Lucky, Transpac’s first to cross the finish line, claims Barn Door Trophy

Lucky, an 88-foot Juan K (27m) Judel-Vrolijk yacht, crossed the finish line Friday morning at approximately 7:23 a.m. under a mixture of clouds and sunshine, welcoming the racers to be the very first across the finish line at Diamond Head Lighthouse.

They left in the third wave of starters off Pt. Fermin in Long Beach this past Saturday at 1 p.m. and arrived here in 5 days, 21 hours, 23 minutes and 49 seconds to receive the highly coveted Barn Door Trophy with the shortest elapsed time in this race.

Although this is not the overall winner in Transpac, those boats in contention, including the Disney boat, Pyewacket, are still racing and due possibly Sunday afternoon.

Lucky is owned and skippered by Byron Ehrhart, and carries legendary navigator Stan Honey, an 11-time Transpac race winner. Also onboard were notable crew members such as Jonathan Rankine, Joca Signorini, Brad Butterworth and Dean Phipps.

Following her first-place finish at Diamond Head, Lucky moored at Aloha Tower, as her keel was too deep for the Ala Wai Harbor at Transpac Row. The remaining 48 competitors are still racing across the Pacific, all vying for the King Kalākaua Trophy, various division honors and the distinction of overall Transpac winner.

There are two Hawai‘i boats and one Hawai‘i-related boat set to finish in the next few days. Leading the pack of Hawai‘i-connected entries are Insoumise (Hawai‘i Yacht Club) of Division 8, Halawa (Waikīkī Yacht Club) of Division 5, and TS Cal Maritime – Oaxaca of Division 5, which carries deep ties to Hawai‘i through its Native Hawaiian crew members.

TS Cal Maritime – Oaxaca, a Santa Cruz 50 and the race’s only collegiate entry, has a nine-person crew and is skippered by local sailor Maxwell Roth, with fellow Native Hawaiian and Cal Maritime alum Django Knafo-Tomlinson among the team. For them, this race is both a challenge and a return home.

Insoumise, a Hawai‘i-based Dufour 50 from the Hawai‘i Yacht Club, is an eight-person crew, led by veteran skipper Frederic Berg. He claimed first in the 2019 Cal 40 division aboard Calisto and helped mentor Cal Maritime’s Transpac team in 2023. Now, Berg returns to the race as a skipper, sailing for home.

Halawa, a Hawai‘i-based Andrews 56 from the Waikīkī Yacht Club, is skippered by Kimo Winterbottom and features an 11-person crew. The boat carries the spirit of Kimo’s late father, Gary “Skip” Winterbottom, a beloved figure in the sailing world whose legacy lives on as Halawa makes its own journey across the Pacific.

There are several prestigious trophies awarded in the Transpac race. The Barn Door Trophy is a striking four-foot slab of carved Hawaiian koa wood, presented to the monohull that completes the course in the fastest elapsed time. This trophy displays plaques honoring many legendary ocean racing yachts. The Merlin Trophy is awarded to the first monohull to finish without moveable ballast or other high-performance features. And the Rudy Choy Perpetual Trophy is presented to the fastest multihull to complete the course.

News and updates for the Transpacific Yacht Race can be found at www.transpacyc.com, or on its Facebook page and Instagram. The race also utilizes the Pasha YB Tracker, available here, to monitor boats in real time, allowing families and fans to follow the competition live.