{"id":82297,"date":"2025-07-14T11:58:58","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T15:58:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/?p=82297"},"modified":"2025-07-14T13:12:35","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T17:12:35","slug":"a-transpac-race-for-keeps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/racing\/a-transpac-race-for-keeps\/","title":{"rendered":"A Transpac Race For Keeps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IMG_3962-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"Charles-Etienne Devanneaux on sailboat\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IMG_3962-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IMG_3962-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IMG_3962-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IMG_3962-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IMG_3962.jpg 1600w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">Charles-Etienne Devanneaux, at the helm of the team\u2019s modified-for-Transpac Beneteau First 36, enjoys some fast sunny running in the later miles of the race.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">NAOS Yachts\/Facebook<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>Few finish lines are more spectacular\u2014or more well-earned\u2014than that of the <a href=\"https:\/\/transpacyc.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Transpacific Yacht Race<\/a>. Stretching from a starting line off Los Angeles\u2019s Point Fermin, to a finish off of Honolulu\u2019s Diamond Head, this 2,225 nautical miles of Pacific gives sailors ample opportunity to press their off-the-breeze inventory against typically cooperative tradewinds. This biennial race is organized by Transpacific YC with three pursuit-style starts so that all finishers can arrive in Honolulu at a steady pace over several days. As of press time (July 13), a total of 19 boats have crossed the finish line, with 30 arriving over the coming few days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe id=\"x8aa2rgac1\" src=\"https:\/\/Sailingworld.dragonforms.com\/x8aa2rgac1\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"width:100%;height:165px;border:none;overflow:hidden;\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>For some competitors, this stretch of sea represents less than a week of work; for others, time is measured in weeks. Irrespective of one\u2019s elapsed time, all finishers must ultimately pass between 762-foot tall Diamond Head Lighthouse and the red flashing R2 buoy, about three quarters of a mile offshore. While the sight of Diamond Head can be a salve for sea-sore eyes, the waters between the bricks and the buoy display a wealth of color\u2014from aquamarine beach-side shallows, to darker green reefs, to navy-blue hues of Moloka\u2019i Channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"469\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/unnamed-45-1024x600.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"Sailboat during the 2025 Transpac Race\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/unnamed-45-1024x600.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/unnamed-45-300x176.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/unnamed-45-768x450.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/unnamed-45.jpg 1200w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">Bryon Ehrhart&#8217;s <i>Lucky<\/i> grabs line honors and an elapsed time just shy of 6 days.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Stephen Cloutier\/Transpacific Yacht Race<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>While all boats compete for the race\u2019s handicap honors, Transpac\u2019s coveted Barn Door Trophy celebrates sheer offshore speed and is awarded to the fastest monohull finisher, sans calculators or rating rules. To earn a spot on the trophy\u2014a magnificent, four-foot slab of carved Koa wood hanging in Hawaii Yacht Club\u2014is to make history amongst 120 years of ocean-racing titans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bryon Ehrhart, owner and skipper of 88-foot Juan Kouyoumdjian-designed maxi <em>Lucky<\/em> (n\u00e9e <em>Rambler 88<\/em>), earned this honor on Friday, July 11, at approximately 0723, Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time, sending the 2,225 nautical miles in just 5 days, 21 hours, 23 minutes and 49 seconds. Ripping across the finish line at 24 knots, <em>Lucky<\/em> was flying a full mainsail and triple headsails, with her 17-person crew piled onto the windward quarter for additional righting moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Lucky<\/em>\u2019s is the fifth-fastest elapsed time in the history of the race, which is downright impressive given the significant light-air patch that parked on the racecourse last week, coupled with reports that the tradewinds have been a click softer than normal this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever finished a race going 24 knots, and so I had a chance to really see the power of the boat shine,\u201d said Ehrhart in a post-finish interview. \u201cThe Moloka\u2019i Channel is famous and there\u2019s a reason it\u2019s at the end of the race: It\u2019s your last challenge, and you better meet it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ehrhart should know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Racing his previous <em>Lucky<\/em> in the 2021 Transpac, the rudder of the Judel-Vrolijk 72 divorced itself from the yacht near the finishing line, quashing what had been seven days of magnificent sailing. The team was towed ashore by the U.S. Coast Guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis was five and a half days of glorious sailing, and we got to finish,\u201d said Ehrhart of the 2025 edition. \u201cThe epic thing for me was coming back four years after losing our rudder 30 miles off the finish and meeting that challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"493\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/unnamed-47-1024x631.