MOD's flying west & gone fishing on Nomad IV

Day Four of the RORC Transatlantic Race, run by the The Royal Ocean Racing Club in association with the IMA: the MOD 70s are heading west at alarming speed. Zed 6 is about to have it all on to the north and the IRC fleet is experiencing light winds in the high pressure off the Western Sahara. Lloyd Thornburg's Phaedo3, skippered by Brian Thompson and Tony Lawson's Concise 10/Ms Barbados, skippered by Ned Collier Wakefield gybed west as the sunset yesterday. Concise took a more southerly line than Phaedo3, recognising the low pressure system to the south. Phaedo3 responded by gybing further south, giving up precious miles to cover the potential advantage. Phaedo3 still holds the upper hand but Concise 10 are still very much in striking distance. Concise 10 sent in this video via satellite link.

The three Maxis racing in the RORC Transatlantic Race have experienced light winds for the last 24 hours. Southern Wind 94, Windfall, skippered by Irish Olympic sailor Timothy Goodbody fell back after leading IRC overall on Day Three. Will Apold's Canadian Swan 78, Valkyrie cashed in on their southerly route through the Canaries and added to the bank via their tall rig and narrow hull shape, to glide into the lead on IRC corrected time from the other two Maxis. Jean-Paul Riviere's French Finot Conq 100, Nomad IV used the slow going to good measure with their Russian guests casting a line for 'the catch of the day'. Nomad IV should get into better pressure today and significantly, before the other two Maxis, which should see the team extend their lead on the water in the monohull fleet.

Gerald Bibot & Michel Kleinjans Belgian catamaran, Zed 6 gybed south yesterday afternoon after reaching a latitude of 33 degrees north which is further north than all of Florida. No doubt the Belgians will be reaching for the hot chocolate today. The wind direction is predicted to strengthen and turn to the south. This will put the 42ft catamaran into strong headwinds and the potential for big confused seas. "The boat is fantastic!" exclaimed Gerald by satellite link. " It's very fast and very sensible to any bad tuning. We stay very safe, sheets off the self-tailing and mostly in hands all the time. So it is a bit more exhausting than a Class40. We got the news this morning that the MODs are 200 nm closer than us to finish. It will be interesting to see how many days they will lead on us in the end. And who knows? I just heard that Gonzalo (Tales II) stopped in the Canaries for a rudder repair and re-started. That's good news. We have similar speeds on some angles, so it is important for us to have her as a benchmark on both sides of the pressure ridge."

With the light winds experienced yesterday and last night the clutch of 40ft yachts have come to the fore after IRC corrected time. Provisionally, J/120 Nunatak raced Two Handed by Chris Frost and Elin Haf Davies is leading the IRC fleet after time correction. Not wishing to dampen Nunatak's fireworks, this may be due to the fact that Nunatak has taken a more westerly route, closer to the rhumb line. In doing so Nunatak has stayed in the high pressure vacuum but by tomorrow morning fresh winds are likely from the east, which will improve their position.

Mike Gascoyne, skipper of Class40 checked in with the RORC media team via satellite and sportingly said he was pleased to see their rival Tales II back in the race: "We had always planned to head for the southerly route and the weather files during the first night confirmed that choice," confirmed Mike. "We gybed south between Tenerife and La Palma but a couple of tactile errors meant we lost a few hours in some light patches before breaking free from the islands and heading south. We re-passed Aloha early this morning having clearly lost some miles between the islands. It was a shame for Tales II to have the rudder problem as they were really flying off the start. I'm sure with the crew they have on board they will be looking to catch us but we will do our best to make life hard for them. Life on board is good, currently pushing south west with A3, staysail and full main in 15kts of breeze and contemplating a full English breakfast for the crew, not easy to do on a jet-boil."
 
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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 
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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
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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:
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