Pacific Cup 2024

After sailing over 2,000 ocean miles from San Francisco Bay, Pac Cup racers began finishing off Kaneohe Bay, Oahu on Thursday July, 25 and Friday, July 26! As we get this issue of The Log ready for print, three yachts are in and many more will be joining them at the Kaneohe Yacht Club in the coming days.

 

The TP52 Saga took line honors at 22:11 (HST) late Thursday night followed by the J/125 Velvet Hammer at 00:09 (HST) Friday and then the Wylie 70 Rage at 05:22 (HST) on Friday. (Finish times and results are provided by the Pac Cup Yacht Club at pacificcup.org.)

 

First raced in 1980, the Pacific Cup is run every other year and has staggered starts in San Francisco Bay depending on divisions. The first start on Monday, July 15, got off slowly due to a lull in the coastal winds, leaving the initial competitors with virtually no wind for the first 24 hours. Overall, 32 boats started on day one including doublehanders and the slower PHRF divisions.

 

“Of course, we can’t control the weather,” said Principal Race Officer Michael Moradzadeh. “We worked to pick a start date with a good current helping folks out the Gate, and a full moon once they are out there, as well as a likely good offshore weather pattern, historically, but the stuff right outside the Gate looks like a challenge.”

 

Wednesday, July 17, was the second day of starts and 26 more boats crossed the start line on their way to Hawaii. These were the faster PHRF divisions and overall it was another day of smooth starts and the media boat reported clear skies with 10 to 15 knots of wind from the usual westerly direction—right through the Golden Gate Bridge.

 

The wind showed up in its usual San Francisco fashion on Thursday, July 18, in the high teens to low 20 knot range, just in time for the third and final day of starts. The only class to start this day would be the Ocean Navigator ORR 2 division, consisting of six boats. By this point in the week, the usual coastal flow of northwesterly wind filled back in, giving this last round of starts a quick exit out the gate and offshore. With all the divisions now started, it was Oahu or bust!

 

Midway through the race, leaders were starting to solidify their positions in all divisions. This is also where the mid-course conditions lived up to “the brochure”, offering great downwind racing. With winds being on the strong side, performances from the top competitors were elevated—along with some damage to sails and rigging. As is typical for any ocean race, the fast boats at the front tend to grab the most headlines, and that happened this year, but the core of the Pac Cup fleet stayed hot on their heels.

 

Approaching Oahu, it was a three way battle on Thursday, July 25. Grabbing line honors is a great feeling, and Saga, Velvet Hammer, and Rage sure made it interesting. Thanks for the action! Now, with a few hundred miles to go, it’s entirely possible that some surprise winners farther back in the fleet can pop up. “The fun race to Hawaii” surely lived up to its reputation this year!