Duluth sailor racing solo from West Coast to Hawaii

Eric Thomas is less than 800 miles from the finish line aboard the 30-foot "Polar Bear."

By PAUL WALSH, Star Tribune

Last update: July 22, 2008 - 7:12 PM

With the ocean wind in his sails and his grill powered by the sun, a Duluth sailor is racing his "Polar Bear" solo from the West Coast to Hawaii in hopes of winning the 2,120-mile Singlehanded TransPacific Yacht Race.

Eric Thomas, 37, is in the running to win aboard his Olson, a 30-foot monohull ultralight, said race official Rob Macfarlane.

As of late Tuesday morning, Thomas was 714 miles from the finish as he tries to outsail the 21 others who also launched out of San Francisco Bay on July 12.

"Right now, he's booking down the course," Macfarlane said this morning.

Depending on the winds, Macfarlane said, Thomas could reach the finish line by Saturday. The order of finish is handicapped, based on the size of the vessel. "Polar Bear" is one of the smaller boats, meaning Thomas will receive a more generous handicap when corrected results are tabulated.

For the winner of the race, which was first run in 1978, there is no prize money. "You're doing it because you want to," Macfarlane said.

In a log entry posted Tuesday on the race's website, Thomas said, "I have gotten used to the jerk and shudder of the boat going from 6 up to 14 knots and back again with the swell."

He added: "Just set out the spare solar panel, so I have enough power to run the blender and the George Foreman grill master for lunch!"

In his race entry bio, Thomas said he began sailing solo in high school "when I would run out of patience waiting for friends to show up to sail on the few warm days we would get on Lake Superior."

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482