SAILING : Transpac Field Needs a Little Wicked Wind

Plagued by light winds, the 38th Transpacific Yacht Race was growing long and lonely Wednesday for some of the smaller of the 38 boats.

After his Santa Cruz 40 Solution took a week to make less than half of the 2,225-nautical mile distance to Honolulu, Fred Hibberd of The Dalles, Ore., dropped out, saying he was “short on time.”

About 50 miles back, Bonnie Gibson’s all-woman crew aboard the 27-year-old Cal 40 Antarc from Santa Barbara reported its food supply was sufficient and it had ample fresh water, but was running out of some paper products.

The northerly trade winds remained much weaker than the usual 15 to 20 knots. Instead, various boats reported wind speeds of two to eight knots.

Boats farthest south generally were doing better, but the winds were so patchy that there seemed to be no ideal position. Consequently, the leaders in most classes were scrambled Wednesday.

Among the ILA 70s, Fred Detwiler’s Trader slipped past Sayonara into first place, although fifth-place Merlin had the best day, with 234 miles.

Merlin’s 18-year-old record of 8 1/2 days for the race appeared safe.