1980 Santa Cruz 50

Oaxaca is a 1980 Santa Cruz 50 designed and built by legendary West Coast yacht designer Bill Lee, and she is one of the earliest boats of the Santa Cruz 50 class. Launched in late 1980, she quickly established herself as an offshore racer, competing in the 1981 Puerto Vallarta Race, where she finished third to finish and third in both her class and the fleet. She then sailed the 1981 Transpacific Yacht Race from Los Angeles to Honolulu, finishing 10th in Class A and 39th overall.

More than three decades later, Oaxaca was still competing at the highest level of West Coast offshore racing. Michael Moradzadeh purchased the 1980-built boat in 2014 and extensively refitted her, including new rigging, sails and a custom rudder. He campaigned her in the 2017 and 2019 Transpacs, finishing eighth in class in 2017 before achieving her most notable victory in 2019. At nearly 40 years old, Oaxaca was the oldest boat in the 11-boat Santa Cruz 50/52 fleet, yet she won the division by just 11 minutes on corrected time after more than 2,200 miles of racing to Hawaii.

Today, Oaxaca has entered another chapter of her long racing career as part of Cal Maritime’s sailing program. Her continued use in offshore racing is a fitting legacy for a boat created from Bill Lee’s pioneering “Fast is Fun” philosophy—a lightweight, narrow design built for speed and offshore performance. From her first Transpac more than 40 years ago to her modern collegiate racing career, Oaxaca remains a remarkable example of a classic racing yacht that continues to compete rather than simply becoming a piece of sailing history.