Transpac Race: Battle of the Barn Door

(July 12, 2017) – With the four speedsters having finished the Transpac Race, and now taken the best docks, hotel rooms, and race fans, the focus of today was for the city of Honolulu to refurbish their ice cube supply because a pile of boats are on layline to the Molokai channel and a Mai Tai welcome.

Manouch Moshayedi’s crew on Rio100 are getting thirsty as they limp along without their port rudder (accident report described here). They are positioned to be the next finisher, which would reward them with the Barn Door Trophy, given to monohull with the fastest elapsed time using manual power only. That is, if they survive the final 200+ miles.

Their long gybe is now on port, which is good news when all you have is a starboard rudder. The bad news is they still have some miles left on starboard, and breathing down their necks is Frank Slootman’s Invisible Hand, the new rocket Pac52 that is currently the overall race leader.

The two boats are close in speed while on port, but Rio100 bleeds miles when on starboard. As they both started on July 6, the race’s most iconic trophy is up for grabs, which could make it a fun view for the final 100 nm when the tracker drops the four hour delay and goes live.

Event details – Entry list – Tracker – July 12 position report – Finish order – Facebook

Background: First organized by the Transpacific Yacht Club in 1906, the 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 miles. The 2017 edition attracted 55 entrants that will have staggered starts on July 3, 5, and 6.

Start Schedule
July 3 – Division 5, 6, and 7 (17 boats)
July 5 – Division 3 and 4 (16 boats)
July 6 – Division 0, 1, 2 (22 boats)

Source: Race media, Scuttlebutt