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Disney’s pyewacket wins the 2024 pv race.

A lot of sailors would suggest that it’s ‘when’ you start that matters, the earlier the better. Others would insist that it’s the weather on your start day that matters most, the windier the better. Both are logical and have been true separately and combined. But what if NEITHER mattered?

Not many (any?) spectators on Shelter Island watching the Saturday starters for the the 2024 San Diego to Puerto Vallarta International Yacht Race would have speculated that seven of the boats floating in the windless bay that afternoon would fill the top seven overall finishing positions! They were already 48 hours behind the two Thursday starters blasting down the course in a fresh westerly wind. But after a week of many sail changes, cursing grib files, running weather models, and pressing the boat when the ‘park up’ (sitting ‘parked’ in becalmed windless conditions) was over, that is exactly what the results reflect.

One answer is that larger boats with larger sail areas have more access to the wind when it is light, thus have a better chance of sailing faster relative to the smaller boats. To frame it another way - you don’t really have to sail 20+ knots to win. You just have to sail 1-3 kts faster than your competitors as often as possible. Sailing at 5-7 kts when your competitor is sailing 0-2 kts will get it done!

With that idea, you can conceive why this year was a big boat year, featuring perennial performer Roy P. Disney’s Andrews 68 Pyewacket , at the top of the fleet followed by RP 52 Vitesse, RP 51 Zero Gravity 51 , D/K 68 Peligroso , and the Bakewell White 100 Rio100 to round out the top 5.

Still, looking back, the 2020 Puerto Vallarta race showcased a sled-killer Hobie 33 Sizzle helmed by World Champion Bill Hardesty linking the evening thermals all along the Baja beaches while his larger competitors were parked up further out to sea for an overall win. There is always hope for the smaller boats that start early!

Here’s how the 2024 PV Race came together.

FULL RESULTS | RACE TRACKER

CLASS 6 || Blackwing , Barry Clark

Barry Clark’s Grand Soliel 44 Blackwing lost their internet connection early on in the race, and had the unique position of sailing at the front of the fleet from Thursday thru the weekend to Tuesday (aside from Rio100 ’s passing) without the ability to find their competition on the course until each day’s 0800 report. But there’s something to be said for having an open slate on the race course to make unbiased decisions and sail the race your way, as they cruised to a Class 6 victory.

CLASS 5 || Amazing Grace , Jim Puckett

Class 5 had different leaders throughout the week of racing in 2024, and ended with Jim Puckett’s Farr 57 Amazing Grace sailing away from the Class 5 competition on the southernmost route around the Baja Peninsula and into the finish.

Jim Puckett, 24 hours prior to finish: “It's been a great race so far, despite challenging and sometimes frustrating light-air conditions during the early part of the race. The last few days have provided a great reminder of why we do this. Blasting downwind in 20 knots under full sail, seeing these stunning sunsets and moon rises, power-reaching across the Sea of Cortez, we are having an Amazing time on Amazing Grace .

We took a bit of a gamble going well south of the cape, but the low track we've chosen just might be paying off. The crew has been working very hard doing lots of sail changes, mostly at night it seems (isn't that always the way) and stacking every single sail on the boat on the windward rail for the final reach to the finish line. Regardless of where we end up on the leaderboard, we will have given it our very best effort. And we are having a blast.”

After the finish when Amazing Grace had determined they had won their class, the team was thrilled that their decisions on their last 24 hours had paid off. The gamble was to sail south prior to the approach to Cabo, in fact the most southern route across the Sea of Cortez in the entire fleet this year, to see if they could avoid the wind hole that loomed ahead. The initial standings check had dropped them to 4th in class and seemed like the mistake would cost them all their prior gains. But over the next 36 hours they quickly saw their competition’s speed dropping while their own line to the finish remained consistently strong. Their winning tactical gamble was uniquely satisfying.

CLASS 4 || Trouble , Tom Camp

Class 4 saw the closest race from start to finish where Tom Camp’s Santa Cruz 50 Trouble posted a narrow 3 minute corrected time win over Dave Moore’s Santa Cruz 52 Westerly . Thursday afternoon, Westerly had finished and arrived at the dock awaiting word on whether Trouble would be able to overtake their time. As the minutes ticked away, Trouble sailed the last few miles in nice steady Thursday afternoon winds generating boat speeds consistently 7+ knots that allowed them to eclipse Westerly’s time.

Tom Camp, Trouble: "Light conditions favored us for much of the race. We went wide around Cabo for a more southern track, allowing us to take advantage of the variable conditions on the approach the finish. The final morning, however, we sailed into a hole that virtually stopped us. The key for us was an exceptionally well-prepared boat and a great crew that refused to give up and gave their all to get across the finish just in time for the win."

CLASS 3 || Vitesse , Thomas Furlong

The Fast 50 Class ended up with two of the top 3 overall boats in this regatta with Vitesse winning the Class and 2nd overall followed by Ivan Batanov's RP 51 Zero Gravity 51 correcting out an hour behind Vitesse for 2nd in class and 3rd overall. Thomas Furlong was sailing in his first Puerto Vallarta Race with the RP 52 Vitesse .

Thomas Furlong, Vitesse : “Us Saturday starters had a very challenging start. We actually did a really great start, by getting out of the harbor first, passing the Coronados first, and then we all kind of parked up again. It was that kind of race all the way down. Everytime we kind of felt like we were getting going and stretching out, we would collect back up and had several days where [our competitors] were literally stacked up a few miles away.

We had some beautiful sailing conditions, 10 knots of breeze with flat water, it’s pretty nice sailing. The full moon was great, and two nights ago we had really nice sailing [with boat speed] in the teens, a top speed about 20.

It’s really a hard tactical and strategic race. We had good crew work, the boat performed great. But trying to manage this year’s conditions was really challenging.”

CLASS 2 || Pyewacket , Roy P. Disney

Pyewacket sailed the least number of miles to complete the course (1092 nm, 25 miles fewer than the race average). In fact, it's the same number of miles sailed by the same Andrews 68 Pyewacket in 2018, the last time Roy P. Disney won this race. Disney is now a record 4-time PV Race Overall winner (1992, 1998, 2018, and 2024).

Roy Disney: “PV 1992 was our first race on our new Santa Cruz 70, where we finished in front of the hotels, with a harrowing finish. We passed on both sides of the bay multiple times [to reach the finish]. In ‘98 we sailed a brand new RP 75 which was a great fast boat. And for all of these wins our common crew have been Ben Mitchell, Gary Weisman, Scott Easom and Robbie Haines.

This is a challenging course especially rounding Cabo which can be impossible at times, with hundreds of choices. It seems only one or two boats get it right each time. This year was hard because we had two weather models completely different up to the morning of the start then no clear resolution of the weather after that. We should be back for the next race, we love PV.”

