The trophy is unusual looking: it's a huge piece of Hawaiian koa wood inscribed with the words "First to Finish." And it has a strange provenance: no one knows where it came from or who carved it.
What we do know, however, is who won it this year. Dave Askew and his crew onboard Wizard won the coveted award given for the fastest fixed-keel monohull using all-manual systems in the 2013 Transpac. Askew chartered Wizard, the Reichel Pugh 74 previously known as Bella Mente, and came in second in Division 1 after corrected time put a R/P 63 ahead of him. Wizard's elapsed time was seven days, seven hours, 53 minutes and 46 seconds.
This wasn't the boat's first experience with the Barn Door. Bella Mente won the award in 2011 with an elapsed time of six days, 19 hours, 39 minutes and 28 seconds.
The Barn Door is 3x4.5-feet in size and is over 3 inches thick, giving it the nickname "Barn Door." It was originally given in 1949 to the yacht Morning Star, who crossed the line in 10 1/2 days. Strangely enough, though, there's a copy at the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco, along with another at the Calatina Island Yacht Club.
Askew's crew member Fuzz Spanhake (our favorite name ever) won the Don Vaughn Trophy for outstanding crew member. We know there's a great story there, and we want to hear more about the race (as well as hear where Askew's put the trophy on display!), so we're planning on sitting down with Askew to hear all about it. Make sure you grab a copy of September's SpinSheet (I know, you have to wait a bit...deal).
For more on the Transpac, click here.
