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Samba Feeling Translates into a 2009 Transpac Clean Sweep

John Kilroy’s Samba Pa Ti, a modified TP 52, is the big winner of the Transpacific Yacht Race. Kilroy’s Samba team racked up a clean sweep. The team was first to finish in Division I and won the coveted Barn Door for having the fastest elapsed time of all of human powered traditionally designed sailboats. The team also won the King Kalakaua Trophy, for the best corrected time in the entire fleet. Additionally the eight-man team won the Governor of Hawaii Trophy; the W.H. Steward Memorial Trophy; the Harry Uhler Memorial Trophy; and the trophy for the Shortest Elapsed Time Under 73 Feet. For navigating Samba Pa Ti to the First Corrected Time Overall and the Best Division I Corrected Time, navigator, Nick White, collected the Chuck Ullman perpetual Trophy.

Transpac Kids and Nicknames that Stick

A special fraternity has developed among the Transpac kids. While the Morning Light kids were in the limelight in 2007, there were also the On the Edge of Destiny kids. Sean Doyle, Justin Doyle, Ted White, Roscoe Fowler and Cameron Biehl comprised the youngest team ever to race the Transpac. Their average age was just under 20 years old.

Kahn and Christensen Smash Doublehanded Transpac Record

The record for double-handing the Transpacific Yacht Race from Los Angeles to Honolulu has been broken. At 4:38:35 am HST today, Philippe Kahn and Mark “Crusty” Christensen, crossed the Diamond Head finish line in the Open 50, Pegasus 50, in a record time of 7 days, 19 hours, 38 minutes and 35 seconds. They shaved over two and a half days off of the previous record set by Howard Gordon and Jay Crum in 2001 also with an Open 50, Etranger in the most enduring and greatest ocean race in the world covering 2,225 nautical miles from Los Angeles to Honolulu. 

Flash - Wet and Satisfied

Tom Akin had a lot to say about sailing Flash, a TP 52, to Hawaii. His initial comments were, “I found out what is its like to be in a TP52 for seven days. You sit in water, you eat in water, and you sleep in water. It’s wet. The beast is not as luxurious as my Santa Cruz 52. I was looking for a creature comfort and couldn’t find one.”

Transpac Boats Streaming into Ala Wai Over Night

A staggered start, weather patterns and tactical decisions combined so that boats are streaming into Ala Wai in Honolulu and the greeting parties can barely keep up with the pace. Aloha welcome parties overlap. The consensus among the sailors is that it was a fun and fast race.

Boats in port - Alfa Romeo, Criminal Mischief, Magnitude 80, Bengal 7, Relentless, Samba Pa Ti, Akela, Hula, Bad Pak, Medicine Man, Flash, Tachyon III. Pegasus 50, Cipango, OEX due in shortly. By the end of the day, most of the fleet have made their final gybe, crossed the finish line and will be wearing leis and telling the story of their race to family, friends and fellow sailors.