Third and final trophy ceremony recognizes overall winners, special awards & more
The 2025 Transpacific Yacht Race celebrated its Final Awards Ceremony and Closing Party on Saturday, July 19, at the Kaneohe Yacht Club, in Kaneohe, Hawaii. The last of three gatherings honoring the skippers, crews and navigators who contested the 53rd edition of this storied ocean race, it was an opportunity for sailors and their families and friends to revel in the achievement of racing across the Pacific Ocean. Two previous ceremonies were held: one at Waikiki Yacht Club on Tuesday, July 15, and one at Hawaii Yacht Club on Thursday, July 17.
Awards for top division finishers, best overall elapsed and corrected, and other performances of distinction were announced, and a video recapping the race was shared.
While the Transpac has many trophies honoring corrected-time performances, it also celebrates pure speed. This year, the race’s famous Barn Door Trophy for the fastest elapsed-time performance by an unlimited monohull (read: movable ballast and powered winches allowed), was awarded to skipper Bryon Ehrhart and crew racing his 88-foot Juan Kouyoumdjian-designed maxi Lucky, who completed the course in 6 days, 6 hours, 23 minutes and 50 seconds. The Merlin Trophy for the fastest elapsed time for a conventional monohull (read: fixed ballast and manual winches), was awarded to John Raymont and his crew aboard the Ker 52 Fast Exit II, with a time of 7 days, 15 hours, 39 minutes and 39 seconds.
The race’s top handicap prize—the King Kalakaua Trophy—honors the team that posts the overall fastest corrected time using the Offshore Racing Rule. Skipper Alli Bell and the crew of her Cal 40 Restless did it with a corrected-time performance of 8 days, 12 hours, 5 minutes and 49 seconds. Bell is the first woman skipper in the race’s 119-year history to win the top handicap trophy.
The Skip Warren Memorial for the second-fastest overall corrected time was awarded to Jack Jennings and crew aboard the Reichel/Pugh 68 Pied Piper. Raymont and Fast Exit II crew won the Tureen Trophy for the third-fastest corrected time.
The Clark Sweet Trophy, which honors the first overall corrected-time finisher on the earliest start day without an overall race winner, went to Andrew Picel and crew aboard J/125 Arsenal, a July 3 starter. The Morgan Adams Memorial Trophy, for the first overall corrected time finisher on the next start day without the overall winner, was awarded to Jennings and Pied Piper, a July 5 starter.
The 53 boats racing in 2025 were divided into nine monohull divisions and one multihull division.
BOATSWAIN’S LOCKER/YANMAR DIVISION 1
Skipper Tom Holthus and the Botin 56 BadPak were awarded the Harry Uhler Memorial Trophy in the Boatswain’s Locker/Yanmar Division 1, while Ehrhart’s Lucky collected the Transpacific Yacht Club’s Wine Cooler Trophy for the division’s second-fastest handicap time. Daniel Sinclair and his Canadian-flagged Andrews 77 Mach II won a Transpacific Yacht Club Cup for posting the third-fastest corrected time.
MOUNT GAY DIVISION 2
Raymont and his Fast Exit II crew also earned the Clarence McFarlane Trophy for the fastest corrected time in the Mount Gay Division 2. Skipper and owner Thomas Furlong and crew of the Reichel/Pugh 52 Vitesse won a Transpacific Yacht Club Cup for recording the second-fastest handicap time in the division, while Thomas Akin and his TP52 Meanie crew also earned a Transpacific Yacht Club Cup for third place in this division.
WHITTIER TRUST DIVISION 3
The Albert Soiland Trophy was awarded to Jennings and his Pied Piper crew for winning top handicap honors in their Whittier Trust Division 3. Roy Disney and crew of his Andrews 70 Pyewacket won a Transpacific Yacht Club Cup for their second-place results in this division, while David Clark and his crew aboard the Santa Cruz 70 Grand Illusion were also presented with a Transpacific Yacht Club Cup for third-place results.
CAL MARITIME DIVISION 4
Owner Steven Ernest and crew on his J/145 Aimant de Fille won the Los Angeles Yacht Club Cup for their performance as the top handicap finisher in the Cal Maritime Division 4; owner Rich Festa and his Groundhog Day crew, sailing his Rogers 46, were awarded a Transpacific Yacht Club Cup for their second-place showing, while co-skippers Greg Newman, Danny Thompson and Tom Purcell, racing aboard the Andrews 50 It’s OK, earned the Makapu’u Point Trophy for their third-place corrected time finish in the division.
