| Vol 3 - Issue 1 | October 1998 |
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The Inland Transpac Richmond Marina to Sandy Beach State Park (Rio Vista) CA. July 4th 1998 By Rob Morse This is the morning after, and it feels like it. I am an average sailor at best. What possessed me to go on a 43 mile beach catamaran ride. The first answer is the enthusiasm of my Driver, Dan. He has made this run before. "The Transpac. Hay, man. We gotta do it!" And for the most part, he was right! The Inland Transpac is a "non race" and starts from the east side of San Francisco bay. For those of you that hate mark roundings, there is no course. There is just a launch site and a destination. However, to get to that destination you north into San Pablo bay, east through the Carquinez straits, into Suisun (pronounced SU SOON) bay, (avoid honker bay) and then hang a left onto the Sacramento river. About a dozen boats participated. I was worried that there would be little wind in Richmond. That fear was allayed as soon as we started to rig. There was enough wind to make good speed. We rigged, got dressed, got launched and were away. I was on the wire for a while as we got into San Franciso bay. That was about the only windward work for the whole day. We were reaching and running for the next 5 hours. The winds are anything but steady. Trim sails. Move in. Move out. Move forward. Move back! Time to gybe. Repeat as required. We settled into a rhythm of climbing wave after wave as we reached down wind. There were a few very fast sleigh rides through the straits where the wind increased. Very fast is from 20 knots to OHGODWEAREGOINGTODIE. We were both hiking at the rear crossbar on the windward side. I got to play the main sheet while Dan drove. The goal is to balance fear versus speed. Sometimes speed won, so I'd sheet in to go faster. Sometimes fear won, so I'd sheet out to regain control. Gybes were usually well controlled. Except as we turned from dead down wind in one gybe, we were hit by a small gust and a wave just as the main sail and jib "unstalled". The extra push from the sails submerged the lee hull past the front cross bar. That reset my fear meter. I thought we had just signed up for a remedial course in Pitchpole 201. Driver Dan just grins. Dan later says that since we never had our rudder tips clear of the water during a gybe, the winds were light. Don't worry, if you don't like the winds, just wait. They will change. And they did. They tapered off a bit and we were back into our "normal" downwind racing mode again. There was time for snacks, water and talk. We took turns on the helm and sheets. It is amazing how much slower the boat goes when I let my concentration lapse. Driver Dan just grins. The wind continued to diminish. The last 3 miles must have taken us 40 minutes. Were we the fastest boat? Na, just average. But I think the team that made the run in their Hobie 16 must be tremendous sailors. Eventually the ground crew arrived with the trailer. Hours later we are back at the starting point as drivers and cars are reunited. The next day I am sore from 5 hours on a trampoline and a 14 hour day. I prescribe more sailing to cure these reoccurring episodes of a sore and stiff body. The Inland Transpac; Hay, ya gotta try it! Just watch out for the morning after. Rob Morse is a 42 year old Crew on a 8 year young Prindle 19. He sails with Driver Dan Juday. Dan says he is older that the boat and younger than Rob. |
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Rob Morse jmorse@jps.net Back to Features |