Transpacific Yacht Race
First held1906
Organizer Transpacific Yacht Club
StartSan Pedro, Los Angeles at the Pt. Fermin buoy
FinishHonolulu off the Diamond Head Lighthouse
Length2,225 nmi (2,560 mi; 4,121 km)
Websitetranspacyc.com

The Transpacific Yacht Race (Transpac) is a biennial offshore yacht race held in odd-numbered years starting off the Pt. Fermin buoy in San Pedro, California and ending off Diamond Head in Hawaii, a distance of around 2,225 nautical miles (2,560 mi; 4,121 km). In even-numbered years the Pacific Cup race starts out of San Francisco and is run by the Pacific Cup Yacht Club. Started in 1906 by Clarence W. Macfarlane and hosted by Los Angeles Yacht Club, it is one of yachting's premier offshore races and attracts entrants from all over the world. The race is organized by the Transpacific Yacht Club.[1]

The race is famous for fast downwind sailing under spinnaker in the trade winds.[2]

Notable records

Mighty Merloe

In 1969, French sailing legend Éric Tabarly shadowed the race with his Pen Duick IV, one of the world's first trimarans competitive in all wind conditions. He originally intended to enter the race but was unaware that multihulls were not invited. Having started with all other participants, Tabarly and his crew set an unofficial record of 8 days and 13 hours,[3] almost a day ahead of official winner and record-setter Blackfin.

In 2013, the fully crewed monohull, Dorade, won first overall, making it the oldest boat in the fleet to win and a 2-time winner, having won the Transpac in 1936, 77 years prior.[4]

The 2019 edition of the race, its fiftieth, saw the sinking of a yacht for the first time in its history, when the 68 foot mono-hulled sailboat Santa Cruz 70 OEX suffered rudder damage and an uncontrollable water intrusion.[5][6] The crew was rescued by another racing boat. This edition also saw the greatest number of skippers dropping out of the race.[5]

Record history

S/Y Ragtime, the 1973 & 1975 Transpac Winner

Ragtime finished first in 1973 and again in 1975.[7]

Merlin approaching Diamond Head in 2017

In 1977, the yacht Merlin, designed by Bill Lee, set an elapsed time record of 8 days, 11 hours, 1 minute. This record would stand for 20 years. Ending Merlin's record, in the 1997 race a new monohull elapsed time record of 7 days, 11 hours, 41 minutes, and 27 seconds was set by Roy E. Disney's Pyewacket, a Santa Cruz 70 ultralight also designed by Bill Lee. The record fell once again in 2005, with Hasso Plattner's Morning Glory, a maxZ86 from Germany. Morning Glory was the scratch boat when it led a five-boat assault on the record for monohulls. She finished the race in 6 days, 16 hours, 4 minutes, and 11 seconds to win "the Barn Door" trophy, a slab of carved koa wood traditionally awarded to the monohull with the fastest elapsed time.

In 1995, multihulls were invited to participate for the first time, but not eligible for the Barn Door trophy. Steve Fosset set a new race record in 1995 on his 60' trimaran Lakota, of 6 days 16 hours 7 minutes 16 seconds. Two years later in 1997, this record was broken by the 86' catamaran Explorer with a time of 5 days 9 hours 18 minutes 26 seconds.[8] 2017 saw Howard Enloe and his boat the Mighty Merloe smash the record by over 25 hours making the trip in just over 4 days.[9]

Charley, the 1983 Transpac Winner

On July 7, 2009, Alfa Romeo II beat the Morning Glory record for best day's run set in the 2005 race, by sailing 399 nautical miles (459 mi; 739 km) in 24 hours. The next two days she broke her own best-day record by sailing 420 nautical miles (480 mi; 780 km)[10] and 431 nautical miles (496 mi; 798 km). First to finish the 2009 Transpac, Alfa Romeo II set a Transpac race elapsed-time record of 5 days, 14 hours, 36 minutes, 20 seconds.[11] This represents a new race record for monohulls; the multihull record of 5 days, 9 hours, 18 minutes, set by Bruno Peyron in the 1997 race, remains. However, because she must use "stored power"[12] (a diesel engine) to move, Alfa Romeo II, sailing in the "unlimited" class, was not eligible for the traditional "Barn Door" trophy, but instead was the inaugural winner of a new trophy dedicated by Trisha Steele, called the "Merlin Trophy". However from 2019 yachts eligible for this trophy must use manual power only[13]