CABRILLO BOAT SHOP DIVISION 5
Westerly, Dave Moore’s Santa Cruz 52, won a Transpacific Yacht Club Cup for a winning performance in Cabrillo Boat Shop Division 5. They were followed on the awards-ceremony stage by Kimo Winterbottom and crew aboard the Andrews 56 Halawa, winning a Transpacific Yacht Club Cup for their second-place finish in this division. Steve Sellinger and his crew aboard the Santa Cruz 52 Triumph also earned a Transpacific Yacht Club Cup for their third-place division results.
GARMIN DIVISION 6
The City of Long Beach Trophy was awarded to Picel and his crew aboard Arsenal for posting the fastest corrected-time result in the Garmin Division 6, while the Harry G. Steele Memorial was presented to James Nichols and his crew aboard the J/125 Velvet Hammer, for second place honors in this division. Thomas Garnier and the Reinrag2 crew, racing Garnier’s J/125, collected a Transpacific Yacht Club Cup for third.
SUNTEX DIVISION 7
Co-skippers Fred Courouble and Charles Devanneaux, racing doublehanded aboard Rahan, Devanneaux’s stripped-down Beneteau First 36, earned the Los Angeles Yacht Club’s Glass Boat trophy for top handicap honors in the Suntex Division 7 (impressively, Rahan was also the second fastest boat on elapsed time). Two J/111s took second and third in this division: Skipper Jack Jorgensen and crew aboard Picosa, owned by Doug and Jack Jorgensen, and skipper Tolga Cezik and Lodos, owned by Cezik and Rade Trimceski.
PASHA DIVISION 8
Skipper Mike Price and the Macondo crew, racing aboard Mike Sudo’s Beneteau First 47.7, were presented with the Kenwood Platter for the fastest corrected-time finish in Pasha Division 8. Skipper Frederic Berg and his crew aboard Insoumise, Michael Marion’s Dufour 525, and skipper Barry Clark and crew racing his Grand Soleil 44 Blackwing were recognized with Transpacific Yacht Club Cups for their second and third place results, respectively.
BRIDGER INSURANCE DIVISION 9
In addition to winning the King Kalakaua Trophy for the best overall corrected-time result, skipper Alli Bell and her Restless crew also collected a Transpacific Yacht Club Cup for their dominant performance in the Bridger Insurance Division 9. Skipper Andy Schwenk and his crew aboard Sir Edmund, Schwenk’s Chuck Burns-designed 49-foot custom ketch, and Eric Phipps and the crew aboard Catalina 38 Makani, were also awarded Transpacific Yacht Club Cups for their second and third place division performances.
SMITHREGROUP MULTIHULL DIVISION 10
The Rudy Choy Perpetual Trophy celebrates the fastest elapsed time recorded by a multihull, and this year’s honor went to owner Don Wilson and his team aboard the Gunboat 68 Convexity2. They also won Waikiki Yacht Club’s Chalice as the top handicap finisher in the smithREgroup Multihull Division.
In addition to trophies, all division winners received a Garmin quatix 7 Marine Smartwatch and a bottle of Mount Gay Black Barrel rum, while all second-place division finishers received a Garmin inReach device.
ADDITIONAL TROPHIES & RECOGNITIONS
A race with over 100 years of history and legends among its ledger accumulates special trophies of distinction over time, and Transpac has many to award to this year’s competitors.
The Aloha Class recognizes top performances by cruising-oriented boats, and its first-place award—the Eugene Overton Trophy—was presented to Bell and her Restless crew. The Hawaii Price Trophy for second place was awarded to the Macondo crew, while Berg and his Insoumise crew collected a Transpacific Yacht Club Cup for third place in the Aloha Class.
The Transpac Race honored Holthus and his BadPak team with the Makani Hula trophy for the fastest elapsed time of any finisher with less than 60 feet of waterline, while it honored skipper Samantha Gebb and her crew aboard Zimmer, the Gebb family’s Pacer 42, with the Don Clothier Trophy for being the first to finish racer/cruiser boat below 49 feet LOA. Dave Moore and his Westerly crew were the fastest corrected-time finishers in the Santa Cruz 52 class, while Bell and her Restless crew were awarded the Jensen-Lapworth Trophy for the fastest Cal 40 on corrected time.
