Los Angeles, California – After over a year of careful planning, tremendous uncertainty, yet dogged determination to run this race, the Transpacific Yacht Club today unleashed the first wave of entries on their long westward journey to Honolulu in the 51st running of the Transpac. This biennial 2225-mile race from LA-Honolulu, first run in 1906, is an ocean racing classic. Seven entries ranging from 37 to 57 feet in length were on the start line today, set one mile south of San Pedro’s Point Fermin lighthouse. Weather conditions early this morning were uncertain, with local thunderstorms in the area, but…
Read More
In 2019, my husband, Doug Pasnik, and I raced our first Transpac together with a team of 10 on our Andrews 70, Trader, comprised primarily of military veterans (see story on page 22). This year we are doing the race again and inviting four mentees from The Magenta Project to race with us.  Established in 2015, The Magenta Project is a “collective of passionate people committed to developing pathways and generating opportunities for women in performance sailing” (themagentaproject.org/mentoring). Founded by members of the all-women SCA team who ran a successful campaign in the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race, these women know…
Read More
Editor’s note: In July of 2019, after 10 days on the race course, the Andrews 70 sloop Trader crossed the finish line in Hawaii to complete the 2019 Transpac Race. Trader’s race wasn’t a winning effort according to the official race results, but for “Team Trader” the completed race was a resounding success, the result of intensive planning and training of a team of 10 sailors, many of whom were military veterans with little or no offshore sailing experience. As Team Trader prepares to compete in the 2021 Transpac, 2019 race navigator Erik Burian, a retired U.S. Navy nuclear submarine…
Read More
While some sailing events have taken place even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in 2021, others have been canceled given the risk of spreading the coronavirus infection. The 36th America’s Cup final took place in March, with Emirates Team New Zealand winning the final race on March 17, taking the cup for the fourth time. Another event that continued even as the pandemic infection rates increased in some areas was the 2021 Newport to Cabo Race, which started on March 19 with 18 total entries. As of March 20, two boats in the fleet had reportedly retired due to gear…
Read More
Sloop

Sloop

What Daniel Robb’s new book Sloop is not is a guide to rebuilding his family’s 1939 Herreshoff 12 ½, Daphie. Yes, there are hints on moving an old boat, building a steam box to bend frames, constructing a temporary building shed that’s capable of withstanding a New England winter, chalking, talk of rivets and much more. The book’s real subject is an elegantly written meditation on the process. More than fastening plank to frame, it explores the deeper meaning he finds in restoring the old boat. Robb reflects on Thoreau, whose spirit seems to silently guide Daphie’s restoration. As he…
Read More

How the '95 Bermuda Race was won

One week after returning to my home in Mattapoisett, I was still basking in the glory of our 1995 Marion-Bermuda Race victory. While exchanging sea stories, one of my friends suggested that our winning boat Kemancha was under power because that's the only way a Westsail 32 could win the race. I felt compelled to relate the details of our voyage. This race was won by a combination of good fortune, excellent boat preparation, good strategy, and determined execution. The smallest and slowest boat in the '95 fleet, Kemancha is a heavy-displacement Westsail 32, weighing 20,000 pounds. A double-ender with…
Read More