In 2022, the Pyewacket team set the course record on the Volvo 70, at 3:04:38:02. So what’s more satisfying, racing 3 days to set a course record without the corrected time success, or sailing 5 days and winning the corrected time race?

Disney added “Each is satisfying and rewarding in its own way and for its own set of reasons. What I would say is a record means more time in PV!”

Cecil Rossi recently pivoted from sailing his Farr 57 Ho’okolohe racer cruiser to the long time hot rod Dencho/Kernan 68 Peligroso looking to speed up the racing and take on a new challenge. The Rossi team brought a highly experience and professional crew to the PV Race including Peligroso’s navigator for the last 5+ years Ernie Richau to add the specific boat experience to the program. The team didn’t miss a beat in Rossi’s first race on Peligroso ranking near the top of the overall standings throughout the week. They even brought along the BBQ from the other boat strapped to the backstay for fresh grilled meals which were a pleasant change of pace for the pros used to less refined race provisions.

CLASS 1 || Rio100 , Manouch Moshayedi

Rio100 doubled up in the 2024 PV Race as not only the first to finish (elapsed time winner) but also corrected time winner in Class 1. Pre-race weather predictions didn’t necessarily lend themselves to optimal conditions for the Rio machine, but the benefit of sailing the fastest boat in the fleet is when the conditions are right you can fly across the course and limit the amount of time where you can get stuck since you owe so much time to all the other boats. With Rio finished Wednesday morning and initial predictions for solid Wednesday night conditions for the rest of the fleet, BadPak and GoodEnergy appeared to be set to eat up the owed time from Rio . But the wind didn’t cooperate, and time ran out as the Class 1 competitors couldn’t get to the line in time to beat Rio.

Manouch Moshayedi: “The first night we sat for about 4 hours with zero wind, zero, zero, zero. Fortunately the last day, the last 24 hours helped us out and it was quite windy, 22-24 knots of wind and our top speed was over 27 knots.

Running an international race comes with its unique challenges. San Diego Yacht Club benefits from gracious hosts in Marina Vallarta courtesy of Harbormaster Pablo Fernandez, the Mexican Navy for allowing deep keel boats to tie up to their harbor wall to allow the Rio’s and GoodEnergy’s of the sport to participate with confidence in a welcoming place to land upon arrival. And over two decades of dockside customs and international entry processing management from friend of SDYC Juan Arias.

The heart of the regatta stems from the support of San Diego Yacht Club and it's members, particularly Karen Busch and Ben Mitchell who have been co-regatta chairs for nearly a decade, who set the standard for how the biennial offshore event is run from inception through the closing awards party race after race. SDYC will be back with the next edition of the Puerto Vallarta Race in winter 2026.

MORE SDYC OFFSHORE RACING

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Boat Type: i52 Owner: Michael Firmin Home Country: AUS

Zero gravity 51.

Boat Type: RP 51 Owner: Ivan Batanov & Lawrence Andrews Home Country: USA

Boat type: dehler 46 owner: ian edwards home country: aus, boat type: santa cruz 52 owner: dave moore home country: usa.

Boat Type: Santa Cruz 70 Owner: Stuart Dahlgren Home Country: CAN

Boat type: dencho/kernan 44 owner: les linkogle home country: usa, boat type: r/p 52 owner: thomas furlong home country: usa, velvet hammer, boat type: j/125 owner: james nichols home country: usa, boat type: santa cruz 52 owner: steve selllinger home country: usa, boat type: andrews 70 owner: doug pasnik home country: usa, t/s cal maritime, boat type: andrews 77 owner: cal maritime home country: usa, sweet okole, boat type: farr 36 owner: dean treadway home country: usa, spin doctor, boat type: andrews 40 owner: paul farrell home country: usa, boat type: jeanneau 43 owner: steven george home country: usa, boat type: carbon 32 owner: jerome sammarcelli home country: usa, boat type: tp52 owner: john brynjolfsson home country: usa, rock n’ roll, boat type: andrews 68 owner: john sangmeister / justin smart home country: usa, boat type: bakewell white 100 owner: manouch moshayedi home country: usa, boat type: j/125 owner: thomas garnier home country: usa, boat type: andrews 68 owner: roy p. disney home country: usa, pinball wizard, boat type: santa cruz 52 owner: bill & lisa dana home country: usa, boat type: santa cruz 70 owner: jack jennings home country: usa, boat type: dencho/kernan 68 owner: doug baker home country: usa, boat type: newland 368 owner: stephen lewis home country: usa, boat type: mod 70 owner: justin shaffer home country: usa, boat type: santa cruz 50 owner: michael moradzadeh home country: usa, night’s watch, boat type: j/130 owner: dean stanec home country: usa, boat type: j/125 owner: standish fleming home country: usa, boat type: santa cruz 70 owner: marchetta/furey home country: usa, boat type: bill lee 68 custom owner: chip merlin home country: usa.

Boat Type: MOD 70 Owner: Giovanni Soldini Home Country: ITA

Boat type: hylas 63 owner: nicholas green home country: usa, boat type: beneteau first 47.7 owner: mike sudo home country: usa, boat type: beneteau first 44 owner: charles devanneaux home country: usa, boat type: express 37 owner: dan merino home country: usa, j world’s hula girl, boat type: santa cruz 50 mod owner: wayne zittel home country: usa, boat type: dufour 50 owner: michael marion home country: usa, imagine too, boat type: catalina 445 owner: larry goshorn home country: usa, boat type: farr 57 owner: cecil & alyson rossi home country: usa, groundhog day, boat type: rogers 46 owner: rich festa home country: usa, grand illusion, boat type: santa cruz 70 owner: david h. clark home country: usa, boat type: r/p 63 owner: george hershman / mark comings home country: usa, good trouble, boat type: andrews 56 owner: marie rogers home country: usa, glass slipper, boat type: antrim 40 owner: cree partridge home country: usa, boat type: dehler 46 owner: greg dorn home country: usa, fast exit ii, boat type: ker 52 owner: john raymont home country: usa, boat type: ker 46+ owner: william mckinley home country: usa, boat type: santa cruz 50 owner: chris messano / bill durant home country: usa, boat type: j/111 owner: ed sanford home country: usa, boat type: dk46 owner: wayne zittel home country: usa, boat type: santa cruz 70 owner: edward marez home country: usa, boat type: nelson marek 70 owner: craig reynolds home country: usa, boat type: jeaneau 52.2 owner: russ johnson home country: usa, black marlin, boat type: 1d35 owner: herwig baumgartner home country: usa, boat type: botin 56 owner: tom holthus home country: usa, boat type: botin 65 owner: raymond paul home country: usa, boat type: j/125 owner: andrew picel home country: usa, boat type: mod 70 owner: jason carroll home country: usa, aimant de fille, boat type: j/145 owner: steven ernest home country: usa.

