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Longboard Roars Across the Finishing Line to Claim Line Honours by Race Committee, July 18th, 2014 With winds building as she got closer to Maui, Longboard got up and surfed the waves one more time to rip through Pailolo Channel and finish at the Aston Kaanapali Shores an hour before midnight at 22:56. Peter Salusbury and crew claim Line Honours for Vic-Maui 2014 as the first boat to finish. Read 
Daily Report - July 17 - The Final Push - But the Wind Goddess Will Have Her Say by Race Committee, July 17th, 2014 It Race Day 14 and it is smoking hot in Lahaina. But the surf is up and the winds are good, making it the perfect place to be. We will have the first finisher in tonight. But the order of finish and the Overall Winner on corrected time could be any one of several boats. It all depends on the capriciousness of Pele (the Hawaiian goddess of wind, in addition to stirring up volcanoes). And Brad Baker give his final assessment of the run to the finish Read 
Daily Report - July 16 - Tomorrow; Is Only a Day Away by Race Committee, July 16th, 2014 As people on the beach in West Maui will have noticed, the wind has filled in. The trade winds have finally started blowing like they are supposed to and all boats in the Vic-Maui fleet are rumbling. With the stronger winds, Peter Salusbury’s Longboard has picked up the pace and is surfing. At 5:00 pm HST today, she was 256 miles from the Finish and should finish late Thursday afternoon. Read 
by Travis McGregor, July 16th, 2014 What is life like on the west side of the Rhumb Line? Here is an excerpt from the blog of Turnagain, Travis McGregor's Beneteau 50. "Today marks our third consecutive day of pounding the boat into the wind towards Maui while we wait patiently for King Neptune to deliver the downwind breeze that was promised in the promotional materials." Read 
The End is Not Quite in Sight, But Close by Race Committee, July 15th, 2014 As of 5:00 pm Maui Time, Peter Salusbury’s Riptide 35 Longboard and John Kerrigan’s Ker 46 New Haven are keeping close tabs on each as they approach Maui and the Finish at Kaanapali Shores. With 476 miles to go, Longboard has a 52 mile lead and is setting up for the final gybe and run into Pailolo Channel, probably early on Friday morning. But she owes New Haven handicap time and it is a neck and neck battle for the overall winner and winner of Class 1. Read 
Daily Report - July 15 - Sprinting to the Finish; Times Three by Race Committee, July 15th, 2014 The mainland end of the Race Committee apologizes for taking the day off yesterday while travelling to Maui to assist the Lahaina Yacht Club end who looks after the Finish Line. I hate to report to all readers that the weather on Maui is perfect. As the day gets going on the Vic Maui fleet, there is lots of intermingling with the fleet of Pacific Cup boats. Kinetic reported seeing a boat at first light, probably Green Buffalo, a Cal 40 competing double-handed. Looking at the Pacific Cup tracker shows that all the big boats in their fleet (Pyewacket, Hula Girl, etc.) are pointed right at the heart of the Vic Maui fleet about 150 miles back and closing. Read 
Daily Report - July 13 - The Table is Set. But Who Wants to Dine by Race Committee, July 13th, 2014 The table is set. But who wants to dine is still up in the air. As Roll Call finishes, it is apparent that the 3 boats in Class 1 are stretching south of the Zone of Death and finding the first zephyrs of the trade winds. AND We are happy to report that Anduril has reached San Francisco and is into a boatyard. Greg harms and crew will reach Maui by air. Read 
From the Blog of String Theory by John Mortimer, July 13th, 2014 An excerpt from the Blog of String Theory which tries to explain the strange weather pattern and String Theory's tactical decision on how to deal with it. Read 
by Race Committee, July 13th, 2014 The front of the Vic-Maui fleet is not amongst the early starters of the Pacific Cup race and the faster Pac Cup boats will soon be among the Vic-Maui fleet. Instead of 14 boats making for Hawaii, there will be about 65. Read 
Daily Report - July 12 - The High, the Hight, the White High by Race Committee, July 12th, 2014 Like Captain Ahab seeking the white whale, the Vic-Maui fleet is seeking a way out of the Pacific High that has set up over the fleet. Read 
Daily Report - July 11 - Who Has Seen the Wind? by Race Committee, July 11th, 2014 W.O. Mitchell asked the question in a book about growing up in Saskatchewan. But the boats are living the phrase right now. The thin but growing Pacific High has enveloped the fleet and put a totally different complexion on the race after a couple days of hard sailing. It is now a race to find the quickest way through the scooge. Read 
