RORC Transatlantic Race: Grenada bound

The second edition of the RORC Transatlantic Race got away as scheduled today from Marina Lanzarote with the fleet enjoying a reaching start in Atlantic swell and a solid 15 knots of breeze from the north east. Close battles are expected within the fleet for the next 3,000 miles before the yachts reach the finish at Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina in Grenada.

"A fantastic start," enthused Eddie Warden Owen, Chief Executive of the Royal Ocean Racing Club. "Beautiful conditions for the fleet which all got away extremely well under full sail. Every single yacht competing in this race has been so well prepared and they are all expecting a very competitive race across the Atlantic. There are battles throughout the fleet which will undoubtedly have many twists and turns over the next few days and weeks of racing. Safety is always our top priority and after that major consideration, these teams are all up for the challenge of pushing hard across the Atlantic."

First away were the monohulls, with Maurice Benzaquen's Pogo 1250, Aloha getting a great start at the pin end, deploying their bright red spinnaker with textbook precision. Joining Maurice on board Aloha are three Breton sailors who have all skippered yachts for Eric Tabarly with hundreds of  thousands of sea miles between them. In sharp contrast, Chris Frost and Elin Haf Davies, racing J/120 Nunatak Two-Handed have never sailed across the Atlantic before. Chris and Elin were in a buoyant mood as they passed the RORC Committee Boat for their safety inspection. "See you in Grenada!" shouted Elin. "And you're buying the drinks when we make it before the prize giving!"

Gonzalo Botin's Class 40, Tales II was fully launched at the start, setting every square metre of downwind sail available to rocket through the line in front of the enormous Maxis. Two hours into the race, Tales II had already opened up a three-mile lead from Mike Gascoyne's British Class 40, Silvi Belle 2. The Spanish Class 40 was still going toe-to-toe with the Maxis through the gap between Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, surfing through the waves at 15 knots.

Three powerful Maxis are taking part in the RORC Transatlantic Race and the Southern Wind 94, Windfall is taking part for the second occasion. Skippered by Irish Olympic sailor Timothy Goodbody, Windfall made the best start to lead the Maxis to the first mark at Puerto Calero Marina, just holding off Jean-Paul Riviere's French Finot Conq 100, Nomad IV which is also competing for the second time. Will Apold's Canadian Swan 78, Valkyrie with a towering cathedral rig was not far behind the two larger rivals and holds a generous IRC rating advantage.

Last to start were the Multihull class with the first skirmish of the long awaited Atlantic duel between two MOD 70 Trimarans. Tony Lawson's British Concise 10, skippered by Ned Collier Wakefield and Lloyd Thornburg's American Phaedo3, co-skippered by Brian Thompson. The two crews are all friends but the gloves were definitely off at the start with Concise 10 getting underneath Phaedo 3 just metres before the line. With a few raised voices echoing across the starting area, momentarily, Phaedo 3 was put about. However, a textbook double foresail set by Phaedo 3 saw her power away from Concise 10. By the turning mark at Puerto Calero, Phaedo3 had a decent lead over Concise 10. Gerald Bibot's protoype 42ft catamaran, Zed 6 has unfortunately sent their YB Tracker to Davy Jones' Locker, but the Belgian Two-Handed team will be reporting their position to RORC Race Control throughout the passage via satellite phone.

On the first day of the RORC Transatlantic Race the fleet were heading west, following the setting sun. The race course sends the yachts to the north of Tenerife, a 120 mile blast reach from the southern tip of Lanzarote in Atlantic swell - a spectacular way to spend a Saturday night! Phaedo3 and Concise 10 were blast reaching at 25 knots this afternoon and should reach Tenerife tonight. The maxis 50 miles astern of the MOD70s should reach Tenerife by Sunday morning. After rounding Tenerife, the next mark of the course is Glover Island Light, Grenada, about 3,000 miles south west across the Atlantic.

For more information visit the dedicated event minisite: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/

Follow the progress of the race via the fleet tracker: The RORC Transatlantic Race started at 1200 local time (GMT +0) from Marina Lanzarote bound for Grenada. The RORC Transatlantic Race YB Tracker is now LIVE! http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/tracking/2015-fleet-tracking.html

NOTES TO EDITORS:

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FOLLOW THE FLEET: Follow the progress of the race via the fleet tracker:
The RORC Transatlantic Race started at 1200 local time (GMT +0) from Marina Lanzarote bound for Grenada. The RORC Transatlantic Race YB Tracker is now LIVE!
http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/tracking/2015-fleet-tracking.html

RACE MINISITE: For more information visit the dedicated event minisite: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/

RORC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoyalOceanRacingClub/

TWITTER:  #rorcrtr @RORCracing

VIRTUAL RACE: Well over 5000 armchair admirals have already signed up for the RORC Transatlantic Virtual Race: http://click.virtualregatta.com/?li=4540

THE RORC TRANSATLANTIC RACE:

    The second RORC Transatlantic Race starts in Lanzarote on Saturday 28th November 2015 and the 2,995 nautical mile race runs through the Canary Islands before crossing the Atlantic to arrive in Grenada. The race is run in association with the International Maxi Association (IMA)
    The winner of the inaugural RORC Transatlantic Race Trophy for best elapsed time under IRC in 2014 was Jeremy Pilkington's Lupa of London. The Baltic 78 was also presented with the International Maxi Association's Line Honours Trophy at a prizegiving ceremony held at Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina at the finish in Grenada.

