RORC Transatlantic Race: Day Three Race Report
28 November 2016
670 miles of separation
By daybreak on the third day of the RORC Transatlantic Race, Lloyd Thornburg's American MOD70 Phaedo3, skippered by Brian Thompson was continuing to charge south, approaching the Cape Verde islands. 670 miles to the north, Giovanni Soldini's Italian MOD70 Maserati was continuing their ascent north. The remainder of the fleet look to be hedging their bets for the moment, staying close to the rhumb line, save Mike Slade's 100ft (30m) Maxi Leopard 3, which is stalking Maserati's lonely trail. Both teams are looking to slingshot the edge of a massive low pressure system in the North Atlantic.
Phaedo have completed 700 miles of the course and their route is typical for a normal weather pattern; 'head south until the butter melts'. However, with today's sophisticated weather modelling, the afterguard on board know that this race will not be that simple. Looking at the wind forecast alone is not enough, as Phaedo3 navigator, Miles Seddon explained before the start of the race: "Wind speed and direction is obviously a factor, but for a MOD70 sea state is just as important."
Maserati has completed 600 miles of the course and their route will have been an extremely uncomfortable one. Upwind on a MOD70 is not for the faint-hearted. With the crashing of the hulls and the constant rise and fall over the waves, it would have been impossible to sleep on board. However, today the team may begin to get the reward for the pain. The North Atlantic above them has no less than four active low pressure systems and Maserati should hook into the bottom of the largest one today. The clockwise motion will create fast downwind conditions on starboard tack, bringing Maserati's T-Foil into play. Before the start Soldini talked about the race: "If we have light winds, then we have more wet surface area than Phaedo, so we will be slower, but with downwind conditions and 15 knots or more, then we can foil on starboard tack." Maserati have made no secret of their wish to collect data from the race. The team are about to find out what it is like running at high speed in the Atlantic Ocean.Mike Slade's Maxi Leopard 3 completed 500 miles of the course this morning, with a 45 mile lead on the IRC fleet. Two days into the race, Leopard has matched the average speed posted by Nomad IV when the French Maxi set the monohull race record last year, but it is too early to predict if Slade's team can lower the bar.
In the IRC fleet for the overall prize of the RORC Transatlantic Race Trophy, after IRC time correction, Arco Van Nieuwland & Andries Verde's Dutch Marten 72 Aragon is estimated to be in pole position. Today is Andries Verde's 50th birthday and he will be celebrating with his 18 year old daughter Anna and all the crew. Anna is believed to be the youngest competitor in the RORC Transatlantic Race and this will be her first race, but her second crossing as Anna's mother explains: "Anna wanted to race rather than cruise across the Atlantic and she is a very competent sailor; she loves to drive, especially at night and the crew on board are highly skilled so she will be learning so much."
In the Class40 division, Halvard Mabire & Miranda Merron's Campagne de France has a healthy 50 mile lead over Catherine Pourre's Eärendil. Campagne de France have been pushing hard and is now enjoying the downwind conditions that the Class40 revels in. Miranda spoke about the earlier difficulties in her blog: "Light and swirly, difficult getting past the mountains including 3,700m peak on Tenerife and their effect on the wind. Two large squalls are lining up to windward, so imminent activities will entail furling the gennaker, filling ballast tanks, getting rained on and wondering whether we can hang on for a few minutes with the 25-30 knot gusts without reducing more sail, since there will only be 4 knots of wind in its wake."
All of the international fleet of racing yachts is now into the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean, save Marc Lepesqueux's Class40 Sensation, which has sadly retired from the race, with all crew safe and well ashore, the team plan to cross the Atlantic at a later stage.
All the latest news can be found at: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org
Track the fleet: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/tracking/2016-fleet-tracking.html
ENDS (Race Report: Louay Habib)
NOTES TO EDITORS:
All media enquires (interviews, images, video) please contact:
Trish Jenkins: press@rorc.org
HOW TO FOLLOW THE RACE
Race minisite: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org
Track the fleet:
http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/tracking/2016-fleet-tracking.html
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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/
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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 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:
20 St James's Place
London SW1A 1NN
Tel: 020 7493 2248
Fax: 020 7493 2470
E: info@rorc.org