Pacific Cup 2024 - its a wrap!
by Pacific Cup 3 Aug 16:02 PDT
4 August 2024
2024 Pacific Cup Awards Ceremony © Irina Potekhina
From July 15th's light wind first starts to the final days of the race with 15 foot swells and unrelenting winds on the approach to Kaneohe Yacht Club, the 2024 Pacific Cup Race was nothing short of an adventure.
We spoke with Peter and Velina Barnes, the owners of Second Wind, and asked what their Pacific Cup experience was like. Velina said, "I kept saying the word glorious - just the privilege of being in that ocean, and the uniqueness of every day. The strength of the ocean, the strength of our boat, was really special."
Peter shared his angle on offshore racing, "my mind is moment to moment, and at the same time, and there is a turn coming up: I don't know if it's going to be a day or three days from now and what's that gonna look like? Things are wearing out, got to do the deck walk and look for chafe. It was stressful being responsible for all the crew and the boat."
Of course, there's winning and then there's success. They both agree that it's really the crew and the collaborative work that determines the success of your voyage-it's what makes it all so fun as you make decisions on-the-go.
Monday's first starters began frustratingly, with barely any wind to propel them past the Farallon Islands. Once the fleets worked their way to reasonable winds, the race was on. The heavier wind challenged the crews in a totally different way, straining gear and crew. We saw a much higher than usual rate of breakage, but very few injuries. Apart from the early turnbacks for failed steering, all boats overcame their damage and sailed into Kaneohe. Crews stayed positive along the way with halfway rituals and by imagining those warm, refreshing land showers, burgers, and mai tais awaiting at their finish.
The Pac Cup continued its strong tradition of double-handed racing with 16 finishers in that category. While sailing with only two on board can be an exhausting task, the weight saved on the boat (about 500 lb per person with food and gear) can be significant.
Overall, the top boats' courses tended to dip fairly far south in search of wind early on. Once they found that favorable wind, they'd slowly curve around it, taking advantage of the tradewinds (and squalls) until they'd gybe, making the turn for the finish. Others stayed to the north, likely in hopes of saving miles or seeing the Pacific High recede northward, leaving them closer than others to the finish with great winds; unfortunately the wind stayed lighter there, leaving that wing of the fleet to fall behind.
Winners
"First across the line" is a great feeling, and Velvet Hammer was well positioned to collect it, along with an anticipated clean sweep of race honors. "Not so fast," said Saga, who started a day later but threatened to overtake the Hammer at the finish line. Saga did eventually pass Velvet Hammer, but finished only about an hour and a half ahead: a fairly close finish after 2,070 miles. After handicapping was applied, Velvet Hammer took the overall prize.
Perpetual Trophies:
- Pacific Cup: Velvet Hammer, J/125
- Fastest Passage Trophy: Saga, TP52
- Corinthian Trophy: the Boss, J/35
- Carl Schumacher Trophy: Mudshark, Express 37
- Bill Lee "Wizard" Trophy: J World's Hula Girl, Santa Cruz 50
- First Moore 24 Trophy: Accelerando, Moore 24
- Team Trophy: StFYC: Story Maker, Tartan 101; Lucky Duck, Rogers 46; Viva, Cal 40
- Pacific Cup Navigator's Award: Jeff Thorpe, Lucky Duck, Rogers 46
- George R. Barrett Memorial Trophy: Hill "Buzz" Blackett
- Doug Vann Memorial Trophy: Beau Lani Barker
Division Awards:
- Mahina Double Handed 1
1st: Accelerando, Moore 24
2nd: Wilder, Santa Cruz 27
3rd: Hula, Westsail 32
- Pasha Hawaii Double Handed 2
1st: Moonshine, Dogpatch 26
2nd: Wolfpack, Donovan 30
3rd: Pell Mell, Pt Bonita 27
- Weems & Plath PHRF 1
1st: Azure, Cal 40
2nd: Viva, Cal 40
3rd: Vera Cruz, Jeanneau 349
- Goslings PHRF 2
1st: Tweety, Olson 30
2nd: Hultaj, Figaro One
3rd: Young Betty, Express 27
- Svendsen's Bay Marine PHRF 3
1st: the Boss, J/35
2nd: Jubilant, J/112e
3rd: Joy Ride, J/122e
- NAOS PHRF 4
1st: Translated 9, Swan 65
2nd: Shadowfax, Jeanneau 43
3rd: Planet Express, Beneteau 43
- Ocean Navigator ORR 1
1st: Velvet Hammer, J/125
2nd: J World's Hula Girl, Santa Cruz 50
3rd: Halawa, Andrews 56
- Hoku Pa'a Multihull
1st: Presto, Chris White Voyager 48
- Ocean Navigator ORR 2
1st: Lucky Duck, Rogers 46
2nd: Rage, Wylie 70
3rd: Saga, TP52
"Best" Awards:
- Latitude 38 Performance Trophy: Lucky Duck
- Bobbi Tosse PHRF Trophy: the Boss
- Pacific Cup Corinthian Trophy: the Boss
- Bjorn Johnson Best ORR Trophy: Velvet Hammer
- Best First Passage: Jubilant
- Best Prepared Yacht; The Fugitive
"They were the best prepared of the boats I've inspected for this race (or ever, actually), everything was organized and 100% checked off. The crew was also involved, which is always a great help," said Jim Quanci, the Pacific Cup Yacht Club Staff Commodore.
- Fastest Family Afloat Trophy: Jubilant
For description of all the trophies see pacificcup.org/trophies
For the full standings, admin.pacificcup.org/standings
Event website: pacificcup.org