Transpac’s Wendy Siegal found dead

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West Coast sailor Wendy Siegal, 55, was found drowned near her beloved Cal 40 Willow Wind in the Alamitos Bay Marina Thursday, July 7, 2007, just four days before the first boats were scheduled to start the 2007 Transpac Race off Point Fermin in San Pedro, Calif. She had been working on her boat alone and apparently drowned. No foul play is suspected.

“Transpac Wendy” was a strong competitor and an influential force in the success of the race in recent years. Choosing not to compete in this year’s race she had joined the Transpac Yacht Club Board of Directors and had taken over the responsibility of managing the race trophies.

In 2001 Siegal and her companion Duncan Harrison, along with four other crewmembers, won the Aloha Class. She was only the second woman skipper since Sally Blair Ames in 1959 to be a class winner.
Siegal had supported herself as a teacher and also worked part-time at a department store. She is reported to have said, “I’m not a rich sailor. I sell clothes at Nordstrom’s. I quit my job to do this race. I don’t know if I will get it back. But this is the ultimate.”
Siegal’s contributions to Transpac are being remembered on one of 11 historic monuments dedicated at Rainbow Harbor in Downtown Long Beach, Calif.
By Ocean Navigator