Trimaran 'Lending Club' Wins Transpacific Yacht Race

Lending Club CEO Renaud Laplanche and crew win Transpac in multihull division with second-fastest time in history in their 73 ft racing yacht.

Lending Club has won the 47th Transpacific Yacht Race (Transpac) in the multihull division and had the fastest overall elapsed time, coming in at 5 days, 11 hours, 52 minutes and 33 seconds. This time was the Transpac's second-fastest ever, within two and a half hours of the race record established in 1997.

The Lending Club, sailed by a Tritium Racing team of nine accomplished sailors including Lending Club CEO Renaud Laplanche, encountered an unusually high amount of debris as it sailed through the Pacific Ocean, including a telephone pole that heavily damaged the centerboard, forcing the crew to stop for over 10 hours of repairs. Much of the debris is suspected to have originated from the tsunami caused by the March 2011 earthquake in Tohoku, Japan.

"This was an eventful race, and that we not only came in first but finished so close to the race record is a testament to the skill and dedication of the Tritium Racing team and the constant innovation that continues to make sailing faster and safer," Laplanche said. "We were attempting to break the race record this year and came in very close—we'll be back!"

First raced in 1906, Transpac is one of yachting's premier offshore races and attracts entrants from all over the world. More than 60 boats competed in this year's race.

The historic race The Lending Club, sailed by a Tritium Racing team of nine accomplished sailors including Lending Club CEO Renaud Laplanche, encountered an unusually high amount of debris as it sailed through the Pacific Ocean, including a telephone pole that heavily damaged the centerboard, forcing the crew to stop for over 10 hours of repairs. Much of the debris is suspected to have originated from the tsunami caused by the March 2011 earthquake in Tohoku, Japan.
"This was an eventful race, and that we not only came in first but finished so close to the race record is a testament to the skill and dedication of the Tritium Racing team and the constant innovation that continues to make sailing faster and safer," Laplanche said. "We were attempting to break the race record this year and came in very close—we'll be back!"

First raced in 1906, Transpac is one of yachting's premier offshore races and attracts entrants from all over the world. More than 60 boats competed in this year's race. The starting line is off the bluffs of Point Fermin in San Pedro and the finish is off the Diamond Head lighthouse just east of Honolulu, establishing a distance of 2,225 nautical miles.