Silver Bullet Leads Fleet of 49 Yachts in an Orderly Start of Transpac Race

A light, southwesterly breeze greeted the 49 sailing yachts that showed up for the start of the 35th Transpac race from Los Angeles to Honolulu Friday.

It was an orderly start, with John DeLaura’s Santa Cruz-70, Silver Bullet, leading the ultra-light 70-raters across the line as the fleet headed toward the west end of Catalina Island, first and only mark of the 2,225-mile course to Diamond Head on the island of Oahu.

The Santa Cruz-70, Citius, out of Los Angeles Yacht Club, withdrew before the race because of rigging problems, leaving 19 of the so-called ‘sleds’ seeking to better the elapsed-time record of 8 days 11 hours set by Merlin in 1983. Merlin is also entered in this year’s race.

Attempting to repeat her 1987 win is SC-70 Drumbeat, skippered by Don Ayres Jr. of Newport Beach. Drumbeat was two hours short of the record in ’87.

After rounding Catalina Island, skippers and crews will be watching their weather maps for the location of the Pacific High, a windless area that shifts around the ocean and could stall the boats for days. The yachts were not expected to pick up the northeast tradewinds before Tuesday, allowing them to set their big downwind spinnakers.