FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
by Stan Thorton

Honolulu Hawai`i (July 12, 1999) - To all those in search of the truth:

This is official notice that the "M-Project" Hui ohana will be conducting a no-host inquisition into the retirement of M-Project from the 40th Transpac Race on Tuesday at 1700 hours at the Hawaii Yacht Club (upper deck unless courtroom conditions require a larger venue on the lower deck). TPYC has released sketchy info on the retirement, and it will be the purpose of this inquisition to get the bottom of this most unfortunate mishap.

M-Project's medic and sometime tactition, Bruce Wallerstein, and his lovely bride (you may remember they were wed on the deck of a Transpac yacht at HYC a few races ago) will be on hand to give a first-hand report on what happened that caused this beautiful, almost new, yet Admiral's Cup tested yacht to withdraw from the race just a couple of days from the start. It is rumored that the rudder broke and thus disabled the yacht from further participation. The Hui notes with interest that no other Transpac yacht suffered such a mishap, so there has to be more to this story than has been told to date. This inquisition will examine the retirement of M-Project with the objective of reaching a fair and impartial verdict as to what really happened.

The inquisition will probe, for example, whether or not: (1) any post-Belgrade embassy bombing Chinese parts were used in the rudder mechanism, (2) M-Project was in fact on course to Hawai`i and not really headed to some undisclosed destination when the mishap occurred, (3) the crew had rebelled from having to eat only lasagna thanks to medic Wallerstein's penchant for things vegetable, (4) the crew was too nervous about participating in the Plywood Cup on Friday to have finished the Transpac race, (5) it was really necessary to have hired a skipper and crew to return the yacht to California after the race, and, of course, (6) whether or not the already weakened Hawai`i economy will survive the current overstocking of mai tais and Heinekein - thanks to there being no arrival of M-Project on our shores. These questions (and others) must, and will, be answered at 1700 hours on Tuesday!

By copy of this e-mail, I am suggesting to erstwhile M-Project coordinator, Nick Longhurst, that he submit his written testimony either by return e-mail or send it with Wallerstein for presentation at the inquisition.

Aloha, Stan Thornton (on behalf of the "M-Project" Hui ohana)

Photos, e-mail from boats, daily progress and position reports, charts, crew lists and other information are available on the race web page.

Arrival Party Photos are at http://holoholo.org/transpac/99arrivals/