The 43rd biennial Transpacific Yacht Race to Hawaii unfolds in the first of three colorful phases when 34 of the 75 entries set sail today.

It’s the Centennial Transpac with an entry list exceeded only by 80 in 1979, celebrating their bold predecessors who first contested the 2,225 nautical miles in 1906, at one point farther from land than any other place on earth.

There are eight boats from five foreign countries and the first starters will be Division 5, Aloha A and B and 14 Cal 40s. They’ll be followed on Friday by 20 boats in Divisions III and IV and on Sunday by the 20 top-rated boats, including a few that are the fastest ever to sail the race.

In slightly revised ratings, a pair of canting-keel maxZ86s – Roy Disney’s Pyewacket and Hasso Plattner’s Morning Glory – are now the scratch boats, each giving only 23 seconds for the race to Randall Pittman’s slightly de-powered 90ft Genuine Risk as they attack Disney’s elapsed time record for monohulls of 7 days 11 hours 41 minutes 27 seconds.

John Davis of Long Beach, competing in Aloha B, also has a target. “I won the ‘Tail-End Charlie’ award as the last finisher last time and I still have the slowest-rated boat, so I think I have a good chance of defending my title,” he said.

For those keeping score, Pyewacket and Morning Glory will owe his CF 37, Pipe Dream, 6 days 20 hours 43 minutes 8 seconds in the concurrent contest for first place on overall corrected handicap time and the King Kalakaua Trophy.

All starts will be at 1300 off the Palos Verdes Peninsula at 33-42.8 N latitude and 118-20.3 W longitude. The finish will be off the landmark Diamond Head volcano at 21-14.8 N and 157-48.9 W.

Entries

(with total handicap time allowances in hours:minutes:seconds)

Division I (Starts July 17)

Morning Glory (R/P maxZ86), Hasso Plattner, Kiel, Germany (0:00:00)

Pyewacket (R/P maxZ86), Roy E. Disney, Los Angeles. (0:00:00)

Genuine Risk (Dubois 90), Randall Pittman, La Jolla, Calif. (0.00:23)

Windquest (R/P maxZ86), Dick & Doug DeVos, Holland, Mich. (6:51:07)

Magnitude 80 (Andrews 80), Doug Baker, Long Beach. (9:44:58)

Beecom (Reichel/Pugh 72), Isao Mita, Yokohama, Japan (30:16:07)

Scout Spirit (R/P 77), Bill Turpin, Newport Beach, Calif. (32:21:35)

Division II (Starts July 17)

Renegade (Andrews 70), Dan Sinclair, Vancouver, B.C. (40:03:46)

Merlin (Lee 68), Patricia Steele, Maui, H.I. (41:54:03)

Medicine Man (Andrews 61), Bob Lane, Long Beach. (45:59:58)

Pegasus 52 (Transpac 52), Philippe Kahn, Honolulu. (51:49:29)

Trader (Transpac 52), Fred Detwiler, Pompano Beach, Fla. (52:18:39)

Skylark (S/C 70), Doug Ayres, Newport Beach. (52:18:53)

Rosebud (Transpac 52), Roger Sturgeon, San Francisco. (55:04:54)

Braveheart (Transpac 52), Charles Burnet, Seattle. (55:23:53)

Mongoose (Santa Cruz 70), Bradley Thorson, Bellevue, Wash.

(57:38:37)

Coruba (N/M 68), Rob and Suzanne Fleming, Seattle. (57:52:37)

Bengal 2 (Ohashi 52), Yoshihiko Murase, Nagoya, Japan (64:07:15)

Pendragon IV (Davidson 52), John MacLaurin, Encino, Calif. (65:20:10)

Ragtime (Spencer 66), Peterson/Richards/Welsh, Honolulu. (69:08:37)

Division III (Starts July 15)

Barking Spider 3 (MacGregor 65), David Kory, Concord, Calif. (74:38:45)

Stealth Chicken (Perry 56), Timothy Beatty, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (80:52:12)

The Cone of Silence (Super 30), Jamie and Jenny Neill, Sydney, Australia. (83:69:39)

Cipango (Andrews 56), Bob & Rob Barton, San Francisco. (84:08:21)

DH-Serena (T1150), David Kuettel, Bel Marin, Calif. (84:32:16)

Jeito (J/145), Francisco Guzman, Acapulco, Mexico. (86:10:42)

Dasher (S/C 50), Roger Groh, Sausalito, Calif. (89:38:24)

Reinrag2 (J/125), Tom Garnier, Portland, Ore. (90:15:09)

Bolt (Nelson/Marek 55), Craig Reynolds, Newport Beach, Calif. (90:16:35)

