RORC Transatlantic Race: Windfall on the finish line

Southern Wind 94, Windfall crossed the finish line of the RORC Transatlantic Race just before 4pm local time on Thursday 10th December, completing the 3,000 mile race in just over 12 days. Windfall is the second Maxi to complete the race and in doing so, is the only yacht to have successfully finished both editions of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's new Transatlantic Race. Irish Olympic sailor and skipper of Windfall, Tim Goodbody, spoke about their race:

"Windfall got away well and it was great to lead the fleet at the start in Lanzarote. We were going well and the crew quickly settled into a good routine. We knew we would never be able to hold on to Nomad IV reaching, but we were also very surprised how fast she was through the light winds that we all experienced after a few days in. Fair play to Nomad, they have really got the boat going well. Since the last race, Windfall has also had some performance improvements and for some time it was a great race on handicap between us. However, we managed to damage our masthead kite and the constant repairs required meant taking it down and re-hoisting, which was always going to slow us down. Obviously we entered the RORC Transatlantic Race to win, it but our guests, who own a smaller yacht, also came to experience their first Atlantic crossing and they have had a fantastic experience, so on that score, it is mission accomplished."

Gonzalo Botin's Spanish Class40, Tales II crossed the finish line of the RORC Transatlantic Race shortly after 9pm local time on Thursday 10th December. Completing the race in just over 12 and a half days, Tales II with a crew of four - all from Santander - was the first Class40 to complete the race and has set a new Class40 record for an elapsed time of 12 days 12 hours 36 mins 32secs. Tales II was welcomed to Grenada by RORC Admiral, Andrew McIrvine.

"We are very happy, we have had a good race," said Gonzalo Botin dockside. "We pushed the boat all the time and we have had a great transat and I am very, very happy because everyone worked very well and we are delighted to be in Grenada. We know the boat is very quick, but it is not just about that, in order to have the speed you have to sail very well. Not just anyone can jump on board and make it go fast. Apart from our stop in Tenerife to repair the rudder, I don't think we could have been much faster in the conditions we have had. The navigation of the boat and the performance of the crew have been very good. All of the crew take turns driving and we have stuck to a watch system of two on deck, one on standby and one off watch. All of the crew are excellent sailors so we have kept up the performance all the time. The last 48 hours were hard because we had a lot of squalls. We didn't have any really big increase in wind, but the direction was unstable and that takes a lot of concentration. This is my eighth transatlantic and at 3,000 miles, it has been the longest, but very satisfying. Our next race will be the RORC Caribbean 600, which we have won our class in for the past two years."

Will Apold's custom Swan 78, Valkyrie is the next yacht expected to finish the race. At 0800 UTC on Friday 11th December, the Canadian Maxi from Nova Scotia was 150 miles from the finish and is expected to arrive in Camper and Nicholsons Port Louis Marina this evening.

Mike Gascoyne's British Class40 Silvi Belle 2 is expected to finish the race in the early hours of Saturday 14th December, local time. Maurice Benzaquen's French Pogo 1250, Aloha, is 450 miles from the finish and still just in the hunt for the overall win under IRC.

Chris Frost & Elin Haf Davies, racing British J/120, Nunatak Two-Handed have less than 1,000 miles to go. Nunatak is expected to finish the race on 18th December. Caffeine withdrawal symptoms seem to be affecting Elin who sent in this amusing blog by satellite connection:

"Well it's been a funny old time here. Wind is just ever so slightly too high for us to be able to fly our kites safely (especially in the pitch black nights). We're therefore going dead downwind just on black sails, and seem to be ticking off the miles okay. Less than a 1,000 miles to go... We're down to sharing one cup of coffee between us at morning and night. In other random news, last night while on watch, I was admiring the stars when an UFO certainly appeared and started circling around us! It stayed with us for ages, with bright colours of red, green and white. Petrified, I was about to call on Chris (thinking he might have to rescue me from being abducted by aliens), when the UFO promptly disappeared again and the only thing left in the night's sky was the boat's windex and tricolour ... Yes. I think that cabin fever might be setting in!"  - Elin (& a very worried Chris!)

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

Race fleet tracker: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/tracking/2015-fleet-tracking.html

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

ENDS/...Louay Habib

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. RORC Transatlantic Race YB Tracker: 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 started in Lanzarote on Saturday 28th November 2015 and the 2,995 nautical mile 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