About Rhiannon Transpac

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 Drawn for Jack Kelly Yachts by Doug Peterson, the KP44 debuted in 1976. Rhiannon was the 77th hull, launched in 1978. The KP44s feature a low-profile center cockpit and long-fin keel with cutaway forefoot. The prop is protected, mounted in an opening between the skeg and rudder. From the cockpit, two companionways provide outside access to the fore and aft cabins. Entering the main cabin through the forward companionway on the port side is a full galley with fridge, freezer and full-sized double sink; a large table and sitting area and head. A double-bed v-birth includes two closets, cabinets and bookshelves. On starboard are the chart table and setee. Aft includes the engine room with a Perkins 4-154 engine and nine-foot prop shaft, Panda generator and an aft cabin with full sized bed and head. 

  In 1997 I was walking the docks with my then-boyfriend, Bill. I asked him about his dreams. He said, “one day I’d like to live on a boat.” When I answered, “why don’t we,” I think he fell in love with me all over again. We started looking for a boat and I knew nothing. My “must have” list consisted of three items: a door to our bedroom, a door to his son’s bedroom and a full galley. When we finally found Rhiannon, she was just out of our price range, but we put in an offer anyway. That’s when we were told she was going out on a test sail with a buyer. We were disappointed and tried to look for other boats. That’s when we got a call – that something happened and the owner was so upset he said he’d sell to anyone but that buyer – we put in an offer right away! It was under the asking price, but its what we could afford – barely. The offer was accepted and we drove up to Ventura to bring her home to Marina del Rey where we moved aboard the very next week. 

  After living aboard for about a decade, we decided to take Rhiannon on the Del Rey Yacht Club-hosted race from Marina del Rey to Puerta Vallarta with our dear friends Jeff, Jack and Kerry. The preparation was almost as fun as doing the race. We cleaned, organized, made spreadsheets, upgraded gear (boat jewelry) and finally provisioned. Not my first time to sail through the night, but my first race. An amazing experience! Coming back was just me and Bill. Weather routing took us into a washing machine between Puerta Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas, where we had green water over the cockpit regularly. The conditions were rough and rubbed a hole in the fuel return line. Fuel ran down the inside cabinetry. We cut the line and filled jerry cans with the fuel, then put that fuel back into the tank when the weather permitted. By the time we got to Cabo, we were as beat up as the boat! Bill had to return home for work and I brought the boat back with a delivery captain. My first time sailing Rhiannon without Bill.  

   When we returned to LA, I learned Bill had terminal cancer and was gone 2 months later. That’s when I realized I had been relying on Bill to tell me what to do. Without him, I needed to move on or really learn to sail. I reached out to the sailors in Marina del Rey and started racing, taking my boat out for a day or a week, and helping with longer boat deliveries around the world. In 2023 I got my captain’s license and decided to continue the journey we had started with Bill so long ago.