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"Transpac Race winning team, Lucky.\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/unnamed-47-1024x631.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/unnamed-47-300x185.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/unnamed-47-768x473.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/unnamed-47.jpg 1200w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">First batch of mai-tais got to Bryon Ehrart&#8217;s crew on <i>Lucky<\/i>.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">David Livingston<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>The challenge included developing new sail technology, meticulous vessel preparation, flawless crew work and smart calls, compliments of world-famous navigator Stan Honey. <em>Lucky<\/em> finished with zero gear breakage, which Ehrhart called a testament to the crew\u2019s pre-race preparations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is a water desert that\u2019s as beautiful as any other desert you\u2019ll see,\u201d said Ehrhart of the racecourse\u2019s sweep of ocean. \u201cYou finally see a piece of land. And when you see it, you\u2019ve got Diamond Head,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once at the docks, Bill Guilfoyle, Commodore of the Transpacific Yacht Club, and other race officials welcomed Lucky to the Aloha State with ice-cold Whittier Trust mai tais served inside pineapples, a tradition that honors all finishers, irrespective of their arrival times or durations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t get leis anywhere else in the world for finishing a race,\u201d said Ehrhart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Doublehanded Crew Set a Impressive Transpac Benchmark<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While <em>Lucky<\/em> powered across the Pacific with a small army aboard, the second yacht to cross the finish line\u2014Fred Courouble and Charles Devanneaux, co-skippers of <em>Rahan<\/em>, Devanneaux\u2019s stripped-down Beneteau First 36\u2014took a decidedly different tack as the race\u2019s only two-handed team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/unnamed-48-1024x683.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"Fred Courouble and Charles Devanneaux\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/unnamed-48-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/unnamed-48-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/unnamed-48-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/unnamed-48.jpg 1200w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">Fred Courouble and Charles Devanneaux, co-skippers of <i>Rahan<\/i>, celebrate a fast race that almost got them line honors. <\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">David Livingston<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen you have a crew, you have a specific job. You do a little bit, then you go to sleep,\u201d said Courouble at a dockside interview moments after <em>Rahan<\/em> made landfall. \u201cI don&#8217;t say it\u2019s boring, but it\u2019s a normal challenge, you know? And the more you have challenges, the more interesting the race is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The price for this fun? \u201cYour lack of sleep,\u201d Courouble continued. \u201cYou start to hallucinate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Rahan<\/em>\u2019s race got sporty about 400 nautical miles from the finish when the spinnaker wrapped around the forestay, creating what Courouble termed \u201ca beautiful salami\u201d of unusable sailcloth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite this setback, the two-handed crew, who have been racing together since 2012, continued attacking the remaining miles. Devanneaux said their final night at sea was their finest, a sentiment echoed by his lone shipmate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLast night was good because we were fighting <em>Picosa<\/em>, our direct competition,\u201d said Courouble, referring to Doug and Jack Jorgensen\u2019s J\/111, the third boat to finish. Courouble and Devanneaux did the logical thing: They hoisted their biggest kite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was a good decision, but the boat was flying,\u201d Courouble said. \u201cWe wiped out a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The decision paid handsome visual dividends: <em>Rahan<\/em> finished as the Hilton Hawaiian Village\u2019s weekly Friday evening fireworks lit the night sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Picosa<\/em> was racing fully crewed, though Jack Jorgensen reported that sleep deprivation was also an issue for their last few nights. While the team avoided making any sail salami, they struggled with battery issues. &#8220;Everything was off except our instruments,\u201d said Jack in a post-racing interview, adding that the team ran their engine in idle for almost four straight days to keep the electrons flowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then there were the night watches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe had a lot of squall activity at night, and the nights were dark,\u201d said Jack, who was skippering with his dad, Doug\u2014who is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his first Transpac\u2014aboard. \u201cIt led to good seamanship and being able to change sails quickly and change modes fast when the wind came up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As for their final day at sea, Jack reported that the team played things cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We knew we were solidly in second behind Rahan, so we just wanted to sail conservatively and not break anything,\u201d he said. &#8220;We had a couple huge wipeouts earlier in the race that were pretty sketch, and we were trying to avoid any huge issues, losing any sails, or hurting anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The move paid off, and the team finished in the dark, about nine hours astern of <em>Rahan<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead of fireworks or battery issues, <em>Lodos<\/em>\u2014Tolga Cezik and Rade Trimceski\u2019s Seattle-based J\/111\u2014crossed the finish line on Saturday morning as surfers were catching rides off Waikiki.