Transpac Takes Over

I’ve been ignoring the Times on behalf of my duties as press officer for
Transpac 2011. Amazing how hard it is to serve two masters, but here’s a tip worth sharing.

In watching last Monday’s starters work their way west to the tradewinds (they’ve had to work for it) I have found it useful to view Pacific wind patterns via bloosee.com.

With the lat-long positions from the 0800 morning roll call (not delayed six hours like the transponder data) I can find where I want to be on the ocean and get a better look at the breeze than is provided on Transpac’s transponder page. Which is not the only thing to like about BlooSee. Registration required to get any good out of it, but it’s free.

And I like this bit that I included in Transpac’s daily update today. The Grand Banks 46, Warrior II, was passed from father to son Fred Ripley complete with a trust fund (for the boat) and marching orders to keep her in service to the sailors of Southern California. Warrior II was the signal boat for Monday’s 19 Transpac starters, and she will be back on Friday to start the remaining 34. In between, Warrior II worked the Opti North Americans at Cabrillo Beach YC. Here she is checking in the smallest Transpac entry, Peter Fray’s 32-foot Jenneau, Relentless.

Photo by Kimball Livingston