‘Criminals’ On The Lam

Chip "Dr. Megadeath" Megeath’s R/P 45 Criminal Mischief is blasting toward Honolulu like a scalded cat. The ‘Criminals’ posted the third highest mileage in the fleet on their southerly track called by navigator Jeff Thorpe. Neville Crichton’s R/P 100 Alfa Romeo upped the TransPac daily-run record it set the previous day — 399 miles — by tacking on another 21. Doug Baker’s Andrews 80 Magnitude 80 put up 335 miles. Other than those two, no one else in the fleet — including ULDB 70s, TP 52s, an Open 50, R/P 77, and an Andrews 63 — could match Megeath and crew for the day’s run.

The boats in Divisions 1 and 2 — the maxis, TP 52s and sleds — have benefitted from a more stable weather picture than the boats who started on June 29 and July 2, and are already taking a much more direct course toward Honolulu. Tom Akin’s TP 52 Flash has been holding onto the top spot in Division 1 pretty much since the start; overnight, Flash also vaulted from about sixth to second overall, only 19 minutes behind the overall leader, James McDowell’s SC 70 Grand Illusion.