Transpac : Race Still Up in Air Near Halfway Mark

As the Transpac yacht race from Los Angeles to Honolulu neared the halfway mark Tuesday, no sailor had a clear lead.

Paul Simonsen’s Santa Cruz-70 Mongoose, out of San Francisco, was a mile ahead of Mitchell Rouse’s Reichel-Pugh 70 Taxi Dancer, but Taxi Dancer was two miles closer to Honolulu.

Mongoose reported 1,046 miles from the start and Taxi Dancer 1,045. Taxi Dancer’s position report, however, placed her 1,238 miles from Diamond Head and Mongoose was 1,240 miles away.

Winds had eased slightly but the northeast trades were still holding at about 16 knots under an overcast sky. The yachts were getting an additional push from five- to six-foot waves.