Transpacific Yacht Race

The Transpacific Yacht Race (Transpac) is an offshore yacht race starting off Point Fermin near Los Angeles and ending off Diamond Head in Honolulu, a distance of around 2,225 nautical miles (4121 km). Started in 1906, it is one of yachting's premier offshore races and attracts entrants from all over the world.

The race is famous for fast downwind sailing under spinnaker in the trade winds.

In 1977 the yacht "Merlin", designed by Bill Lee, set a elapsed time record of 8 days, 11 hours,1 minute. This record would stand for 20 years. Ending "Merlin's" record a new monohull elapsed time record of 7 days, 11 hours 41 minutes and 27 seconds was set by Roy E. Disney's Pyewacket, a 73 foot maxi ultralight designed by Reichel/Pugh in the 1997 Transpac Race.

The record fell once again in 2005, Hasso Plattner's Morning Glory—a maxZ86 from Germany—was the scratch boat when it led a five-boat assault on the record for monohulls in 6 days 16 hours 4 minutes 11 seconds while collecting the Barn Door slab of carved koa wood traditionally awarded to the monohull with the fastest elapsed time.

The race is organized by the Transpacific Yacht Club.

References in Popular Culture

In the 1975 movie Jaws, the character Matt Hooper, played by Richard Dreyfuss, claims that he has "crewed two Transpacs" as a means of establishing his seamanship credentials with Quint.

The documentary Morning Light (2008) is a film about the 2007 Disney sponsored competitors in the TRANSPAC.

External links

• Official Transpacific Yacht Club website
• Archived Transpacific Yacht Club website (source for much of the article)