Mag 80, Medicine Man Beat Tahiti Record

Doug Baker’s Andrews 80 Magnitude 80 demolished the Tahiti Race record by 3.5 days, finishing Thursday with an elapsed time of 11 days, 10 hours, 13 minutes and 18 seconds. While there’s really no such thing as foregone conclusions in a 3,571-mile race, there was little doubt that Mag 80 and her closest competition, Bob Lane’s Andrews 63 Medicine Man, would both best the existing record. Two days after Mag 80 passed the Pt. Venus Lighthouse, Medicine Man also beat the previous mark set in 1994 by Fred Kirschner’s SC 70 Kathmandu.

“They should run this race again in 2012," Baker said enthusiastically. "It’s not just a race — it’s an adventure.”

Still at sea as of this writing was Jim Morgan’s SC 50 Fortaleza, with Chris Welsh’s Spencer 65 Ragtime presumed finished earlier this morning. In addition to finding Tahiti a nice finishing destination, a common refrain amongst the sailors was that the race wasn’t just a TransPac with an extra 1,300 miles added on.

“This race is so much longer than any other race we have done," Mag 80 watch captain Keith Kilpatrick said. "It is completely different from a Hawaii race.”

For updates visit the TransPacific YC website.