Morning Light

Pyewacket is a custom-built racing yacht of the MaxZ86 class, launched in 2004. It was crafted from carbon fiber and features an innovative canting keel design that shifts from side to side to boost speed. At the time of its launch, it was the largest boat to incorporate this revolutionary keel design.

A canting keel is an innovative design feature that allows the boat's keel to shift from one side to the other. This mechanism helps balance the boat and increase speed by adjusting the underwater foil angle as wind conditions change. Pyewacket was one of the first boats to incorporate this technology at such a large scale.

Pyewacket was too large to be accommodated at the Hawai'i or Waikiki Yacht Clubs due to its massive size. As the largest racing sloop competing in the Transpac race, it required docking facilities designed for massive ocean liners like the QE2 and Queen Mary II, so it was brought to a dock at the Aloha Tower Marketplace in downtown Honolulu Harbor.

The yacht's name Pyewacket is inspired by a cat character from the classic film 'Bell, Book and Candle.' In that movie, Pyewacket is the feline companion of the witch character played by Kim Novak.

Pyewacket's mast reaches an impressive height of 120 feet, contributing to its remarkable sailing performance by allowing the vessel to harness wind energy more effectively.

Pyewacket is unique because it was the largest boat at its launch to incorporate the revolutionary canting keel design. Today, it remains among merely half-dozen yachts worldwide with this feature. Sailing columnist Rich Roberts noted these boats can sail faster than the wind in light to moderate conditions, representing a new evolutionary class in yacht design.

The Transpac (Trans-Pacific) race is a demanding 2300-mile sailing competition. In the context of this documentary, fifteen young sailors trained for six months in Hawaii before facing this challenging race, with Pyewacket serving as their vessel.

Pyewacket is considered magnificent due to its cutting-edge design, including the innovative canting keel, its impressive 120-foot mast, and its carbon fiber construction. Sailing experts recognized it as part of a new evolutionary class of yachts that can sail faster than the wind and require exceptional sailing skill to operate.