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 Jim Quanci and Green Buffalo charge off the startline of the 2012 Singlehanded TransPac. This year, Jim and his wife Mary Lovely will doublehand the Cal 40 in the Pacific Cup. ©2014 norcalsailing.com |
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Pacific Cup à Deux
June 27, 2014 With one-quarter of this year’s Pacific Cup fleet in its two doublehanded divisions and many talented sailors, the competition is expected to be close. For two husband-and-wife teams ─ Bill and Melinda Erkelens and Jim Quanci and Mary Lovely ─ this year’s race brings together fond memories of previous races and the challenges of a repeat performance.
“I had a singlehanded trip in 2012 that was a Zen experience,” says Jim, defining 'Zen' as being one with the water and the wind, which makes for a fast passage. “Is a Zen passage possible doublehanded – and with one’s spouse no less? Time to find out." Mary added, “With his strength as a singlehanded racer, and my moxie, I know we’ll do fine. I plan to enjoy the moments, even the first three days out. I have this rare opportunity to enjoy my husband and relish the race, and end up in paradise, Kaneohe.”
The competition in the other doublehanded division should also be close, with several veteran competitors sailing light, fast boats. For Bill and Melinda Erkelens, this year is particularly special since it marks the twentieth anniversary of their 1994 overall Pacific Cup win while doublehanding their Dogpatch 26, Moonshine, a feat this duo hopes to repeat in the just slightly larger Donovan 30, Wolfpack. It’s difficult to imagine a couple with a broader range of racing experience than the Erkelens. Although Melinda is a lawyer, not a professional sailor, she has found plenty of employment in the sport she loves, having co-managed the race programs for Larry Ellison’s maxi-yacht Sayonara and spent ten years working on Oracle’s America’s Cup efforts before moving to the Artemis team in 2010. Melinda has a reputation as an exceptional driver and lists among her major sailing accomplishments five Pacific Cups, five Maxi World championships and the 2005 Transpac, where she was a member of the four-woman crew that placed second in a fleet of fourteen Cal 40s.
Bill, currently CEO for the young American Volvo Ocean Race team Alvimedica, was previously COO for Oracle BMW Racing, and has been project manager and crew for many high profile maxi boats. Highlights of his sailing CV include two Sydney-Hobart races (including the disastrous 1998 event) with a first-to finish in both, eight Transpac races, twelve Mexico races, the Fastnet, a Trans Atlantic Race record, and first overall and the record in the Cape Town to Rio race. However, he says “The Pac Cup 1994 is and will always be my favorite race EVER! Windy race to umbrella drinks with Melinda. Can’t beat that!”
Both couples are experienced at prepping for ocean races. Jim Quanci says that “after five Hawaii races (on Green Buffalo), getting ready is not all that much more than pulling a few crates out of storage and loading all the Hawaii gear on the boat.” Green Buffalo passed the Pacific Cup’s mandatory and extensive boat inspection in February, the first boat to do so. And while many of the Pacific Cup competitors spent last weekend practicing out on the Pacific, Bill and Melinda, with teenage son Josh and his friend, had fun poking Wolfpack’s bow out under the Golden Gate and returning to Ayala Cove on Angel Island for a very cozy family overnight on the boat. – Karin Knowles & Leslie Richter, Pacific Cup Yacht Club
For the first time ever, the Pacific Cup has a full-blown California-side host. Richmond YC is providing dock space and concierge and shuttle service this week and next, and will open a 'Pacific Cup Village' on Monday, June 30. Events are planned throughout the week leading up to the starts on July 6-11. See all the details here, and download the app here.
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