RORC TRansatlantic Race: Grenadian welcome for Maserati
4 December 2016The italian MOD70 Maserati has finished the RORC Transatlantic Race; Phaedo3 has been declared the winner of the Multihull Trophy and Mike Slade's Maxi, Leopard is on the hunt for the monohull record.Maserati RTR finish.
Giovanni Soldini's Maserati crossed the finish line on Saturday afternoon, completing the RORC Transatlantic Race and their first ocean race in the MOD70 in 7 days, 8 hours, 44 minutes and 23 seconds, taking second place in the Multihull division. She is now safely moored in the beautiful confines of Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina, Grenada after being welcomed by the RORC Race team, Marina Manager Glynn Thomas, his staff and Grenada Tourism on the dock. Phaedo3 skipper, Brian Thompson was also on hand to take Maserati's lines as they arrived, and a prize giving ceremony in the Victory Restaurant followed shortly after.
Taking the Multihull line honours, Team Phaedo were awarded the Multihull Trophy as winners of the Multihull Class by Andrew McIrvine, Secretary General of the IMA and Admiral of the Royal Ocean Racing Club.
Just after jumping ashore, Giovanni Soldini had this to say about the experience in the RORC Transatlantic Race: "It was a fantastic race. We're delighted to have arrived into Grenada with the boat in excellent shape. We would have liked to compete up close with Phaedo3, but on the first night out, we made different route choices. Passing Las Palmas on the windward side seemed the less risky choice to us, but it turned out we were wrong as it took us into a zone with less wind. When we received their position the following morning, we were 100 miles behind. But overall it was a positive experience: we are very happy with everything we learned about flying using the L-foil in the open ocean. We've found a way to use it both when there's too much wind and wave, and in other more changeable conditions when it is possible to fly." Continues Giovanni.
Multihull Trophy for Phaedo3
Out in the Atlantic, Mike Slade's Maxi, Leopard is stalking a virtual prey; the RORC Transatlantic Race Tracker shows Leopard stalking the 'Ghost of Nomad IV'. Last year Jean-Paul Riviere's French Finot Conq 100, Nomad IV set the record for the RORC Transatlantic Race in 10 days 07 hours 06 minutes and 59 seconds. The digital app of the course shows clearly that Leopard is now closing in on the record. This morning Leopard had 1,000 miles to go and was virtually 95 miles behind Nomad IV, but running faster, at a blistering pace of close to 17 knots. If Leopard continues at their current speed, the British Maxi will be close to record pace.
"After a rather frustrating 24 hours of very light winds we have recently been blessed with 15-20 knots of steady breeze, says Leopard's owner, Mike Slade who is enjoying the race with his regular crew, plus guests. "This has seen Leopard tick off 280 nm over the last 24 hours. At this stage arrival time in Grenada looks like late Tuesday evening/early Wednesday morning. Champagne conditions continue to result in massive grins on board."
Leopard is also the provisional leader after IRC time correction for the RORC Transatlantic Race Trophy. Arco Van Nieuwland & Andries Verde's Dutch Marten 72, Aragon is second after IRC time correction and leading IRC Zero. Swan 82, Stay Calm and Infiniti 46, Maverick is in a great battle on the water, with Anatoli Karatchinski's Baltic 112, also close to the duel. The three yachts could hardly be more different, but all enjoying a great race mid-Atlantic in the third edition of the RORC Transatlantic Race.
Searching for the trades
Kees Postma, one of the watch leaders on Infiniti 46, Maverick who celebrated his birthday sums up their race at the moment: "We're almost there!...is what we would have been saying on the 8th day; had this been an Atlantic crossing anywhere close to what we had hoped for. Instead, as I write this, we are 1,320 miles from Lanzarote and 1,567 miles from Grenada. Not quite halfway in distance, but hopefully halfway there in elapsed time. Having said that, we are all starting to question this mythical phenomenon called the tradewinds. A massive well done to skipper, Olly (Cotterell) and Eric (Holden) for troubleshooting and finding a fix for the hydraulics as without this, our result would suffer tremendously. Never has the deafening sound of the hydraulics power pack sounded so sweet."
Miranda Merron reported in form the leading Class40 in the race. Racing Campagne de France Two Handed with Halvard Mabire, life on board is tough as they seem the fabled tradewinds:
"Over a week of racing and not yet half way. Sometimes respectable breeze, sometimes next to nothing, sometimes some clouds that look like nascent trade wind clouds. Just to tempt us. Every time the wind speed changes, so does the interior decor of the boat. Stacking is permitted in the Class40 rules (with the exception of a few items), and moving all the sails, spares, tools, water, food etc plays an integral part in boat performance. On Campagne de France, stacking is done scientifically and neatly under the command of the stacking master. There has been ample opportunity for practice so far. We have a watermaker on board - a great asset both in the amount of water to shift around the boat and for the extra fresh water it produces for non-salt water washing - luxury!"
Meanwhile, Spartan Ocean Racing's Volvo 60, Challenger has ground to a halt and Skipper, Chris Stanmore-Major has lost his voice after catching the sore throat that has gone round the crew since leaving Lanzarote: "Keen observers will have noted that everyone and his dog in this race has now ground to a halt as the high we were all looking to skirt round took a quick step to the left and consumed the fleet. We have spent many hours today at a mighty 1 knot, whistled and hooted as breakneck speeds of 2 and 3 knots came and went and hit a new philosophical high as we stepped past that all too human reaction to adversity- to believe its the end of the world and nothing will ever go right ever again. Sure there is no wind right now, but relax it will come, it always does and then things will work themselves out as they always do. It's all very Zen and I think we can take from this discussion that yes, sailing is like life - it's easy to be philosophical when you are sharing your misery with others. Apart from me losing my voice through a sore throat, all is good on Challenger," concludes Chris.
Follow the progress of the fleet through race blogs from the race course: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/news/2016-blogs/
and check the race tracker: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/tracking/2016-fleet-tracking.html
All the latest news can be found at: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org
Photos: http://gallery.rorc.org/v/2016/RORC+Transatlantic+Race+2016/Finishing+yachts+RORC+TR+2016/
ENDS/
(Race Report: Louay Habib)
NOTES TO EDITORS:
All media enquires (interviews, images, video) please contact:
Trish Jenkins: press@rorc.org
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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
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E: racing@rorc.org
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