Hanel’s Transpac Vessel Capsizes

Perhaps the third time will be the charm. Or perhaps Bob Hanel should give up on his catamaran and get a conventional sailboat if he’s going to compete in another Transpacific Yacht Race.

In the last Transpac two years ago, Hanel’s 76-foot boat, Double Bullet II, was dismasted in heavy seas the first night out and was knocked out of the 2,225-mile sprint from Los Angeles to Honolulu. This year it capsized early Wednesday morning, 12 hours into the trip, and the six crew members are fortunate to be alive.

They were rescued by the Coast Guard and flown to San Diego. Only one required hospitalization. Jason Sneed of Florida was treated for hypothermia at UC San Diego Hospital and released as Hanel tried to organize a salvage effort.

None of the sailors could be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.

The incident occurred at 1 a.m. Wednesday in eight- to 10-foot seas 188 miles offshore, a Coast Guard spokesman said.

The vessel reportedly tipped over, then turned upside down. The crew was unable to radio for help but managed to activate the Emergency Position Indicator Radio Beacon (EPIRB) and climb inside its quarters in one of the hulls until a helicopter arrived about 2:30 a.m.

The sailors were hoisted aboard and taken to San Diego.

The Double Bullet II was the lone multihull entry and started three days later than the last monohulls.

The monohulls are the only vessels eligible for the Transpacific Perpetual Trophy for fastest elapsed time, and at the halfway point John Parrish’s 75-foot Zephyrus IV was about 11 miles ahead of Roy E. Disney’s 72-foot Pyewacket.