The Maui News

Despite crews dealing with light winds on their transpacific journey, Peligroso has raced to a healthy lead in the Vic-Maui international yacht race and is quickly closing in on the finish line at Lahaina Harbor.

According to the race tracker on the Vic-Maui website, Peligroso was just 491.4 nautical miles from Lahaina as of 3 p.m. HST Thursday. The boat, based in Long Beach, Calif., and owned by Doug Baker, had covered 276 NM in the previous 24 hours.

The Vic-Maui — a biennial event that dates back to 1965 and is being held for the first time since 2018 after 2020 was canceled due to the pandemic — started on July 4 as most boats left Victoria, British Columbia. The fastest yachts — Peligroso, Lurline and Phoenix — all casted off two days later.

As of Thursday, all 11 other boats were in a pack several hundred miles behind Peligroso. Vancouver-based Phoenix was in second place overall (adjusting for time), 1,027.3 NM from the finish. Lurline, out of Kaneohe Yacht Club with Skipper Gib Black, was in third overall at 1,262 NM from Lahaina.

Organizers expect Peligroso to arrive in West Maui late tonight or Saturday. Because of the slower pace due to light or no wind, organizers announced Thursday that the race time limit has been extended to 10 a.m. on July 26; the event’s awards banquet will still be held on July 23 as planned.

The Vic-Maui is sponsored by the Lahaina Yacht Club and the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club. For the latest race updates, visit vicmaui.org.