From Sextants to Starlink

Pictured are Transpac competitors racing toward Hawaii. The race began on July 1. Photo by Cris Miller

Transpac 2025 Showcases a Century of Change at Sea

By Cris Miller, Guest Columnist

The 53rd Transpacific Yacht Race began July 1, but the race today is far different from the one sailors faced in 1906. Fifty-three sailboats will set sail from San Pedro to Hawaii, and none will navigate by currents or the stars. Sailing enthusiasts in Los Angeles Harbor can view the race from Point Fermin Park. Just look for the buoys south of Catalina Island. Over the next five to 20 days, the armada of racers will be en route to the finish line at Diamond Head near world-famous Waikiki.

Returning champion Greg Clark, owner of the boat Westerly, noted he hasn’t seen anyone navigate by the stars since he was a teenager. And he’s in his 60s.

Technological advancements like Starlink and flexible solar panels are changing the race. Starlink provides internet access, but without solar, it can drain batteries, forcing reliance on limited fuel to recharge. Motor propulsion is not allowed in Transpac, so this presents a challenge.

The race has three legs: navigating around the islands, gaining speed in the middle, and precise navigation in the final stretch. Sailors work four-hour shifts, rarely getting a full eight hours of sleep. There are different approaches to when a fresh sailor takes the wheel. Meal plans are streamlined, and hydration and sunscreen are essential.

Clark, revered as a pit/foredeck specialist on high-performance boats like Santa Cruz 52s and Rogers 46s, described the first two legs: “Once you get two or three days out, it’s pretty much the same all the time.”

That changes with the third leg, which demands precision.

“The third leg is where you’re really trying to hit your mark,” he said. “In the first two legs, you can make decisions that help you go faster and cover ground, but in the final leg, you really have to focus on hitting your mark.”

The race has evolved in other ways over the past century. The boats are of various sizes, so they are launched on three different days. Boats are rated to compare small to large, slow to fast. The latest sensation in boat racing is “foiling,” where a boat lifts out of the water to reduce friction and can reach speeds around 80 mph.

San Pedro recently hosted the SailGP Nationals in Hurricane Gulch, a race dedicated to just foiling boats. These boats aren’t included in this year’s Transpac, but their future inclusion seems inevitable. Would hydroplanes be allowed next? For now, boats that foil or hydroplane are excluded.

Comparing foiling and non-foiling boats complicates the rating system. When one boat reaches 80 mph and others max out at 9 to 22 mph, it’s difficult to fairly compare performance over 2,225 miles. While foilers will likely be included in the future, there is concern that they might dominate the Kalakaua Cup, awarded based on adjusted times.

This complexity underscores what makes a great racer: someone who can quickly interpret ever-changing wind and ocean conditions. The same boat can perform very differently with different crews. The team, not just the boat, makes the difference.

The race’s traditional mainland start brings business to San Pedro’s economy. International and domestic vessel owners rely on local services like Cabrillo Boat Shop, Kelley Marine and True Value for repairs and prep.

Chris Messano, who finished on the podium in 2023 with the Santa Cruz 52 Deception, told Random Lengths News: “Preventive maintenance costs a lot less than waiting until things don’t work. At that point, it costs three times as much.”

This applies to boats coming from abroad or docked locally. At the finish line in Hawaii, the race used to end with little fanfare. Now, with the Transpac Yacht Club hosting, both the island and the mainland coordinate around arrivals and departures, boosting their respective economies.

The advent of Starlink and lightweight lithium-ion batteries has democratized internet access during the race. Since fuel cannot be used for propulsion, vessel owners push solar tech to its limits. Flexible solar panels, which provide comparable power output at a fraction of the weight of glass panels, are becoming essential.

Flexible solar systems often come with individual charge controllers, making them easier to troubleshoot. They may soon be as inevitable as foiling boats. Starlink can drain batteries quickly, and running the motor to recharge uses valuable fuel. Many boats now rely on solar to keep their tech online.

Meal plans are efficient: some boats prep meals like breakfast burritos ahead of time, freeze them, and reheat with boiling water. Dehydrated food is convenient but less appealing for long races. Rule one is hydration; rule two is sunscreen. Everyone does better when they follow both.

In the last three races, we’ve seen Starlink introduced, celestial navigation phased out, and the growing need for flexible solar. These tools allow navigators to receive instant information and make real-time decisions, subtly reshaping the experience.

Still, a sailor must be willing to venture into the vast ocean with a crew committed not just to finishing, but to finishing faster and more efficiently than anyone else.

Why race Transpac? Clark summed it up: “I like the challenge and the competitive nature. Transpac is the most competitive race on the West Coast.”