The measurement data is in and ratings calculated for most entries in the 48th biennial Transpac, and so Division splits have been made and the start dates determined for the 61 boats in this 2015 fleet. All starts will be held about one mile south of Point Fermin in Los Angeles, and are in reverse order of predicted speed on the 2225-mile course to the finish line off Diamond Head in Honolulu.
On Monday, July 13th will be the most populated start of the race, with the ten boats in Division 7 and twelve boats in Division 8 starting their race to paradise. Of the entries in Division 8, all but two meet the criteria for Aloha Division scoring of boats that are heavy, traditional, cruising-type yachts. In the 2013 race, the overall corrected time winner came from this class.
Next in the starting blocks will be the six entries of Division 4, the nine Fabulous Fifties in Division 5, and the four entries in Division 6 lining up together on Thursday, July 16th.
And on Saturday, July 18th will be the fastest boats in the fleet: four multihulls in Division 0, the three 100-foot monohulls in Division 1, seven fast monohulls of mixed sizes in Division 2, and six ex-ULDB Sled Class designs from the 1980's and '90's in Division 3.
If conditions are right, it is among this group of starters that new records may emerge in this year's race.
A scratch sheet of rating and time allowance information will be available soon, pending some final measurements being made in the coming week among a few entries and the final deadline for sail data on June 26th. These time allowances are determined for each entry using the ORR rating system which uses the measurement data to predict the performance potential of the boats on the Transpac course.
For the first time, Transpac ratings will be expressed in the Time-on-Time rather than the Time-on-Distance format. This change should produce closer, more realistic results for the race.
Use of a scientific rating system like ORR allows boats of different types to race fairly against each other, leaving sailing skill and weather as the variables determining success. In this way an overall winner can be determined despite having different start dates.
The entry that races to Hawaii the fastest relative to their rated potential will win the race in corrected time and win the King Kalakaua Trophy, named for the Hawaiian royal founder of the race and one of numerous coveted trophies that will be awarded after the race.
A complete list of entries and division assignments can be found here.
– Transpac Media
