Fastest boats set for Transpac start

Los Angeles, CA (June 30, 2023) – The third and final start of the 2023 Transpac Race gets underway tomorrow with the fastest of the 54 entrants for the 52nd edition.

First, the three MOD 70 trimarans will head west from Point Fermin for their 2225-mile journey to Honolulu in Division 9 at 1200 noon. An hour later, the 20 fastest monohulls in this year’s fleet will follow. The latter are divided into three classes: Divisions 1, 2, and 3.

With teams representing Australia, Canada, Italy, and the US, this is the most internationally diverse starting group in this year’s race. The US-based entries are also varied, hailing from New York, the Great Lakes, and Hawaii as well as from throughout California.

Within the teams in each division are some of the best amateur and professional talent in the sport, along with the long generational heritage of offshore sailing that Transpac represents since its very first edition in 1906.

A good example of this is the navigator racing aboard John Brynjolfsson’s TP52 SAGA. For his relatively young age (38), Parker Mitchell is bearing the weight of responsibility of guiding the team of 10, a burden that is usually entrusted to those much older given all the factors that are considered in getting on a fast-track to Hawaii.

Yet for Parker, there is some heritage help: his father Ben Mitchell is also an exceptional sailor, and is a core crew member of Roy Disney’s various Pyewackets over the past few decades. Furthermore, Ben’s father E. Ben Mitchell, Parker’s grandfather, was in the 1970s – 1990s one of the most successful navigators in the sport, with skills sought after for all of the great offshore races in the world.

“My goal is to one day win the trophy named for my grandfather,” said Parker, referring to the E. Ben Mitchell Navigation Trophy awarded to the navigator of the first-to-finish Barn Door Trophy winner. The short list of names on this trophy are navigation legends: Mark Rudiger, Stan Honey, Nick White, Peter Isler, and Ian Moore.

As for talent, the Pyewacket team his dad Ben is racing with is pretty impressive: besides the innate talent of the core group who have raced, won and set records in multiple Transpacs and other prominent offshore races around the world, there is one name that does stand out in a VIP guest role.

Torben Grael from Brazil has not only tied with Robert Scheidt and Ben Ainslie in having won the most number of Olympic medals in sailing (five), but has sailed in two America’s Cups and earned podium finishes in two Volvo Ocean Races.

Another America’s Cup talent aboard Pyewacket is expert navigator Peter Isler, who shared his views on what’s ahead for the third day starters.

“The challenge will be getting off the coast into the synoptic breeze offshore,” he said. “The first group got into this quickly and the next group is on their way too. We may not get into this until the second day.”

As for a strategic game plan, Isler agrees with the consensus view that the Pacific High’s northerly position suggests a rhumb line or great circle route to minimize distance, but with a caveat.

“Assuming the models are correct, by 2-3 days into the race we want to be in our slot car lane for the long starboard tack towards Hawaii and protect that lane because this is going to be an incredibly tough class this year.”

When asked about use of the tracker as a tactical tool to know where their rivals are on the course, he reminds us that with a 4-hour delay on the position data the only real-time information they’ll have is the daily 0800 PDT position reports from the fleet, harkening back to the pre-GPS years when teams reported their via SSB radio.

“In 4 hours at our speeds they could be 50 miles in a different position,” said Isler, “so we have to still have to sail fast and take advantage of what we have on the course. To win overall we still need to win our class. We have nine on the team and are racing light, so we expect to be fast.”

Noted Australian navigator Adrienne Callahan is with Jack Jennings’ Santa Cruz 70 Pied Piper, and agrees in general with Isler’s assessment. She says she’s excited about this class because at 10 entries it is the largest and most competitive in years, and reminds her of the Sled heydays of the 1990s. “The same boats and even the same people racing!” she said.

Even among the MOD 70s with their boats speeds that are 2x or 3x that of the monohulls, the weather models are supporting similar conclusions. And even though the MOD 70s are all of the same type from the same builder, they are all slightly different with some new features such as board designs that promote planing at lower speeds.

Jason Carrol’s Argo has this configuration, and Giovanni Soldini’s Maserati Multi70 had intended to be too but the delay of their shipping container’s arrival has forced them into non-foiling mode. Justin Shaffer’s Orion is the closest to being in original one-design trim.

In the two groups out on the course now, progress has been steady and fast, except for one more withdrawal from Division 8. Steven George’s Jeanneau 43 Shadowfax has turned back towards the coast with a rigging problem but no reported injuries and all safe aboard.

Event details – Entry list – Tracker – Facebook

From the inaugural race in 1906, the biennial Transpac Race in 2023 is the 52nd edition for the 2225 nm course from Los Angeles to Honolulu.

Staggered Starts
June 27 – Division 7, 8
June 29 – Division 4, 5, 6
July 1 – Division 1, 2, 3, 9

Source: TYC