Smyth, Hill Take Lead in Pacific 1,000 Race

Randy Smyth of Huntington Beach and Jim Hill of San Francisco teamed up to open a narrow lead Wednesday after the first day of racing in the Pacific 1,000 catamaran race.

Racing from Long Beach to Catalina Island, Smyth and Hill covered a 57-mile course in 4 hours 37 minutes to open a 2-minute advantage over their nearest competitor.

Greg Richardson of Myrtle Beach, Calif., and Roy Seaman of Malibu were second, reaching the first of 11 checkpoints in 4:39. George Del Bianco of Madera, Calif., and Mike Checketts of Fresno were third at 4:42.