More info coming soon

Boat Type: R/P 55 Owner: Alan Lubner Home Country: USA

Alan Lubner’s ZVI from Seattle is a recent upgrade in performance from his previous Dehler 46, having acquired the 2007-built Reichel/Pugh 55 this year. He is one of several entries from the Pacific Northwest to come to So Cal to participate in the 2021 Transpac, his first time to compete in this race. He said “Entering Transpac has always been a dream and when the right boat and the right group of people came about, the timing seemed right to make a 2020 debut.”

Besides himself, his team of ten will include Alan Lubner, Nigel Barron, John Stanley, Mike Stanley, and Andrew Cook as Navigator. For qualifying races and passages they plan to do both: race in the usual long distance race schedule in Puget Sound in addition to the Oregon Offshore (198 miles) and the long offshore delivery down the coast to Los Angeles.

For preparation the team is using the winter downtime to remove all the deck hardware and repaint the deck and nonskid. “We're taking this time to look over all the fittings and blocks & take everything apart,” said Lubner.

The team’s goals are to “compete at the highest level and finish in Hawaii with the knowledge that we did everything we could to get there as quickly and safely as possible.”

Warrior Won

Boat type: pac 52 owner: chris sheehan home country: usa follow:.

Chris Sheehan acquired the Judel/Vrolijki-designed Pac52 Bad Pak in late 2019, re-named her Warrior Won , and missed a lot of the 2020 racing season due to pandemic cancellations. He and his Connecticut-based team did, however, managed to earn an overall win in the Stamford-Vineyard Race in September, a 238-mile classic late-summer race in the New England season.

“Myself and my team love offshore sailing,” he said. “Transpac has been high on the priority list of the race's we intend to sail over the next few years. After some great training and racing on the East coast in 2020, we are all looking forward to some fun SoCal sailing in 2021.” This sailing includes the full circuit of pre-Transpac offshore races: the Islands Race, the Newport-Cabo Race and the SoCal 300.

This is Chris’s first Transpac, but the crew of nine he has assembled has significant experience and demonstrated talent in this and many other world-class offshore races: the team includes Dylan Vogel, Collin Leon, Mal Parker, Mo Gutenkunst, Hartwell Jordan, Scott Ewing, Stu Bannatyne, and Chris Lewis as Navigator. In addition the tune-up races, Sheehan said this team will also be focused on preparation and training with the goal of a division win in the race.

They certainly have a platform capable of this achievement: Bad Pak was runner-up in both class and overall results in the 2017 race.

Boat Type: RP 52 Owner: Tom Furlong Home Country: USA

Tom Furlong’s San Francisco YC-based Reichel/Pugh-designed Southern Cross 52 was launched in 2009, and competed in the last Transpac in 2019. In the competitive Division 1 fleet after 8 days of racing she missed a podium finish by less than two hours in corrected time – not bad for this being Furlong’s first Transpac.

“We purchased the boat in early 2018 and underwent an extensive refit specifically oriented to competing in the 2019 Transpac,” he said. “The boat and team sailed well in that race, but also knew there was more to learn and optimize. COVID cancelled the 2020 season, and so we hoped that 2021 Transpac was a realistic goal. We are looking forward to putting our increased knowledge of the boat into practice in this race.”

Furlong has some repeat players for this edition, but some new crew as well, such as Christopher Branning signed on as Navigator. The remainder of the team of 11 is as follows: Benjamin Allen, Blaine Pedlow, Hilary Hill, Mark Newbrook, Patrick O'Connor, Sarah Young, Sean “Doogie” Couvreux, Timoth Galligan and Tyler Baeder.

To prepare for this year’s race, Furlong says they have sailed in a number of multi day practice sessions, participation in the Islands Race in March – where they finished third in class, and a “multi day offshore loop.” The goal of these sessions was “to improve the our knowledge of the boat and sail inventory and generate needed performance information,” he said. “We have a number of new sails for the race to optimize, and have continued to enhance the offshore livability of the boat” an important goal for a 52-foot carbon rocketship.

Regardless, Furlong says “Our goals are always to be safe, have fun, learn and improve, and in the end feel like we sailed the boat well.”

Boat Type: Santa Cruz 50 Owner: Tom Camp Home Country: USA

Boat type: santa cruz 52 owner: steve sellinger home country: usa follow:.

While Steve Sellinger’s Santa Cruz 52 Triumph is in Newport Beach, he is based in Park City, Utah and has been steadily improving his Transpac results since making his debut in the 2017 race: that year they scored 7th out of 10 competing in what is generally known as the Fabulous Fifties class of SC 50’s and SC 52’s. They improved on this to a 4th place in the last race edition in 2019. Its notable, however, that within this competitive class they win the top Corinthian team trophy for having an all-amateur crew.

This year Sellinger has enlisted some pro help, signing on Jeff Thorpe as navigator to supplement 2017 Transpac winning navigator & tactician, Brad Wheeler. Triumph is stacked with many years of expertise at navigation and tactical expertise to help guide the Triumph team towards another year of improved performance, and other crew members to be announced but drawing heavily from his past roster.

Sellinger is philosophic about his attraction to the race: “There is tremendous joy being on the open ocean and a real satisfaction building a team of 8 that can get each other across the Pacific,” he said, “pushing the boat and each other to work hard and stay focused. The race starts out in somewhat dreary (wet and cold) conditions and gradually warms over the days ending in what might be considered paradise. There is great satisfaction in finishing this incredible race.”

Aesthetics aside, the Triumph team is also keen to get to that podium. “Our goal is to win and get the boat and it’s crew safely to Honolulu but ultimately enjoying the moment is the real satisfaction,” says Sellinger.

Spindrift V

Boat type: express 37 owner: andy schwenk home country: usa.

Andy Schwenk from Richmond, CA has sailed a few times to Hawaii – 49 times he reckons he’s crossed “that whale pasture,” three as a Transpac Race crew – but all of these trips have been on boats other than his own Express 37 Spindrift V .

So, he said “I figured it was about time to do one myself.”

Schwenk has yet to name the other four members of Team Spindrift , but he says between them they have numerous Transpac Races, Victoria-Maui’s, Pacific Cups, and other offshore races under their keels.

And his preparation plans seem simple: “Pump the bilges, load the icebox and wax the tiller.”

As for goals in the race, Schwenk’s are also simple: “Catch a Mahi and not be over early at the start.”

Boat Type: TP 52 Owner: Marek Omilian Home Country: USA Follow:

Marek Omilian’s TP 52 Sonic hailing from Seattle was designed by Farr Yacht Design and built at Cookson Boats in New Zealand in 2005 before most boats in this class evolved towards being the inshore specialty racers they are today. Build strength and resiliency were important characteristics in these early-generation designs, whose genetic roots were in the Transpac and other challenging races offshore.

