it would pull participation away from the SHTP. I think you should seriously think over that point. Seriously.

[Phil MacFarlane]

The question in my mind is whether or not it would pull participation away from the SHTP. I think you should seriously think over that point. Seriously.[/QUOTE]

Well I plan on doing next years long pac as my qualifier for the single handed trans pac. Then doing the trans pac in 2012. So Tahiti in 2013 sounds perfect to me and wouldn’t take away my participation of the SSS races.

This of course is all dependant on me being able to sail that boat I’m buying which is a pretty big if?
I started sailing by buying a wind surfer, but this past weekend was the first time in my life I sailed a dingy (Laser) so we’ll see.
I figure what the hell I’m not getting any younger!