2015 Transpac - OEX Racing Team seeks redemption

by Cameron Andrews on 12 Jul 2015 Transpac 2015 can be called “Redemption” for OEX Co-Skipper John Sangmeister, who was just two hours shy of setting a world record time for crossing the Pacific Ocean during Transpac 2013 while covering more than 2,225 nautical miles - 2,560 miles or 4,121 kilometers - thwarted only by leftover debris from the 2011 Japanese tsunami.

This year, using the Pacific Handicap Racing Fleet rating, Sangmeister will attempt an overall win in the Pacific Ocean crossing with a SC 70 yacht, a different boat but with the same objective that will depart from Point Fermin, Calif., to Honolulu on Saturday, July 18 at 1 p.m.

Transpac’s first race was in 1906 and took 12 days to complete and has since become one of the premier international sailing events. Transpac 2015 will field more than 61 boats launching over a three-day period on July 13, 16 and 18.

With the sail number “USA 88,” the OEX named yacht has a crew of 11 including John Sangmeister, co-skipper, Pete Hambrick, co-skipper, Dave Hood, co-skipper, Shawn Bennett, watch captain, Randy Smith, watch captain, Jeff Thorpe, navigator, Greg Weeger, spinnaker trimmer, Erik Berzins, bow, Jon Andron, runners, along with Jib Kelly and Jim MacLeod.

“This is one of the greatest offshore sailing competitions in the world and it's a privilege to race in it,” says John Sangmeister, yacht co-owner and co-skipper, and president and CEO of Gladstone’s Long Beach. “To come so close to setting a new world record in 2013 was a dream that was hampered only by nightmare conditions created by the Japanese tsunami debris. Erik Berzins was also on our sailing team that year and together we are seeking redemption.”

Sangmeister became an America’s Cup winner in 1987 while sailing with Dennis Connor’s Stars and Stripes 87 team in Australia.

OEX will sail a Santa Cruz 70 yacht that was designed by Bill Lee, built in 1987 and chartered for Transpac 2015. OEX is branded with Gladstone’s Long Beach sails and features a white hull and white and blue spin.

OEX is honored to represent and partner with the Switlik Parachute Company, Garmin, KVH satellite communications, Aere Docking Solutions, Pieology and Gladstone’s Long Beach.

On OEX’s return to the mainland, the crew will participate in the largest ocean research expedition to take place in the North Pacific. The OEX will join 34 other vessels that will make 50 transects between Hawaii and California to gather data for clean up in the upcoming Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 2020. The Ocean Cleanup organization will lead the study that will begin with the preliminary launch of the world’s first ocean clean up system to be deployed in Japanese waters in 2016. The study will determine the impact on the ocean from natural catastrophes such as the 2011 Japanese tsunami and man-made pollution effects.

“After experiencing unimaginable amounts of Japanese tsunami debris and other garbage during Transpac 2013, we are committed to rescuing the ocean and preserving this precious resource for our kids and future generations of sailors,” added Sangmeister.

The Transpac 2015 sailing race is open to monohulls and multihulls and starts at Point Fermin in San Pedro, Calif., near Los Angeles and finishes at Diamond Head Lighthouse in Oahu, Hawaii, east of Honolulu. The first start is on Monday, July 13 with subsequent starts planned for Thursday, July 16 and Saturday, July 18. The staggered starts help compress the finish times for a fleet that will have widely different speeds over the 2,225 nautical mile course.