«Force 12» by James S Thayer

MICHAEL CRICHTON'S AIRFRAME MEETS SEBASTIAN JUNGER'S THE PERFECT STORM IN A BRILLIANT, FAST-PACED TECHNO-THRILLER ABOUT A YACHT RACE ACROSS THE PACIFIC THAT DRAWS SAILORS READY TO RUN ANY RISK – EVEN MURDER – TO WIN.

From the author of Terminal Event comes Force 12, the story of a world-famous software billionaire, Rex Wyman, who is determined to win the world's longest and most challenging yacht race, from San Francisco to Japan through some of the roughest seas in the world. Typical of Wyman's eccentric style, he sets out to do so onboard the Victory, a $75 million racing yacht designed – and navigated – entirely by computer.
What the world does not know is that Wyman desperately needs this victory. Behind a façade of extravagant wealth, his empire is crumbling, his assets dwindling, and only a public relations coup like success for Victory can save his company. Not even his girlfriend, Gwen, a beautiful, gifted computer programmer, realizes the lengths to which Wyman will go to win. But when a series of baffling accidents during the race reveals that the Victory's computer is not infallible, Gwen has to find out whether it's a technical glitch or a determined plot to kill her and her embattled boyfriend.
Combining suspense, adventure, high technology gone awry, and a good old-fashioned sea story at its most exciting, Force 12 is a spine-tingling, sensational read by the writer whom Clive Cussler calls "a master storyteller."