RORC Caribbean 600. Monohull Line Honours for Comanche

Jim Clark & Kristy Hinze Clark's American VPLP-Verdier 100 Comanche crossed the finish line of the RORC Caribbean 600 at 03.45 on Wednesday morning with an elapsed time of 40 hours 53 minutes 2 seconds, taking monohull line honours for the race and only 33 minutes outside the record time set by George David's Rambler 100 in 2011.

Comanche Skipper, Ken Read: "Comanche is built to come in first to finish and when Mother Nature co-operates we have the pedigree to break records," was Ken Read's reaction to the wind coming from the south-east making the leg from St Marten to Guadeloupe a beat, which for previous record holder - Rambler 100, was a fast fetch. "Going around these islands is a ball; whales breaching, volcanoes smoking, it doesn't get any better than that. We will be back, I promise you - this is a great race."

Owner of Comanche, Jim Clarke: "The Comanche crew is a group of people that work really well together; it might as well be a family. Teams are really important; you have to get along and know as second nature what the other team members are doing. In the hi-tech world, one major similarity with yacht racing is 'the team'. A corporation has to have a strong team too, especially a start-up. I have been involved with a number of start-ups with 20 or so people like Comanche and you need smart, dedicated people to make it work, that is one of the basics.

Owner of Comanche Kristy Hinze Clarke: "The water and the islands are so beautiful and with a full moon the night time sailing was just spectacular, which was very different from my first experience in the Sydney to Hobart. The crew are great at communicating and they are an exceptional group of professionals. To be able to experience that at first hand during offshore races has been a real pleasure and an honour. I am mildly (sic) competitive and that atmosphere is one that I really enjoy. This boat is like nothing else; Comanche has so much power and speed, it is the coolest thing! I would say to all the girls out there, if this is something you are interested in - do it, chase your dreams."

As Comanche celebrated their Line honours victory, there was huge relief as Hap Fauth's American Maxi72, Bella Mente safely moored up in Falmouth Harbour having retired from the race. Bella Mente's crew were deeply disappointed but all concerned were thankful that the crew were safely ashore.

Bella Mente afterguard Terry Hutchinson commented: "We are not really sure what happened. We were beating up to La Desirade, tacking up the shoreline and we heard a loud ping from down below, from inside the boat. It was really rough and we didn't think much of it because you occasionally do hear random noises from these kind of boats. We got around the corner, set the Mast Head Zero and we were off doing 26 knots with Adrian Stead on the helm, coming into Proteus who had got around us in the wind shadow of Guadeloupe. As we accelerated we could feel the fin pitching back and forth. It felt like the boat was going one way and the fin another; that is speculation but it didn't feel right. It felt very unnatural, so we slowed down. Moose (Mike Sanderson) said: 'Did everybody feel that?' We tried to arc it back up again and the motion was very noticeable; it felt like the fin was going to drop out of the boat. The correct thing to do at that point was stop and high-tail it for Antigua. It's frustrating because throughout the race we had always kept ourselves in the hunt and we always knew that if we were in the hunt at that quarter, we could finish the race well, so it is frustrating. Up until then it had been an awesome race."

George Sakellaris' Maxi72, Proteus is due to be the next yacht to finish and is currently the provisional overall handicap leader. A number of competing yachts expected over the next 24 hours. Including Bella Mente, five yachts have now retired from the race; Jonty Layfield's Sleeper 11, Riccardo Pavoncelli's Rosalba, David Ballantyne's Jings and Irvine Laidlaw's Highland Fling. All crew are safely ashore with no reports of any injuries.

For more information visit the RORC Caribbean 600 mini-site: www.caribbean600.rorc.org
Start Video: 8th RORC Caribbean 600 - Monday 22 Feb
Start Video: 8th RORC Caribbean 600 - Monday 22 Feb
 
Video for broadcasters. Contact press@rorc.org. High resolution images will be available from the race for editorial use and requests for specific interviews/photographs/video should be made to: press@rorc.org

RACE MINISITE: Follow the race on the minisite: http://caribbean600.rorc.org
Keep up to date with all the news. There will be blogs from the boats themselves on the race course, images, video and daily race reports. Follow the action as it unfolds on the RORC Caribbean 600 website.

SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook. Follow the race on: https://www.facebook.com/RoyalOceanRacingClub
Twitter: #rorcrc600  - Follow @rorcracing

TRACK THE FLEET:
Every yacht is fitted with a race tracker and their progress can be followed on the race website: http://caribbean600.rorc.org/Tracking/2016-fleet-tracking.html

Join the Virtual Regatta HERE: http://click.virtualregatta.com/?li=4559

(Race Reports: Louay Habib)

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Media contacts onsite:

Race Reports:
Louay Habib
E: louayhabib@gmail.com
Local cell:
+1 268 717 7231

International Press Enquiries:
Trish Jenkins, J2 Communications
RORC Caribbean 600 Press Officer
E: trish@j2pr.co.uk
Mb: +44 (0)7880 518689
Local cell: +1 268 789 7913    

Race Enquiries:
Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC)
E: racing@rorc.org
W:  http://rorc.org

THE RORC CARIBBEAN 600

    RORC Caribbean 600 minisite: http://caribbean600.rorc.org
    The RORC Caribbean 600 started from Antigua on Monday 22nd February 2016
    The 600nm course circumnavigates 11 Caribbean Islands starting from Fort Charlotte, English Harbour, Antigua and heads north as far as St Martin and south to Guadeloupe taking in Barbuda, Nevis, St Kitts, Saba and St Barth's    
    Twitter Hashtag : #rorcrc600
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoyalOceanRacingClub/?ref=hl
    Minisite:  http://caribbean600.rorc.org
    Virtual Race: http://click.virtualregatta.com/?li=4559
    Track the fleet: http://caribbean600.rorc.org/Tracking/2016-fleet-tracking.html

Past Results:
RORC CARIBBEAN 600 TROPHY - IRC OVERALL (Best best corrected time under IRC)

    2015 - Hap Fauth, JV72, Bella Mente (USA)
    2014 - George Sakellaris, RP72, Shockwave (USA)
    2013 - Ron O'Hanley, Privateer, Cookson 50 (USA)
    2012 - Niklas Zennström's JV72, Rán (GBR)
    2011 - George David, Rambler 100, JK 100 (USA)
    2010 - Karl C L Kwok, Beau Geste, Farr 80 (HKG)
    2009 - Adrian Lee, Lee Overlay Partners, Cookson 50 (IRL)

THE RORC:

    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://caribbean600.rorc.org