Artemis (Andrews 53), Louis Bianco, Seattle. (90:58:29)

Innocent Merriment (J/160), Myron Lyon, San Diego. (91:10:54)

Blue (J/160), Ken and /Cheryl Sears, Nashville, Tenn. (93:03:17)

Chasch Mer (S/C 50), Gib Black, Honolulu. (95:31:20)

Division IV (Starts July 15)

DH-Two Guys On the Edge (1D35), Dan Doyle, Kailua, H.I. (114:54:33)

Sensation (1D35), Gary Fanger, San Francisco. (115:11:28)

Tabasco (1D35), Alamitos Bay Syndicate, Long Beach. (115:31:05)

Kahoots (Andrews 43), Kerry Deaver/Bob Williamson, Newport Beach. (119:24:28)

Pursuit (Custom 48), Norman and Rosemary Dawley, Solomons, Md. (121:24:04)

Wild Impulse (J/120), Larry Barels, Santa Barbara, Calif. (122:19:04)

Uproarious (Olson 40), Robert Bussard, San Diego. (123:41:45)

Division V (Starts July 11)

Super Gnat (Beneteau First 40.7), Cliff Thompson, San Diego (132:16:04)

Iataia (Beneteau First 40.7), Marcos Rodriguez, Acapulco, Mexico. (133:59:14)

Showdown (IMX 38), Pete Meade/Mike Luna/ Paul McDonald, Irvine, Calif. (136:02:44)

B’Quest (Tripp 40), Challenged America, San Diego. (136:41:18)

Brown Sugar (Express 37), Steve Brown, Santa Ana, Calif. (141:30:59)

DH-Soap Opera (Hobie 33), Scott Self/Nigel Brown, Rockwall, Tex. (141:56:43)

DH-Jacaré (J/35), Jeff Young/Rich Blackman, San Diego. (148:46:04)

DH-Diablo (J/35), Reed Barnard, Anacortes, Wash. (150:24:54)

Cal 40 (Starts July 11)

California Girl (Cal 40), Don and Betty Lessley, Richmond, Calif. (163:20:29)

Radiant (Cal 40), Fin Beven, Pasadena, Calif. (164:09:20)

Callisto (Cal 40), Jim Eddy, Glendale, Calif. (164:44:47)

Far Far (Cal 40), Don Grind, Naples, Fla. (164:53:27)

Dancing Bear (Cal 40), Mark Schrader, Sitka, Alaska. (165:01:55)

Spectre (Cal 40), Lee Rogge, Seattle. (165:13:28)

Ralphie (Cal 40), Davis Pillsbury, Woody Creek, Colo. (165:37:14)

Azure (Cal 40), Rodney Pimentel, Alameda, Calif. (165:50:20)

Psyche (Cal 40), Steve Calhoun, Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. (166:05:17)

Shaman (Cal 40), Steve Waterloo, Alameda, Calif. (166:13:50)

Willow Wind (Cal 40), Wendy Siegal, Sunset Beach, Calif. (166:28:31)

Illusion (Cal 40), Sally Honey, Palo Alto, Calif. (167:07:37)

Seafire (Cal 40), John Harrison, Honolulu. (168:13:35)

Bubala (Cal 40), Lloyd Sellinger, Newport Beach. (168:51:37)

Aloha A (Starts July 11)

Shanakee II (Pedrick 74), James Warmington, Costa Mesa, Calif. (83:26:25)

Enchilado (Jeanneau 54), Cesar de Saracho, Mazatlan, Mexico. (112:22:50)

Madrina (Cabo Rico 56), Dick Simon, Dana Point, Calif. (124:52:04)

Between the Sheets (Jeanneau 52), Ross Pearlman, Marina del Rey, Calif. (126:13:17)

Incredible (Swan 53), Rick Gorman, Los Alamitos, Calif. (126:14:24)

Odyssey (58′ yawl), Audrey Steele Burnand, Newport Beach. (128:53:47)

Plan B (Peterson 48), David Johnson, Long Beach. (129:07:19)

DH-Charmed Life (Catalina 470), Patricia Garfield, San Francisco. (131:54:20)

Aloha B (Starts July 11)

Azure (Swan 441), Samuel Beckey, San Diego. (138:17:59)

DH-Camille (Stewart 42), James Read, San Francisco. (141:52:48)

So Far (Swan 48), Larry Hillman, Chicago. (147:28:54)

Wind Dancer (Catalina 42), Paul Edwards, Ventura, Calif. (149:50:14)

Pipe Dream (CF 37), John Davis, Long Beach. (164:43:08)