Riding Wind & Waves Local Doctor Recounts Misadventures At Sea

Patient appointments, hospital rounds and delivering babies usually comprise a typical day for Myron Bloom, a Spokane doctor.

For 16-1/2 days in July, however, Bloom was a sailor, mechanic, angler, and comedian as a member of the seven-person crew of Silver Girl, a 38-foot yacht that raced in Transpac 97’, the 39th biennial yachting race from Los Angeles to Honolulu.

Although the 2,216 nautical-mile race was his first, it did not strike Bloom, a veteran sailor, as a particularly daunting experience until after it was over.

A self-described Navy brat, Bloom started sailing in the late 1960s. He did a lot in Texas and Alaska before moving to Spokane in 1989.

When Chris Stump, Silver Girl’s owner, asked Bloom to be on the crew, he eagerly joined.

Bloom had sailed against Silver Girl in Alaska, including the grueling 300-mile Admiralty Island race.

From Bloom’s perspective, Silver Girl had proved to be a good boat. And with his Alaskan experience the Transpac would be a cake walk.

“As long as we didn’t strike a whale, I thought we would work hard and have fun,” he said.

Although he experienced both, he did not expect the Transpac would hold true to its reputation as a life-and-death race.

That may be a bit overstated, since no one has died in the race. But the Pacific has taken plenty of boats in the race’s history.

A staggered start began June 28 for cruising class yachts, the slowest entrants in the field. Silver Girl was in Division 4, the second slowest of the entrants. It left Point Fermin (outside Los Angeles Harbor) for Diamond Head, Oahu on July 2.

The faster yachts left in the following days, culminating with the departure of the largest (up to 65 feet) Division 1 yachts on July 7.

Officials expected records due to the weather conditions produced by tropical storm Carlos, which was hovering around Baha, Calif.

Although Stump’s highest priority was to get his yacht to Hawaii so he could begin a trip around the world later this year, the crew wanted to press the boat as much as possible.

“We knew we could not beat the big boats, but we wanted to do well on our handicap,” Bloom said. “We expected to make it in 12 days.”

Silver Girl’s crew initially expected three to four days facing the wind. They would then position the boat to ride the wind to Hawaii.

A problem arose the first day out when the crew realized its weather fax was not going to work. They were then dependent on unreliable and confusing radio weather reports.

They weren’t going to let this problem ruin their trip, however, and enjoyed a beautiful, starry landscape their first night at sea.

It wouldn’t last. They experienced cloudy weather the rest of the trip. And they didn’t see another boat or island after leaving Catalina Island after the first night until they reached Hawaii.

They did encounter something they would have liked to avoid. A shark with an 18-inch dorsal fin circled the ship one day.

A major problem arose on the third day after the crew had positioned Silver Girl to ride the winds to Hawaii. An important steering cable broke, leaving the steering wheel hard to maneuver.

At this point, the crew had to decide whether to repair the steering and push on or head back.

The problem with heading back was they were now below L.A. and if they were to head back, they would be going towards Carlos. Carlos was dying out, so this strategy was possible, at least they thought. It was not particularly the most satisfying thing to do, however.

The crew decided to make the repair and push on.

“We decided that, by God, we are going to sail to Hawaii,” Bloom said. “We would have stories to tell our grandchildren.”

They had to come up with makeshift ways of keeping the steering together by cannibalizing parts from all over the boat.

“From day three, we were never guaranteed to finish and we could never trust the steering on the boat,” Bloom said.

“The plan was to stay ahead of Carlos, but not to pick up too much wind. Too much wind would have made steering even harder.”

It turned out to be a fortuitous decision to push on. Carlos died out, but Hurricane Dolores took its place in Baha.

Silver Girl was in her path. If they would have headed back, they would have been in a world of trouble.

Sleep deprivation and dehydration were among some of the other problems the crew faced.

Despite the many misadventures, the crew had a good time, Bloom said. It barbecued a pot roast nightly. Bloom helped keep things light and jovial, recalling lines from Kevin Costner’s “Waterworld.”

“I often reminded them that dry land did not exist,” he said. “It was just a figment of their imaginations.”

Instead of making it in 12 days, Silver Girl needed 16-1/2. She arrived at Diamond Head at 5 a.m. on July 17.

The crew received lemon leis and a luau at the dock as the 23rd and last boat of the 39 starters to finish.

Bloom would love to do the race again, but this time he is going to make sure all the equipment is sound before he leaves.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Photos