Sailing Instructions revised for Transpac 2015

Los Angeles (April 1, 2015) – The Transpacific Yacht Club is proud to announce a revised start format for the 2015 Los Angeles to Honolulu race. Transpac has used a staggered start for some years, but because the Catalina Eddy causes uncertain winds near the coast, and for simplified scoring, two changes will be made for the 2015 edition.

Historically, the fastest boats like Windward Passage could sometimes sail the course in less than 10 days, whereas the slowest boats often took 15 days plus. But now in 2015, the fastest boats can eat a quarter of the 2225 nm course in a day, with some having the potential to finish in five days. However, the pace of the slowest boat has essentially remained the same as a half a century ago.

From a race management standpoint, since the fastest boats will only be on the course for a third of the time as the slower boats, the race will now start 20 miles offshore near the west end of Catalina (33.49 north x 118.63 west) in an effort to put the start area in more consistent winds.

Further, to eliminate the need for corrected time calculations, a pursuit start will be used for the entire fleet and each boat will start in accordance with its time allowance. The lowest rating boat will start at midnight on July 13 and the rest of the fleet will start at various times over the following week and a half. A race committee signal boat will be on station 24/7.

The competitor’s reaction has been generally positive with the exception of those who will start between 0100 and 0600. While this plan does require additional volunteers on the signal boat, Transpacific Yacht Club anticipates sufficient interest due to its partnership with Gladstone’s Long Beach and their free-flowing fountain of world famous Mai Tai drinks.