SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A San Diego woman has made sailing history by becoming the first female skipper to win the prestigious Transpacific Yacht Race, accomplishing the feat in a vintage boat from the 1960s.
Alli Bell crossed the finish line in Honolulu after a 12-and-a-half day journey covering 2,200 miles from Los Angeles, etching her name in the record books of the century-old race.
"It is such an honor to be holding this place in history," Bell said.
Bell spent two years refitting her 40-foot vintage boat for the competition. Her connection to this particular vessel model runs deep.
"My grandparents have a boat that's the older cousin, the immediate design preceding the Cal-40. I just fell in love with it at an early age and always wanted one," Bell said.
With a crew of four family members and close friends, Bell set sail on July 1, navigating through dark nights and occasional rough waters. Despite the challenges, she said they were fortunate with weather conditions.
"Mostly it's just relaxing. You disconnect. Your brain gets free. The stress level goes down. Some of the best days of my life," Bell said.
What makes Bell's victory even more remarkable is that she competed with one of the oldest boats in the race. Now she hopes her achievement will inspire others.
"What I hope it does is people take a look at me and think - 'oh I sail against her I know her. That's a boat anybody can sail.' And then get out there and try it," Bell said.
Bell wants all the younger female sailors at the San Diego Yacht Club to know they can follow in her wake and achieve similar success. PASHA Hawaii helped ship her boat back to San Diego on Friday morning. All Transpac shippers have a special discounted tariff rate to ship empty trailer to Hawaii and the loaded boat back.