THE ORGANISERS:

    Established in 1925, The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) became famous for the biennial Fastnet Race and the international team event, the Admiral's Cup. It organises an annual series of domestic offshore races from its base in Cowes as well as inshore regattas such as the RORC Easter Challenge and IRC National Championships in the Solent
    The RORC works with other yacht clubs to promote their offshore races and provides marketing and organisational support. The RORC Caribbean 600 based in Antigua and the first offshore race in the Caribbean, has been an instant success and last year the RORC extended its organisational expertise by creating the new RORC Transatlantic Race from Lanzarote to Grenada in November 2014 
    The club is based in St James' Place, London and Cowes, Isle of Wight
    In co-operation with the French offshore racing club, UNCL, RORC is responsible for IRC, the principal international handicap system for yacht racing worldwide.The Spinlock IRC rating rule is administered jointly by the RORC Rating Office in Lymington, UK and UNCL Centre de Calcul in Paris, France. The RORC Rating Office is the technical hub of the Royal Ocean Racing Club and recognised globally as a centre of excellence for measurement. For Spinlock IRC rating information in the UK please see:  www.rorcrating.com 
    www.rorc.org
    http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/
    Follow us on Facebook and Twitter:  #rorcrtr

INTERNATIONAL MAXI ASSOCIATION (IMA):

    The racing activities for the Maxi as a separate class started in Porto Cervo in 1980 with the first Maxi Yacht Cup. Immediately afterwards an association of the Maxi owners was founded under the name "International Class A Yacht Association" (ICAYA) with Baron E. de Rothschild elected the first President of the Class. The legal office was created in Geneva, Switzerland. "Class A" was the definition of a Maxi boat in the IOR rating system in force at that time. The following year Gianfranco Alberini was appointed first Secretary General of the Association. ICAYA organized the Maxi Yacht World Championship for many years in Porto Cervo as its European base, as well in other venues in USA - Honolulu, Newport R.I., Miami, St. Thomas, San Francisco. In Europe Puerto Portales, Antibes and Saint Tropez were selected as championship locations
    When the definition "Class A" disappeared with the change from IOR it was decided to rename the Class as "International Maxi Association" (IMA). The Class is now registered in Geneva (Switzerland), has a base in Porto Cervo and an office in the USA, for rating and technical matters. The Class is now expanding its activities, and in 2010 the first Mini Maxi World Championship took place in September in Porto Cervo, Italy,  In 2011 the new Rolex Volcano Race opened the Mediterranean sailing season
    Andrew McIrvine took over as Secretary General in 2013. In 2014 the pure racer Mini Maxis were reformed into the Maxi 72 Class. The IMA has organised previous Maxi Transatlantic races but this is the first in association with RORC. IMA has presented a vintage trophy for line honours for this new race
    IMA is a recognized member of the IRC Congress. Since November 2010 ISAF has recognised the Maxis as an international class. This means that the International Maxi Association is now the sole authority with the right to hold World and Continental Maxi Championships
    http://www.internationalmaxiassociation.com/

CALERO MARINAS:

    Calero Marinas has developed and manages three marinas in the Canary Islands, having accrued over 35 years' experience in the sector. The Canaries' warm climate and regular supply of breeze has lead Lanzarote to become a favourite training ground for offshore race teams, whilst the combination of good flight connections and easily available services has created a popular and reliable base for international sailors
    Marina Lanzarote is the newest addition to the group with secure berthing for vessels of up to 60m LOA, a wide range of services and the advantage of having the city and maritime quarter within a few minutes' walk
    The new shipyard is equipped to hoist superyachts and the inclusion of deep keel pits in the yard's design was considered especially to meet the needs of transoceanic racing yachts
    www.caleromarinas.com

Enquiries: msymes@caleromarinas.com

GRENADA TOURISM AUTHORITY:

    The premium yachting destination in the Southern Caribbean. Grenada and The Grenadines are widely considered to be the most unspoilt cruising grounds in the Caribbean. Famed for its people's warm and gregarious hospitality the 'Spice Island' of Grenada has a varied topography of mountains, rainforests and waterfalls, fringed by icing sugar beaches and cooled by trade winds
    www.puregrenada.com
    Facebook: www.facebook.com/discovergrenada
    Twitter:  www.twitter.com/puregrenada

WESTERHALL RUMS:

    http://www.westerhallrums.co.uk/

    The major operation of the company is the blending and bottling of rum, which has been in practice since the 1700s where Westerhall apply a secret family recipe to create their world famous rums. The company now produces seven brands of rum, with its flagship brand being Westerhall Vintage Rum. The company has always put great emphasis on maintaining high standards and quality control and today works to the highest international standards at every stage of the process from blending and bottling to labelling.
    https://www.facebook.com/Westerhall-Rums-Grenada

CAMPER & NICHOLSONS PORT LOUIS MARINA:

    Camper & Nicholsons is widely recognised to be one of the world's oldest and most prestigious yachting business names, with origins dating back to 1782 when boat building began at Gosport, in the south of England

    Owned and managed by Camper & Nicholsons Marinas, Port Louis Marina has transformed Grenada's yachting facilities. Overlooking the historic capital St Georges and designed to reflect the traditional Creole architecture, the marina offers 170 berths, including 30 superyacht berths for vessels from 25m to 90m LOA, and up to 7m draft
    http://www.cnmarinas.com

MEDIA ENQUIRIES & High res images/Interviews:
Trish Jenkins - RORC Transatlantic Race
Press Liaison
M: +44 (0)7880 518689
E:  press@rorc.org

RACE REPORTS:
Louay Habib
M: +44 (0)7801 800521
E:  louayhabib@gmail.com

RORC RACE ENQUIRIES:
Nick Elliott, Racing Manager
Royal Ocean Racing Club
T: +44 (0) 1983 295144
E:   racing@rorc.org
W:  http://www.rorc.org/

ROYAL OCEAN RACING CLUB:
20 St James's Place
London SW1A 1NN
Tel: 020 7493 2248
Fax: 020 7493 2470
E:  info@rorc.org