A Transpac Trailblazer

Lindsey Anne Austin and the Cirrus crew.

In our June 2003 issue, we told you that our cover girl, Lindsey Anne Austin, was more than a pretty face. The teenager was already a licensed ship captain, graduating from the Hawaii Maritime Licensing Center with a 100-ton master’s license. Now 22 years old, Austin will become the youngest Hawaii woman to captain a boat in the history of the century-old Trans Pacific Yacht Race, one of yachting’s most prestigious events.

On July 9, Austin and the five-member crew of Cirrus (owned by navigator and retired nuclear scientist Bill Meyers) will start the 2,225-nautical-mile race from Los Angeles to Honolulu. Stellar sailing skills run in Austin’s family. Both her father and mother, Bill and Donna, are licensed captains who practically raised her on the family’s own research vessel. “Learning to sail was like life training,” Austin says. “It’s good to be raised with challenges so you don’t get thrown off easily.”