In the double-handed division, Pegasus 50, sailed by Philippe Kahn and Mark Christensen, set a new record of 7 days, 19 hours, 38 minutes and 35 seconds. They pioneered use of an iPhone, with Fullpower-MotionX GPS technology.[14]

References in popular culture

In the 1975 movie Jaws, the character Matt Hooper, played by Richard Dreyfuss, claims that he has "crewed three Transpacs" as a means of establishing his seamanship credentials with Quint.[15]

The 2008 documentary Morning Light is a film about the 2007 Disney-sponsored competitors in the race.[16][17][18]

Transpac Honolulu Race Elapsed Time Record Trophy

The Transpac Honolulu Race Elapsed Time Record Trophy is awarded to the Record Holder for the fastest elapsed time by a monohull yacht in the race.[19]

The list of Los Angeles to Honolulu Record Holders is:

Barn Door Trophy

The Barn Door Trophy is awarded each race for the Fastest Monohull Elapsed Time in the race. It was originally called the "First to Finish" Trophy. Since 2009, it has been restricted to manual power only sailing yachts.

Barn Door Winners Year Boat Owner/Skipper Time

* record

See also

References

  1. ^ "Transpac Race: Casualties in the Pacific >> Scuttlebutt Sailing News". Scuttlebutt Sailing News. 2019-07-15. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  2. ^ http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/603027/Transpacific-Race%7C Encyclopædia Britannica
  3. ^ "Eric Tabarly". Archived from the original on 2016-10-05. Retrieved 2018-01-06.
  4. ^ "1936 Transpac victor Dorade wins again in 2013". KHON2 Hawaii News, Weather, and Sports. 21 July 2013. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  5. ^ a b "First ship sinks in Transpacific Yacht Race". www.kitv.com. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  6. ^ Nakamoto-White, Ellie. "Trans-Pacific yacht race crew safely rescued by competitor after boat sinks". www.hawaiinewsnow.com. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  7. ^ Roberts, Rich (1 July 1987). "Twice a Winner, Restored Ragtime Races in Transpac: A Legend Is Still Fit Enough to Sail Away". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  8. ^ "Race History". Transpacific Yacht Club. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  9. ^ Davis, Dobbs (July 10, 2017). "Mighty Merloe and Comanche on race record pace in 2017 TRANSPAC". Transpacific Yacht Club. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  10. ^ Race Committee aboard OCC's Alaska Eagle communications and escort vessel (2009-07-08). "Daily Standings (Provisional)". 2009 Transpac Race. Transpacific Yacht Club. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2014. Based on distance covered in preceding 24 hours as of 6AM on day of report.
  11. ^ "Race Records". Transpacific Yacht Club. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  12. ^ Refer to the RRS 51 and 52
  13. ^ "Transpacific Yacht Club". transpacyc.com. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  14. ^ See Philippe's Online log of the voyage Archived 2009-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Lam, Brian (2009-07-06). "Pegasus Open 50 Sailboat Log: A Brief History of the Transpac Race". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  16. ^ Hartlaub, Peter (17 October 2008). "Movie review: 'Morning Light'". SFGATE. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  17. ^ Robertson, Andrew. "Morning Light (2008) Movie Review". Eye for Film. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  18. ^ "URI students appear in Disney's 'Morning Light'". University of Rhode Island. October 16, 2008. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  19. ^ "Trophies". Archived from the original on 2016-08-18. Retrieved 2016-07-21.

External links

Offshore sailing races
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