Yachts Head to Transpac’s Diamond Head Finish Line

July 10, 2017, 2:44 PM HST
* Updated July 12, 12:16 PM

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The Diamond Head buoy will welcome the first multihull finishers of the 2017 biennial Transpac—the 49th Transpacific Yacht Race—today, Monday, July 10, 2017, after a 2,225-mile trek across the Pacific Ocean from Pt. Fermin in Long Beach, California, to O‘ahu.

These initial finishers are not the winners of Transpac; these very fast multi-hulls are in a separate division/class competing against each other only.

In a class of their own, the multihulls, including Mighty Merloe, Phaedo3 and Maserati are all in contention for a new Transpac Multihull Record. The current Transpac Multihull Race Record, set 20 years ago by Skipper Bruno Peyron aboard Explorer, in a time of 5:09:18:26 , is currently the Transpac Fastest Multihull Elapsed Time Record.

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It is currently projected that Mighty Merloe, leading the fleet of multihulls, may finish first in the fleet this afternoon, but as wind-speed conditions can change dramatically, they could be in sooner or later. If Mighty Merloe breaks the current record—it could be by more than one full day—it will become the fastest multihull to have ever competed in a Transpac race.

This year’s race attracted a strong turnout of new racers, including Ken Read with his 100-foot Comanche, who yesterday set a new monohull 24-hour 0800-0800 distance record of 484 miles, an average of 20.2 knots, and is seeking to break the overall monohull race record of 5 days 14 hours 18 min 20 sec set in 2009 on Neville Crichton’s 90-foot Alfa Romeo 2. To do so, the Comanche must average 16.7 knots or better over the entire 2225-mile course.

The Barn Door trophy in Transpac goes to the first monohull boat to cross the Diamond Head Finish Line. There are several boats in contention for this prestigious honor.

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There are many Hawai‘i connections among the racers, including James McDowell and his yacht, Grand Illusion, from the Waikiki Yacht Club, the 2015 Transpac Overall winner and a three-peat winner of this race; Pyewacket, skippered by Roy Pat Disney Jr., is also sailing under the Waikiki Yacht Club flag; Aszhou and her crew, half of which are locals from the islands; and Merlin, skippered by noted sailor and yacht designer Bill Lee (who designed and also built Merlin), has Maui-native Keahi Ho on crew.

For more information on how to track the race, go online. To get involved, attend the functions surrounding the race, such as all the parties and events. Visit the Transpac website for more information.

Contact Public Relations Chair Janet M. Scheffer at (808) 521-1160/285-7712 for additional information.