RORC Transatlantic Race: tomorrow the start

The 3rd edition of the RORC Transatlantic Race  - organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club in assocaition with the International Maxi Association and supported by Calero Marinas, Camper & Nicholson Marina, Port Louis Grenada and Grenada Tourism Authority - will start outside Marina Lanzarote at midday Saturday 26 November. The competitors attention is now very much on final preparations and the afterguards of the wide variety of yachts competing are starting to look at the weather predictions for the first few days of the race. Weather models are predicting a complex picture, with the usually stable trade winds being affected by low pressure systems and troughs developing along the 2,865 mile race course.

Mike Slade's canting keel Maxi Leopard 3 is hot favourite for Monohull Line Honours and the IMA Transatlantic Trophy. Leopard 3 will also have one eye on the clock, hoping to better the monohull record set by Jean-Paul Riviere's French Conq 100, Nomad IV of 10 days 07 hours 06 minutes and 59 seconds.

"Full congratulations to the Royal Ocean Racing Club for promoting an east to west transatlantic race which has proved a success in the last two years. Leopard is in fine form and keen to attack the record set last year. After a highly successful inshore season, Leopard is back in her element; she was built for Atlantic racing."

Multihull Line Honours is a straight duel between two MOD70s. Lloyd Thornburg's Phaedo3 set the multihull record last year in a time of 5 days 22 hours 46 minutes and 03 seconds. Giovanni Soldini, skipper of MOD 70, Maserati, spoke before going out for a last practice sail. Maserati is fitted with a T-Foil on its port rudder, enabling the Italian team to foil on starboard tack. This will be the first oceanic race for the team with the foil and once they have collected the data, it is expected to attach T-Foils to all three hulls.

"It could be a very tough race. Normally for this route it is fast downwind, but the weather is not showing that for this crossing. It could be very cold and wet for Maserati. We spoke with Phaedo and other MOD 70s many months ago and agreed to come and take part in the RORC Transatlantic as it is much more fun and more useful to race with similar boats. With the weather situation we have been talking about agreeing to both go south, but at the moment we are just talking about it. With our foil, we would favour flat water and 15 knots of wind or more and running would be a good point of sail compared to Phaedo, so we will be looking to get those sorts of conditions."

52 Super Series navigator, Jules Salter knows the Atlantic well. The British sailor trained in Lanzarote with Ericsson Racing Team before winning the Volvo Ocean Race. Jules will be navigator for Swan 82, Stay Calm with fellow round the world racer Neal MacDonald who will be a key member of the crew.

"You don't often get the opportunity to race across the Atlantic in winter," commented Jules Salter. "I have raced with the owner previously and I have known him for a long time. Neal McDonald and I have different skill sets; Neal is very strong at making the boat go fast and keeping it all in one piece and we have a good crew on board. Stay Calm is one of the most comfortable boats I have been on for a while, but she is well set up for racing. It is not looking like a typical trade winds race; parts of it might be, but it is quite complicated at the moment. There is a bit of an assault course ahead of us, nothing too dramatic, but a lot of different conditions which should be good for this boat. Unlike some of our competitors, Stay Calm is a good all-round boat. A lot of weather on the track hasn't even been formed yet, such as secondary lows and troughs. These can change quite quickly, within say 24 hours, so you have to keep an open mind, and balance it with trying to minimize the distance sailed. The first big decision looks like dealing with a trough that should be going through near the start of the race; that could make things quite interesting for the first 24 hours."

The largest yacht in the RORC Transatlantic Race is the magnificent Baltic 112, Path. Four-time round the world racer Pepe Ribes from Alicante, Spain has competed in four Volvo Ocean Races and was crew on board Maxi Comanche for the West to East Transatlantic Record set earlier this year will be aboard.

