8 PACIFIC CUP 2022
A Look at the 2022 PacCup by Jim Quanci Commodore PCYC
H
ow to best describe this year’s Pacific Cup? Diverse. A number of “women only” boats, two entries from the Great Lakes, a large fleet of small under 30 foot boats most of which are double-handed, a good dose of mid-sized boats that are family operations, two turboed Volvo 70s duking it out for first to finish, a handful of over fifty year-old Cal 40s, a few woodies, and more. As you might imagine, this year’s race is a “participation rebound” driven by Covid that has the race at “full capacity” and likely to have 72 boats on the starting line – about the same number of starters as the prior largest PacCup that took place at the turn of the century – 2000. With this fleet there is no shortage of stories, but let’s look at some of what is in my opinion some of the most interesting boats and rivalries.
I believe our only “Woodie” this year is Marc Andrea Klimaschewski and David Rogers of Sloop Tavern Yacht Club racing Moonshine the plywood Dogpatch 26, a boat that won the Pacific Cup overall back in the 1990s in the hands of Bill and Melinda Erkelens. You might wonder about sailing over 2000 miles in a small light plywood boat like Moonshine, but Moonshine knows the way this being her third PacCup. This year Bill and Melinda are racing their Moore 24 Foamy. Repeat PacCup racer Andrew Hamilton, who in 2000s did the PacCup on his Moore 24 Bar-ba-loot, is this year racing on the four-time PacCup racer, and repeat first in class winner, the Donovan 30 Wolfpack, that was previously campaigned by the Erkelens. This is all a bit incestuous isn’t it? Or is it “musical chairs”? The four boat Moore 24 fleet also includes prior PacCup overall PHRF winner Karl Robrock on his steady steed Snafu. Hey what is not to like about racing to Hawaii and shipping your boat… An interesting coincidence is that two prior owners of Moonshine, Bill and Melinda Erkelens, and Andrew Hamilton, are in this year’s race with Bill and Melinda on their Moore 24 Foamy and Andrew on the Erkelens prior four-time PacCup racer, the Donovan 30 Wolfpack. This is all a bit incestuous isn’t it? The four boat Moore 24 fleet also includes prior PacCup overall PHRF winner Karl Robrock on his steady steed Snafu. Hey what is not to like about racing to Hawaii and shipping your boat back for less than the cost of a single sail on some of the larger boats? How about the “all women” and “women skippered” boats? “Kynntana,” a Freedom 38 with an all women crew is led by Carliane Johnson (Carliane raced the boat in the singlehanded transpacific yacht race several years back) out of Half Moon Bay. Lori Tewksbury and Catherine Meyer will doublehand the Express 27 “Hang 20”. Erica Mattson Siegel, with her navigator Robin Jeffers, is sailing her Moore 24 “Accelerando”. And then come the “family operations” which I have a soft spot for having done numerous PacCups with my wife and sons. “Alternate
KOLEA CRUISING : START JUL 9 11:45:00 PDT, Pacific Cup 2018 Photo: Erik S. Simonson
Reality” is a triple handed Express 27 with a father and two sons, “the Jensen trio”. Another family “trio,” the Floyd’s, are aboard Sacagawea, their Jeanneau 349 out of South Beach Yacht Club. From the Pacific Northwest we have the wife and husband doublehanded team of Christina and Justin Wolfe on their J/111 “Raku”. AThen there is the father-daughter doublehanded team Brian and Amanda Turner on their Beneteau 10R CruzSea Baby (I hear Amanda wants to get it done before heading off to college). And the three Laffitte’s – yet another “trio”, on the J/125 Hamachi out of Corinthian Yacht Club, Seattle. The Schumacher 46 Surprise is run by the father-daughter skippernavigator team of Bob and Rebecca “Becca” Hinden (Becca is also the Rear Commodore of PCYC). Becca raced triple handed in the 2018 PacCup aboard her Express 27 Bombora so maybe size does matter? I must not forget some of my regular crew who are taking their own boat Rägeboge (“Rainbow” in German) to Hawaii this year. Its yet another family “trio” Heinz and Raffi Baumann (father and son) along with Raffi’s mom Andrea Geisinger on their Halberg Rassy 38. What is likely the youngest “driver” in the race is thirteen-year-old Giuseppe “Peppe” Lavelle with his father Phil on their Cal 40 Duende (that’s a mighty large tiller that Peppe has mastered). I am sure I missed a few more “family” connections as there are so many. Another interesting “story” are the two old friends – Jim Antrim (longtime member of the PacCup technical committee) and Buzz Blackett (past PCYC Commodore). They are both “over seventy years old” so easily win “oldest average crew age” on board the Antrim 27 ‘io (Buzz’s boat designed by Jim). You would think they are old enough to know better than crossing on ocean on a wee wisp of a boat. The dueling turboed Volvo 70s will likely be the first boats to cross the finish line in Kaneohe - Roy P. Disney’s Pyewacket 70 and David & Peter Askew’s Wizard (Wizard won the Volvo Ocean Race known as Groupama 4). Battle of the Titans! Too many good stories… too many good people… too many interesting boats… and not enough room on this page to write about more than just a handful. I encourage you to meet as many fellow racers as you can to both hear their stories of adventure on the high seas – and share your own adventures with them. After all, that is what the PacCup is all about… making good friends and learning and telling great sea stories. Oh, and getting to know their all-important “support teams” – their families - too! Mahalo!
