Here is the best way to follow along as we race Festina Lente from San Francisco to Hawaii.
YB Tracking Website
https://yb.tl/paccup2024
Note: To show the wind, make sure to click the wind sock icon, and then click Windy.
YB Tracking App
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/yb-races/id452193682
Note: To show the wind, make sure to click the arrow icon.
Blog
You're on it! There is a form at the bottom where you can sign up for email updates, so that when we post something new, it shows up in your inbox.
Pacific Cup updates
https://pacificcup.org/news
https://www.facebook.com/PacCup
A few things to keep in mind for those that are new to sailboat racing:
- There are 9 different divisions that attempt to group similar boats together. While all boats compete for the fleet-wide Pacific Cup trophies, it makes the most sense to track our progress within our division, PHRF 4. You can see all boats and divisions here: https://admin.pacificcup.org/starts.
- In order to make racing fair and fun, all boats are scored with a handicap -- without this, the biggest and most expensive boats would always win. The handicap attempts to account for all equipment-related factors that can provide a performance advantage, in order to make the race about the skill of the crew. That said, ratings systems aren't perfect, boats can perform better within their rating than others.
- You can find each boat's rating on the boat and divisions page (https://admin.pacificcup.org/starts) as a number a bit above or below one. You can calculate the corrected time by multiplying the finish time by the rating (e.g. 13 days * 0.9191 = 11 days, 22 hours, and 46 minutes). As you track the race, it's worth keeping in mind different boats' ratings on the course (the higher rated boats are expected to be in front, which is corrected at the finish).
Other than reading this blog, if you want to know how we're feeling on board, look at the wind and where we are pointed relative to it.
Wind speed: Wind below 10kt we will be slow and frustrated. Wind between 10-20kt upwind and 15-25kt downwind is perfect. Wind above 30kt means we are significantly reducing sail and working to manage the boat and avoid equipment failure, but still well within the zone we can handle. We are extremely unlikely to see wind above 45-50kt, but if we do, we will be on a rollercoaster ride.
Wind angle: Upwind (pointed into the wind) means more heel (boat leaning over), stronger apparent wind (the wind + boat speed, which is the wind that you and the boat feel), and typically more bashing into the waves. Downwind means lower apparent wind, less heel, and more surfing of waves.
Temperature: Combine those elements with likely temperatures -- the first third of the race will be quite cold, especially at night, the middle third pleasant, and the last third (a bit too) warm -- and you have a good idea of what life is like onboard.