Celerity just after the start of the 2015 Transpacific yacht race. Photo: Sharon Green/Ultimate Sailing.

Celerity took class line honours in the 48th biennial Los Angeles-Honolulu Transpac 2015 as the Santa Cruz 37 design completed the race course from California to Diamond Head in Honolulu in 10 days 20 hours 1 minute and 12 seconds.

Proud owner-skipper Harry Zanville from San Diego compared his crew to “old gladiators, and I promised I would get everyone back home healthy, alive and safe. I got worried about one of our guys, though, because the faster we went the bigger the smile he got on his face.”

Among the members of Celerity’s crew was Malta’s Thomas Ripard. The 25-year-old teamed up with Michael Downing, Tom Jenkins, Eric Kownacki and Bob Martin for the 2,225 nautical mile race.

The 25-year-old Ripard had been interested in doing this race for a few years now and had been trying to get a position on a boat through a number of contacts, even putting a crew posting out on the event’s website.

“In the end Harry contacted me through the website, from there we quickly found out that we had a mutual friend in the famous San Diego-based boat builder Brad Fitzgerald, and particularly his son Kyle Fitzgerald who I have been sailing with for the past few years,” Ripard said.

“Brad provided a strong reference for me and after meeting the crew and boat I soon secured my position as the sixth crew on Celerity.”

The Transpacific Yacht Race (Transpac) organised by the Transpacific Yacht Club was originally the vision of Hawaii’s King Kalkaua as a way to build the islands’ ties with the mainland US.

Since its humble beginning in 1906, the Transpac has become the oldest and longest enduring ocean race in the world and a “must do” on many sailors’ list of races.

The 48th biennial Los Angeles-Honolulu Transpac 2015 saw 53 starters, mainly Americans but hosting also boats from Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and Australia.

The racing fleet, made up of boats ranging from 30 to 100 footers, was divided into 9 Divisions (Div 0 to Div 8) with Celerity featuring in Division 7 made up of 10 boats.

Favourable weather

There were three waves of starters over six days, with Celerity starting in the first group, and with more favourable weather this group had a relatively speedy passage to Hawaii.

The yacht with the shortest elapsed time in the race was the 100-footer Wild Oats from Australia, whose time was 6 days 10 hours 37 minutes 2 seconds.

Besides being first to cross the finish line, Celerity also won the corrected time trophy for Division 7, as well as seventh place overall.

The American yacht Grand Illusion, a Santa Cruz 70 design, was the overall winner of the 48th edition of the Transpacific Yacht Race (Transpac) 2015. This was the third overall win for Grand Illusion sailed by owner-skipper James McDowell.

Thomas will keep the Ripard family and Malta flag flying now moving over to his next race – the Maxi World Cup in Sardinia starting on September 6.

His boat for the occasion will be the striking green hull Briand 108’ superyacht racer Inoui.

Undoubtedly in October the young Maltese ‘Gladiator’, who as a kid has developed his sailing skills at the Malta Young Sailors Club, will keep his appointment with the 36th Rolex Middle Sea Race.

Last year Thomas, together with his brother Seb and uncle Christian, formed part of Lee Satariano’s winning team on Artie.