Gregory's boat has been sailed twice to Hawaii, and Jerome's once. I don't recall any unusual breakdowns in either vessels in the passage. You would have to check with the boat owners but they all arrived in Hawaii in solid operational condition.
I haven't read all the thread above but my impression, for what this is worth, is that the Mini is great off the wind but struggles in the upwind legs of any of the around the buoy events. It would probably be in it's strongest element in the SHTP.
Brian