Hawaii Beat

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Thursday, July 1, 1999

Hawaii yacht among
leaders in Transpac

LOS ANGELES -- The leading boats in the 40th Transpacific Yacht Race to Hawaii were nearly becalmed yesterday, with only four of the leaders near 110 miles from the starting point in Los Angeles Harbor.

Winds were brisk at Tuesday's start, but as soon as the 10-vessel fleet passed Santa Catalina Island, breezes were often zero to 6 knots, allowing a smallish 30-footer from Hawaii to contend with much larger boats.

When vessels radioed in yesterday, there were four boats reporting they were near 110 miles, and some as little as 82 miles sailed of the 2,225 nautical miles to Oahu. Average speeds were 5 knots or less.

Two Guys On the Edge, a 30-footer with only Les Vasconcellos and Bruce Burgess of the Waikiki Yacht Club on board, reported 107 miles out on a direct line to the islands.

Also in good position after sailing 111 miles was Willow Wind from San Diego. Esprit from Oceanside and Pacifica from San Diego had logged 108 miles each but were on deviated courses.

The race includes two other divisions, small boats starting tomorrow and 14 large monohulls Saturday.

The record of five days, nine hours for multihulls was set in 1997, along with a seven day, 15 hour record for monohulls.

Nakama swim meet

The 51st annual Keo Nakama Invitational starts tomorrow at 2 p.m. and continues through Sunday at Kaimuki High School pool.

Opening ceremonies for the swim meet are Saturday at 8 a.m.

Scholarships awarded

Three recent Hawaii high school graduates were awarded scholarships from the Jean Fitzgerald Scholarship Fund, the Hawaii Pacific Tennis Association announced yesterday.

Lauren Akitake (Baldwin High School), Jennifer Chan (Konawaena) and Jodi Nagata (Iolani) each received scholarships for the 1999-2000 academic school year.

Akitake, who was ranked first academically in her senior class of 354 students, will attend Pomona College in California as a liberal arts major.

Chan, who was captain of the Konawaena girls' tennis team her senior year, will attend the University of Hawaii as a business major.

Nagata, who won a league championship as a junior, will attend Southern California and will study chemical engineering.

The fund provides scholarships to female members of the HPTA who are students and entering their freshman year in college.

MountainMan Triathlon

The first annual Jamba Juice MountainMan Triathlon will begin Saturday, 8 a.m., at Waimea Valley Adventure Park.

This USA Triathlon-sponsored event includes a 500-meter swim at Waimea Bay, a 20-kilometer mountain bike trek at Waimea's Mountain Bike Park and a 5-kilometer run through the valley.

The late entry fee is $50 for individuals, $80 for relay teams.

Call Team Boca at 737-8985 for more information.

Wailea Open to start

The 15th annual Wailea Open Tennis Championships begins tomorrow with matches starting at 4 p.m., at the Wailea Tennis Club on Maui.

The tournament continues with matches beginning at 8 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Semifinal matches are scheduled to be played Sunday afternoon and the tournament will conclude play with singles and doubles finals beginning at 8 a.m. on Monday.