Halfway to Hawaii! Pac Cup Fleet Flying in Brisk Winds

The 2016 Pacific Cup racers are crossing their halfway point, and the fleet is flying along in 20kt winds which will likely to carry them all the way to the finish. The spinnakers are up, crews are drying out, and the rides are fast. The boats are now in what Stan Honey refers to as the "slot car" segment of the race, with most having gybed to a position that should carry them all the way to Hawaii. Concerns about the tropical storms have waned, with Cecilia moving off to the north and hurricane Darby forecast to weaken to a tropical storm and track South of Hawaii as it hits cooler waters. The Pacific High has moved west and with the tropical storms coming up from Mexico, strong trade winds are present over the entire fleet. There are close competitions in many of the divisions, but there's still a long way to go.

Standings - as of 0800 PDT

There are close competitions in many of the divisions, but there's still a long way to go. In the Kolea Double Handed Division, Moore 24 Mas! remains firmly in first place in division, group, and overall. Evermoore has moved up to second, closely followed by Alchimiste.

In the North Sails Double Handed 2 Division, Wolfpack passed Sailing for ALS overnight, placing her first in division and just 6.9 hours behind Mas! for second overall. The downwind slot cars segment of the race favors the lighter MORC 30 which can get up and plane the waves more nimbly than the heavier Beneteau that has dominated the division until today. California Condor is still on a pace to be the first boat to finish, likely within hours of super maxi Rio 100.

The Cal 40 Redhead continues her impressive performance to maintain the lead in Honu Division A, well ahead of Windswept Lady in second and Cassiopeia in third.

In the Weems and Plath Division B, it's a tight race between Tiki J, Encore and RV Aloha with Tiki J holding on to a small lead. With half the race still to go, this will be a competition to watch.

In the Alaska Airlines Division C, Express 37 Limitless retains the lead with race veteran Sweet Okole moving into second, but closely followed by another Express 37, Elan. Limitless reported this morning that "the sat phone usb jack is jacked, dissasembled, literally held together w/ zipties… not really working so well, but still racing fast, so all good."

Competition in the Pasha Hawaii ORR Division is extremely close, with current leader J World's Hula Girl maintaining a slight lead over Surprise, Oaxaca, and Adrenalin. With half the race still to go, the estimated difference in corrected finish times between the top four boats in this division is now less than five hours. "Hula Girl loves this stuff!", - says Wayne Zittlel, skipper of the Santa Cruz 50 J World's Hula Girl in Pasha Hawaii ORR Division D. "She strutted through the night, holding on to our first-in-class position. We are enjoying the ride." The crew on Adrenalin reports: "Flying fish and squid are zinging about. Plastic garbage is more noticeable. While sailing fast to Hawaii is our primary concern, there are a lot of stories, songs, and laughs. Fast IS fun!"

Pyewacket, the early leader in the BMW of San Rafael ORR Division, maintains a strong hold on their division with Buona Sera a distant second. Rio 100's pace slowed slightly from the previous day, bust she still recorded a 425 mile day. Her 0800 position report puts her slightly behind Mari Cha's record of 5 days, 5 hours, 38 minutes, and 10 seconds - but she could pick up the pace again over the next 1000 miles. Buona Sera is second, and the 56 ft. rocket ship Varuna VI is in third, charging along with a 387 mile 24 hour run.

In the Latitude 38 Cruising Division Ticket II remains well ahead of most of the fleet, but they're now being passed by the speediest racers, including California Condor, Mas! and Redhead.

Onboard Reports
In their spare time, many boats have been updating friends and family onshore with tales of their experience underway via blogs or Facebook updates. In the first days of the race, boat repairs were a theme - not surprising given the conditions, especially the large and sometimes confused seas that can slam the boats around. The lack of sunshine has also been an issue for those boats relying solely on solar power to charge electronics such as sat phones and navigation computers. Spadefoot, reported some significant resourcefulness, after losing the use of their sprit following a wipe out. Initially expecting that they would be out of the race, they're now back in the hunt.

With the boats pointed downwind, the weather has improved and many crews have their appetites back. "We all got to take off our foul weather gear for the first time since we started," reports Graham Ellis, skipper of the J/124 Albion. "Our main afternoon discussion is around whether we will have Pork Vindaloo or Chicken Mole."

Follow the Fleet

Keep track of the standings with the YBTracking on pacificcup.org or by downloading the app YB Races. Many of the boats will be posting to blogs during the race and you can find a list at pacificcup.org.

Photos - Top: YB Tracking Image.

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