Morning Glory into the lead

Who will be first into Honolulu. Rich Roberts reports on the centennial Transpac

It's far from over, but the possibility arose Thursday that the oldest boat in the Centennial Transpacific Yacht Race to Hawaii could finish within minutes of the fastest boat Sunday.

After numbers were crunched from the daily morning position reports, the 68-year-old yawl Odyssey - currently nearest to the finish at 529 nautical miles - was projected to finish at 06:20 HST Sunday, only 13 minutes ahead of Hasso Plattner's maxZ86 Morning Glory, currently 995 miles out but averaging 13.5 knots to Odyssey's 7.2 - and stretching its lead over Roy Disney's Pyewacket from two to 71 miles Thursday.

Odyssey leads all 34 boats that started the 2,225-mile race July 11, four days ahead of 20 Division III and IV boats and six days ahead of Morning Glory and 19 other Division I and II boats.

It was also learned Thursday that Odyssey skipper Cecil Rossi plans to scatter the ashes of his former sailing partner, Lorenzo 'Plazi' Miller, at the finish line. Miller, who died in February, was skipper and Rossi a crew member on Mir, which won Transpac immortality in 1969 by sailing backwards across the finish line after its mast broke at the end of the race.

Miller's daughter, Lisa Miller Beach, said: "You talk to people and they still say that was an amazing thing. His ashes are on Odyssey, and they're going to scatter him at Diamond Head, just where the mast broke on the Mir. My dad and Cecil used to sail together a lot. For Cecil, it was a big deal to race one final time with my dad."

Other former Mir crew members on Odyssey are Kirk and Skip Elliott, along with Scott Abrams, grandson of Transpac founder Clarence MacFarlane, and Gregory and Isaac Gillette.

With Morning Glory in the mix, it could be a dramatic sunrise show off Diamond Head Sunday, but a lot could change in the next few days.

The Commanders Weather forecast indicated better wind south, less to the north, with lighter winds closer to Hawaii.

While Morning Glory sailed a steady course toward the finish, Pyewacket - now 29 miles south of its German rival - appeared to be deviating day by day. In fact, Thursday's positions placed it six miles behind the other primary rival Genuine Risk although Randall Pittman's 90 footer was in a disadvantageous position to the north.

One seasoned analyst, preferring to be anonymous said, " Morning Glory is sailing a consistent course down the track in more breeze. Pyewacket has been sailing more of a zigzag course north and south. Genuine Risk has gone from 20 miles south of Morning Glory to 69 miles north. You'd want to be where Pye is, rather than Genuine Risk."

Meanwhile, Doug Baker's Magnitude 80, slightly smaller than those boats, logged a 321 mile day - second only to Morning Glory's 339 - to move into second place on projected corrected handicap time in Division 1. Pyewacket and Genuine Risk were fifth and sixth, but all four were still on pace to beat the Transpac record of 7 days 11 hours 41 minutes 27 seconds set by Disney's former Pyewacket in 1999.

They would have to finish before 12:41:27 a.m. PDT Monday morning or 9:47:21 p.m. Sunday night Hawaiian time.

Meanhile Division II has turned into a battle of Transpac 52s, with one veteran interloper: Bob Lane's veteran Andrews 61 Medicine Man. Roger Sturgeon's Rosebud, Fred Detwiler's Trader and Medicine Man all closed on Philippe Kahn's more northerly but still frontrunning Pegasus 52 as all were to cross the midway point of the race Thursday.

On handicap time, Pegasus 52, Rosebud, the well-travelled Ragtime and Trader were running 1-2-3-4 among the 75 starters.

Bob and Rob Barton's Cipango from San Francisco took the overall Division III lead away from Craig Reynolds' Bolt although Tim Beatty's Stealth Chicken was five miles in front of Cipango, boat for boat, with 1,118 miles to go.

Tabasco, the Alamitos Bay Syndicate's 1D35, remained way in front in Division IV, while in Division V Scott Self and Nigel Brown's doublehanded Soap Opera cut the lead of Cliff Thompson's Super Gnat to seven miles to keep its overall handicap lead secure.

Among the Cal 40s, Sally Honey's all-woman crew on Illusion made the only significant gain of 11 miles on Davis Pillsbury's Ralphie, which still had a 50-mile lead.

Odyssey remained ahead in Aloha A, while Larry Hillman's So Far was living up to its name in Aloha B - 132 miles ahead of the next boat. Paul Edwards' Wind Dancer, incidentally, reported earlier as a dropout because of steering problems, was continuing to race without resorting to auto pilot.

