Home	Pacific Cup 2016 7/11/16

(If you like, you can skip down through the prose and go straight to the pictures below!)

It was a beautiful day for the start of the 2,070 nautical mile Pacific Cup from San Francisco to Kaneohe, Hawaii. On Monday, July 11th two of our Islander 36 Association members were in the first class to start in this year's race to Hawaii. Measurer Kit Wiegman's Cassiopeia, and Race Chair Eric Mueller's Serenity enjoyed ideal I-36 weather as they beat out the Gate in a section of seven boats and headed off in northwest winds down the race course. Nine hours after the start, Serenity was shown directly on the rhumbline, making 6 knots. Cassiopeia was ahead and to leeward clocked at 6.4 knots.

Cassiopeia had her farewell party at St. Francis YC docks earlier this morning. Kit's wife Naomi, daughter Yvonne, plus sister and parents were all on the dock to see them off. We got some pictures below.

You can follow the race at http://pcup.org/track.html .
The Pacific Cup Home page, with links to all the details, is https://pacificcup.org/

The positions shown on screen are about 6 hours delayed to protect the tactical moves of the racers, but you get a good idea of their relative positions along the way. If you use the tie slider to follow their tracks back to the starting area you will find, for example, that Serenity took a shortcut across the hills of San Francisco to get to the starting line. That's because the trackers only trnasmitt position at periodic intervals and don't inlcude every tack - which otherwise would have created the world's biggest bowl of spaghetti in the starting area!

Below this morning's pictures is a table of the time to reach the finish at various average speeds. The general target for the Islanders is 14 days, plus or minus. That takes an average of just under 6.2 knots for the whole time - assuming you sail only the direct rhumbline distance of 7,070 nautical miles. Often the fleet heads south of the rhumb to avoid the lighter winds in the Pacific High, which adds miles, but increases speed. Racers know to live by those thenths of a mile, but take a look and you will see that a 0.1 (one tenth) of a mile difference over two weeks is a difference of 7.2 hours at the finish line.

So wish them well. Follow their progress. And enjoy the armchair dreams of crossing the Pacific Ocean.

Pictures by Rick Van Mell. Click on images to enlarge, click "Back" to return.

St. Francis YC	Brag flags ...	fly.	Kit comes ashore ...	Cassiopeia has ...
Emergency Rudder fitting	Helm safety gear ...	required hatch boards	radar reflector ...	double poles and Jacklines
Knife on mast.	Good Luck Daddy!	Butterfly time	Family pic ...	She will only sail ...
the boat back.	Kit, Jim, Lee Carlos, Dan	Carlos is ready ...	Kit is too.	Last good-bye.
Fend off ...	looking good ...	let's go!	Another departs.	Starting later.

StFYC Race Deck ...	Flags fly ...	Spectator time	A beautiful morning ...	South tower ...
North Tower & Marin	Couldn't be better.	Cassi hoists main ...	full and bye.	Checking things out.
Serenity arrives ...	Looking Great	Ready forward.	Cassi and Serenity	Cassi adds jib ...
bearing away ...	Making a trial ...	starting run.	Photo boat?	Classic Cal 40 ...
going away.	Here's another ...	pacing Cassi	Picture perfect.	First across ...

Cassi started, Serenity late.	Driving hard.	The section is away.	Serenity tacks across ...	trimming in ...
of and running.	Chasing Cassi	Headed for the bridge, (fog arriving)	In the breeze.	Under the Bridge
Kinda small ...	Very cute ...	Ready for ...	Next start ...	Port tacker ...
pulls it off.	Chasing the breeze ...	Floating on the breeze.	Islander 48 ...	looking good.
Pelican squadron ...	Islanders way out there.	Conservative headsail.	Last morning start ...	Onto Port tack??!!!*^%$
Fell back	Others duck ...	and drive on through.	Section's away ...	last starter today.
Have a great race!

