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Disney's yacht wins
Transpac
Race
By Marisa Yamane
It's one of the most
prestigious yacht races in the
world.
The Transpacific Yacht Race, from California to
Hawaii, began in 1906 and is held every other
year.
Pyewacket was the first to cross the finish today.
This was the first long journey for the redesigned
Pyewacket.
The 94-foot sailboat is owned by Roy E. Disney,
the nephew of Walt
At 11:11 AM, Pyewacket sailed into history as the
winner of the 44th Transpacific Yacht Race,
crossing the finish off Diamond Head.
"It's a wonderful moment," said one spectator.
"I'm glad to see they're finished, ha ha," said
another spectator.
Dozens of people gathered at the Aloha Tower
Marketplace, to greet Pyewacket...
"Oh I see it."
...including 3-1/2 year old Aidan, who couldn't
wait to see his dad.
"Yeah, alright!"
The 2,225 nautical mile journey is finally over for
Pyewacket, seven days after she set sail from San
Pedro, California.
"There's daddy, Aidan, daddy's driving the boat,
look!"
"Daddy! Daddy! Awe."
"Danny! Hey, hey Bob. Aloha. What's going on
brah. Good to see you. Kisses."
"Buddy, thank you, ha ha."
Aidan's father is Roy Pat Disney, the son of Roy
E. Disney -- Pyewacket's owner.
77-year old Roy senior stepped out of the race
last minute, and let his son take over as co-skipper.
"He should of been with us and it's pretty sad he
wasn't. So we did as much as we could for him,"
said co-skipper Roy Pat Disney.
"It's ok. What's ok? To lei him. To lei me. Ha ha
ha. You gotta give me a kiss with that."
There's no monetary prize for winning.
"It's a big pat on the back," said Disney.
But they do get bragging rights, a koa trophy
called the Barn Door, and memories.
"I got really lucky. Got to get on a professional
boat, and they really taught me a lot," said Steven
Manson, the youngest crew member at age 22.
"We had a great finish, a great team, and I missed
my son, he he he," said Disney.
Pyewacket fell nine hours short of a record set
two years ago by Morning Glory.
Disney says the weather, especially the light winds
in the beginning, was their biggest challenge out at
sea.
Story Updated: Jul 22, 2007 at 7:18 PM HDT
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TRANSPAC RACE STATUS
