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LAYC Luff Lines September-October 2009
Yachts Flying the LAYC
Burgee Do Well in
Transpac09
Staff Comm. Al Garnier
Transpac09 goes into the history book
with some significant new records.
LAYC race committee oversaw the
starts with Fred Ripley’s Warrior II
providing signaling and Bos’n
stationed off the port end buoy.
There were 47 starters and 45
finishers. This was a smaller fleet than
the 72 starters and 66 finishers in 07.
As in 07, weather was pivotal in the
overall results as the 11 yachts starting
on Monday June 29th were unable to
do better than 37th overall while the 19
yachts starting on Thursday, July 2nd
saw some
improvement
but managed
no better
than 17th
overall. The
17 Sunday
starters saw
consistent
wind across
the course
with a well
formed high
which
allowed Neville Crichton’s Alfa
Romeo (Reichel Pugh 100) to lop 25
plus hours off the 2005 elapsed time
record of Morning Glory, setting a
new elapsed time record of
5d:14h:36m:20s, and a new 24 hour
run at 431 nm. This new monohull
record is only 5 hours shy of the
multihull record set in 1997 by
Commodore Explorer of
5d:09h:18m:26s. Another Sunday
starter, Phillip Kahn’s Pegasus 50
(Open 50), set a new unofficial
Double-Handed elapsed time record of
7D:18h:38m:35s while setting a world
record for the best 24 hours for a Open
50 at 339.3 nm.
One of the nicest things about the
awards ceremony was the new venue
at the Waikiki Shell in Kapiolani Park.
The seating was unobstructed and the
audio superb.
Only two LAYC yachts competed in
Transpac09 (5 in 2007, Fortaleza,
Gaviota, Psyche, Reinrag2, Tower)
and both finished 2nd in their respective
classes. It was not to be a repeat for
Tom Garnier’s Reinrag2, finishing 2nd
in Division 4, as the weather dashed
any hope for the Thursday starters, and
then as R2 neared the finish, light