52nd Transpac fully underway

Los Angeles, CA (July 1, 2023) – Today off Point Fermin not only did the fastest group of 20 boats arrive for the third and final start of the 2023 Transpac Race, so did the westerly sea breeze to get them off quickly on their 2225-mile journey to Hawaii.

Contrary to the earlier starts on June 27 and 29 with their light air conditions, today’s 10-12 knots of wind in the start area had the fleet heeled over and going fast towards their first mark of the course, the West End of Catalina Island 25 miles away.

Some got off a little too fast: a 10-degree left shift made the pin end of the line very attractive, prompting three OCS calls from the race committee for entries in Cal Maritime Division 1: Cal Maritime’s Andrews 77 T/S Cal Maritime, Tom Holtus’ Botin 56 Badpak, and Michael Firman’s Infinity 52 Zeus.

Breaking free of the pack early is the largest monohull in the fleet, Manouch Moshayedi’s Bakewell White Rio100.

An hour earlier in Division 9, three MOD70s crossed the start in slightly less breeze on their way west, with Jason Carroll’s Argo taking the start for an early lead.

The consensus for navigators before the start remained about the same as among their colleagues who left on the second start: the northern position of a relative weak Pacific High prompts everyone to get off the coast as fast as possible and stay close to rhumb line to minimize the distance to the finish at Oahu’s Diamond Head.

“The forecast is suggesting a progressively slower race with moderate breeze,” said Peter King, navigator on Raymond Paul’s Botin 65 Artemis. “But the good news is it looks relatively stable. Our challenge will be to stay in the pressure without straying too far north.

“Our forte with this boat is power reaching since we are a bit beamier with the stability to carry the sail area needed in those conditions. The other boats in this division are generally narrower and proportionally faster in lighter conditions. If we can set a triple-headsail combination with the Code 65, a #4 jib, and a staysail in breezy conditions we will be very competitive.”

Another boat that anticipates high-speed reaching prowess is Michael Firman’s brand-new Inifinity 52 Zeus. She has an unusual feature that deploys a horizontal shaped foil protruding from the hull to leeward which provides lift to counteract the heeling force from the sail plan.

Inifinity 52 Zeus

This system, called DSS (Dynamic Stability System) developed by UK-based designer Hugh Welbourn, was also a feature on the 2019 Transpac entry Maverick, a smaller version Infinity 46. ZEUS Tactician Stu Bannatyne admitted “We have not had much time to test this, but I think this feature gives them a distinct speed edge over conventional TP52s in power-reaching conditions.”

Meanwhile out on the race course, the tracker shows there is a match race among Dehler 46 sisterships for the lead in Division 7, with Greg Dorn’s Favonius only a few miles (and no doubt in sight) of Ian Edwards’ Wings from Australia, who currently has a narrow 1.7-mile lead at 1500 PDT. With this close margin, no doubt these two will be pushing each other hard throughout this race with less than 1400 miles left to the finish.

Mike Sudo’s Beneteau First 47.7 Macondo is leading Division 7, and Dean Treadway’s Farr 36 Sweet Okole is in the lead of Division 8.

The day two starters are more tightly grouped and going fast: Bill McKinley’s Ker 46+ Denali3 is posting speeds of over 11 knots, leading Division 4 with Dave Moore’s Santa Cruz 52 Westerly 52 astern by about 30 miles going over 10 knots in the lead in class in Division 5. Cecil and Alyson Rossi’s Farr 57 Ho’okolohe is further astern but in the lead of their rivals in Division 6.

Another interesting Development shown on the tracker in Division 4 are the two J/125s – Standish Fleming’s Nereid and Thomas Garnier’s Reinrag2 – have crossed north of the rhumb line, an unusual move to make this early in the race compared to “normal” Transpac routes but indicative of the preference among many to keep close to the shortest route to Hawaii.

Event details – Entry list – Tracker – Facebook

From the inaugural race in 1906, the biennial Transpac Race in 2023 is the 52nd edition with 57 entrants to take on 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