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Vol. 12, Issue 204 - Monday,
July 23, 2007
Disney crew
still satisfied
Pyewacket comes up short for
Transpac record but still wins
STORY
SUMMARY »
Propelled by brisk tradewinds, Pyewacket crossed the
Diamond Head finish line of the Transpac race short of a
coveted record yesterday but still snaring the fourth-
fastest time in history, at 7 days, 1 hour, 11 minutes and
56 seconds.
The 94-foot sloop headed to Honolulu Harbor and the
cheers and embraces of friends and family members.
"The race was frustrating and exhilarating," said co-
skipper Roy P. Disney. "The first three days, there was
no wind, and the little wind we had was in the wrong
direction."
FULL
STORY »
By Laurie Au / lau@starbulletin.com
With his arms outstretched, the little boy with sunburned
cheeks shouted, "Daddy! Daddy!" as Pyewacket, a 94-
foot boat, neared Pier 9 yesterday. It had been out at sea
for a week, the longest Aidan Disney has gone without
seeing his father.
As he placed a lei around the neck of Roy Pat Disney,
Pyewacket's co- skipper, 3- year- old Aidan said,
"Daddy, I missed you."
Though Pyewacket was first to finish this year's biennial
Transpacific Yacht Race, many had hoped the modified
boat would beat the record for the fastest race time as
well.
Still, at 7 days, 1 hour and 11 minutes, the boat achieved
the fourth-fastest time in the 101 years of the race and
the second-fastest "Barn Door" finish, second only to
rival Morning Glory's 6 days, 16 hours and 4 minutes in
2005. That year, Morning Glory and two other boats,
including an earlier incarnation of Pyewacket, finished the
race in less than 7 days.
The Barn Door prize goes to the boat with the shortest
elapsed time in each race.
"It was a good race," said crew member Robbie Haines
yesterday as friends and family welcomed them home at
Aloha Tower. "We were disappointed. We'd love to have
the record, but it wasn't meant to be."
The Pyewacket was modified this year with a longer hull
and a taller mast, making it a better yet trickier boat to
sail in the 2,225-nautical-mile race.
Before Pyewacket set sail July 15 from San Pedro, Calif.,
crew members had a special meeting to talk about
contingency plans in case the boat sank.
"We talked about some things that we never talked about
before," Disney said. "If the keel mechanism failed, as it
happens on these boats, there's not a lot of time to
debate things."
The Pyewacket also launched without its guiding force.
Roy E. Disney, 77, opted out of the race to help with the
Disney documentary of another boat of younger crew
members, Morning Light.
"It was hard, but a part of it was my own body saying,
'You know, you're getting a bit older. Don't exert yourself
and don't get hurt,'" said the elder Disney, the nephew of
Walt Disney.
"I appreciate that he had other responsibilities," his son
said. "I know he was torn. That's all we talked about. We
kept saying, 'Man, I wish Roy was here.'"
After their first three days at sea, their high hopes of
crossing the finish line by 2:04 a.m. yesterday drifted
away with the wind that came too late.
"The race was frustrating and exhilarating," Roy P.
Disney said. "The first three days, there was no wind,
and the little wind we had was in the wrong direction.
"We were drifting for quite a few hours out there. It was a
minefield and an obstacle course we had to get around."
Pyewacket's crew had a major decision whether to travel
north through a high- pressure calm area or south, the
more conventional route. They chose to go north.
"It was a pure matter of distance," Disney said. "You
either travel south, travel more distance and go faster and
make up for that. Or you go north, travel less distance
and hope that that works out. This was an 18-hour
difference that we couldn't pass up."
The crew does not know if there will be another Transpac
for Pyewacket since it was donated to Orange Coast
College after the 2005 race.
"We're just glad to be here," Disney said. "It's my 17th
trip here on this race, and it never gets old."
Kokopelli 2, which started July 12, three days before
Pyewacket, was the second to finish, at 12:53 p.m.
Reinrag2 was expected to arrive around 10 last night.
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TRANSPAC RACE STATUS
