With the Victoria 25 Mile check-in in the wee hours of this morning, the sailing phase of the 2010 Pacific Cup draws toward a close. The rear guard of the fleet has been arriving over the last 20 hours to the enthusiastic cheers of small or large crowds on the docks. These later boats consisted mostly of smaller or heavier boats, or those with gear trouble, or perhaps an incautiously-chosen course
Trial Run, a Passport 40 loaded with a crew that served as Pacific Cup volunteers pre-race, suffered from a broken gooseneck and a small electrical fire underway. While the fire was quickly dealt with, the broken fitting joining the boom to the mast forced the crew to sail more gently, and therefore slowly, finishing late the night of the 21st. Poco Loco reported a spinnaker gear failure early on enjoyed a similar slowdown.
California Condor came home to a post-Luau aloha shortly before midnight last night. Well-wishers, friends, and the simply curious about the rudder problems that had turned the advanced race design into an exercise in old-school seamanship (well-executed, by the way) of steering by dragging a drogue behind the boat on one side or another until repairs could be effected. "Spouses come on board," invited a grinning skipper/owner Buzz Blackett, triggering an epidemic of on-boat hugs and kisses, with only brief attention to the mandatory mai-tais. Husband-and-wife crewmembers Todd Hedin and Liz Baylis, already aboard, presumably adjusted lines or something.
The last 24 hours also saw the arrival of Whistler, the Ohlson 38 from Ladysmith Yacht Club in Canada find her way to port.
Now the enjoyable task of calculating winners in the many divisions and alternate trophy categories begins. Bobbi Tosse, Principal Race Officer, has a full day ahead of her.