The Don Vaughn Trophy for outstanding crewmembers aboard the fastest corrected-time and elapsed-time finishers (as voted by their shipmates) was awarded to Eric Heim of Restless and Matt Beavis of Lucky, respectively. The Edmund Grant Trophy is awarded to the fastest team with an all-amateur crew: Craig Reynolds’ Bolt team.
The Kenwood IOR Cup for the Storm Trysail Club Team is awarded to the three-boat team that posts the best combined results. This year, it was Team MDR Fenders Out: Macondo, Groundhog Day and Westerly.
The Ronald L. Burla Trophy for best onboard media was presented to Bernt Helgass and his Andreas crew, sailing aboard his Norseman 447 for a video produced by crewmember Lizzie Easter.
Macondo, with Hawaiian skipper Mike Price, was awarded the H.G. Dillingham Trophy for the fastest corrected-time result of any Hawaiian-flagged boat. Co-skippers Fred Courouble and Charles Devanneaux, racing aboard Rahan, were awarded the Jobson Leukemia Trophy for the first doublehanded team to finish, while Daniel Sinclair and his Canadian-flagged Mach II crew earned the Curtis Iaukea Trophy for the fastest elapsed time of any foreign-flagged yacht.
Skipper Stacy Sinclair and crew aboard her 44-foot Kelly Peterson Rhiannon won the Pacific High Trophy for the boat that sailed the farthest northerly route; they also got the Tail-End Charlie Trophy for being the last boat to finish. The crew of Santa Cruz 52 Heroic Heart was recognized with the Ilio Aukai Trophy for having the oldest average age.
The Transpac Race is considered one of the world’s great navigational challenges, and honors the feats of the exceptional navigators of top-finishing boats.
The Ben Mitchell Trophy for the navigator with the fastest elapsed time result was awarded to Stan Honey, who navigated Ehrhart’s Lucky to win the Barn Door Trophy. The Chuck Ullman Trophy honors the navigator with the fastest corrected-time result: Graham Bell, who navigated Bell’s Restless to their King Kalakaua Trophy win and also for being the fastest navigator in Bridger Insurance Division 9.
Artie Means, who navigated Holthus’s BadPak, was recognized as the fastest corrected-time navigator in Boatswain’s Locker/Yanmar Division 1; Damian Croag, racing aboard Raymont’s Fast Exit II, was honored as fastest navigator in Mount Gay Division 2, while Matt Wachowicz, sailing aboard Jennings’ Pied Piper was presented with the Frank Mallory Trophy for the fastest navigator in the Whittier Trust Division 3. Randy Smith, who navigated Steven Ernest’s Aimant de Fille, was honored as the fastest navigator in the Cal Maritime Division 4, while in the Cabrillo Boat Shop Division 5 this distinction went to Chris Busch aboard Moore’s Westerly. Ben Allen, who navigated Picel’s Arsenal was recognized as the fastest navigator in the Garmin Division 6; Charles Devanneaux earned the Winthrop Johnson Trophy for the best navigation in Suntex Division 7; Sam Patton, who navigated Price’s Macondo, was recognized as the fastest navigator in the Pasha Division 8, while Simon Fisher, who navigated Wilson’s Convexity2, was honored as the fastest navigator on two hulls.
The Transpac Race has also long honored celestial and traditional navigation with its Mark S. Rudiger Celestial Navigation Trophy, which is awarded to the navigator who prepares and submits the best celestial navigation worksheet to the race’s impartial judging panel. After careful review, Django Tomlinson, aboard Cal Maritime-Oaxaca, Cal Maritime’s Santa Cruz 50, was presented with this award for the best traditional navigation.
Finally, shoreside, the Transpac Race honored Janet Kelley with the Clare Lang Trophy, which is awarded to the most outstanding volunteer member of the Honolulu Committee.
The Transpacific Yacht Club congratulates each and every one of these trophy winners, and it also recognizes the hard work that was required of all 49 yachts that completed the race’s 2,225-nautical mile test of seamanship. Please visit www.transpacyc.com for more information on the recently concluded 2025 edition, and to learn more about the 2027 Transpac Race.
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