"That was the longest, hardest, struggling, stressful thing I've ever done in
my life," Morning Light skipper
Jeremy Wilmot said in a release. "But at the end of the day, I loved it."
While Morning Light garnered much of the attention, John Kilroy Jr.'s Samba Pa Ti provided what might
have been the most dramatic turn in the race.
On Monday, the boat's navigator, Nick White, made a bold decision to cut south in an attempt to
maximize the boat's strength by gaining leverage in stronger winds.
The gambit, which initially appeared to have taken the boat out of contention, ultimately paid off in
a first-
place finish in Division 2. Brack Duker's Holua finished second.
Doug Baker's Magnitude 80 had earlier secured first place in Division I by completing the race in 7
days,
14 hours, 35 minutes, 37 seconds. Disney's Pyewacket finished second, followed by Roger Sturgeon's
Rosebud.
Kailua resident Dan Doyle's On the Edge of Destiny crew, the youngest ever to compete in the race with
an average age of 19.8 years, also impressed with a third-place finish in Division 5, completing the
race
Wednesday in 7:15:06:15.
Mike Diepenbrock's Rancho Deluxe took first place in the division, followed by Tower, owned by Doug
Grant.
"You've got these kids and the Morning Light kids, and when that film hits the theaters next year,
you'll
have a lot of kids getting excited about sailing," Doyle said in a release.
Also Wednesday, Steve Calhoun's Psyche edged fellow Cal-40 boat Far Far, owned by Don Grind, for
first place in Division 6.
Reach Michael Tsai atmtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.
TRANSPAC RACE STATUS
