Please select your home edition
Edition
A+T Instruments BFD 2024 Leaderboard

Transpacific Yacht Race - The perfect ride?

by Kimball Livingston on 19 May 2011
Pegasus - Transpacific Yacht Race SW
*Transpacific Yacht Race 2011.

What would a perfect Transpac ride? Well, that would depend on what you're doing, this time. Philippe Kahn was quite pleased back in 2009 when he and Mark Christiansen set a new double-handed record in the Open 50 named Pegasus but, for 2011 the maestro of mobile software will be going retro.


After seven months in the shed at Dencho Marine, Kahn's Andrews 70 has been 'de-turboed' as he says: 'We cut 12 feet off the mast, shortened the fin and went to a smaller bulb with a few thousand pounds of lead in the bilge. We also took out the bow sprit, and the new, shorter pole gybes easily inside the forestay. Combine that with a simplified deck, and three to five of us can handle her at full potential in 35 knots of wind. A perfect Transpac ride!'

Pegasus 70 is now close to the configuration of a stock Santa Cruz 70, Kahn says. 'We plan to sail her surfing to Honolulu like a Moore 24 as opposed to sailing across the waves, reaching, like a Melges 24. I surf, and I love surfing, and what we want is to have fair racing with the other 70s using the Transpac ORR rating. We hope to get more people wanting to do this and have some great Pacific Ocean sailing.' Gee, it seems only yesterday that the cool thing was to go 'turbo.'

The upper end of the fleet for the 2011 race has seven 70-footers entered, two 68-footers and, of course, good ole Ragtime. The fleet has two starts, July 4 and July 8, and no one is more qualified to decide how he wants to do it 'this time' than Philippe Kahn. He has sailed 12 races to Hawaii, three of them double-handed.

The new record he set in 2009 with Christiansen stands at seven days, 19 hours, which got them to the Diamond Head Buoy ahead of all the 70s, turboed or un, and lopped two days off the double-handed record.

He was already a more accomplished sailor-competitor than most, years ago, when he declared to your reporter, 'I have to learn how to sail before I die.'

Transpacific Yacht Race: Website

* The first start fo the Transpac Race to Honolulu is scheduled for Monday July 4th at 1300 and the second for Friday July 8th at 1300.
V-DRY-XDoyle_SailWorld_728X90px_SY BOTTOMRS Sailing 2021 - FOOTER

Related Articles

Melges 24 Worlds 2025 at Trieste, Italy overall
Nefeli (Overall) and Zhik Race Team (Corinthian) are crowned champions After four days of uncertain weather, resulting in only three races, the 2025 Melges 24 World Championship delivered its verdict on the final day.
Posted today at 10:29 am
J/70 Corinthian Worlds at Massachusetts overall
Alec Cutler's Hedgehog takes the title With only one point separating the leaders on the final day of the J/70 Corinthian World Championship in Marblehead, Massachusetts USA, Edward Gary's Ayacucho (USA) and Alec Cutler's Hedgehog (BER) were set for the final face-off.
Posted today at 5:37 am
47th Régates Royales de Cannes overall
An exceptional edition Generally, the last week of September in Cannes is favourable to sailing, and previous editions have proven it... but this year, the weather was just exceptional, with winds between 5 and 25 knots or more.
Posted today at 5:30 am
Bulwarks and Bulldust – Show 1 Season 3
Shane Guanaria from Doyle Sails and Zen Racing talks Admiral's Cup, Hobart, Hammo and a heap more... Episode One - Straight from the Admiral's Cup and Hamilton Island Race Week, Shane Guanaria from Doyle Sails and Zen Racing talks about those events, the impending 80th Hobart, and pathways into sailing. Lots to learn, so strap in for a terrific time.
Posted on 27 Sep
2025 Formula Wing Worlds Sardinia day 4
"A rollercoaster day" was how Kamil Manowiecki described it "A rollercoaster day" was how Kamil Manowiecki described day four of the Formula Wing World Championships in Cagliari. After six chaotic races, few of the 93 competitors would disagree with the Polish rider.
Posted on 27 Sep
Switch UK Championship at the WPNSA Day 2
Unique scoring format in week of disquiet from world's top Olympic sailors about scoring systems In a week that has seen considerable disquiet from the world's top Olympic sailors about scoring systems that could be used at the Los Angeles 2028 Games, it's interesting to see this fast-growing foiling class also try something new.
Posted on 27 Sep
52 Super Series 2025 Porto Cervo overall
Concluding an 18 year journey, American Magic Quantum Racing sign off at the top with a 7th title Doug DeVos and the American Magic Quantum Racing team lifted their seventh season championship title today in Sardinia, Italy at the conclusion of the 52 SUPER SERIES Porto Cervo Range Rover Sailing Week.
Posted on 27 Sep
2025 Six Metre World Championship Overall
Bribon and Momo II are crowned champions at Seawanhaka Corinthian YC Three races for both divisions on the penultimate day of the 2025 Six Metre World Championships at the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, produced some great competition and a new race winner.
Posted on 27 Sep
29er Class open for championship bids
Inviting venues to submit proposals for the events The 29er Class Association is delighted to announce that bids are now open to host our upcoming major championships.
Posted on 27 Sep
46th Cannes Royal Regatta day 5
The 'Ponant' breeze brings 15-20 knots with a short and choppy sea At lunchtime, the Cannes "fan" got under way, and the race committees were able to launch starts in a southerly to south-westerly breeze climbing very quickly to 15-20 knots or even more offshore.
Posted on 27 Sep