The Communications vessel Alaska Eagle also reported: "Fishing poor." A full moon was due Thursday night.

Standings
(In order of projected corrected handicap time; total handicap time allowances in parentheses by hours/minutes/seconds; actual nautical miles to go listed last.)

Division I (Started July 17)

1. Morning Glory (R/P maxZ86), Hasso Plattner, Kiel, Germany (0:00:00), 995 miles to go.
2. Magnitude 80 (Andrews 80), Doug Baker, Long Beach (9:44:58), 1,066.
3. Scout Spirit (R/P 77), Bill Turpin, Newport Beach, Calif. (32:21:35), 1,208.
4. Beecom (Reichel/Pugh 72), Isao Mita, Yokohama, Japan (30:16:07), 1,231.
5. Genuine Risk (Dubois 90), Randall Pittman, La Jolla, Calif. (0.00:23), 1,060.
6. Pyewacket (R/P maxZ86), Roy E. Disney, Los Angeles (0:00:00), 1,066.
7. Windquest (R/P maxZ86), Dick & Doug DeVos, Holland, Mich. (6:51:07), 1,113.

Division II (Started July 17)

1. Pegasus 52 (Transpac 52), Philippe Kahn, Honolulu (51:49:29), 1,254.
2. Rosebud (Transpac 52), Roger Sturgeon, San Francisco (55:04:54), 1,274.
3. Ragtime (Spencer 66), Peterson/Richards/Welsh, Honolulu (69:08:37), 1,342.
4. Trader (Transpac 52), Fred Detwiler, Pompano Beach, Fla. (52:18:39), 1,275.
5. Coruba (N/M 68), Rob and Suzanne Fleming, Seattle (57:52:37), 1,308. 6. Braveheart (Transpac 52), Charles Burnet, Seattle (55:23:53), 1,298.
7. Skylark (S/C 70), Doug Ayres, Newport Beach (52:18:53), 1,289.
8. Medicine Man (Andrews 61), Bob Lane, Long Beach (45:59:58), 1,267. 9. Mongoose (Santa Cruz 70), Bradley Thorson, Bellevue, Wash. (57:38:37), 1,342.
10. Merlin (Lee 68), Patricia Steele, Maui, H.I. (41:54:03), 1,321.
11. Renegade (Andrews 70), Dan Sinclair, Vancouver, B.C. (40:03:46), 1,342.
12. Bengal 2 (Ohashi 52), Yoshihiko Murase, Nagoya, Japan (64:07:15), 1,455.
13. Pendragon IV (Davidson 52), John MacLaurin, Encino, Calif. (65:20:10), RETIRED.

Division III (Started July 15)

1. Cipango (Andrews 56), Bob & Rob Barton, San Francisco (84:08:21), 1,123.
2. Reinrag2 (J/125), Tom Garnier, Portland, Ore. (90:15:09), 1,153.
3. Stealth Chicken (Perry 56), Timothy Beatty, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (80:52:12), 1,118.
4. Bolt (Nelson/Marek 55), Craig Reynolds, Newport Beach, Calif. (90:16:35), 1,154.
5. Blue (J/160), Ken and /Cheryl Sears, Nashville, Tenn. (93:03:17), 1,187.
6. Artemis (Andrews 53), Louis Bianco, Seattle (90:58:29), 1,207.
7. Jeito (J/145), Francisco Guzman, Acapulco, Mexico (86:10:42), 1,198.
8. DH-Serena (T1150), David Kuettel/Dave Van Houten, Bel Marin, Calif. (84:32:16), 1,212.
9. The Cone of Silence (Super 30), Jamie and Jenny Neill, Sydney, Australia (83:69:39), 1,216.
10. Barking Spider 3 (MacGregor 65), David Kory, Concord, Calif. (74:38:45), 1,191.
11. Innocent Merriment (J/160), Myron Lyon, San Diego (91:10:54), 1,252.
12. Dasher (S/C 50), Roger Groh, Sausalito, Calif. (89:38:24), 1,300.
13. Chasch Mer (S/C 50), Gib Black, Honolulu (95:31:20), NO REPORT.

