24 hours from Grenada
The crew of Nomad IV take a minute to pose for the camera while leading IRC Overall in the RORC Transatlantic Race
© Photo Nomad IV/Robin Christol

Day six of the RORC Transatlantic Race, and Phaedo3 & Concise 10/Ms Barbados are expected to finish the race tomorrow. Nomad IV leads the charge of the Maxis. Tales II makes up for lost time and Zed 6 finally heads south.

The two MOD 70s lit the after-burners on yesterday, scorching through the Atlantic with an incredible straight-line speed in excess of 30 knots. Lloyd Thornburg's Phaedo3, co-skippered by Brian Thompson and Tony Lawson's Concise10/Ms Barbados are due to finish the RORC Transatlantic Race on Friday 4th December at around midday local time in Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina.

Before the MOD70s reach the finish, the island of Barbados is probably the last tactical obstacle to negotiate. As Concise 10's Caribbean home, be prepared for something different from the team currently trailing Phaedo3 by barely three hours after six days of ballistic racing.
A bit of friendly rivalry at the press conference in Marina Lanzarote before the start:

Phaedo3 co-skipper, Brian Thompson sent back this message by satellite, painting the scene on board: "The pirates on Phaedo3 are still being relentlessly pursued by the British Navy (Concise 10 is both British and blue!)...We are just out of cannon shot, but any slip up in our sail handling and we will be seeing the might of our blue pursuers...They are surely pushing as hard to catch us, as we are to stay ahead of them. Every schedule is showing 28, 29 or 30 knots of speed. We are not holding back at all. Carving our way through the waves like a skier through a mogul field; following the liquid terrain to harmonize boat speed; heel angle and apparent wind angle to keep our speed constant through the ever-changing waterscape in front of our 3 bows. Trying not to fly the main hull or stuff the bows and generally doing the former will precipitate the latter. Everyone is driving fantastically and Henry has taken on the mantle of a young Padawan, learning to be a Jedi of downwind sailing. I have to be the Jedi master in a Musto cassock... It's the ideal training ground for a young Padawan - 2,000 miles of downwind blasting. Last night, despite saving several flying fish from the net, one came hurtling at me from the bow, closing speed about 40 knots and got me full on the Adam's apple. Lucky it was a small one. Still...put him back in the sea - a learner flyer clearly, just an accident...Anyway, time for a nap and another good shaking in the bunk."

Newsflash: Phaedo3 break their personal boat record for a 24hr run: Navigator, Miles Seddon reports that today at 03.55 UTC Phaedo3 has a new 24 hr record for the boat - 678nm @ avg speed of 28.28kn!

Meanwhile, leading the IRC fleet
Battling for the overall win under IRC, Jean-Paul Riviere's French Finot Conq 100, Nomad IV has opened up a 250 mile lead on their nearest rival, Will Apold's Canadian Custom Swan 78, Valkyrie. Nomad IV is currently leading the IRC fleet overall. Nomad IV sent this message by satellite to the RORC media team:

"We are now sailing in the tradewinds and we hope they will be the hardest possible to warp the 56 tons of Nomad IV. Our purpose is to get Line Honours, but everything remains to be done, first of all to finish. On the operating side, it is not that easy; we are sailing with 1,400 m² of sails. Life onboard is now easier, less heeling and more sun. We are all satisfied with the ambience on board. Bises" (kisses) to our families and fair wind to our competitors!"

Yesterday afternoon, Gonzalo Botin's Spanish Tales II passed Mike Gascoyne's British Silvi Belle 2 to lead the Class40s. Tales II made the recovery from a 12 hour pit-stop in Tenerife and no doubt the Spanish team will have been in buoyant mood as they took up the running and opened up a 30 mile lead by noon on Day 6.

Just after sunset after five days and night of racing to the north west, Gerald Bibot & Michel Kleinjans Belgian catamaran, Zed 6 made a big move south. The Belgian team are in big breeze and heading towards Grenada at over 14 knots of boat speed. Zed 6's brutal northerly route seems to have paid off in spades. Gerald Bibot believes that the Class 40s are a good comparison to Zed 6, so a lead on Tales II to the finish of 287 miles is evidence that the northerly route has paid off in the RORC Transatlantic Race.

Latest news, blogs from the boats and photos: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/

Follow the progress of the race via the fleet: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/tracking/2015-fleet-tracking.html

NOTES TO EDITORS:

HIGH RES PRESS IMAGES for media use only:
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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