TRANSPAC 2009 B
y the time this issue of Latitude hits the stands, all but one of the divisions in the '09 TransPac will have crossed the starting line off Pt. Fermin. With 50 entries grouped into fairlytight rating bands of like vessels, the numbers aren't quite up to those in the last two editions, but given the economic climate in which owners have had to make the decision to go, and the quality of those entries, the 45th race should be memorable and make for some pretty good spectating for those of us stuck sailing from our desks and watching the race tracker. While impressive in breadth, the international flavor of the fleet — entries have come from Australia, Japan, Peru, Mexico and Spain — isn’t as noteworthy as is the homecoming of sorts for a couple West Coast brainchildren recently returned from a tour abroad: four TP 52s
and eight ULDB 70s, including Chris Welsh's participation-record holder, the Spencer 65 Ragtime, signed up for the trip. Oddly enough, one of the iconic designs most associated with the race for the last 40-odd years — the Cal 40, which had its own class of 13 boats in 2005 — is not represented. To update you on some of the boats we mentioned in last month's Sightings piece about the race, Jim Partridge’s wild-looking new, canting-keel Antrim 49 Rapid Transit is in the final stages of build at Berkeley Marine Center. We'd be 2006 Pacific Cup overall winner Tom Akin has chartered Mark Jones' TP 52 'Flash' for this year's Transpac, and assembled a rock-star crew including Paul Cayard, Jay Crum, Hogan Beatie, Paul Allen, and Will Paxton. Sporting new aft-deck extensions plus a deeper keel and heavier, lower-CG bulb, and square-top main, 'Flash' has a lot more power, and pace, than she did in the 2008 Pacific Cup.
really surprised if the boat makes it to the start. Sadly, another boat we'd hoped to see race, Southern Californians Sue and Barry Senescu’s new Antrim Class 40 Yippee Kai Yay will not be making the trip. Neville Crichton’s R/P 100 Alfa Romeo is the no-brainer bet for elapsed-time winners. The silver-hulled sliver might never have had the chance to race if the TransPacific YC hadn’t brought the entry requirements in line with most of the world’s best-known offshore races by setting an upper length limit at 100feet LOA, and dropping the prohibition against using powered sailing systems like winches. They should be fun to watch on the tracker. With most of the ratings determined and the class breaks announced, it's time to anoint a boat in each division and special class as the boat we're bet-
