West Marine Pacific Cup
Encyclopedia
The Pacific Cup is a yacht race from San Francisco, California
to Kaneohe, Hawaii on the island of Oahu
. The enjoyable exercise in Yacht racing
is run in even-numbered years by the Pacific Cup Yacht Club and sponsored by West Marine
and others. While billed as "The Fun Race to Hawaii," this race take preparation seriously and provides a number of seminars and resources to help sailors and crew find safety and success. The level of competition rises each year as well—and yet, the FUN factor remains.
This "Fun Race to Hawaii" has run for over 26 years with hundreds of boats from 24 feet (7.3 m) doublehanders to 140-foot spectaculars, and innumerable family efforts, avid racers, and "sail of a lifetime" efforts in between having sailed the 2070 nautical miles (3,833.6 km) course.
The first start for 2010 will be July 5 at the starting line off the St. Francis Yacht Club on San Francisco's cityfront..
, run from 20 to 60 thousand dollars and up.
With on-water times from seven to seventeen days, twenty-four hours a day, this is the equivalent of running a hundred round-the-buoys races back to back. Reliability, flexibility, and spare parts are the keys to a successful preparation.
The best, and classic, reference for the aspiring Pacific Racer is Jim and Sue Corenman's Pacific Cup Handbook (available from West Marine).
The PCYC provides a set of race tips including some very useful articles.
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
to Kaneohe, Hawaii on the island of Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
. The enjoyable exercise in Yacht racing
Yacht racing
Yacht racing is the sport of competitive yachting.While sailing groups organize the most active and popular competitive yachting, other boating events are also held world-wide: speed motorboat racing; competitive canoeing, kayaking, and rowing; model yachting; and navigational contests Yacht racing...
is run in even-numbered years by the Pacific Cup Yacht Club and sponsored by West Marine
West Marine
West Marine is an American company based in Watsonville, California which operates a chain of boating supply and fishing retail stores. They operate over 300 retail stores in North America.-History:...
and others. While billed as "The Fun Race to Hawaii," this race take preparation seriously and provides a number of seminars and resources to help sailors and crew find safety and success. The level of competition rises each year as well—and yet, the FUN factor remains.
This "Fun Race to Hawaii" has run for over 26 years with hundreds of boats from 24 feet (7.3 m) doublehanders to 140-foot spectaculars, and innumerable family efforts, avid racers, and "sail of a lifetime" efforts in between having sailed the 2070 nautical miles (3,833.6 km) course.
The first start for 2010 will be July 5 at the starting line off the St. Francis Yacht Club on San Francisco's cityfront..
Entry
The Pacific Cup Yacht Club has all the forms necessary to enter the race available on-line. A competitor can do the bulk of their entry process over the web, only mailing in a signed entry form and a check.Requirements
The Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions (get current from PCYC) contain the equipment and other requirements for the boat. These start with the ISAF Special Regulations for Category 1 races, as modified by the U.S. Prescriptions. The NOR and SI's make some modest changes to the regulations in view of the nature of the race.Preparation
Getting ready for the race is an effort of several months at a minimum. Typical preparation budgets, from entry fee to post-arrival rumRum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
, run from 20 to 60 thousand dollars and up.
With on-water times from seven to seventeen days, twenty-four hours a day, this is the equivalent of running a hundred round-the-buoys races back to back. Reliability, flexibility, and spare parts are the keys to a successful preparation.
The best, and classic, reference for the aspiring Pacific Racer is Jim and Sue Corenman's Pacific Cup Handbook (available from West Marine).
The PCYC provides a set of race tips including some very useful articles.