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Reflections Aboard Heroic Heart and Fifty Years of Sailing and Friendships

…for my purpose holds,
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield

—Tennyson, from Ulysses

It’s 2 a.m. and we are downwind on the A1.5 spinnaker. Expedition just crashed, and I lost the last half-hour of my latest route analysis. Did I already grab the latest GRIB file from Saildocs or is that still the one from yesterday? The battery alarm is going off. 12.17 volts, time to run the engine. Again. Seems like it’s only been a few hours. Oh right, it was yesterday afternoon. I hear my name, and I’m summoned from outside the companionway. It’s time to set aside polars, strip charts, and the Balmar voltage regulator manual to handle the pole lift through another gybe. Just another stretch as the navigator on Transpac 2025.

Earning the Podium: How Transpac’s First Finishers Did It

From a Maxi-sled to a doublehanded keelboat and a 68-foot catamaran, the first teams to reach Diamond Head are as varied as they are inspiring

Few finish lines are more spectacular—or more well-earned—than that of the Transpacific Yacht Race. Stretching from a starting line off Los Angeles’s Point Fermin, to a finish off of Honolulu’s Diamond Head, this 2,225 nautical miles of Pacific gives sailors ample opportunity to press their off-the-breeze inventory against typically cooperative tradewinds. This biennial race is organized by Transpacific Yacht Club with three pursuit-style starts so that all finishers can arrive in Honolulu at a steady pace over several days. As of press time, a total of 19 boats have crossed the finish line, with 30 arriving over the coming few days.

2025 Barn Door Trophy Goes to Lucky

Lucky, an 88-foot Juan K-designed yacht owned by Bryon Ehrhart, claimed the Transpac’s coveted Barn Door Trophy on Friday, July 11, as the first monohull to finish the 2025 race. Crossing the Diamond Head finish line at approximately 0723 Hawaiian time, Lucky completed the 2,225-mile course in 5 days, 21 hours, 23 minutes and 49 seconds—the fifth-fastest elapsed time for a Barn Door winner in race history.

Transpac 2025: Moon River Tonight!

The magic of offshore racing in the 2025 Transpac

A vast ocean separates Los Angeles, California, from Honolulu, Hawaii, but the boats racing in this year’s Transpac have now crossed the halfway mark. Race leaders are in the tradewinds and making their approach to the Aloha State. The 2025 Transpac began last week with 53 boats lining up in a series of three pursuit-style starts on July 1, July 3 and July 5, allowing all to finish within a few days of each other. Four boats have since retired from racing and the remaining fleet, ranging in size from 35 to 88 feet, is competing for both the fastest elapsed time to the finish line off Honolulu’s Diamond Head, and for the best corrected time results using the Offshore Racing Rule handicap system.

Transpac Onboard: Zeroing in on the Finish

We check back in with Stan Honey, navigator of 88-foot Lucky, on the heels of a 24-hour 380-mile run. Stan shares some thoughts on the decisions they made around the weather and how they’re keeping up boat speed as they prepare to gybe towards the finish. We also get a glimpse of some more competitors enjoying the downwind trades as they close in on Hawaii.

From the Pacific: Who Made the Right Call to Get to the Breeze?

And how technology is changing the race to Hawaii

Boats racing in the 2025 Transpac continue to reel in the offshore miles toward the finish line off Honolulu, Hawaii, in the 53rd edition of this historic 2,225-nautical-mile race. Established in 1906, this year’s race began on July 1 with a series of pursuit-style starts over five days. As of today, four boats have retired due to equipment or medical issues; the remaining 49 competitors, ranging in size from 35 to 88 feet, are racing in 10 divisions and for the coveted line honors and fastest elapsed time overall. 

Standings at the time of this writing:

• Boatswain’s Locker/Yanmar Division 1: Bryon Ehrhart, Lucky
• Mount Gay Division 2: Thomas Akin, Meanie
• Whittier Trust Division 3: Dave Clark, Grand Illusion
• Cal Maritime Division 4: Rich Festa, Groundhog Day
• Cabrillo Boat Shop Division 5: Dave Moore, Westerly
• Garmin Division 6: Thomas Garnier, Reinrag2
• Suntex Division 7: Fred Courouble & Charles-Etieene Devanneaux, Rahan
• Pasha Division 8: Barry Clark, Blackwing
• Bridger Insurance Division 9: Alli Bell, Restless
• smithREgroup Multihull Division 10: Don Wilson, Convexity2

Transpac Onboard: Anything Can Happen at Sea

All Transpac 2025 competitors are now at sea and actively racing to Hawaii. We take a look at the Pasha Live Race Tracker and talk about the big wind hole confronting a contingent of competitors. Four boats have retired from racing — two for equipment issues, two for medical reasons — all now safely ashore or close to it. Our correspondent, Ava on Convexity² , recounts hearing her first mayday at sea from one of them, and reflects on the enormity of the task ahead as the fleet continues its 2,225 nautical mile race across the Pacific Ocean.

Four Boats Retired from 2025 Transpac

As of 2000 PDT, July 6, 2025, four boats have retired from racing in the 2025 Transpac. Three have safely and successfully returned to the mainland and one is underway.