600 Miles Across the Enchanted Pacific

October 16, 2025 – Puerto Ayora, Galápagos – The 13th Galápagos Cup delivered one of the most inspiring offshore races in South American waters — a 600-nautical-mile passage from Salinas, Ecuador, to Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island, sailed under ORC Weather Routing Scoring (WRS).

This demanding leg, the first and longest of the 2025 series, drew 24 boats from Ecuador and Peru, including 16 local and 8 international entries. The race tested the crews' endurance, navigation, and teamwork as they crossed the open Pacific, facing challenging winds, strong equatorial currents, and long, sleepless watches over four days and four nights.

The fleet set sail from Salinas Yacht Club on Friday, October 10, with spirits high and steady trade winds pushing them westward toward the Enchanted Islands. While most boats completed the journey safely, one Ecuadorian yacht retired due to electrical problems, and three others were still at sea as the first finishers reached Puerto Ayora on October 14.

The first to arrive was HAWK (Sydney 46, PER 4698), skippered by Javier Arribas Leigh (Peru), who claimed overall victory after 2 days, 19 hours, and 55 minutes of sailing — the shortest elapsed time of the fleet.

Second place overall went to TIBURON (Swan 42 Club, ECU 4223), owned by Julio Hidalgo, followed by NEMESIS II (Soto 39, ECU 4660) of John Wiener Gonez in third.

Among the Division 600 yachts, SEVEN ELEVEN (Legend 45, ECU 21554) from Team 7/11 was the best finisher. The last boat to complete the passage, ALEGATO III (F&C 40, ECU 002), reached Puerto Ayora after 3 days, 20 hours, and 42 minutes at sea.

Upon the fleet’s arrival, the Municipality of Santa Cruz hosted a welcome ceremony in San Francisco Park to honor the sailors who completed the ocean crossing.

“To sail is to dare to move forward without certainties — with the compass of the heart and faith in the horizon. Sailing doesn’t fight against the wind; it understands it, embraces it, and turns it into drive,” reflected Tito Plaza, crew member of Bandit, echoing the spirit that defined this edition of the Galápagos Cup.

With this successful offshore leg, the Galápagos Cup 2025 once again proved why it stands as the most iconic ocean race in the South Pacific, blending the competitive precision of ORC scoring with the breathtaking beauty and spirit of the Enchanted Islands.