Photo By Sgt. Erin Vandehoef | British Royal Navy Capt. Mike Smith (left) mans the helm as sailing coach Sean Doyle...... read more read more
Subscribe
HONOLULU - A U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific civilian employee completed the 50th Transpacific Yacht Race (Transpac) July 23, 2019, as part of a crew of nine U.S. military veterans and two experienced sailors.
Fred Jameson, a retired Marine Corps colonel and current Amphibious Development Officer at MARFORPAC, set sail from Long Beach, California, on July 13 aboard the 70-foot yacht “Trader” and arrived in Honolulu 10 days later. Prior to the race, the crew sailed from Honolulu to Long Beach and had just two days in port before the race began.
The Transpac began at the Pt. Fermin buoy off the coast of Long Beach and concluded at the Diamond Head Buoy in Honolulu. The race occurs every other year and is a 2,225 nautical mile race.
The tradition of the Transpac began in 1906 when King Kalakaua of the Sandwich Islands invited the Pacific Yacht Club of San Francisco to race from San Francisco Bay to Honolulu in celebration of the 50th Jubilee festivities at Iolani Palace.
Since then, hundreds of teams have completed the race to date, and Team Trader is now among them.
“What is cool about our group is that we are all military and boats run extremely well when following basic military principles,” said retired Col. Doug Pasnik, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran previously assigned to U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific (MARFORPAC) in the G-35, and skipper of Team Trader.
Team member Ken Williams, a U.S. Air Force veteran, explained that Team Trader has been training for this race for almost five months. During that time they completed a number of inter-island sails and practiced different scenarios, to include sailing at night.
“Open ocean sailing is different because you’re on your own, you’re alone. It’s you, it’s the crew, it’s nobody else,” said Jameson. “There was a moment on July 21 where the boat was heeling at a very steep angle. The boat almost lost control. The crew pulled through because they worked together to accomplish a common goal.”
Pasnik explains that having a military background and a basic understanding of how the military works has helped Team Trader on their path to success.
“When everyone understands their role and responsibilities, and has respect for the chain of command, things get done,” said Pasnik. “Really, it comes down to division of labor and everyone doing what they are told.”
Team Trader finished the race in 72nd place and sailed into the Kewalo Basin Marina as the only Hawaii-based team to finish within the race’s allotted time.
Competing in the race brought back memories of active-duty service for Pasnik. “There is the comradery that is developed because of the mission; it is very similar to what we do in the military. This has brought me what I am not able to have any more since not being active duty,” said Pasnik.
- 30 -
| Date Taken: | 07.23.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 07.26.2019 17:07 |
| Story ID: | 333282 |
| Location: | HONOLULU, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 238 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Military Crew Completes Transpacific Yacht Race, by Sgt Erin Vandehoef, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