“I bought the boat in 2018 after circumnavigating with Clipper-Round-the-World Race with the goal to race fast offshore,” said Omilian. “It took us last two years to bring the boat up to offshore shape and to build and train the crew. We cannot wait to have fun racing to from California to Hawaii next July!”

To prepare Sonic for the race, Omilian made a few upgrades in 2019 to get ready for the 2020 Pacific Cup, which was cancelled. “We have new offshore Main and few other sails, and have extended the bowsprit to full TP52 dimension. We are making a few other updates and adding a water maker.”

Omilian will be sailing his first-ever Transpac with an intended team of 10 selected from his usual team of 12, and will have David Rogers as navigator. Their delivery to SoCal from Seattle is long enough to meet the race’s qualification requirement, but they are also considering competing in the race to Cabo San Lucas and other events in SoCal in the 2021 season.

Being their first Tranpac, the Sonic team’s number one goal seems modest: to finish the race. Yet they also seek to have a podium finish while “having great fun speeding downwind under the light of the moon and stars.”

In fact, in this 51 st edition of the race the full moon is on July 24th, one week after the last start of the fastest boats, including Sonic – and with the first start of the race for the slowest boats being on July 13 th , the entire fleet should enjoy good starlight and moonlight during most of their race.

Boat Type: J/125 Owner: Rufus Sjoberg / Jason Crowson Home Country: USA

Rock ‘n roll, rapid transit, boat type: antrim 49 owner: james partridge home country: usa, boat type: j/121 owner: scott campbell home country: usa, pyewacket 70, boat type: volvo 70 modified owner: roy p. disney home country: usa.

The name Pyewacket could easily be synonymous with the modern era of Transpac: in nearly every year since 1987 there has been an entry under this name raced by a member of the Disney family and their teams, with the exception being in 2013 when the Pyewacket team partnered with Bob Oatley’s Wild Oats team to race the Australian R/P 100 that year. During this 34-year history of 17 races, the Pyewacket team has earned numerous class wins, the Barn Door Trophy and set a course record on four different boat designs with the same name.

In the last edition of the race, the Pyewacket team in their Andrews 68 had entered intent on an overall corrected time win, when in the second night of the race they hit a speed bump: OEX , another sled in the race, had a serious rudder system failure and was taking on water with liferafts already deployed. Disney and team altered course and rescued the team, sailed back to California, and received US Sailing’s prestigious Arthur B. Hanson award for their outstanding rescue at sea.

This year Roy P. Disney is back, this time intent on crossing the finish line at Diamond Head first in fleet with a fifth new design, a turbo-charged Juan Kouyoumdjian-designed Volvo 70, built for the Volvo Ocean Race in 2011. Disney but bought the boat in late 2019 in anticipation of TPYC’s planned LA-Tahiti Race in 2020. With that race postponed to next year, Disney and team now have their sights trained on a Barn Door Trophy win in Transpac.

“Transpac has always been on our "must do" races with all the boats our family has had over the years,” said Disney. “It is absolutely the best offshore race in existence and finishes in paradise!”

The Pyewacket team will grow to 13 to sail this rocketship, with an all-star team planned – joining Roy will be: Gary Weisman, Ben Mitchell, Robbie Kane, Brian Janney, Peter Isler, Mark Callahan, Jan Majer, Scott Easom, Jeff Reynolds, Rodney Daniel, Daryl Wislang and Mark Towill.

As a warm-up, the Pyewacket team not only participated in the recent Newport-Cabo San Lucas Race, but set a new course record of 1 day 21 hours 22 minutes, besting Magnitude 80’s old record by a whopping 14 hours.

Yet Disney’s stated goal for his Transpac experience is modest: He wants to “enjoy the comaraderie and wonderful sailing conditions we always expect and get sailing to Hawaii.”

The name Pied Piper in the Great Lakes is inexorably tied to offshore racing legend, having cut five hours off a 76-year old monohull course record in the 1987 edition of the 333-mile Chicago to Mackinac Race. This impressive mark set by the Andrews 68 ULDB was not defeated until 2002 by Roy Disney’s larger Reichel/Pugh 75 turbo-Sled Pyewacket , who still holds the record time of 23:30:24 for this race.

Pied Piper campaigned for decades among the Great Lakes 70’s in the Lakes, first by Dick Jennings and then by his son Jack, and the team has now set their sites on the Pacific where these designs started their offshore racing lives in the 1980’s before migrating to the Lakes. Purchasing the Santa Cruz 70 Holua in 2019 with it being kept in Portland since, Jack’s intent was to race in the 2020 Pacific Cup that was Covid-cancelled, and so has now re-focused their program on the 2021 Transpac.

Having already done one race as crew and thus eligible to join the Transpac YC, Jennings has yet to race as skipper, and is looking forward to “the challenge of sailing to Hawaii.” The team plans to have 10 crew aboard and complete qualifying races in Southern California in 2021 to train and be ready for the start in July.

“We will have a number of 'rookie' Midwest sailors on the race who have spent a lot of time on SC 70's,” he said, “but never with them pointing to Hawaii.”

As for boat preparation, Jennings said “Our boat hasn't been raced since 2017. There are a lot of things that have changed in the Offshore world - we are doing our best to keep up.”

They have joined an active and competitive class of Sleds that have in recent years have also been contenders for top overall prizes in the race.

Boat Type: Kernan 68 Owner: Doug Baker Home Country: USA

Peligroso skipper Doug Baker has to be one of the more loyal participants in Transpac Race history, having competed in 19 races as a skipper and twice as a crew. There will be few in the 2021 fleet that have that impressive level of long term dedication to this race.

In the 50 th edition in 2019, Baker and many of his team members were part of the Chubasco crew that sailed the renovated 1939 S&S yawl to Diamond Head. This was a vessel very different from Baker’s usual preference for high speed sloops… he does after all hold the existing course record of 11 days 10 hours 13 minutes and 18 seconds in the Transpacific YC’s other classic ocean race: the LA – Tahiti Race. Baker’s Alan Andrews-designed Magnitude 80 set this goalpost in 2008, and being over a decade old now this record time is alluring for more modern designs to come have a try at breaking it, possibly in next year’s running of the race postponed from last year.

In 2019 Baker re-entered the world of fast monohull sailing by purchasing the 2005-built Kernan 68 Peligroso , and in July will start Transpac with a team of 12 that includes Baker, navigator Ernie Richau, and an impressive list of Pacific ocean racing talent: Keith Kilpatrick, Tim Kernan, Bill Durant, Dustin Durant, Jimmy Slaughter, Juggy Coulgher, Doug Mclean, Mike Pentecost, and Mike Van Dyke.

The team plans to race to Cabo San Lucas from Newport Beach in March as their qualifier, as well as the SoCal 300 in May, with the goal of being competitive and having solid results in all races.

