Jim Gregory races (hard) in his Schumacher 50 with a crack crew, and in 2008 he has served as entries chair for the Pacific Cup, San Francisco to Kaneohe Bay, Oahu. As a hard-core racer himself, he set out to try to push the event in that direction, but now he's not so sure that's the best idea. Hear his thoughts.

The first Pacific Cup start left the San Francisco city front on Monday from St. Francis YC's standard line. Deep marine layer, not a lot of wind, and perhaps that's a blessing for some of the newbies embarking upon an ocean crossing. The racier crews that start later in the week are hoping that the Pacific High will shape up before they head out, but I guess we don't know yet.

The scene looked like this for start number one . . .

Have a real nice boat ride, everybody—Kimball