Longboard Roars Across the Finishing Line to Claim Line Honours

by Race Committee, July 18th, 2014

With winds building as she got closer to Maui, Longboard got up and surfed the waves one more time to rip through Pailolo Channel and finish at the Aston Kaanapali Shores an hour before midnight at 22:56. Peter Salusbury and crew claim Line Honours for Vic-Maui 2014 as the first boat to finish. Read

Daily Report - July 17 - The Final Push - But the Wind Goddess Will Have Her Say

by Race Committee, July 17th, 2014

It Race Day 14 and it is smoking hot in Lahaina. But the surf is up and the winds are good, making it the perfect place to be. We will have the first finisher in tonight. But the order of finish and the Overall Winner on corrected time could be any one of several boats. It all depends on the capriciousness of Pele (the Hawaiian goddess of wind, in addition to stirring up volcanoes). And Brad Baker give his final assessment of the run to the finish Read

Daily Report - July 16 - Tomorrow; Is Only a Day Away

by Race Committee, July 16th, 2014

As people on the beach in West Maui will have noticed, the wind has filled in. The trade winds have finally started blowing like they are supposed to and all boats in the Vic-Maui fleet are rumbling. With the stronger winds, Peter Salusbury’s Longboard has picked up the pace and is surfing. At 5:00 pm HST today, she was 256 miles from the Finish and should finish late Thursday afternoon. Read

From the Blog of Turnagain

by Travis McGregor, July 16th, 2014

What is life like on the west side of the Rhumb Line? Here is an excerpt from the blog of Turnagain, Travis McGregor's Beneteau 50. "Today marks our third consecutive day of pounding the boat into the wind towards Maui while we wait patiently for King Neptune to deliver the downwind breeze that was promised in the promotional materials." Read

The End is Not Quite in Sight, But Close

by Race Committee, July 15th, 2014

As of 5:00 pm Maui Time, Peter Salusbury’s Riptide 35 Longboard and John Kerrigan’s Ker 46 New Haven are keeping close tabs on each as they approach Maui and the Finish at Kaanapali Shores. With 476 miles to go, Longboard has a 52 mile lead and is setting up for the final gybe and run into Pailolo Channel, probably early on Friday morning. But she owes New Haven handicap time and it is a neck and neck battle for the overall winner and winner of Class 1. Read

Daily Report - July 15 - Sprinting to the Finish; Times Three

by Race Committee, July 15th, 2014

The mainland end of the Race Committee apologizes for taking the day off yesterday while travelling to Maui to assist the Lahaina Yacht Club end who looks after the Finish Line. I hate to report to all readers that the weather on Maui is perfect. As the day gets going on the Vic Maui fleet, there is lots of intermingling with the fleet of Pacific Cup boats. Kinetic reported seeing a boat at first light, probably Green Buffalo, a Cal 40 competing double-handed. Looking at the Pacific Cup tracker shows that all the big boats in their fleet (Pyewacket, Hula Girl, etc.) are pointed right at the heart of the Vic Maui fleet about 150 miles back and closing. Read

Daily Report - July 13 - The Table is Set. But Who Wants to Dine

by Race Committee, July 13th, 2014

The table is set. But who wants to dine is still up in the air. As Roll Call finishes, it is apparent that the 3 boats in Class 1 are stretching south of the Zone of Death and finding the first zephyrs of the trade winds. AND We are happy to report that Anduril has reached San Francisco and is into a boatyard. Greg harms and crew will reach Maui by air. Read

From the Blog of String Theory

by John Mortimer, July 13th, 2014

An excerpt from the Blog of String Theory which tries to explain the strange weather pattern and String Theory's tactical decision on how to deal with it. Read

The Fleets are Mixing

by Race Committee, July 13th, 2014

The front of the Vic-Maui fleet is not amongst the early starters of the Pacific Cup race and the faster Pac Cup boats will soon be among the Vic-Maui fleet. Instead of 14 boats making for Hawaii, there will be about 65. Read

Daily Report - July 12 - The High, the Hight, the White High

by Race Committee, July 12th, 2014

Like Captain Ahab seeking the white whale, the Vic-Maui fleet is seeking a way out of the Pacific High that has set up over the fleet. Read

Daily Report - July 11 - Who Has Seen the Wind?

by Race Committee, July 11th, 2014

W.O. Mitchell asked the question in a book about growing up in Saskatchewan. But the boats are living the phrase right now. The thin but growing Pacific High has enveloped the fleet and put a totally different complexion on the race after a couple days of hard sailing. It is now a race to find the quickest way through the scooge. Read

From the Blog of Family Affair

by Paul Michael, July 11th, 2014

The expected difficult decisions facing skippers have been borne out overnight. Boats closer to the developing High are slowing, while those more to the east continue to move. JAM and Longboard are pointing toward South America, but trying get around the bottom. In this blog, Paul Michael describes the decision making (and makes observations on sea creatures). Read

Daily Report - July 10 - Return of the High

by Race Committee, July 10th, 2014

As predicted, the fleet has sailed out of the strong northerly wind pattern as the Pacific High expands towards them. Wind speeds have dropped to the low teens and boat speeds have started to ease. Right now the decision get tough. Read

From the Blog of Longboard

by Peter Salusbury, July 10th, 2014

Longboard has stretched a good lead on the fleet in wind conditions for which she is perfectly suited. Check out excerpt from Longoard's blog. And check out the picture of Peter Salusbury helming in the 1982 Vic Maui. Read

Daily Report - July 9. Longboard Puts in Miles, Brad Baker Speaks

by Race Committee, July 9th, 2014

At this evening’s roll call, Peter Salusbury’s Longboard has made most of the conditions and stretched out a lead of over 30 miles. But Longboard continues to take a southerly course while others are edging toward Hawaii, with challenging decisions ahead. Brad Baker, a many-time winning Vic-Maui navigator and owner of Swiftsure Yachts, has produced a great commentary for Northwest Yachting magazine on the race so far and how these decisions will be made. Read

Anduril's Race to Maui is Over

by Race Committee, July 9th, 2014

Anduril has sufferred a major steering failure and has had to abandon the race. There are no headed for San Francisco under emergency steering. Everybody is well, but disappointed. Read

Covering Miles and Busting Gear

by Race Committee, July 8th, 2014

The last 24 hours of running in winds over 20 kts with spinnakers up has taken its toll on the fleet. At the evening roll call, boats reported several broaches, parted halyards, more than a couple of spinnakers blown up, and both Kinetic and Losloper suffered broken steering cables. Read

July 8 Daily Report - The Wind Blows- For Now!

by Race Committee, July 8th, 2014

The fleet is currently heading south along the California coast, about 300 miles west of Cape Mendocino. Longboard has leapt up to the front of the fleet in strong winds over the past 24 hours. But that is where the wind is, not where will the wind be - the story for the next few days will be how long wind will blow along the coast and where will it re-appear. Read

July 7 Daily Report- Gale Warning!

by Race Committee, July 7th, 2014

From calms to gales in one easy step. The National Weather Service has issued a gale warning for California Offshore waters Monday and into Tuesday. It could not have come at a better time. Read

From the Blog of Family Affair

by Paul Michael, July 7th, 2014

Yesterday, we lost our wind around 0800 and didn't make much ground with a light southeast wind. There were 2 to 4 foot wind waves from the south to contend with upon the swells and most of the crew had their first taste of sea sickness. Read