Here’s the big picture of Festina Lente’s Pacific Cup entry right now:
THE RACE:
The Pacific Cup (https://pacificcup.org) is sailed every even year. First raced in 1980, it is billed as, “The FUN Race to Hawaii.” The course is 2,070 nautical miles (2,380 statute miles) from San Francisco, CA to Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, HI.
THE COMPETITION:
Of the sixty four entries (https://admin.pacificcup.org/entries) in the fleet, just over half are from the Bay Area. The rest are from elsewhere in CA, as well as several other states (AK, HI, MN, OR, TX, WA) and countries (Canada, Jamaica, Poland, Switzerland). Each has:
met offshore safety at sea training standards,
been inspected for compliance with offshore safety equipment requirements, and
sailed a 150 mile (minimum) open-ocean qualifier.
For a time, more than 70 boats had entered, but some have withdrawn. With so much planning, preparation and practice, as well as life’s competing priorities, some say that, “Getting to the starting line is the hardest part.”
Within the 64-boat fleet, Festina Lente will also be racing in the “Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) 4” division, a group of 9 heavy boats in the 40-50 foot range (
https://admin.pacificcup.org/starts). PHRF is a handicapping system that helps level competition between boats of varied designs, and devisions splits pit similar boats against each other. A boat’s elapsed time is “corrected" for the handicapping, and may be for penalties for rules violations, or redress for rendering assistance. In the end, the boat with the lowest corrected time wins.
THE BOAT:
“Festina Lente” (https://admin.pacificcup.org/entry/festina-lente) is a Hanse 505 built in 2014. The 2013 Judel/Vrolijk design is reviewed here https://www.sailmagazine.com/boats/boat-review-hanse-505 Two other Hanse 505s placed 1st (finishing in 12 days 8 hours 07 minutes and 58 seconds, elapsed) and 2nd (@ 12:20:14:08) in the cruising division of the 2018 Pac Cup. There is no cruising division this year, but their day-12 benchmarks suggest an over-under for us to finish on day 12. An accurate estimate is difficult to give, especially weather forecasts are only now beginning to come into focus.
THE RE-FIT:
Festina Lente has always been well-maintained and is in great shape. Building on this already strong foundation, the boat has undergone a substantial re-fit for the Pac Cup. An illustrative subset of the many upgrades includes new / reconfigured / serviced: sails, jib leads, spinnaker pole, reaching strut, navigation and communications equipment, instrument bridge, wiring, antennae, hydro-generator, stainless steel bob-stay, standing rigging, running rigging, winches, bottom, folding propeller, rudder, emergency steering system, life raft, … The list goes on and on. The project has gone on for more than a year, but by now, the boat is ready.
THE CREW:
We have 5 “souls aboard,“ typically sailing with 2 crew on-watch / 3 off. The watch system rotates each of us through different positions (e.g., helm, trim, maintain, sleep, etc.), and phases of the day (e.g., sunrise, midnight, etc.).
The team includes:
David, (from France, now CA) the boat owner. David has sailed for 9 years and has had great formal sailing training. He is about five years into owning Festina Lente and has only recently been seduced by competitive sailing’s siren song. His characteristic ambition was on display in jumping into a 50-footer as his first boat, and is again with Pac Cup being an early race on his sailing resume. Great news for the rest of us, the same attention he gave to preparing the boat, especially with respect to safety equipment, went into the meal planning!
Tracy, (from Hawaii, now CA) the project manager, Tracy taught offshore sailing for 10 years, has his 100-ton US Coast Guard (USCG) captain’s license, has raced plenty on multiple boats that he owned and others. He has raced in the Pac Cup 4 times (once double-handed), is an inspector for the race (checking compliance with the equipment standards mentioned above), and his boat was voted “best-prepared” among the fleet in the 2018 race. Between his experience and approach, Tracy is the right Pac Cup mentor for our team.
Craig, (from Australia, now CA) the maritime engineer: Craig started working on superyachts more than 20 years ago and hasn’t looked back. He now owns a business doing so all over the world (https://miropo.com). If it exists on a boat and can break, he has fixed more of them than most of us have changed lightbulbs. He has done 14 TransAtlantic crossings, 11 by sail. He is putting his own USCG captain’s license to good use right now driving a VIP support boat at the Sail GP San Francisco event this weekend.
Eric, (from Iran, now CA) the medical officer, If Eric becomes our MVP, we hope it is for his sailing talents, rather than his bonus skill set. As if it’s not reassuring enough to have a teammate aboard who is an ER doctor, Eric specializes in wilderness medicine. His resume includes expeditions at Everest Base Camp, Aconcagua, and other similarly remote areas. (And if needed, we have GW Maritime Medical Access (https://gwdocs.com/specialties/emergency-medicine/wecc/maritime-services) available for remote consultation.)
Jeremy, (from Chicago, now CA) an unapologetic junkie. At the moment last July when the phone call came in inviting me into this team, I was actually both re-packing my gear after Crew Overboard drills done in preparation for my 27th Chicago to Mackinac race and streaming the documentary Morning Light (https://movies.disney.com/morning-light) by Roy Disney, whose boat won the 2022 Pac Cup. Racing to Hawaii is a Bucket List to-do for many, and has been a goal of mine since I began racing at UW-Madison (1986).
The Festina Lente Pacific Cup campaign has been top-of-mind for each of us since we joined together as a team almost a year ago. And we know it will remain foremost in the minds of our loved ones until we tie-off safely at the docks of Kaneohe Yacht Club after finishing (and shower). None of us could indulge in this extraordinary adventure without their boundless love, confidence and support, which we all appreciate.
THE START:
Festina Lente’s PHRF 4 start is on Wednesday, July 17 at 1140 PDT, just offshore from the race deck of the St. Francis Yacht Club. And then it is… Game On!
TO FOLLOW:
Historically not a spectator sport, technology will make available written, graphic and data updates of the race. If interested, you can follow the race as it progresses.
- The “YB”mobile app presents how boats are doing against each other and against the 2070 nautical miles that lie ahead.
- Our blog will give updates from aboard. If you want these posts sent directly into your Inbox, enter your email address.
- The Pac Cup web site has a News page and the race has a social media presence.
Instructions are here: https://admin.pacificcup.org/entry/festina-lente.
- - Jeremy - -