Boat Type: TP 52 Owner: Eduardo Porter Ludwig Home Country: MEX

After acquiring the TP 52 Patches from fellow Mexican yachtsman Jorge Ripstein in 2014, current owner Eduardo Porter Ludwig campaigned here to a respectable 3rd place class finish in the 2015 edition of Transpac, just 17 minutes behind the division winner, Craig Reynolds’s TP 52 Bolt .

Now 6 years later Ludwig (or Goldo as he’s known) and Reynolds are both back for the 51st edition of the race, although this time Bolt has grown to be a Nelson/Marek 68 and may be in a different division than Patches . Nonetheless, Goldo is keen to return to this race.

“Our first Transpac in 2015 was amazing,” he said, “with a 3rd place result with a full Mexican crew. After that we did the Rolex Big Boat Series, two San Diego – Puerto Vallarta races and a couple of small offshore races in Mexico. The TP52 class died in Acapulco in 2018 so I decided to keep Patches in Long Beach to participate in local regattas during the 2019/20 season.”

The pandemic lockdown then changed plans for competing in that season, so he looked ahead to 2021.

“I was tired of not doing anything exciting,” Goldo said, “so decided to do major repairs on the boat to make her faster and stronger, and the Newport-Cabo San Lucas Race in March 2021 as the qualifier. We were then thinking about Europe in the summer, but then I said ‘why not Transpac?’ because the boat will be ready to go for that race.”

Like others who will be mid-Pacific in July, Goldo is looking further south and west for even more adventure after the race. ”We are thinking afterwards to send the boat to Sydney and do the Hobart Race,” he said.

With navigation guidance provided by Marc Span, the Patches team is planning on a fairly large group of 11 crew that includes Goldo, Span, Daniel Porter and Jan Hossfeld from the 2015 team, Federico Haller, Federico Ortiz, Andres Alvarado and Javier Patron from other offshore races on the team, and Emilio Del Valle, Valentin Pratt and Alex Murrieta on their first long offshore race.

For Goldo, the goals for the Patches team are simple: “To have a great experience and share this with my crew.”

Boat Type: Santa Cruz 50 Owner: Michael Moradzadeh Home Country: USA Follow:

The Bill Lee-designed Santa Cruz 50 predates by a few years the iconic Santa Cruz 70 as being one of the perfect designs for Lee’s famous philosophy for Pacific sailing: Fast is Fun! Light, narrow, and easy to sail offwind, SC 50’s have been racing to Hawaii in nearly every Transpac race since being first launched some 40 years ago.

Michael Moradzadeh’s San Francisco Bay area-based Oaxaca has been a regular entry in these races over the years, and with his ownership since 2015 he has skippered in two races: 2017 and in 2019. Within the usually competitive Fabulous Fifties class of SC 50’s and their newer cousins the Santa Cruz 52’s, Moradzadeh and team showed considerable improvement in these two races, earning an 8 th place in 2017 and then winning the class in 2019… but not by much: Oaxaca’s winning margin in corrected time after over 9 days of racing was less than 12 minutes over rival SC 50 Horizon owned by John Shulze, the class winner in 2017.

Including himself, Moradzadeh plans to have nine on board for the race, with nearly the exact same winning team he had in 2019. This includes two prominent female pro sailors - Liz Baylis returning as Navigator and UK-based Dee Caffari as a helmsman – along with Harry Spedding, Molly Noble, Brett DeWire, Patrick Lewis and David Ritchie.

The team seems confident in their boat’s set up for the race, because when asked if they were making any modifications, Moradzadeh’s reply was simple: “We might clean it,” and as a race goal he said it was to “Beat our 2019 performance.”

All kidding aside, he did say “We had a wonderful time winning our division by a bare 12 minutes [in 2019]. Looking forward to another delightful passage and a party at the end.”

For a pre-race warm-up for the main event, Moradzadeh and crew plan on racing the 2021 Coastal Cup to bring the boat down the coast for the start.

San Diego-based Standish Fleming is not new to Transpac, having raced in 4 previous races as crew, but 2021 will be his first edition as Skipper of the J/125 Nereid . This is certainly a proven design in Transpac, with her sistership Hamachi having won the overall King Kalakaua Trophy in the 2019 edition after eight and a half days of vigorous sailing in ideal conditions.

Yet Fleming knows the more you put into this carbon speedster the more you get back in performance: “I would have liked to have more time to get the boat and crew in shape,” he said. “She is an easy boat to sail but a hard boat to sail fast. But at age 74, I do everything in real time or it likely doesn't happen.”

Like Hamachi , Nereid will race with six on board as crew. These include Fleming, Jeremy Davidson, Rick Graef, Charlie Jenkins, Calvin Schmid and Damian Craig as Navigator. They qualified the boat for Transpac by racing in this Spring’s Newport-Cabo Race, respectably finishing on the podium among six entries in Class C.

As for other preparation plans for Transpac, Fleming said their plan has been simple: to “fix everything that was worn or broken” from previous campaigns.

Fleming says their primary goals for the race are to “get to Honolulu safely, and enjoy the trip. The last Honolulu race I sailed was in 1971. I want to see the big ocean once again.”

Boat Type: Cal 40 Owner: Mark Ashmore Home Country: USA

With a promising start in July 2019 in Transpac 50, Mark Ashmore’s Nalu V was one among five other Cal 40’s headed to Diamond Head in what was looking to be one of the most competitive classes in the race. Even though these classic Transpac designs are over 50 years old, their skippers and crews are always keen to push the boats and themselves after months and sometimes years of preparation.

“My wife Kathy and I had been working very hard on our Cal 40, and were so excited to be prepared and start the 2019 Transpac!,” said Ashmore, who hails from South Shore YC in Newport Beach. This was to be his first race to Honolulu.

But on the first night of their race the Race Committee received this message from Nalu V: “Difficulties keeping bilge dry, pumps keeping ahead but reason for water ingress unknown, returning to port." There were no reported injuries or other problems, and the tracker soon afterwards confirmed the team’s about face to return to port.

“Unfortunately our first campaign ended in a retirement,” said Ashmore, “so this second chance means even more to us. Our goal is to finish and have fun! This was our only goal in this year’s San Diego-Puerto Vallarta Race, and yet we ended up placing 2nd in Division 6 and 15th overall!

“Not bad for an old girl loaded down with cruising gear!”

Boat Type: Stevens 47 Owner: Justin Waite Home Country: USA

Hailing from Kenai Fjords YC in Alaska, Justin Waite, Jesse Osborne and their crew on their Stevens 47 Mikmaks are new to Transpac in 2021.

“Transpac seems like a fun way to get to Hawaii!,” says Justin. “This race is a bucket list item for our entire crew, and the boat is on the West Coast and is ready to go. The time was right for us to enter and experience this challenging race.”

In all there will be six aboard for the race, dominated by family members – two Waites and two Osborne’s – along with two other crew named “Dr. Rick” and “Gary the Racer.” Justin is planning to navigate, and their qualifying passage will be the long delivery trip to LA from their current base in the San Juan Islands.

