Pacific Cup (yacht race)

The Pacific Cup (formerly the "West Marine Pacific Cup") is a yacht race from San Francisco, California to Kaneohe, Hawaii on the island of Oahu. This exercise in yacht racing is run in even-numbered years by the Pacific Cup Yacht Club, while in odd years the Transpacific Yacht Race sails for Hawaii out of Los Angeles. While it is billed as "The Fun Race to Hawaii," racers take preparation seriously. A number of seminars and resources are provided to help sailors and crew find safety and success. The level of competition rises each year, with yachts coming in from around the world, including Switzerland and Japan.

The race has run for over 30 years. Hundreds of boats, from 24-foot (7.3 m) double handers to 140-foot spectaculars, have sailed the 2,070-nautical-mile (3,830 km) course. Even smaller, experimental boats have been known to participate. A wide variety of people partake in the race, including families, avid racers, and "sail of a lifetime" efforts.

The first start for 2016 occurred on July 11 at the starting line off the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco Bay. 64 entrants participated in the 2016 race.

Manouch Moshayedi's 100' super maxi Rio 100 set a new Pacific Cup fastest passage record on July 20, 2016 with an elapsed time of 5 days, 2 hours, 41 minutes and 13 seconds. The previous record was set in 2004 by Robert Miller's 139' Mari-Cha IV with an elapsed time of 5 days, 5 hours, 38 minutes and 10 seconds.

The 2020 race was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.