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Rio 100 Wins Barn Door Trophy, Invisible Hand Currently Overall Leader in 2017 Transpac

Nursing a missing port rudder, team perseveres to repeat their win from last year; Invisible Hand finishes as provisional corrected time leader

HONOLULU, HI – In the pre-dawn hours this morning, Manouch Moshayedi’s Bakewell-White-designed Rio 100 crossed the finish line at Diamond Head to be the first-to-finish monohull without powered assistance, and thereby winner of the historic Barn Door Trophy in the 2017 Transpac. With an elapsed time of 6 days 17 hours 9 min and 9 sec, Rio 100 once again joins a long and storied list of classic ocean racing yachts that have won this trophy every other year since it was first awarded to H.H. Sinclair on Lurline in the very first Transpac race in 1906…it may be interesting to note Lurline’s time was nearly twice that of Rio’s.

“I credit this great crew for this victory,” said Moshayedi, clearly relieved to have finished both intact and ahead of their nearest qualified rival for the Barn Door, Frank Slootman’s Pac 52 Invisible Hand. “Their expertise and seamanship saved both the boat and our chances to repeat last year’s win.”

With the suggestion made by TPYC Commodore Bo Wheeler, the team took a group photo with the trophy at their Aloha party at Waikiki YC, just before the effects of jubilation fueled by mai tai’s had many swimming in the pool.

Next in line at Diamond Head several hours later with an elapsed time of 7:01:20:10 was Invisible Hand, the latest-generation Pac 52 whose design heritage started here with this race. Unlike the current-generation TP 52 class yachts competing in the 52 SuperSeries events in Europe, these boats have higher freeboards for livability below decks and less water on deck, and are built to meet Category 1 offshore safety regulations.

On board with Slootman was one of the Pac 52 Class originators Gavin Brady, who came up from his native New Zealand to compete in this year’s race. After downing a pineapple Mai Tai at the dock, Brady and team with discipline pulled out the sails, flaked and bricked them, even the blown up A2 spinnaker.

When asked if this sail casualty hurt them, Brady said “Nah, we had two other A2’s of slightly different design. These were the only kites we had aside from an A4 if it got really windy.”

Reflecting on the race, one of several Transpacs he’s done (last year with Rio 100), Brady said “This is a great race, and the boat was great too. This new generation of Pac 52’s are getting back to the original offshore/inshore design concept. We were fast, but I told the guys we had another 10 miles a day we could squeeze out of the performance if we were more aggressive on gybing on shifts.”

Kinetic V Race Blog

Kinetic V Update, our Transpac Day 8

July 13, 2017, 1300

Well, we don't need to tell you again how hot and humid things are.  So... on to other topics.

The adjusted watch system seems to be helping with sleep, or at least rest.

We passed a slower sailboat last night at a lateral distance of about three to four miles, fairly quickly, but don't know with certainty which boat it was.

The sun rose this morning almost directly behind the boat, projecting a motion picture silhouette image of the boat, including steering wheels, crew, lifelines, pulpit, and other features onto the white spinnaker which was flying near the front of the boat. Very cool phenomena. Easier observed than described.

Maneuvers include peeling between spinnakers that are best suited for various wind conditions and gybing to keep the boat going where we want to go. Sailing rarely involves going in a straight line directly to where one wants to go.

Speaking about wind, we do have some, although we'd enjoy a reasonable measure more.  The wind is forecast to soften behind the lead boats, which may make it a challenge to keep our full speed on all the way to the finish. That said, we have been able to find some better wind lanes than forecast and are working at keeping this going.

A nod from the team to our good friends Rob Mulder, Andrew McCorquodale, Gina Borza, and Brad Marchant, Adam Thomson and the rest of the team at First Yacht Services. Their assistance with boat preparation is much appreciated.

Kinetic V out.

Flying Fiche Blog

Fuel, Food and Fiber - Flying Fiche Day 9

July 13, 2017, 1200

Yesterday we jibed the boat for our final approach to Hawaii. Today we have less than 500 miles to complete the race.

On a boat, as in life, all systems are not just related but also interdependent. Our vessel’s diesel engine is not just to power the boat – in fact we are prohibited by race rules from using it for that purpose. We run it 2 hours daily to generate electricity for our large capacity refrigerator/freezer to preserve our frozen food. It is very efficient, but it does require a lot of electrical power. For our Engineer readers, it draws about 20 amps/hours on a 12 volt circuit. In fact, our first night out we weren’t aware of its massive power requirements and actually drained our 5 batteries to the point that at first try we were unable to start the engine.

It was only through an examination of the wiring and the canceling of all other electrical circuits, and good fortune that we were able to start the motor again. (Personally, I think we’re excessively frugal with electrical power, but as we are relatively new to this boat I prefer to err on the side of caution.

The motor is also used to desalinate salt water for drinking. This is critically important. It creates about 10 gallons per hour. In my opinion, it doesn’t compare to bottled water, I find it just barely potable, but it does quench the thirst and provides refreshing showers. Also creating water at sea, relieves us of the great weight of having to carry an extra hundreds of pounds of drinking water.

For planning purposes, each person represents 650 lbs: approximately 200 lbs for his body and the balance in clothing and consumables. So when taking on more crew it is not just a matter of the space he would occupy – the more weight, the slower the boat travels.

It is also essential that every one remain hydrated at all times. In fact, on some boats crew become so seasick that they refuse not only food but also water. I’ve heard of one instance in which the Captain had to threaten the seasick crew member with an enema before he would accept water.

Finally to keep all bodily functions regular, we keep a laundry basket of fruit and vegetables latched to the stern rail. When we started it was full of apples, oranges, cabbage and a few avocados. Today it is down to a quarter capacity. We have eaten well on this trip.

Resolute Racing Blog

Resolute Thursday Update

July 13, 2017, 1100

Good evening Resolute fans. Well things are changing out here, and I wish I could report for the better. The weather forecast is calling for decreasing winds tonight and tomorrow. Unfortunately that makes it more difficult to hang in there with the bigger/faster boats in front of us. Today's position report of 1st in class and 2nd overall is clearly in doubt tomorrow if things don't improve. Tomorrow too will be a scorcher in the heat made 100 times worse if there is no breeze. I've seen this movie before and didn't like it in 2013, but all we can do is push on to the finish and play the cards we are handed. On another note, today was the second time Matt has been punished by a flying fish. The first to the face and the last to the chest. The guy cannot get a break. Anyway more to follow, and thanks for hanging in there with us.

Tim Fuller - Skipper

Manouch Moshayedi’s Rio 100 Wins 2nd Straight Barn Door Trophy

Just after 3:00 AM on Wednesday, July 13th, Manouch Moshayedi's Rio 100 crossed the finish line of the 2017 Transpac Race, winner of the Barn Door Trophy for the second consecutive race! Rio's elapsed time of 6 days 17 hours 9 minutes and 9 seconds was over 12 hours faster than their Transpac Race in 2015. Congratulations to Team Rio and Aloha.

This was the second fastest elapsed time for any Transpac Barn Door winner in the history of the event.