VIDEO: What winning looks like

With staggered starts on July 10, 12, and 13, the 50th edition of the biennial Transpac Race took 90 starters from Point Fermin in Los Angeles to Diamond Head, just east of Honolulu, a distance of 2225 nm.

The 2019 edition had 12 divisions and it was the J/125 Hamachi that took the overall title, finishing in 8 days 16 hours and 21 minutes for a corrected time of 8 day 0 hours and 52 minutes.

“It’s been a hell of an adventure and one that will not be repeated anytime soon,” said co-owner Jason Andrews. “We were fortunate to start on the ‘right day’ and the high pressure materialized in a manner that allowed us to power reach the whole way to Hawaii in winds that averaged between 15-20 kts.

“We never saw winds above 22 kts except for a few minutes, and always between midnight at 2 am to make it more exciting. We couldn’t have asked for a better crew and having one additional crew member became a clear advantage in the heavier wind versus the other J/125s.”

Video above published July 25, 2019.

Hamachi – Seattle, WA
Jason Andrews – Co-Owner – Group 1
Shawn Dougherty – Co-Owner – Group 1
Frederic Laffitte – Strategist- Group 1
Lucas Laffitte – Bow- Group 1
Matt Pistay – Cooler Jockey – Group 3
David Rogers – Navigator- Group 1

Event Details – Entry list – Tracker – Results – Facebook

Note: There is a 4-hour delay on the tracker but goes live within the final 200 miles.

Attrition list:
• Mayhem, Hobie 33, Steven Eder (rudder)
• Aloha, Hobie 33, Kyle Vanderspek (rudder)
• Nalu V, Cal 40, Mark Ashmore (unknown water ingress)
• Trouble, Santa Cruz 50, Tom Camp (rudder)
• Live Wire, Olson 40, Tim Jones (mast damage)
• OEX, Santa Cruz 70, John Sangmeister (rudder – sunk)
• Pyewacket, Andrews 70, Roy Disney (rescued OEX)
• Macondo, Beneteau First 47.7, Mike Sudo (rudder)
• Onde Amo, Beneteau First 40.7, Stephen Ashley (rudder)

Background: First organized by the Transpacific Yacht Club in 1906, the biennial Transpacific Yacht Race or Transpac is an offshore sailing race from Point Fermin in Los Angeles to Diamond Head, just east of Honolulu, a distance of 2225 nm. The 2019 edition has 12 divisions with staggered starts on July 10, 12, and 13.

Boats racing in Divisions 6, 7, 8, 9, the Cal 40s, and the Multihulls in Class 0A will start on July 10. The second start on July 12 will be for the boats in Divisions 3, 5 and the Santa Cruz 50/52s, with the final start on July 13 for the remaining monohull entries in Divisions 1 and 2, along with the Multihull class 0 entries.

The current race records were set in 2017 when Comanche set the new Merlin trophy elapsed time record at 5 days 01:55:26. Comanche also set a 24 hour distance Transpac record at 484.1 nm, a 20.2 knot average speed. The ORMA 60 trimaran Mighty Merloe set the multihull elapsed time record at 4 days 06:32:30.