Cal Maritime will battle the world’s top professional teams at the 2025 Transpacific Yacht Race
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VALLEJO, Calif. — A young, yet experienced crew will race against the world's top professional teams when Cal Maritime competes in the Transpacific Yacht Race for the fifth time in program history, starting July 3.
Organized by the Newport Beach, California-based Transpacific Yacht Club, Cal Maritime is the only college team competing in the 2025 edition of this prestigious biannual 2,225-mile offshore sailing competition, as was the case in 2019 and 2023, that commences in San Pedro, California and ends off Diamond Head Lighthouse in Honolulu.
"As the top-rated public school in the West, according to the 2025 edition of U.S. News and World Report's Best Colleges rankings, Cal Maritime is thrilled to provide a hands-on one-of-a-kind opportunity for students to apply classroom knowledge, strengthen leadership, teamwork and interpersonal skills through a competition that will force them to make critical decisions, judgements, and react to adverse situations in real time," said Director of Athletics Karen Lee Yoder.
Leading CSUM in this year's race is a crew that includes recent graduates, a slew of first-time participants, sailing program head coach Kerry Deaver and a pair of individuals who are fulfilling a dream by sailing home.
Providing valuable experience and hands-on knowledge gained from offshore competitions throughout their respective college careers are CSUM alums Max Roth (this year's skipper), Cyrus Khaleeli (navigator), Jacob Fisker-Andersen and Django Knafo-Tomlinson.
As native Hawaiians, the 2025 Transpac provides Roth and Knafo-Tomlinson an opportunity to return home. For Fisker-Andersen, this year's race marks his third appearance in this world-renowned race and inaugural opportunity guiding Cal Maritime's boat back to the mainland as its delivery captain.
All four of those individuals were part of the 2021 or 2022 John F. Kennedy Memorial Trophy-winning crews that helped Cal Maritime become just the sixth school in Kennedy Cup history to win the regatta in consecutive seasons.
Cal Maritime also won the Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup, one of the premier collegiate offshore regattas in the nation, eight times in program history with this quartet playing key roles in the team's recent championship performances.
Not only is Cal Maritime the only college team competing in the 2025 Transpac, its crew is the youngest with the rest of the team comprised by recent graduate Etienne Quille, senior Logan Chapman, sophomores Julian Levash (offshore team captain) and Oscar Perry
California State University Maritime Academy will compete aboard the T/S Cal Maritime (formerly Oaxaca), an offshore race boat provided by the California Maritime Academy Foundation. The T/S Cal Maritime is a Bill Lee-designed Santa Cruz 50 that was one of the original "fast is fun" light, narrow and easy-to-sail offwind designs.
Since her launch in 1980, Oaxaca spent quality time in the yard, received new rigging and a high aspect rudder.
The Transpacific Yacht Race vies with the Bermuda Race on the U.S. East Coast as the top two historic and long-distance offshore sailing contests in the world. However, the Transpac's cross-Pacific course measures approximately 2,225 nautical miles, 635 more than the Bermuda Race that also commenced in 1906.
This event took place every even-numbered year from 1906-36, except for 10 years, during World War I and from 1942-46 during World War II. It changed to odd-numbered years in 1939 to avoid conflicting with the Bermuda Race. The Transpacific Yacht Race commenced in Los Angeles every year except 1928 (Newport Beach), 1923 and 1932 (San Francisco); the inaugural multi-day staggered start took place in 1993.
Sailing fans are encouraged to visit the sailing team's Instagram feed or visit the Transpac's official website before and throughout this year's competition.