FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 14, 2010
TINY BOAT, TINY SKIPPER, LEAD THE WAY
21-Foot Pocket Rocket Commanded by Diminutive Emma Creighton Out in Front
Pacific Ocean – Sometimes less is more. As the sun rose on the fleet this Bastille Day, Pocket Rocket, the tiny Mini Transat design, was the closest boat to Hawaii. Sailing with only two aboard, and starting with the Doublehanded 2 fleet on Tuesday, July 6, Emma and her Rocket have used the head start to great advantage.
The tiny boats, designed for trans-Atlantic racing, were admitted to the Pacific Cup for the first time this year. With their light weight and broad, flat underbodies, these boats are ideal for surfing along in the brisk winds and long swells that characterize a Pacific tradewinds race. Both the light early winds and the unusually strong mid-course winds have worked in Pocket Rocket’s favor: in the light stuff, she can move when others are standing still, and in the heavy stuff, the boat surfs like mad with steady speeds of 14 knots occasionally bursting to 19, as reported by the skipper.
Allowing for differing start times and handicaps, Pocket Rocket is first in her division and tenth overall. As of 5 am, she was closest to Hawaii, though no doubt looking over her shoulder at the bigger, faster boats that started later and will attempt to overtake her in the next 24 hours. Projected finish times put her ten hours ahead of her nearest competitor in her division to finish around midnight July 17.
Dynamic Skipper. “For God’s sake, don’t give her any coffee,” commented one race organizer, impressed by Emma’s seemingly boundless energy. The 25-year-old from Alameda, California has her sights set on moving to France to prepare for a 4200-mile Mini-Transat campaign, and has constructed a program of increasingly challenging races to hone her skills. With her crewman, Andy Hamilton of Santa Cruz, California, she seems to be well on her way.
Racer blogs, tracking and updates can be found on the race website at PacificCup.org. Emma Creighton’s information and blog can be found at http://emmacreighton.net/.
The Pacific Cup, organized by the Pacific Cup Yacht Club, has 56 entrants for the 2,070-mile run to Kaneohe Yacht Club in Hawaii. For many entrants, this is their first major ocean crossing. This is the sixteenth race and the thirtieth year of the competition. For more information about the race and its entries, visit http://PacificCup.org.
Pacific Cup Yacht Club (PCYC) was established in 1979 to run the biennial Pacific Cup. PCYC’s mission is to realize the dreams of many sailors to participate in a competitive, safe, and fun race from San Francisco to Hawaii. As such, its pre-race seminars are not only qualifying events for Pacific Cup participation but a way to introduce and encourage participation in offshore sailing.
Contact Info
Pacific Cup Yacht Club
Commodore Michael Moradzadeh
