Double Handed: Pegasus 50, 2009, sailed by Philippe Kahn and Mark Christensen, set a new record of 7 days, 19 hours, 38 minutes and 35 seconds.
In 1969, French sailing legend Eric Tabarly shadowed the race with his Pen Duick IV, one of the world's first trimarans competitive in all wind conditions. He originally intended to enter the race but was unaware that multihulls were not invited. Having started with all other participants, Tabarly and his crew set an unofficial record of 8 days and 13 hours, almost a day ahead of official winner and record-setter Blackfin. In 2013, the fully crewed monohull, Dorade, won first overall, making it the oldest boat in the fleet to win and a 2-time winner, having won the Transpac in 1936, 77 years prior. The 2019 edition of the race, its fiftieth, saw the sinking of a yacht for the first time in its history, when the 68 foot mono-hulled sailboat Santa Cruz 70 OEX suffered rudder damage and an uncontrollable water intrusion. The crew was rescued by another racing boat. This edition also saw the greatest number of skippers dropping out of the race.
Record history
Ragtime finished first in 1973 and again in 1975. In 1977, the yacht Merlin, designed by Bill Lee, set an elapsed time record of 8 days, 11 hours, 1 minute. This record would stand for 20 years. Ending Merlin's record, in the 1997 race 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 Santa Cruz 70 ultralight also designed by Bill Lee. The record fell once again in 2005, with Hasso Plattner's Morning Glory, a maxZ86 from Germany. Morning Glory was the scratch boat when it led a five-boat assault on the record for monohulls. She finished the race in 6 days, 16 hours, 4 minutes, and 11 seconds to win "the Barn Door" trophy, a slab of carved koa wood traditionally awarded to the monohull with the fastest elapsed time. In 1995, multihulls were invited to participate for the first time, but not eligible for the Barn Door trophy. Steve Fosset set a new race record in 1995 on his 60' trimaranLakota, of 6 days 16 hours 7 minutes 16 seconds. Two years later in 1997, this record was broken by the 86' catamaran Explorer with a time of 5 days 9 hours 18 minutes 26 seconds. 2017 saw Howard Enloe and his boat the Mighty Merloe smash the record by over 25 hours making the trip in just over 4 days. On July 7, 2009, Alfa Romeo II beat the Morning Glory record for best day's run set in the 2005 race, by sailing in 24 hours. The next two days she broke her own best-day record by sailing and. First to finish the 2009 Transpac, Alfa Romeo II set a Transpac race elapsed-time record of 5 days, 14 hours, 36 minutes, 20 seconds. This represents a new race record for monohulls; the multihull record of 5 days, 9 hours, 18 minutes, set by Bruno Peyron in the 1997 race, remains. However, because she must use "stored power" to move, Alfa Romeo II, sailing in the "unlimited" class, was not eligible for the traditional "Barn Door" trophy, but instead was the inaugural winner of a new trophy dedicated by Trisha Steele, called the "Merlin Trophy". In the double-handed division, Pegasus 50, sailed by Philippe Kahn and Mark Christensen, set a new record of 7 days, 19 hours, 38 minutes and 35 seconds. They pioneered use of an iPhone, with Fullpower-MotionX GPS technology.
Transpac Honolulu Race Elapsed Time Record Trophy
The Transpac Honolulu Race Elapsed Time Record Trophy is awarded to the Record Holder for the fastest elapsed time by a monohull yacht in the race. The list of Los Angeles to Honolulu Record Holders is:
The Barn Door Trophy is awarded each race for the Fastest Monohull Elapsed Time in the race. It was originally called the "First to Finish" Trophy. Since 2009, it has been restricted to manual power only sailing yachts. Barn Door Winners Year Boat Owner/Skipper Time
