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Second wave heads to Hawaii in Transpac

Under sunny skies and a light westerly breeze, the second group of entries has started their 2225-mile journey to Honolulu in the 2023 Transpac. Nineteen boats divided in three classes  Ocean Navigator Division 4, Cabrillo Boat Shop Division 5 and Pasha Hawaii Division 6 – set off from Point Fermin to first clear the West End of Catalina island 25 miles away and then out into the open Pacific Ocean.

Like the first group of starters on Tuesday this week, they face an initial upwind challenge to clear the West End - the entire fleet tacked to port just after the start to have better pressure along the Palos Verdes coast - and then follow their navigator’s advice on the next steps. Do they carry on upwind to stay north close to rhumb line, thereby minimizing the extra distance sailed to Hawaii? Or bear off a few degrees once they clear the coast for increased speed at the expense of sailing extra distance in order to get an initial jump on the fleet and then maneuver to stay in front as the weather allows.

TS Cal Maritime Boat Blog

June 29, 2023

On Saturday, July 1 at 1 p.m. PT, Cal Maritime will begin its 2,225-mile adventure as one of the final group of boats departing San Pedro, California, to Honolulu in the 2023 Transpacific Yacht Race — a biannual open-ocean competition that features the top professional crews in the nation, in addition to one college team.

Throughout the race itself, crew members will take photos and videos of their journey, content you can view by visiting the team's Instagram page, @CalMaritimeSailing. 

Thanks to a live tracker, provided by Transpac officials, sailing fans can see CSUM's location in the Pacific Ocean by clicking here, scrolling through the list of competitors and clicking on the TS Cal Maritime link. 

Second wave of starters leaves tomorrow in Transpac

With the first group of 15 yachts making westward progress towards Hawaii after their Transpac start yesterday, the second group is in final preparations for their start tomorrow at 1:00 PM PDT. This group is larger – 19 yachts divided into three divisions – and are rated faster on the course so their start two days later is intended to compress the arrivals of finishers at Diamond Head in Honolulu.

Currently the YB tracker, sponsored by Pasha Hawaii, indicates yesterday’s starters are making great progress getting off the California coast. Their straight-line tracks indicate they had good steady breeze all night and are now close reaching southwestward in an arcuate path towards Hawaii which still lies over 200 miles away.

They’re off! First Transpac fleet starters on their way

Under clear Southern California skies, 6-10 knots of wind, and just a hint of fog out on the western horizon, the first wave of the 2023 Transpac fleet is on their way towards Hawaii. Nine entries in Boatswains Locker Division 7 and six in smithREgroup Division 8 crossed the start line today. One Hawaiian-based entry in the latter class – Russ Johnson’s Jeanneau 52.2 BLUE MOON – only arrived last night and received permission to delay their start until the next group sets off on Thursday.

A team who is taking on this race for the first time and on one of the smallest boats in the fleet is Herwig Baumgartner’s 1D35 BLACK MARLIN from Los Angeles with an assembled amateur crew of seven on board. This morning before leaving the dock at the Cabrillo Way Marina in San Pedro they “were looking forward to the tradewinds and the legendary downwind sailing Transpac offers.”

Transpac first start preview

Tomorrow at 1:00 PDT a group of 16 boats will cross the starting line in the vicinity of Point Fermin in San Pedro in the first start of the 2023 Transpac. After leaving the West End of Catalina to port they will sail another 2200 miles west towards the finish line at Diamond Head on Oahu… an epic journey.

They are the first of three waves of starting groups among 58 entries from Australia, Canada, Italy and the US in the 52nd edition of this biennial ocean racing classic, first sailed in 1906. Some are racing Transpac for the first time, others are veterans who keep coming back to enjoy this iconic race.