As the Pacific Cup comes to a close, victory is already being declared by the organizers. Judging by this video of racers basking in the warm Hawaii air, it was another huge win for the Pacific Cup Yacht Club and all who participated.
But we here in the Pacific Northwest can do a little crowing of our own. By my count there were 10 Pacific Northwest Boats and a couple others with significant Northwest connections. The fat lady will sing in the coming hours as Classes B and C finish and we know the final positions of Shearwater, Zaff and Poke and Destroy. But here’s a brief rundown of PNW results so far.
In the Doublehanded 1 Division, Darrel and Ian Jensen corrected to a third in the Express 27 Alternate Reality. Alexia Fisher and Christa Bassett Ross corrected to fourth in the Santa Cruz 27 Zipper in the Doublehanded 2 class, nipping out the J/105 Abstract from Portland. This division had a very wide performance spread, and in fact the first boat to get to Hawaii, A Fond Le Griffon, came from this class in semi-foiling mode. In the Kolea cruising class, Holm Albrecht’s Swan 441 Gusto finished fourth with Wavelength and Edge of Moonlight coming in 6th and 11th.
In the BMW of San Rafael class (highest rated) there were two Northwest boats, Rage and Westerly, and one adopted Bieker design with plenty of PNW crew, Blue. The 41-foot Blue couldn’t hold with the fast sleds on the water, but did correct to third in class behind Pyewacket and Prospector.
In the coming hours, two classes with PNW boats in the money, are set to finish.
Phil Wampold’s J/92 Zaff of Victoria has sailed a great race, and looks like she will finish second in Class 3, while Alex Simanis’ Evelyn 32 Poke and Destroy looks to be in third. You gotta hand it to the boat on track to win the class, the lovely cold molded Farr 36 Sweet Okole, which has raced to Hawaii so many times it probably could get there on instinct alone. Who says old IOR boats can’t go downwind? In Class B, it appears the PNW will have its lone class winner, the J/35 Shearwater out of Tacoma owned by Karl Haflinger. If you’re curious, tune into the tracker here.
And here are the last couple reports from the Poke and Destroy team:
7/23/18
Good morning! Skyler here aboard Poke and Destroy with your daily update, sent by sat phone!
We’re FINALLY sending it! After another slow and frustrating day of trying to make downwind gains in light air, the breeze filled in yesterday evening just after a lovely dinner of freeze-dried kung pao chicken.
Overnight we saw winds from 20-25 knots and were sailing under the A3 spinnaker at an apparent wind angle of 120-130 degrees to make our course. Those in the know realize that this is fully powered up. Boat speeds consistently between 8-15 knots have got us down to just 209 miles left to Kaneohe.
Spirits couldn’t be higher even if the sleep is a bit hard to come by with living conditions
down below becoming a bit rough. Hopefully this breeze holds through the end of the race as forecast.
We’ll keep you posted.
Poke and Destroy out.
-Skyler Palmer
Dennis Palmer here, Skyler’s dad, reporting from shore in Seattle. It’s great to hear that Poke and Destroy is having a fast finish to the Pacific Cup. If the wind continues, they should finish during daylight tomorrow, July 24, at about 15:00 HST.
As of 11:21 a.m. PDT this morning, their boat speed was 9.7 knots, and they had 184 miles to go to the finish line at Kaneohe Bay. Poke and Destroy is 8 hours and 21 minutes ahead of fourth-place Aloha, the Hobie 33. Zaff, the J/92, is in second place, 4 hours and 42 minutes ahead of Poke and Destroy, and Sweet Okole, the Farr 36 with 12 Pacfic Cup’s worth of experience, have used their knowledge and skill to remain in first place, 6 hours and 42 minutes ahead of Poke and Destroy.
After Team Poke and Destroy has raced 1860 miles already, sailing another 184 miles sounds like a piece of cake, right? Well, consider this. The majority of experienced sailors have never sailed race as long as 184 miles.
One of the most physically demanding races here in the Pacific Northwest is the Swiftsure International Yacht Race, which starts in Victoria, B.C. and sails out the Strait of Juan de Fuca into the Pacific Ocean and back, covering 138.2 nautical miles. The Swiftsure Race is so challenging that it was all I could do after finishing the last one I raced in was to drag my tired body across the street from the marina to the Empress Hotel for a long soak in a hot tub. It took a couple of days for me to recover from sore muscles and fatigue. The only other physical activity I have done that compares to the level of effort of sailing a Swiftsure Race is climbing 14,410-foot Mount Rainer, which takes about the same amount of time and energy.
Team Poke and Destroy has already sailed the equivalent of more than 13 Swiftsure Races, and they have about 1.3 more Swiftsures to go until the finish line.
You know how tired you get after lifting weights at the gym for about an hour? Imagine doing this for the better part of two weeks and you get an idea of how much work Team Poke and Destroy has been putting in, while being deprived of sleep and eating freeze-dried food.
In some years, the Pacific Cup racers sail in trade winds of consistent direction and velocity for days on end, and trim the sails only now and then. This year, the winds have been shifty, requiring frequent sail changes and constant trimming. Team Poke and Destroy has been getting a major work-out for this entire race.
It would be completely understandable if Team Poke and Destroy eased off a bit and coasted to the finish line tomorrow. Instead, they are giving it all they’ve got, sailing faster right now than they have for most of the race. The fact that their spirits couldn’t be higher says a lot about Alex Simanis, Elishia Van Luven and Skyler Palmer.
By Dennis Palmer, Team Poke and Destroy Communications Manager
7/22/18
Poke and Destroy is getting closer to the finish line of the Pacific Cup at Kaneohe Bay on Oahu, with 406 miles to go as of 8:00 a.m. PDT on July 22. Her estimated time of arrival is on 7/24/28 at 2010 hours HST (8:00 p.m. PDT). Team Poke and Destroy is in a solid third place, nine hours and 16 minutes ahead of fourth place Aloha, the Hobie 33 with which they made a bet for two pitchers of mai tais to go to the winner between those two boats.
Poke and Destroy is 5 hours and 20 minutes behind first place, which has now been claimed by Sweet Okole, the Farr 36 that has sailed in 12 Pacific Cups, including the first one in 1980. Zaff, the J/92 from Victoria, B.C., is in second place, only 40 minutes behind first place.
Poke and Destroy continues to be on the south side of the boats in Division C. The wind over the next couple of days looks perhaps a bit stronger for Poke and Destroy than the boats to the north, Sweet Okole and Zaff.
The forecast for the next few days calls for cloudy or partly cloudy skies, with wind from 15 to 20 knots and gusts to 25 knots. There may be isolated rain showers and squalls.
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.