Division IV (Started July 15)

1. Tabasco (1D35), Alamitos Bay Syndicate, Long Beach. (115:31:05),216.
2. Wild Impulse (J/120), Larry Barels, Santa Barbara, Calif. (122:19:04), 1,258.
3. Kahoots (Andrews 43), Kerry Deaver/Bob Williamson, Newport Beach (119:24:28), 1,290.
4. Pursuit (Custom 48), Norman and Rosemary Dawley, Solomons, Md. (121:24:04), 1,296.
5. Sensation (1D35), Rodney Hagebols, San Francisco. (115:11:28), 1,280.
6. DH-Two Guys On the Edge (1D35), Dan Doyle, Kailua, H.I. (114:54:33), 1,281.
7. Uproarious (Olson 40), Robert Bussard, San Diego. (123:41:45), 1,343.

Division V (Started July 11)

1. DH-Soap Opera (Hobie 33), Scott Self/Nigel Brown, Rockwall, Tex. (141:56:43), 635.
2. Super Gnat (Beneteau First 40.7), Cliff Thompson, San Diego (132:16:04), 628.
3. . Brown Sugar (Express 37), Steve Brown, Santa Ana, Calif. (141:30:59), 678.
4. Showdown (IMX 38), Pete Meade/Mike Luna/ Paul McDonald, Irvine, Calif. (136:02:44) , 686.
5. B'Quest (Tripp 40), Challenged America, San Diego (136:41:18), 695.
6. DH-Diablo (J/35), Reed Bernhard/Brian VanderZanden, Anacortes, Wash. (150:24:54), 801.
7. Iataia (Beneteau First 40.7), Marcos Rodriguez, Acapulco, Mexico (133:59:14), 758.
8. DH-Jacaré (J/35), Jeff Young/Rich Blackman, San Diego (148:46:04), 835.

Cal 40 (Started July 11)

1. Ralphie (Cal 40), Davis Pillsbury, Woody Creek, Colo. (165:37:14), 662.
2. Callisto (Cal 40), Jim Eddy, Glendale, Calif. (164:44:47), 712.
3. Psyche (Cal 40), Steve Calhoun, Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. (166:05:17), 722.
4. Seafire (Cal 40), John Harrison, Honolulu. (168:13:35), 732.
5. Far Far (Cal 40), Don Grind, Naples, Fla. (164:53:27), 719.
6. Illusion (Cal 40), Sally Honey, Palo Alto, Calif. (167:07:37), 737.
7. Radiant (Cal 40), Fin Beven, Pasadena, Calif. (164:09:20), 730.
8.. Shaman (Cal 40), Steve Waterloo, Alameda, Calif. (166:13:50) , 759.
9. Dancing Bear (Cal 40), Mark Schrader, Sitka, Alaska. (165:01:55), 757.
10. Azure (Cal 40), Rodney Pimentel, Alameda, Calif. (165:50:20), 779.
11. Spectre (Cal 40), Lee Rogge, Seattle. (165:13:28), 788.
12. Willow Wind (Cal 40), Wendy Siegal, Sunset Beach, Calif. (166:28:31), 811.
13. Bubala (Cal 40), Lloyd Sellinger, Newport Beach. (168:51:37), 899.
14. California Girl (Cal 40), Don and Betty Lessley, Richmond, Calif. (163:20:29), RETIRED.

Aloha A (Started July 11)

1. Odyssey (58' yawl), Audrey Steele Burnand, Newport Beach. (128:53:47), 529.
2. Between the Sheets (Jeanneau 52), Ross Pearlman, Marina del Rey, Calif. (126:13:17), 552.
3. Plan B (Peterson 48), David Johnson, Long Beach (129:07:19), 573.
4. Madrina (Cabo Rico 56), Dick Simon, Dana Point, Calif. (124:52:04), 595.
5. Incredible (Swan 53), Rick Gorman, Los Alamitos, Calif. (126:14:24), 652.
6. DH-Charmed Life (Catalina 470), Patricia Garfield/Diane Murray, San Francisco (131:54:20), 811.
7. Enchilado (Jeanneau 54), Cesar de Saracho, Mazatlan, Mexico. (112:22:50), 763.
8. Shanakee II (Pedrick 74), James Warmington, Costa Mesa, Calif. (83:26:25), 1,173 (started July 15).

Aloha B (Started July 11)

1. So Far (Swan 48), Larry Hillman, Chicago. (147:28:54), 632.
2. Pipe Dream (CF 37), John Davis, Long Beach. (164:43:08), 808.
3. Wind Dancer (Catalina 42), Paul Edwards, Ventura, Calif. (149:50:14), 764.
4. Azure (Swan 441), Samuel Beckey, San Diego. (138:17:59), 973.
5. DH-Camille (Stewart 42), James and Ann Read, San Francisco (141:52:48), 1,341.