For preparation, Justin says “The boat underwent a complete refit with offshore racing in mind, but she's still more of a comfortable cruising boat than a racer,” a feature we’re sure will be appreciated more than once on this race.

And as for goals, he says “To borrow from equine endurance racing: ‘To finish is to win.’ Our goal is to arrive in Hawaii with a happy, healthy crew and a boat ready to sail another passage.”

Medicine Man

Boat type: andrews 63 owner: bob lane home country: usa, boat type: judel-vrolijk 72 owner: bryon ehrhart home country: usa, boat type: rogers 46 owner: dave macewen home country: usa.

Dave MacEwen is not new to Transpac. In three previous editions he and his team on the Santa Cruz 52 Lucky Duck have earned respectable results, placing third in the 2019 and 2015 editions in the “Fabulous Fifties” group of SC 50’s and SC 52’s, one of the most competitive classes in the race.

Yet for 2021 MacEwan has chosen a different path with his plan to compete in this edition with a platform new to him this year, a Rogers 46. This all carbon-fiber race boat designed in 2006 by Simon Rogers and built at CMI in Thailand is a very different platform to race to Hawaii than the SC 52 cruiser/racer.

“We have stepped up to a faster, but far less comfortable, Rogers 46 for this race, and are excited to get her out in the big wind and waves we routinely see on our way to Hawaii.” Indeed, Lucky Duck’s elapsed time in the 2019 race was 24 hours slower than Bob Pethick’s Rogers 46 Bretwalda 3 .

The Rogers 46 design type is no stranger to Transpac: Pethick is entered once again in this cycle, on the hunt for a class win after their third-place performance in 2019, and Chris Hemans’ Varuna captured a class win in 2017 and third place performance in 2015. With the high level of experience depth found on both teams, no doubt the rivalry between Lucky Duck and Bretwalda 3 for the 2021 race will be keen to watch.

MacEwen is looking forward to this: “The Transpac race is for us the ultimate test of boat prep, navigation and sailing skills. We look forward to going up against some of the best talent in the world as we battle our way to the finish line,” he said.

In preparation for the race MacEwen says “We are working through the sail inventory now, and we will also be installing new Lithium ion batteries. For training we plan on doing the Islands Race, the Cabo Race and California Offshore Race Week as we prepare for Transpac in July.”

Boat Type: Olson 40 Owner: Tim Jones Home Country: USA

The first few days of 2019’s Transpac 50 were looking good for Lomita, California-based Tim Jones and his crew on his 1983-launched Olson 40 Live Wire. They were making solid progress jib-reaching in the big winds and seas 250 miles off the coast, tracking steadily on a route a little north of the bulk of the fleet and thus shaving a few miles off the 2200 miles left to the finish at Diamond Head, and thereby leading their division at this early stage in the race.

But then disaster struck on the morning of the third day of their race: Live Wire reported having a broken the top section of their mast above the second spreader, forcing them to turn back under jury rig. No one was injured, but the trip back to the coast was a long one, taking five days to reach their home port in San Pedro.

Given this incident, Jones is still good-natured yet understandably keen to “finish what we started in 2019, with the goal "to finish without breaking the boat."

Aside from a new spar, there are no other modifications anticipated to Live Wire, and the team plans to race in the SoCal 300 and the LAYC Breakout Race #4 to prepare for Transpac 2021.

Ty Park, Dan Shine, Liz Hopkins, Rich Kennedy are on Jones’s crew, with a total of six planned.

Boat Type: Beneteau 49 Owner: Brett Crawford and Jason Halloway Home Country: USA Follow:

Hailing from the San Francisco Bay area and SFYC and StFYC, Brett Crawford and Jason Halloway are co-skippering their 2005 Berret-Racoupeau-designed Beneteau 49 entry Knotty in the 2021 Transpac. The two are part of an interesting bi-national team of seven crew from the US and Denmark.

As Crawford says, “Our team is a group of long-time close friends with sailing being the common thread that connects us all. We have all sailed together (and against each other) for many years in the Knarr one design class in the USA, Denmark and Norway. Our team is half American and half Danish. The guys on our team have both raced and cruised all over the world, but I am the only member of our team who has prior experience racing to Hawaii.”

As such, everyone else has had this race on their Bucket List, and the decision to race in 2021 is prompted by one simple fact: “We are certainly not getting any younger!”

The Knotty team of Anders Fisker, Christian Fisker, Lars Gottfredsen, Tim Von Nieda, Scott Sullivan, Jason Holloway and Crawford nonetheless plans to race with the proper priorities in place.

“The thing that I am most looking forward to about this 2021 Transpac race,” he said, “is making the 10-day passage with my closest friends on board. In preparation we purchased another 165-quart cooler to hold enough beer and wine for 10 days. We probably should have gone with a larger size cooler. If there was an ORR rule against having too much fun, Team Knotty would be disqualified the moment the starting gun is fired!”

For their qualifying trip, the team completed in early October their 401-mile passage from San Francisco to Newport Beach in two days. As for goals, the Knotty team’s are simple: “To make every minute of this race fun,” said Crawford. “No stress. No yelling. No anxiety. Just 7 guys having a fun sail to Hawaii.”

San Diego-based Dan Merino is entering the 2021 Transpac on his Express 37 Juno for his first time as a Skipper, although he’s done the race twice before as crew. While this Carl Schumacher design series-built in Santa Cruz by Alsberg was first launched in 1984, these boats remain popular in West Coast sailing, and Merino has owned Juno since 2018.

When asked why he decided to enter this year, Merino said “I think for most people that have done this race, there is an urge that develops that makes you want to do it again. There's something about waking up more than 1000 miles away from land, spotting the Islands after many days at sea, and surfing the boat in the Molakai Channel to the finish that makes it addictive,” a sentiment shared by many Transpac veterans.

Merino plans to race with six on board, who include Jeff Westbrook as Navigator and Bill Jenkins, Simon Garland, JC Langlois, and Merino’s son Zach, who has been an instrumental part of the Juno program. Dan said “For me, I bought the boat with the intention of doing the race. Entering the race was solidified when my son Zach showed interest in being part of the crew.”

For the team’s qualifying passages, Merino said “We've been focusing on offshore racing for the past 2 years. Races we have done and are targeting are Newport to Ensenada, the Islands Race, Little Ensenada, and the SoCal 300. In addition we plan on doing some 200-mile practice passages.”

And for preparation, he said “Other than getting the boat down to the essentials we'll add a couple of asymmetric spinnakers and plan on adding an aft bulkhead in front of the rudder.”

The goals for the team are well stated by both Merino and team member JC Langlois: “For me, its getting there safely, doing well, and sharing a very unique experience with my son,” said Merino. “I've got a great crew and hope they all have the desire to do another one with me in the future. “

“To complete and place well in the race,” said Langlois. “Looking forward to feeling the exhilaration of the ocean crossing and its elements as our ancestors did.”

