First wave of boats sets sail on 2,225 mile journey to Hawaii in biennial Transpac yacht race

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Over a dozen boats and their crews are currently racing from Los Angeles to Hawaii in the first wave of the biennial Transpac Yacht Race.

The first wave left Los Angeles Tuesday afternoon and will be racing to the finish line at the Diamond Head lookout this year.

However, as of Wednesday, two of the 16 boats dropped out of the race and were on their way back to Los Angeles. One of the two boats — Insoumise — is from Hawaii.

The Hawaii boat retired from the race due to rudder issues. Everyone on board is safe and returning to port in Los Angeles.

A total of 58 teams will compete in the race this year, with the two other waves of boats destined to set sail on June 29 and July 1, respectively.

The race is estimated to take between five to 10 days for crews to complete, with a distance of 2,225 miles.

Many yachts and offshore sailing racers from all over the world — including Australia, Canada, Italy and the U.S. — are competing in the race this year.

Out of the 58 teams racing the 2023 Transpac, four crews are from Hawaii — the most in more than a decade.

First created and organized in 1906 by the Transpacific Yacht Club, the Transpacific Yacht Race, more formerly known as Transpac, is an offshore sailing race, where crews will travel from Point Fermin in Los Angeles to Diamond Head in Honolulu — an epic journey. This year’s Transpac is the 52nd one.

Along with other teams racing this year, some crews are entering the world of Transpac for the very first time.

Traveling all the way from Australia, this will be Ian Edwards and his crew’s first time racing the Transpac. They began their journey yesterday as part of the race’s first wave.

“We normally race with 10 or even a 12 crew, but we will race with only eight on this race,” Edwards said.

Their boat, Wings, is no stranger to ocean racing and the crew says that they are intrigued by the unique aspect of Transpac’s course and conditions.

Other boats, however, are already veterans to the race.

Ed Sanford and his crew hail from San Diego and will be racing their boat, Creative. This will be Sanford’s fourth Transpac race, having competed in 2013, 2015 and 2017.

He looks forward to the race this year and him and his crew have been proactive in preparing and planning for the 2,225 mile trek to Hawaii.

“By taking the time to go through all the setup, equipment and systems, we have a much better understanding on how to troubleshoot if needed,” Sanford said.

As the first wave of boats continues on their journey with two more set to follow in the upcoming days, their race progress can be tracked here.

To learn more information about Transpac and their teams participating this year, click here.