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Triumph Boat Blog

July 3, 1030

Quick update from the Triumph.  As you might see from the YB Tracker, we are barely holding off Deception but as we enter the downwind leg it will be a dog fight as they are a much lighter boat.  Westerly has got something we don't and I am not sure what that is. Perhaps an upwind sail. They continue to outpace us.  We continue to push. 

We have seen alot of debris today including a large chunk of foam with a 2 inch piece of rebar. Then we wrapped some plastic bag or something around the keel requiring us to back down (under sail of course).  We quickly got back underway.

Halfway point (for some) in the 2023 Transpac

After yesterday’s third and final start of the 2023 Transpac, the fortunes of the fleet of 57 entries can be ascertained from the PASHA HAWAII YB tracker system and reports coming in to race managers at Transpacific Yacht Club. There are some in this fleet there are starting to get a taste of the champagne sailing conditions that makes this race famous, while others are still days away from having this taste too as they struggle to get off the California coast.

The leaders in the first group of starters continue their match race battle for the lead in Boatswain’s Locker Division 7 among two Dehler 46 sisterships. At 0900 PDT this morning Greg Dorn’s FAVONIUS is shown to have managed to pass and build a 4-mile lead over Ian Edwards’ WINGS from Australia. With 1219 miles to the finish at Diamond Head in Honolulu these two are sailing at about 9 knots and are near the halfway point on the course after 5 days of racing.

Ho’okolohe at the Start of the 2023 Transpac Race

Gray But Great Final Start to Transpac

Today off Point Fermin not only did the fastest group of 20 boats arrive for the third and final start of Transpac, so did a moderate westerly sea breeze to get them off on an overcast start to their 2225-mile journey to Hawaii. Contrary to the earlier starts on Tuesday and Thursday of this week with their light air conditions, today’s 10-12 knots of wind in the start area had the fleet heeled over and going reasonably 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 the Epic Insurance Division of multihulls, three MOD 70s crossed the start in slightly less breeze on their way west, with Jason Carroll’s ARGO taking the start for an early lead.

Final Transpac Start Tomorrow

The last start of the 2023 Transpac will be tomorrow. First, the three MOD 70 trimarans will head west from Point Fermin for their 2225-mile journey to Honolulu in Epic Insurance Division 9 at 1200 noon. An hour later, the 20 fastest monohulls in this year’s fleet will follow. The latter are divided into three classes: Cal Maritime Division 1, SD Boatworks Division 2 and Whittier Trust Division 3.

With teams representing Australia, Canada, Italy, and the US, this is the most internationally diverse starting group in this year’s race. The US-based entries are also varied, hailing from New York, the Great Lakes, and Hawaii as well as from throughout California.

Within the teams in each division are some of the best amateur and professional talent in the sport, along with the long generational heritage of offshore sailing that Transpac represents since its very first edition in 1906.