Boat Type: Santa Cruz 50 Mod Owner: Wayne Zittel Home Country: USA Follow:

Boat type: farr 57 owner: cecil/alyson rossi home country: usa.

Transpac is special for Grand Illusion and this year’s race will be Grand Illusion’s 16 th Transpac. Launched as Hotel California in 1986 as Santa Cruz 70 hull number 6 it raced in 1987 and shortly thereafter was purchased by Ed McDowell and renamed Grand Illusion . The McDowells had great success with “GI” racing in 13 Transpacs, and setting a record by winning first overall on three occasions (1999, 2011 & 2015). David Clark purchased the boat in 2018 and he along with his talented crew, including navigator Patrick O’Brien have enjoyed class wins in the 2020 PV Race and 2021 Cabo Race. This will be GI’s second Transpac under Clark.

Boat Type: RP 63 Owner: George Hershman / Mark Comings Home Country: USA

The 63-foot Reichel/Pugh-designed GoodEnergy co-skippered by George Hershman and Mark Comings joins a strong fleet of similar high-performance monohulls entered in this year’s race. Having just bought this proven offshore yacht from Australia – she was built in 2009 as Loki in carbon/nomex at McConaghy, and was the 2011 winner of the Sydney-Hobart Race – Hershman thinks this is right time for Transpac.

“This has been a goal for us to pull together a great group of friends and talented sailors to do Transpac together,” Hershman said. “When we found such a well-accomplished boat like Loki, we knew this was the right boat and right time to bring together the GoodEnergy team for this race.”

While this is the first Transpac for Hershman, he says he has surrounded himself with a strong veteran team the includes co-skipper Mark Comings, navigator Jib Kelly, Chuck Clay, Mike Burch, Kenny Dair and others to be named soon for the roster of 12 crew. To prepare for the race, the team plans to do the SoCal 300 in May, and some work on the boat: “Some optimization is needed for Transpac,” said Hershman. “We plan to update the sail plan and reduce some bulb weight, and upgrades to the electronics, but not much. The boat is in very good shape.”

Yet for such a high performance platform as GoodEnergy , the team’s goals are simple. “Our goal is to compete hard and sail our best,” said Hershman. “We have put together a strong team to do that. Our main goal is to enjoy ourselves and have a lot of fun! The group on the boat has grown up together as friends and finishing at Diamond Head together will be a magical moment.”

Boat Type: Dehler 46 Owner: Gregory Dorn Home Country: USA

Since 2019, Tiburon, CA-based Greg Dorn has been training and racing his team on his new Dehler 46 Competition Favonius , with some impressive initial success: third place in Class A at the Big Boat Series. Dorn now has Transpac in the team’s sights, saying “We have been planning for the right moment to do the Transpac and building a racing program around Favonius is affording us a unique opportunity. We have been racing her and find that come July 2021 we will be extremely well prepared.”

Among those preparations Dorn says are “optimizing symmetrical and asymmetrical set ups with an additional fractional stay for staysails. We will upgrade the primary winches and some electronics.”

Dorn plans to race with 7 on the team, with Will Paxton named as Navigator. And while this is Dorn’s first Transpac, he is taking a long view of this race, saying they see the 2021 race the first of many future races in Transpac.

“First and foremost, our goals are to learn how the platform performs and have fun,” he says. “I am taking the long view and plan to return in 2023, 25 and beyond so this first race focused on collecting knowledge that will help us sail better in subsequent Transpacs.

Boat Type: Ker 51 Owner: John Raymont Home Country: USA Follow:

John Raymont’s Ker 51 Fast Exit II is a recent acquisition, having been bought in 2020 to replace his prior Fast Exit , an Andrews 40 he raced in the 2017 and 2019 editions of the Transpac Race.

For the 2021 edition he plans to have a crew of 10 total, with all but three named so far in addition to himself: Alan Andrews, Zack Maxam, Randy Moreno, Pike Harris, Steve Mader and Doug Johnstone as Navigator.

John said he has “watched the Transpac Race with envy since being a kid, which was the basis for us doing our first exciting race in 2017. Now I’m hooked!”

In preparation for the start in July 2021, Fast Exit II plans to race in the Islands Race in February and the Newport Beach to Cabo San Lucas Race in March.

Goals for the 2021 Transpac Race include “Having a fun 7-day sail to Hawaii, and winning the race.”

Boat Type: KER 46 Owner: Bill McKinley Home Country: USA Follow:

Bill McKinley and his Denali3 team are accustomed to fast boats, first on his Nelson/Marek 70 Denali, then his HPR Carkeek 40 Denali2, and since 2018 on his new Denali3, a Ker 46+. Being from Grosse Pointe, MI, the team is best known for pursuing their racing prowess on fresh water: they are perennial competitors in the annual Bayview-Mackinac and Chicago-Mackinac Races.

In 2007, however, McKinley did come west to compete in his first Transpac Race on the Nelson/Marek 70, and now is back for 2021 to race to paradise once again. The race left an impression.

“Without a doubt the 2007 Transpac Race was the most enjoyable race any of us have ever sailed,” said McKinley. “When I built Denali3, running the Transpac Race was always on our "bucket list.” With our 2020 sailing season short-circuited due to Covid (we planned to do the 2020 Newport to Bermuda Race), we made the decision to pull up our timing and focus on something incredibly exciting.”

The Denali team has been tight over the years, and McKinley can already name the 8 crew to accompany him on the race: Norm Berge, Nick Diephouse, Nick Ford, Pat Gardner, Geoff Paine, Jim Offer, Dan Thompson and Randy Singelyn as Navigator.

The goals for this Midwest team are simple: “Champagne downwind sailing with a group of close friends.”

Boat Type: Andrews 77 Owner: John Clement Home Country: USA

Based in Newport Beach but representing two clubs – Newport Harbor and Balboa YC’s – the Compadres team has a leadership, crew and boat that runs deep in Transpac talent to be a competitive force to be reckoned with in 2021.

Their Andrews 77 now named Compadres was built in 2003 as Alchemy , became Ocean in a tour of the Great Lakes, then was transported back to California and re-assembled at SD Boatworks in 2019 where the members of Cal Maritime’s offshore team learned to handle her power both in the qualifying races and passages and the 50 th edition of the Transpac itself, where they earned a respectable 3 rd place in Division 1.

The Compadres team will be led by skipper Tyler Wolk. They have an ambitious slate of races ahead that includes the Cabo Race, Santa Barbara to San Diego Race, Long Point Race, Islands Race, 14 Mile Bank Race, Hot Rum Series, Around Catalina Race, Sunkist Series, and Ensenada Race.

