PHRF rating: 153

Yacht Club: San Francisco Y.C. & SSS

Homeport: Sausalito

Occupation: Manufacturer's representative

Age: 50

Jay, like one or two other competitors this year, grew up sailing, but effectively gave it up for 15 years due to the demands of work and family. Then, in '95, he decided it was time to get back out on the water and bought his comfortable Catalina 36, Leilani Too. With his renewed enthusiasm, he began attending the lecture series put on by the Singlehanded Sailing Society which led up to the '96 SSS TransPac and the seed of his own personal challenge to race in '98 grew into a formidable goal.

Jay and his brother Jeff have competed as a doublehanded team in lots of Bay Area races, but Jay's actual singlehanding experience consists only of one Farallones Race and completion of the 400-mile LongPac, which qualified him to enter this jaunt to Hawaii. "After four days I was getting a little stir crazy," Jay recalls. On this trip he'll keep himself occupied with music - like Clapton and the Stones - and reading, including one of his dad's favorite novels, The Broad Highway.

Despite being a relative newcomer to singlehanding, Jay has always had sailing in his blood. "I was practically born on my dad's boat," Jay recalls fondly. His father, Jeff Sr. built one of the original (Myron) Spaulding 33s which were long-time competitors on the Bay racing scene. Now in his 50th year, Jay is happy to be following in his father's footsteps - or should we say along his rhumbline. After a lifetime of sailing, Jeff Sr.'s participation in the 1963 TransPac aboard Emmett Rixford's Annie Too was the highlight of his sailing career.

Jay hopes to do well in the competition, but also intends to have fun: "After working so hard to prepare for this, I'm going to try like the dickens to enjoy it!" His wife, Mary, son Jeff, 18, and daughter Annie, 16, will be waiting for him in Hanalei Bay. Longtime friend and business partner Steve Mason will also be waiting. "He loaned me half the gear on my boat," Jay admits. As a thank-you, Steve gets to use Leilani Too for his own Hawaiian vacation before she is sailed home by a delivery crew.

Navigation: GPS, SatNav, Sextant. Steering: primary: Monitor windvane; secondary: Autohelm.
Food: Canned stews, pastas, crackers. . .
Special thanks to: his wife, Mary, Steve Mason, J.P. Plumley and brother Jeff.