Today's send-off is the first of three starts for the 2,225-nautical mile race with the larger and faster-rated boats scheduled for Thursday and Sunday. The finish is off Diamond Head.

Organizers said the weather forecast across the channel at Santa Catalina Island is for "variable headwinds of 10 knots or less with relatively smooth 2-foot seas — not as lively as competitors would like but more than they've seen for some agonizing starts in other years."

In 2005, Hasso Plattner's boat, Morning Glory, set a Transpac record in 6 days, 18 hours, 32 minutes, 25 seconds.

Before the start of the race, several boats planned a tribute to Wendy Siegal, a Transpac competitor and promoter, who drowned Thursday near her boat, Willow Wind, in Long Beach.