Preparations for Compadres are extensive with a complete modernization plan underway: all new electronics, instruments, software and programming, enhanced sail inventory, renewed standing & running rigging, faired and refinished bottom, keel & rudder, and new rudder bearings. The engine is rebuilt with a new control panel, all new hydraulic lines, the deck is renewed with new non-skid, there is a new water ballast system, all new safety gear & life rafts, new watermaker & refrigerator, new lifelines and a pass-thru pulpit, and rebuilt winches & clutches.

The initial roster for the Compadres team is as follows: Don Yahn, John Clement, David Dahl, Michael Dahl, Sean Dahl, Brett Scott, Bart Scott, Anton Visser, Doug Welsh, and Travis Winsor… a total crew of 14 is being planned for the race.

Saying that they’re doing the race because of “too many conversations in the NHYC Pirates Den,” their goal is to have a race that will be Safe – Fast – and Fun

Boat Type: DK46 Owner: David Gates Home Country: USA

Boat type: pac 52 owner: kate and jim murray home country: usa follow:.

Kate and Jim Murray purchased the Pac 52 Invisible Hand in 2019 with the intent of racing in the Great Lakes for the 2020 season from their base in Chicago, and with the Chicago-Mac Race cancelled they nonetheless raced to the island from the east side in the Bayview Mac Race.

Transpac fans will remember Invisible Hand as the overall winner in the 2017 edition of the race, and there have been no modifications to the boat since, so she should be a strong contender.

After the abbreviated 2020 racing season but some local team training in the Lakes, the Callisto team plans to head West in the Fall for the Newport to Cabo Race and then California Race Week in 2021.

This will be the first Transpac Race for the Murray’s, and when asked what inspired him to do the race, Jim said “This is the race this boat was meant to sail.”

Callisto plans to race with 12 aboard, including Jason Andrews as Navigator, and Shawn Dougherty – these two were the overall winners in 2019’s Transpac 50 on board their J/125 Hamachi .

Jim says their goal for the 2021 Transpac is to have “a safe and enjoyable ride to Oahu!”

Boat Type: Rogers 46 Owner: Bob Pethick Home Country: USA

After many years of racing in the Great Lakes, Bob Pethick headed west and competed in this first Transpac Race in 2013 on his 2007-launched Rogers 46 Bretwalda 3 . That year he corrected to a second place finish in his division, while in his next race in 2015 his finish was fifth, and in last year’s Transpac 50 he finished third, although he had the lowest elapsed time in the class and scored third in overall results as well.

“I love the Transpac Race,” said Pethick, “I plan to continue sailing the race as long as I can!” And given his track record of close finishes, Pethick also added “It would be nice to win one” as a stated goal for the team.

There are no modifications planned for Bretwalda 3 , and the veteran team plans to do the Cabo San Lucas Race held in March 2021 in preparation.

The current roster on the Bretwalda 3 team includes a crew loyal to this boat and this race: Gary Warner, Wally Cross, Paul Kerber and Jay Davis have all sailed at least two of the last three Transpac Races with Pethick. A total crew of 8 is planned.

Boat Type: Nelson Marek 68 Owner: Craig L. Reynolds Home Country: USA Follow:

Boat type: botin 56 owner: tom holthus home country: usa follow:.

Tom Holthus is a Transpac stalwart, having entered in every race since 2009 on various boats called Bad Pak . That year he won Division 4 on his J/145, a feat he repeated in 2011 with another division victory. In the next 2013 and 2015 races victory eluded he and his team on his much larger and more complex STP 65 of the same name, so in 2017 and 2019 he competed on a new Pac 52, finishing as runner-up to Invisible Hand in both Division and overall standings in 2017, and winning Division 1 in the 50 th edition Transpac in 2019.

This year he is returning with yet another Bad Pak , this time a Botin 56, in search of another Division 1 win despite the boat being new to he and his team of eight – he says they have only completed their minimum required 150-mile passage in preparation for this race due to the time spent to make modifications necessary for offshore racing.

“This boat was built for inshore racing so several modifications have been made since April,” said Holthus. “The hydraulic power winches were converted from the engine to a lithium ion-driven power source - who wants the engine on all the time sailing across the Pacific? Reefing points were added to the mast and boom, along with pipe berths, and a galley and water maker were added to the interior, along with a full communications systems.”

Handling those systems will be electronics expert Artie Means as Navigator, and several other highly experienced veterans of Transpac and numerous other offshore races: Matt Smith, Bruce Nelson, Bill Hardesty, Cody Schlub, Jon Gardner, Jon Ziskind and Kelly Holthus for a total of eight on board.

Asked why he decided to enter in this edition, Holtus’s answer was simple: “To experience the best finish on the planet.”

And asked about the team’s goals for this race, he said “We were victorious among the Saturday starters in 2019, and with much of the same team back in 2021 of course we would like to repeat this win. But we also understand repeating [victories] in any sport is extremely difficult and requires flawless performance by the team and lots of luck going its way.”

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Youth Sailing

Pyewacket recorded an average wind speed of 9+ knots, very light even for Mexico. “It wasn’t exhilarating, but it was great for sleeping,” commented Scott.

In the slow going, Scott worried about a personal deadline. He needed to be back in the San Francisco Bay Area in time to skipper his Sabre Spirit 36 Serenade to an overall trophy win in Golden Gate Yacht Club’s Seaweed Soup midwinter series on Saturday, March 2. He stayed in touch with his crew via Starlink, making contingency plans. Thanks to a good breeze later on in the race, Pyewacket finished on Thursday. Scott flew home on Friday, and Serenade won the Seaweed Soup trophy on Saturday.

Pyewacket dueled with Vitesse, Thomas Furlong’s San Francisco YC-based RP 52. Pyewacket won the duel by cutting inside at Cabo, a maneuver that shaved 20 miles off the course.

Pyewacket’s 10-man crew had more than 150 Mexico races among them, and included Olympic medalists, America’s Cup winners and Volvo Race winners. Joining Roy Disney and Scott Easom were Brazil’s legendary Torben Grael, whom Scott called a great driver; navigator and meteorologist Peter Isler; Tony Mutter, Kiwi sailing master of the Rolex Sydney Hobart line honors-winning Juan K 100 LawConnect; Brad Jackson, who also sailed aboard LawConnect; Robbie Kane; Ben Mitchell; Daryl Wislang; and Gary Weisman. Scott called them “an amazing group of offshore sailors.”

We asked Scott about Disney’s other Pyewacket, the Volvo 70. That boat is on her way from Gibraltar to Florida. After some repair work, she’ll prep for the Bermuda Race.

With his singlehanded win in January’s Three Bridge Fiasco on his J/100 Eight Ball, the Islands Race win and PV Race win on Pyewacket, and GGYC’s overall trophy, Scott Easom has been on a roll in 2024!

We’ll have more on SDYC’s PV Race and GGYC’s Seaweed Soup series in the April issue of Latitude 38 .

GO Scott !!!!!