News
We often wonder: what motivates someone to take on the challenge of not just sailing but racing 2225 miles from Los Angeles to Honolulu? For all of us who’ve done this race it’s a no-brainer, this is one of the best races in the world and we’re hooked for life. The waving so-long to friends and family, the light beat out to Catalina, the coast disappearing astern with nothing but the ocean and the lure of tropical paradise ahead. There’s nothing better.
We asked one of our first-timers in this 52nd edition of the race why they’re in this and what’s motivating them to take this on, especially in a smallish 34-foot boat.
Jamie Isbester is from Berkeley Yacht Club in the San Francisco Bay and has entered his J/105 ENERGY in the race, his first-ever Transpac. ENERGY is the smallest boat in the fleet at 34.5 feet, 6 inches shorter than another newcomer entry, Herwig Baumgartner’s 1D35 BLACK MARLIN from Los Angeles. Both boat types have entered in previous Transpacs and finished successfully without incident, so there’s nothing remarkable about the boats and their size to be eligible for this race.
Isbester said his inspiration to take on a race of this magnitude with himself and his team was simple: peer pressure, some unfinished business from the pandemic, and tremendous enthusiasm.
“I have some good friends I sailed with years ago in International 14’s on Lake Ontario,” he explained, “and we had a tradition of doing crazy things on our milestone birthdays. So with my pal Richard Cameron we signed up to race double-handed in the 2020 Pacific Cup.” Well, that did not work out due to the pandemic, so Isbester is back now to finish what he started in getting to Hawaii, and this time with the addition of two more crew: his wife Jeni Miller and friend John Hassard. He said he’s also considering taking on a couple of young sailors as well – good on him for this, TPYC also fully encourages their inclusion in this great race.
The J/105 fleet in San Francisco Bay is known for its competitiveness, and Isbester said he was active in the fleet for about a decade until 2010. After 30 years as a corporate trial lawyer, he says he’s not interested in the stress of being over-competitive in the Transpac but to have he and his team simply sail their best.
For any entry in the Transpac, regardless of experience, there is a lot of preparation needed in safety items and certifications; navigational equipment, software and training; measurement of the boat; and preparation of sails, the rig, deck hardware, etc. Isbester says they are fitting the carbon bowsprit with a bobstay to help handle the tack loads from the headsails and spinnakers, and adding an external halyard to help reduce possible chafe among masthead halyards.
Other equipment-related items on the list are to check the rudder stock, the bearings and the entire steering system, giving careful attention to all the component parts and making replacements and upgrades where necessary. For navigational upgrades he says they plan to get an Iridium sat phone for communications and downloads.
For the trip home Isbester is planning to utilize the shipping service offered by Transpac sponsor Pasha Hawaii, and needs to find a suitable J/105 trailer he can use for ENERGY for this trip.
Besides the boat and its gear there are also preparation requirements for the team, such as TPYC’s required completion of a minimum of 150 miles in offshore races or passages with the same crew as on the race. For this Isbester is planning on some coastal 48 to 72 hour passages for him and his team to understand the boat and themselves for when these skills are needed in the race.
“Overall we are really looking forward to this,” he said. “It’s been three years now since we tried to race the 2020 Pac Cup, and we can’t wait to be ready for our Transpac start in late June.”