News
It was clear as early as 10 months prior to the 50th Transpac held in July 2019 that this was going to be an immensely popular race – by September 2018 there were already 50 entries on the roster, which went to over 80 in December, and this peaked at one time to 108 boats by early-Spring 2019, a figure that would have shattered the previous participation record of 80 entries set in 1979.
Yet even with 73 monohulls and 6 multihulls crossing the finish at Diamond Head, with 9 yachts retiring, this was an impressive record turnout for this 2225-mile biennial ocean racing classic. Teams from 7 nations were represented at the starts, with the fleet broken into 12 racing divisions ranging in size from two entries (Multihull Class 0A) to fifteen (Monohull Class 1).
Read moreExtended cut capturing Hamachi's magical ride across the Pacific Ocean and taking first overall in the 50th edition of Transpac. They captured this video to compete in an new Transpac award class for best race video produced on the water. After Hamachi sailed into first place half way through the race, all thoughts of producing a video disappeared. Enjoy this cut of extended clips, b-roll and out-takes that attempt to capture the sights and sounds of being on a 41ft (12.5 meter) racing boat ripping across an ocean.
Read moreMy name is Justin Edelman and I am a filmmaker who grew up sailing. I never imagined I would get the opportunity to combine these two passions when I went to school for film. The typical route for most filmmakers is to move to LA or NYC where you slowly work your way up; I didn’t go the typical route. Over the years I have worked on weddings, corporate films, documentaries, web-series and short narratives, but always looked for ways to share stories from the sailing world.
Read more
‘I did 20 transatlantic crossings and races by 2000 and then I waited until 2016 to do the 21st and now 2019 for a first Transpac. I will not be waiting so long again. There is something magical about the rhythm of the ocean race that is lost in the frenzy of a Fastnet.’ Gordon Kay enjoyed his first race to Hawaii.
In the end it was all about the finish. After three days’ racing neck and neck with the Botín 65 Caro the last few hours saw us come from behind to cross the finish line just 39 seconds in front. Boat speed in the low 20s, an A2 far beyond its design wind range with a widening hole from a previous repair, and a diminishing amount of track to run all made for an exhilarating final push that none of us will forget.
In those conditions we were always going to be faster, but fast enough to edge in front before the finish line? That was the tricky bit. We had crossed swords with Caro a few times over the years, notably in the 2016 Middle Sea Race – that time we ran out of runway as we caught her at the finish. We tried on several more occasions but until we passed Diamond Head in July we had not finished in front of her on the water. The tale of the tape is 46ft versus 65ft – Caro sporting a deep-draft lifting keel versus the canting keel and DSS of Maverick.
Read more
On Monday, July 22nd, we were less than 200 miles from the finish. At around midday, and looking at a midday finish on Tuesday, I heard the words that I have come to hate “I have no helm”! Debbie and I were just starting to repair the A2 (again) as it had come apart the evening before after we had flown it most of the day. The repair that we did before worked so well that it came apart at a different spot! I am still of the opinion that we weakened the fabric by dragging it across the rough spreader tip at the upper spreader and then it was a weak spot looking for a chance to fail.
Read more
"Aaaalloooh-haaah!" This greeting repeated in unison by the crowd of over 600 attendees is how Transpacific Yacht Club Commodore Tom Hogan commenced the Awards Ceremony to the 50th edition of the LA - Honolulu Transpacific Yacht Race on Friday night. For the next two hours this audience was entertained by local Hawaiian dancers, photo and video images of the race, a few stories to provide context, and an awards ceremony emceed by Chuck Hawley where dozens of beautiful and historic trophies were presented to winners in numerous categories of multihull and monohull divisions in the race.
With 10 divisions of monohulls and 2 divisions of multihulls, and awards given to the winners, runners-up and in the larger classes third-place finishers as well, there were lots of leis and trophies distributed in this ceremony. Here is a summary of each:
The Cal 40's are an important part of Transpac history, and this year had an impressive turnout of 6 boats. Unfortunately one had to turn back, so they missed the fight into the finish between the top three. The Eddy family's Callisto emerged from that fight on top, while Rodney Pimentel's Azure and Don Jesberg's Vivamargin for second and third, respectively, was only 2 1/2 minutes in corrected time after 12 days of racing.
Read more
photo courtesy of David Livingston
If there was one seriously competitive division in the 2019 Transpac, the Santa Cruz 50/52 fleet would take the nod, hands down, 11 boats strong at the start.
The boats vintage ranges from 1980 to 2001, with Dave MacEwen’s Lucky Duck being the newest, a 2001 model and Michael Moradzadeh’s Oaxaca being the eldest, emerging from the coop in 1980. While the 52’s are longer on the deck by near 3 feet, the waterline for both is right at 46.5’ for stock models. The 52’s made their debut in 1992, offering a tad more comfort and luxury than their earlier counterparts. They weigh more and have more sail area but the ORR rating is very similar across the board, and most every boat has seen some modification of one sort or another, yet they all live within the confines of class rules after near 4 decades.
Read more