<\/p>\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"537\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/unnamed-49-1024x687.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"Gunboat 68 multihull\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/unnamed-49-1024x687.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/unnamed-49-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/unnamed-49-768x515.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/unnamed-49.jpg 1200w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">Donald Wilson&#8217;s <i>Convexity3<\/i>, a Gunboat 68, with an all-star crew, earned top multihull honors with an elapsed time of just over 7 days.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Stephen Cloutier\/Ultimate Sailing<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>\u201cRelieved, ecstatic, excited,\u201d Jennifer Hoag, Lodos\u2019s trimmer, bow person and occasional driver, said in a phone-call interview as the team was motoring into Ala Wai Harbor for their leis, mai tais and much-anticipated cheeseburgers. \u201cWe pushed hard our last night,\u201d she said. Abandoning their watch schedule, they hoisted their biggest downwind kite despite the occupational hazards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They white-knuckled through a 30-knot squall for 30 minutes, but the tactical gambit was spot-on: \u201cWe actually put a lot of distance on the boats behind us just from last night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the adrenaline flowed during <em>Lodos\u2019<\/em> final night at sea, dopamine and serotonin also played prominent roles during the voyage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe had one sunset where we had dolphins playing in our bow,\u201d said Hoag, adding she was fortunate to share her first-ever Transpac experience alongside her dad, John, who was one of <em>Lodos\u2019<\/em> watch captains and primary drivers. \u201cWe had our kite up on a plane and these dolphins are playing with us. We\u2019re going 16, 17 knots at sunset\u2014it was just beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nautical beauty and sailing with one\u2019s father were also major themes aboard Don Wilson\u2019s Gunboat 68 <em>Convexity2<\/em>, co-skippered by John Hildebrand and Josh McCaffery and crewed by a Murderer\u2019s Row of sailors who boast multiple wins in The Ocean Race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI got to sail one of the most amazing oceans in the world with a really unique crew on a fast, cool boat,\u201d said Ava Wilson, one of <em>Convexity2<\/em>\u2019s drivers, moments after finishing her first Transpac, also with her father, Don, onboard. \u201cRipping at 27 knots across the Pacific Ocean was absolutely awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Convexity2<\/em> delivered big grins, but, said Wilson, the race wasn\u2019t without its tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe had pretty solid bow stuff going into our early morning today,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was a rude awakening for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As was the team\u2019s occasional loss of hydraulic power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was 12:30 in the morning, pitch black and our hydraulics weren\u2019t working,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cWe were looking to do a maneuver, and we had to get everybody on deck and figure out where the issue was coming from.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This, of course, was where the <em>Convexity2<\/em> crew\u2019s vast offshore experience shined like July 10\u2019s full moon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEverybody was really levelheaded,\u201d said Wilson. \u201cThe crew saw some hesitation in me, and they were like, \u2018look, it\u2019s all good.\u2019 And they told me exactly what to do, and I was able to do it. We worked through it quite quickly and got back on track.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hydraulics hijinks aside, Wilson clearly loved her experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy best watch was last night,\u201d she said. \u201cGetting to see the sunset into the stars and the full moon, unobstructed, and we had 15 to 20 knots of breeze, and were cruising along\u2014it was incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From a maxi-sled to a doublehanded keelboat and a 68-foot catamaran, the first teams to reach Diamond Head are as varied as they are inspiring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":82303,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"David Schmidt","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"","arc_website_url":"","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":false,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":true,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":"","ad_targeting":"","ad_settings_ads_on_this_page":true,"ad_settings_automatic_ad_injection_into_the_content":true,"sponsored_url":"","social_share":true,"alternate_title_newsletter":"","alternate_content_newsletter":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[3008,250,177,178,1133,3007],"class_list":["post-82297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-racing","tag-lucky","tag-offshore-racing","tag-racing","tag-sailboat-racing","tag-transpacific-race","tag-transpacific-yacht-race"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82297"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82297\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}