Hard to believe it, but we've learned that Mahdee, a heavy cruising boat, actually sailed in two TransPac races: We heard from various folks that she'd sailed in a TransPac in the 1960's and then later in an Ancient Mariners Sailing Society TransPac around 1980.

I corresponded with Rich Roberts, Press Officer for Transpac 2007, about the 100 year race history and if Mahdee (under her various names through the years) had ever raced the Transpac. Indeed she did. Rich writes:

"a 53-foot schooner named Privateer owned by David W. Allen of SFYC (and 5 other people named Allen) did sail in 1967 (2nd out of 24 in Class B, 69 boats overall)"

Looking at the .pdf of the race results, we believe Rich meant to say "second from the last in Class B" since her times place her there, not as second in Class B. The classes relate to size so cruising boats as well as racing boats would be together in the class but they would have very different handicaps.

We know that there were light winds in that year's race and that Mahdee requires heavy winds to do her best. Therefore, we're amazed she wasn't at the bottom of the list of all entries!

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THE STORY OF THE 1967 TRANSPACIFIC YACHT RACE

A light southerly breeze greeted the participants in the Los Angeles to Honolulu Yacht Race on July 4, 1967. Through a gray haze, the fleet maneuvered for starting positions at an artificial line set west of the Point Fermin buoy off San Pedro. A starboard start for most yachts left them little more than underway, pointing well below the Isthmus of Catalina.

Immediately following the start, SIMOON, WESTWARD and SERENA flopped to the port tack, and went up the coast toward the Santa Barbara Islands. The fleet sailing the conventional course around the west end of the Island arrived there on the port tack, and much to their surprise found the course on the port tack from the west end of the Island closer to the rhumb line than the usual starboard tack beat. The boats who set chutes and reached towards the islands off of Santa Barbara found little wind the first twenty-four hours, and eventually passed about the level of Santa Rosa Island. During the second night, a moderate northwesterly breeze arose which moved them out on course towards Honolulu. SIMOON reported 18 knots of wind at midnight the second night, and Westward received this same wind about 3 o’clock in the morning. SIMOON was further north than Westward.The fleet, which had elected to follow the conventional course, reached San Nicholas
Island on the 5th of July, and for the most part, remained there in a flat calm with much haze until late in the afternoon or early evening of July 6. Few sailors have had such a prolonged and frustrating examination of this desolate rock under becalmed conditions for 24 consecutive hours.

The westerly breeze arose late the night of the 6th of July for most of the fleet, and about the 7th they had passed far enough west to consider chutes. Several of the boats who felt that the wind was picking up north elected to stay on headsails and travel north to join the group which had gone up to the Santa Barbara Islands from the start. This, in most instances, proved to be an advantageous move.
The winds throughout the entire race were light. KIALOA specifically stated they never did have enough wind. On the night of the 13th of July a storm from Baja crossed the path of the fleet with winds to 18 to 20 knots. Gusts may have been heavier than that in some places.

Damage to the entire fleet was minimal except for SALACIA, who lost her mast when she dipped her spinnaker pole. RAMPAGE lost her rudder and SIMOON bent her mizzen mast.

SALACIA was able to continue the race under jury rig and finish. It was necessary for the Coast Guard to tow RAMPAGE to the finish line without her rudder. SIMOON finished but the damage to the mizzen mast precluded the use of her mizzen staysail and mizzen spinnaker. Tragedy struck the yacht BLUEBELL in mid-ocean when her skipper developed symptoms of a perforating stomach ulcer. He was transferred to a Naval vessel and eventually arrived in San Diego and was hospitalized. Subsequent to this hospitalization and after returning home, he succumbed to his illness. The yacht BLUEBELL continued the race “sans skipper.” A second injury aboard the same yacht occurred when a backstay let go, striking one of the crew members about the head lacerating his scalp and cheek. He continued with the ship, however. Aboard BABBA THREE the owner and skipper, Bill Nevin, was thrown across the yacht with such force that he broke his ribs. He was transferred to a Coast Guard cutter, and the yacht finished without him.

The uneventful and mild run to a finish, approximately 11 to 14 days later, was in marked contrast to some of the previous races where the winds have been heavier. Some of the larger boats arrived at Molokai Channel with moderate to heavy winds, but traversed the famous slot without incident. Others, which arrived about the 12th to 14th day, experienced very moderate winds in the Channel.