"We are doing the RORC Transatlantic Race for the same reasons as everyone else; it is a really good race on an unbelievable race track, from Lanzarote to Grenada. We love sailing and love to race, but for this crossing our competition will be ourselves and our aim is to get across without breaking anything and to make it an enjoyable race for the owner. Path is 100% a cruising boat and weighs 130 tonnes, but I think this is going to be an amazing 10-12 sailing days. This is my first experience on this boat and it will also be my first transatlantic in a boat that is not a racing boat, so it is going to be very special and I'll learn a lot," says Crew Boss and Navigator, Pepe Ribes.

Infiniti Yachts founder and helmsman for Infiniti 46 Maverick is British sailor, Gordon Kay. The carbon fibre 46 foot sloop has both a canting keel and DSS side appendages. This will be the first oceanic test for the boat which won IRC Zero in this year's Rolex Middle Sea Race.

"With our waterline length we do not want too much upwind work, but reaching we should be just fine. After the start we have to round Tenerife, which puts us on the north to begin with, but after that it is a difficult call where to go. The north looks like there is building pressure, but further down the track the wind could go south, meaning head winds. Going south earlier there looks like very little wind. The main effect on the weather is a low pressure system which is on about the same latitude as Lanzarote, this is virtually unheard of. Before the race, we studied the historic weather patterns for the last 10 years and the fastest route showed a time of just 7 days. Right now with this weather scenario, we could take 14."

Infiniti Yachts founder and helmsman for Infiniti 46 Maverick is British sailor, Gordon Kay. The carbon fibre 46 foot sloop has both a canting keel and DSS side appendages. This will be the first oceanic test for the boat which won IRC Zero in this year's Rolex Middle Sea Race.

"With our waterline length we do not want too much upwind work, but reaching we should be just fine. After the start we have to round Tenerife, which puts us on the north to begin with, but after that it is a difficult call where to go. The north looks like there is building pressure, but further down the track the wind could go south, meaning head winds. Going south earlier there looks like very little wind. The main effect on the weather is a low pressure system which is on about the same latitude as Lanzarote, which is virtually unheard of. Before the race, we studied the historic weather patterns for the last 10 years and the fastest route showed a time of just 7 days. Right now with this weather scenario, we could take 14."

(Race Report: Louay Habib)

For further information, full entry list and race documents, please visit:  http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org

NOTES TO EDITORS:

HOW TO FOLLOW THE RACE

Race minisite:  http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org

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PRESS STORY LEADS pdf document: Click HERE

THE RORC TRANSATLANTIC RACE:

    The third RORC Transatlantic Race starts in Lanzarote on Saturday 26th November 2016 and the 2,865 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 RORC Transatlantic Race Trophy for best elapsed time under IRC in 2015 was Jean-Paul Riviere's 100ft Finot-Conq. Nomad IV also won IRC overall and the IMA Trophy for monohull line honours. Nomad IV also set a new monohull record for the RORC Transatlantic Race: 10 days 07 hours 06 minutes and 59 seconds
    Multihull Record: 5 days 22 hours 46 minutes 03 secondsLloyd Thornburg's MOD70, Phaedo3 was the first boat to arrive in the last race and set the multihull record for the race
    Class40: 12 days 12 hours 36 minutes 32 secondsGonzalo Botin's Spanish Class40, Tales II was the first Class40 to complete the race in 2015, setting a Class40 record

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 was an instant success, and in 2014 RORC extended its organisational expertise by creating the new RORC Transatlantic Race from Lanzarote to Grenada in November
    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 #rorcracing

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 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

ABOUT CAMPER & NICHOLSONS MARINAS

    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. The company has specialised in marina and waterfront development for over 40 years and has provided services to clients in more than 25 countries worldwide. Projects range from small marinas through to developments of over 500 hectares.
    
    Camper & Nicholsons Marinas Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Camper & Nicholsons Marina Investments Limited, listed on the AIM of the London Stock Exchange. Camper & Nicholsons currently operate marinas in Grenada, Italy, Malta, Cyprus, Turkey and the UK, with over 30 new projects currently under way all over the world.
    
    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
    
 For more information about Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina
    visit: www.cnmarinas.com/plm

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

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:
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