Pacific Cup Time vs Speed
		If not rhumb Line, + percent:	*---------------------------*	*---------------------------*	*---------------------------*	*---------------------------*
	Rhumb line - Nautical Miles	1%	2%	3%	4%	5%
Distance:	2070	2091	2111	2132	2153	2174
	Extra miles:	21	41	62	83	104
Speed, Knts	Time
4	21 Days, 14.4 Hours	21 Days, 19.2 Hours	21 Days, 24 Hours	22 Days, 4.8 Hours	22 Days, 9.6 Hours	22 Days, 14.4 Hours
4.5	19 Days, 4.8 Hours	19 Days, 9.6 Hours	19 Days, 14.4 Hours	19 Days, 16.8 Hours	19 Days, 21.6 Hours	20 Days, 2.4 Hours
5	17 Days, 7.2 Hours	17 Days, 9.6 Hours	17 Days, 14.4 Hours	17 Days, 19.2 Hours	17 Days, 21.6 Hours	18 Days, 2.4 Hours
5.5	15 Days, 16.8 Hours	15 Days, 19.2 Hours	15 Days, 24 Hours	16 Days, 4.8 Hours	16 Days, 7.2 Hours	16 Days, 12 Hours
5.6	15 Days, 9.6 Hours	15 Days, 14.4 Hours	15 Days, 16.8 Hours	15 Days, 21.6 Hours	16 Days, 0 Hours	16 Days, 4.8 Hours
5.7	15 Days, 2.4 Hours	15 Days, 7.2 Hours	15 Days, 9.6 Hours	15 Days, 14.4 Hours	15 Days, 16.8 Hours	15 Days, 21.6 Hours
5.8	14 Days, 21.6 Hours	15 Days, 0 Hours	15 Days, 4.8 Hours	15 Days, 7.2 Hours	15 Days, 12 Hours	15 Days, 14.4 Hours
5.9	14 Days, 14.4 Hours	14 Days, 19.2 Hours	14 Days, 21.6 Hours	15 Days, 2.4 Hours	15 Days, 4.8 Hours	15 Days, 7.2 Hours
6	14 Days, 9.6 Hours	14 Days, 12 Hours	14 Days, 16.8 Hours	14 Days, 19.2 Hours	14 Days, 24 Hours	15 Days, 2.4 Hours
6.1	14 Days, 2.4 Hours	14 Days, 7.2 Hours	14 Days, 9.6 Hours	14 Days, 14.4 Hours	14 Days, 16.8 Hours	14 Days, 19.2 Hours
6.2	13 Days, 21.6 Hours	14 Days, 2.4 Hours	14 Days, 4.8 Hours	14 Days, 7.2 Hours	14 Days, 12 Hours	14 Days, 14.4 Hours
6.3	13 Days, 16.8 Hours	13 Days, 19.2 Hours	13 Days, 24 Hours	14 Days, 2.4 Hours	14 Days, 4.8 Hours	14 Days, 9.6 Hours
6.4	13 Days, 12 Hours	13 Days, 14.4 Hours	13 Days, 16.8 Hours	13 Days, 21.6 Hours	14 Days, 0 Hours	14 Days, 4.8 Hours
6.5	13 Days, 7.2 Hours	13 Days, 9.6 Hours	13 Days, 12 Hours	13 Days, 16.8 Hours	13 Days, 19.2 Hours	13 Days, 21.6 Hours
6.6	13 Days, 2.4 Hours	13 Days, 4.8 Hours	13 Days, 7.2 Hours	13 Days, 12 Hours	13 Days, 14.4 Hours	13 Days, 16.8 Hours
6.7	12 Days, 21.6 Hours	13 Days, 0 Hours	13 Days, 2.4 Hours	13 Days, 7.2 Hours	13 Days, 9.6 Hours	13 Days, 12 Hours
6.8	12 Days, 16.8 Hours	12 Days, 19.2 Hours	12 Days, 21.6 Hours	13 Days, 2.4 Hours	13 Days, 4.8 Hours	13 Days, 7.2 Hours
6.9	12 Days, 12 Hours	12 Days, 14.4 Hours	12 Days, 19.2 Hours	12 Days, 21.6 Hours	13 Days, 0 Hours	13 Days, 2.4 Hours
7	12 Days, 7.2 Hours	12 Days, 9.6 Hours	12 Days, 14.4 Hours	12 Days, 16.8 Hours	12 Days, 19.2 Hours	12 Days, 21.6 Hours
7.5	11 Days, 12 Hours	11 Days, 14.4 Hours	11 Days, 16.8 Hours	11 Days, 19.2 Hours	11 Days, 24 Hours	12 Days, 2.4 Hours
8	10 Days, 19.2 Hours	10 Days, 21.6 Hours	10 Days, 24 Hours	11 Days, 2.4 Hours	11 Days, 4.8 Hours	11 Days, 7.2 Hours

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