DeLaura’s Santa Cruz 70 Wins, Fails in Bid to Break Trans-Pacific Record

The 35th biennial trans-Pacific race from Los Angeles to Honolulu was fast, but not fast enough for a new record in the 2,225-mile crossing.

John DeLaura’s Santa Cruz 70 sled glided past the finish line off Diamond Head for an elapsed time of 8 days, 12 hours, 50 minutes and 45 seconds, an hour and 49 minutes short of the record of 8 days, 11 hours and 1 minute.

There were some close finishes among the big Class A yachts. Pat Farrah’s SC-70 Blondie of the Long Beach Yacht Club finished 17 minutes behind Silver Bullet; Mitchell Rouse’s Reichel-Pugh-70 Taxi Dancer, also of Long Beach, crossed the line seven minutes later; and Paul Simonsen’s SC-70 Mongoose was 13 minutes behind Taxi Dancer.

Silver Bullet failed to save her handicap time for first in Class A, owing Taxi Dancer more than 25 minutes time allowance.