From the Blog of Family Affair by Paul Michael, July 11th, 2014 The expected difficult decisions facing skippers have been borne out overnight. Boats closer to the developing High are slowing, while those more to the east continue to move. JAM and Longboard are pointing toward South America, but trying get around the bottom. In this blog, Paul Michael describes the decision making (and makes observations on sea creatures). Read 
Daily Report - July 10 - Return of the High by Race Committee, July 10th, 2014 As predicted, the fleet has sailed out of the strong northerly wind pattern as the Pacific High expands towards them. Wind speeds have dropped to the low teens and boat speeds have started to ease. Right now the decision get tough. Read 
by Peter Salusbury, July 10th, 2014 Longboard has stretched a good lead on the fleet in wind conditions for which she is perfectly suited. Check out excerpt from Longoard's blog. And check out the picture of Peter Salusbury helming in the 1982 Vic Maui. Read 
Daily Report - July 9. Longboard Puts in Miles, Brad Baker Speaks by Race Committee, July 9th, 2014 At this evening’s roll call, Peter Salusbury’s Longboard has made most of the conditions and stretched out a lead of over 30 miles. But Longboard continues to take a southerly course while others are edging toward Hawaii, with challenging decisions ahead. Brad Baker, a many-time winning Vic-Maui navigator and owner of Swiftsure Yachts, has produced a great commentary for Northwest Yachting magazine on the race so far and how these decisions will be made. Read 
Anduril's Race to Maui is Over by Race Committee, July 9th, 2014 Anduril has sufferred a major steering failure and has had to abandon the race. There are no headed for San Francisco under emergency steering. Everybody is well, but disappointed. Read Covering Miles and Busting Gear by Race Committee, July 8th, 2014 The last 24 hours of running in winds over 20 kts with spinnakers up has taken its toll on the fleet. At the evening roll call, boats reported several broaches, parted halyards, more than a couple of spinnakers blown up, and both Kinetic and Losloper suffered broken steering cables. Read 
July 8 Daily Report - The Wind Blows- For Now! by Race Committee, July 8th, 2014 The fleet is currently heading south along the California coast, about 300 miles west of Cape Mendocino. Longboard has leapt up to the front of the fleet in strong winds over the past 24 hours. But that is where the wind is, not where will the wind be - the story for the next few days will be how long wind will blow along the coast and where will it re-appear. Read 
July 7 Daily Report- Gale Warning! by Race Committee, July 7th, 2014 From calms to gales in one easy step. The National Weather Service has issued a gale warning for California Offshore waters Monday and into Tuesday. It could not have come at a better time. Read 
From the Blog of Family Affair by Paul Michael, July 7th, 2014 Yesterday, we lost our wind around 0800 and didn't make much ground with a light southeast wind. There were 2 to 4 foot wind waves from the south to contend with upon the swells and most of the crew had their first taste of sea sickness. Read |
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Featured Yacht Profile
Lurline (2022)
Type: Tripp 47Skipper: Gib Black
Port: Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Blog: 1 articles posted
"Beginning with the first running of the Vic-Maui Race in 1965, I have followed the previous participants routing, finishes and associated weather components with great interest and intrigue. A few of my friends have competed and completed the race and all speak of the challenging yet gratifying conditions, tactics and not least, the great send off in beautiful Victoria B.C. The cold aspects of the race have previously kept me from entering the race at bay, having been raised in Hawaii and spending so much time there in the warm ethos. However, it is finally time to lean forward and enter the 2022 race and cast aside any trepidation. In the anticipation of finally participating in the 2022 race, this coming December and Christmas, Santa promises to bring me my first pair of sailing boots!
I believe my boat, a Tripp 47, is very competitive and embodies the synergy and nucleus of a formidable and capable crew. The crew have sailed thousands of ocean and inland racing miles and have earned my admiration and respect. The boat crews numerous completed Transpacs, PacCups and other offshore races that they have sailed with me on, is a testament to their determination and competitive nature. They deserve this new opportunity for an enhanced northern latitude to southern latitude race, and to experience the humbleness and satisfaction that this race has the potential to exude. My crew and myself are all looking forward with eager anticipation to joining our Canadian pals and accompanying esprit de corps, for the 2022 Vic-Maui Race.
Aloha,
Gib"
