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Transpac 2015 Incident Report

Monday July 13 Start

Yacht Sleeper flew protest flag reported that they had completed two turns.

Picante taking on water around keel.  Returned to San Pedro, all crew well, boat returned safely.

Vivacia taking on water from deck.  Returned to So Cal, all crew well, boat returned safely.

Avanti had rudder structure damage, taking on water.  Returned to Marina del Rey, all crew well, boat returned safely.

Bazinga suffered rudder failure.  Returned to San Diego.  All crew well, boat returned safely.

Sleds & TP52’s Lead Provisional Results

Honolulu, HI – Boats from the two classes that symbolize Transpac more than any other have taken the top of the leaderboard in the 48th edition of this biennial ocean racing classic. Local-based James McDowell on his Santa Cruz 70 Grand Illusion has taken the top of the provisional results in overall ORR scoring, followed by Chuck Nichols racing the Andrews 70 Pyewacket, with Craig Reynolds’s TP52 Bolt in third place.

Results are considered Provisional untill all boats are finished and any protests have been resolved by organizers from the Transpacific YC.

Half the Fleet Finished But Overall Title Still Contested

Honolulu, HI – At just about two weeks from the first start of the 48th Transpac, more than half the fleet will by midnight local time tonight be still at sea making their way to the finish of this biennial 2225-mile race from LA to Honolulu. Since Harry Zanville’s Santa Cruz 37 Celerity was the first to cross the finish line in the early hours of Friday, boats from the Monday, July 13th start for Divisions 7 and 8, and starters on Saturday, July 18th in Divisions 0, 1, and 2 have crossed the finish line at Diamond Head.

One of the boats to finish today in Division 8, the Aloha Division, after nearly two weeks at sea was Ross Pearlman’s Jeanneau 52 Between the Sheets, a perennial competitor in the Aloha Division of Transpac. Pearlman was unable to make the race, and turned over the skippering responsibilities to Kerry Deaver, a regular member of the Between the Sheets team. Deaver was thankful for the opportunity to skipper, despite some rough first days on this trip.

Blood Orange Phaedo wins class

Phaedo wins class in Transpac

Lloyd Thornburg and the crew of his blood orange Gunboat 66 Phaedo came from behind in the final hours of the 2015 Transpac to win the Multihull Divison 0 of the classic biannual race. And Thronburg admits the win is just a little sweeter since he and his team had to come all they way back from being dismasted in the 2013 Transpac

Wild Oats XI Wins Merlin Trophy and Rio 100 Wins Barn Door Trophy in 48th Transpac

Elapsed times were short of record pace, but still a great achievement in a difficult race

Honolulu, HI – The Barn Door Trophy is made from a large ornately-carved piece of Hawaiian Koa wood, and is an iconic symbol of excellence for the Transpac: many of the most famous racing yachts in the world of offshore sailing have their names inscribed on the brass plaques around its perimeter.

In 2009 when the existing course record was smashed by over a day by Neville Crichton’s canting-keeled Alfa Romeo, Transpac YC recognized that this class of designs was unique and needed its own trophy, so the Merlin Trophy was born to honor the boat that did so much to encourage high-speed offshore-capable design.

Celerity First to Cross Finish Line

Four other finishers expected tonight, overall corrected time winner in doubt, Wild Oats may also arrive tonight as fastest elapsed time yacht

Honolulu, HI – With an elapsed time of 10d 20h 1m 12s, Harry Zanville’s Santa Cruz 37 Celerity was the first entry to cross the finish line at Diamond Head in the pre-dawn hours this morning in the 48th biennial LA-Honolulu Transpac.

Celerity’s crew included Zanville and Michael Downing, Tom Jenkins, Eric Kownacki, Robert Martin, and Thomas Ripard.

Tradewinds and Trash in 48th Transpac

Saturday starters overtaking Thursday starters in continued light air, while Monday starters are on final approach towards Hawaii; trash starting to appear in the course area
 
San Pedro, CA - The three fleets defined by their start days started to converge into two over the past two days in the 48th running of the LA-Honolulu Transpac. This biennial 2225-mile classic ocean race is organized by the Transpacific YC.

Most of the first wave of starters continue to enjoy conditions that while punctuated by occasional squalls are still getting them downwind and towards Hawaii at a reasonable pace. Current elapsed time leader of this pack is Harry Zanville's Division 7 Santa Cruz 37 Celerity, who on the tracker (delayed by 6 hours) is shown to be only 425 miles to the finish. At about 200 miles/day they are therefore expected sometime on Friday morning.

Hula Girl: Highs and Lows…

Rolling along, beautiful day here in the deep Pacific Hula Girl in the 2015 Transpac Race from Los Angeles to Honolulu. We are currently on day 5 of our race, and have some 1500 miles to go. Yep, we have averaged somewhere around 140 miles a day up until this point. And for a boat like Hula Girl in a race like the Transpac, that's not really very good at all. It's been an unusual race.

We have been struggling with the remnants of the hurricane Dolores that have spun up our way from Mexico. And there are the remnants of another depression along our track, a bit farther west, that is messing up the usual Tradewinds that carry us seamlessly to the Islands. It's an El Nino year, and the water in the Eastern Pacific is warmer than usual so these tropical disturbances that feed off warm water are working their way farther north than is typical.