14th Biennial
West Marine Pacific Cup
West Marine Pacific Cup to Celebrate “One Million Miles of Fun”
One million miles of fun racing to Hawaii will be celebrated during the 2006 West Marine Pacific Cup. Race organizers will be providing a special set of awards to commemorate this milestone.
The West Marine Pacific Cup bills itself as the “Fun Race to Hawaii.” Originally run from San Francisco Bay to Kauai, the race now finishes at the very friendly Kaneohe Yacht Club, on the windy northern side of Oahu. The race is open to ocean-capable monohulls and, for the first time in 2006, multihulls.
Since 1980, over 600 boats have entered the race. When the mileage of the finishers was totaled up, race organizers found that around a million miles have been sailed in the event. They have decided to commemorate this milestone with a “Million Mile Trophy” to be awarded to the yacht with the best performance on the day the millionth mile is officially sailed. The committee is still reviewing the records of prior races, but anticipates the official Millionth Mile to be sailed around July 8 or 9, five or six days after the first start on July 3, 2006.
The racer doing the best on each other day will also be recognized. Performance will be calculated by generating a rating-corrected speed from each day’s run.
The official number of miles sailed will be somewhat less than the actual distance totaled by all entrants. The official course distance only considers the Great Circle course to Hawaii, but it is the rare competitor who sails that course. Most racers prefer to sail south, sometimes adding several hundred miles to their courses, in order to avoid the persistent Pacific High that camps just north of the race course for most of the summer.
Boats that ignore this rule of thumb may spend a few extra days becalmed in the light winds of the high. Or, as for Ghost, the Morgan 38 skippered by husband and wife team Lou and Kim Ickler, winds may be adequate and the shorter distance provides the edge they needed to win their division in 2004.
Entries for this race are still open. Preparation seminars in February and April complement the required Safety at Sea seminars required for a portion of the crew of all boats.
For additional information on the Fun Race to Hawaii visit: www.pacificcup.org.
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Media Contacts:
| Ann McDougall | Tony Gasparich |
| Ann McDougall Communications | West Marine |
| 408 499-5328 | Vice President of Direct Sales |
| ann@michannpartners.com | Tonyg@westmarine.com |