Q & A with Manouch Moshayedi as the Rio team prepares for the 2017 Transpac. Rio 100 will starting on Thursday, July 6th in Division 1 against Aszhou (RP 63), Bad Pak (Pac52), Comanche (Super Maxi), Invisible Hand (Pac52), Kinetic V (TP 52), Medicine Man (Andrews 63), Rapid Transit (Antrium 49) and Weddel (Grand Mistral OD).
How many of your crew from the Pac52 Rio will cross over to sail the Transpac on Rio 100?
MM: “Eight of the sixteen crew on our Transpac team have been racing the Pac52 with me.
Ben Bardwell
Keith Kilpatrick
Jeff Messano
Morgan Gutenkunst
Sebastian Moshayedi
Ryan Marshall
Justin Ferris
and myself”
You’re racing against two of your Pac52 class competitors (Bad Pak and Invisible Hand). Are you curious to see how they fare within your class? Any thoughts on how the boat transitions from buoy to offshore mode?
MM: “I think they will do quite well in the class under ORR rating, most probably they will beat Rio100 on rating. Bad Pak and Invisible Hand were built with Transpac in mind so they are easy to transition to offshore mode. Rio can’t be converted to offshore. Rio 100 is our offshore boat.”
As defending winner of the Barn Door Trophy (first to finish) from the 2015 Transpac, what are your goals for the 2017 race?
MM: “Win the Barn Door again, and maybe break the record for the Barn Door monohull elapsed time. No significant changes have been made to the boat since the 2015 Transpac.”
What is life like onboard Rio 100 during a long race like Transpac?
MM: “It’s great fun, the boat was built as a very comfortable offshore racer, with a full galley, full head, an enclosed shower and 18, 7′ x 32″ bunks, and its very dry inside. We have full meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Mostly you can hear people laughing.”
How many times have you raced Transpac?
MM: “This would be my second.”
Do you have any other distance races on your bucket list?
MM: “I had Sydney to Hobart on my bucket list, and we did that in 2014.”