Photo courtesy of Sailing World.
Fast is Fun!
This custom built Santa Cruz 50, Hull #28, was designed by boat Wizard, Bill Lee for competing in single-handed around the world races.
Winner, FIRST (and only woman ever) woman to win First to Finish in the San Francisco to Hawaii single-handed SSS Transpac race. 12 Days/ 4 Hours/ 19 Minutes/ 57 Seconds
SSS First to Finish – Elapsed Time Trophy
Latitude 38 / Nelson Marine Perpetual Trophy – First Elapsed Time
Orcon Corporation Perpetual Trophy – First Elapsed Time
Jack London Perpetual Trophy – First to Finish Elapsed Time
Grover Nibour Perpetual Trophy and “keeper”- First ULDB Elapsed Time
There were no ‘perfect storms’, but at times the 12th biennial Single-handed TransPac seemed a lot like one of those movies where the writer and director Hollywoodize the script for dramatic affect. So this year, instead of the normal lovely tradewind run and a focus on sailing, there was a dismasting, an onboard fire, the mother of all roundups, an EPIRB alert, heros, mysteries, and our favorite – boats seeming to sail in every direction but toward the finish in Kauai.
About the only thing missing from the plot were damsels in distress. In this flick, the only distress was inflicted by the damsels, two of whom whupped the fleet for both line and Division honors. First-time competitor Anna Stockel took care of the former with a first to finish aboard her Santa Cruz 50 Sundowner. Race veteran Terry McKelvey (class of ’96) corrected out first in Class III, missing overall fleet honors by less than an hour.
Sundowner crossed the finish line, in a driving rain squall (This is the most wind I’ve had the whole trip!” shouted Anna), at 11:20a.m. local time on July 6. for an elapsed time of 12 days, 4 hours and 20 minutes. No new speed record in such a fluky year, but a milestone nonetheless: In 12 editions of this race, it was the first time a woman had taken first-to-finish. -Latitude 38/John Riise
Crewed with my good friend Bruce Schwab on his Open 60 Ocean Planet in the 215-boat fleet competing at 2002 Antigua Race Week.
Co-skippered the delivery of the Open 60 Margaret Anna with Bruce Schwab from La Rochelle, France to Bermuda.
As the tactician and navigator on Dolphin Dance, we set a new course record in the 1993 Coastal Cup from San Francisco to Santa Barbara.
1st to finish, 1st overall, and 1st in Division. We won again in ’95.
| Ocean Planet prepare for Around Alone by Bruce Schwab on 9 Feb 2002 Anna Stockel: Another helper with electrical wiring, Anna was first to finish boat for boat in the 2000. |
