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Two Yachts On Track To Break Tahiti Race Record

Friday: July 04, 2008

(Tahitipresse)

Although 445 nautical miles separate the two leading boats in the Transpacific Yacht Club's 13th Tahiti Race from Los Angeles, both are expected to break the race's record, which was set the last time the event was held—in 1994.

At 6 a.m. Pacific Daily Time (PDT) Wednesday, Doug Baker's Andrews 80 "Magnitude 80" remained in the lead with 575 nautical miles to go.

"At its current 14-plus-knot rate of speed," the boat "was projected to finish at about 2:52 am PDT Friday", or six minutes before midnight Thursday in Tahiti, Sail-World.com News reported Thursday.

Bob Lane's Andrews 80 "Medicine Man" was about 48 hours behind “Mag 80,” also on pace to break the record of 14 days 21 hours 15 minutes 26 seconds set by Fred Kirschner's Kathmandu in the last Tahiti Race in 1994.

"Mag 80 logged 352 miles in the latest 24-hour cycle to 6 a.m. Wednesday," the Web site reported. It was on "a pace that put it more than two days under the record. Medicine Man also could eclipse the record by a matter of hours."

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