RORC Transatlantic Race: Day 3 report. 370 miles of separation

As dawn broke on the third day of the RORC Transatlantic Race, the northerly route across the Atlantic looks to be the favourite for many of the 23 teams taking part in the race. Jens Kellinghusen's German Ker 56 Varuna leads the charge towards the low pressure system which has attracted the fleet to this route. The low has moved further north east than predicted allowing the fleet to take a more direct heading across the Atlantic. To the south, the convergence zone, acting as a barrier to the tradewinds, is the focus of attention for Ludde Ingvall's Australian Maxi CQS which has chosen the southerly route.

After beating into big seas for most of the second day, CQS tacked south at around midnight last night. To reach the tradewinds, CQS need to cross a convergence zone, an area of scarce wind approximately 100 miles across. The Australian Maxi has pointed their bow towards the coast of Senegal, West Africa and will be hoping to have picked the narrowest gap. By sharp contrast, Roman Guerra's Volvo 70 Monster Project is 370 nautical miles (682 km) north of CQS, blasting along on a tight reach into the low pressure system and experiencing close to gale force conditions.

Varuna has been the fastest yacht in the fleet, racing close to 300 miles in the last 24 hours, and of the yachts north of the rhumb line, Varuna is closest to the finish. Amongst the Maxi Yachts, Canadian Southern Wind 96 Sorceress, skippered by Daniel Stump has passed Jochen Bovenkamp's Marten 72 Aragon and pulled out a six mile lead. However, Eric de Turckheim's French Nivelt -Muratet 54 Teasing Machine continues to impress, as does Bo Teichmann & Thomas Jungblut's German Elliott 52 Outsider. The two smaller yachts have covered a similar distance as the two Maxis in the last 24 hours.

In the Class40s, Mathias Mueller von Blumencron's Red has covered 200 miles in the last 24 hours, to pull out a 30 mile lead on Berthold and Tobias Brinkmann's MarieJo. Gerald Bibot's Belgian 42ft Catamaran Zed 6 is north of the Class40s and is now clear of the wind shadow of the Canary Islands.

In IRC Zero, two young German teams are locked in a close battle. JV52 Haspa Hamburg, skippered by 21 year-old Max Gaertner, and JV53 Bank Von Bremen skippered, by Alexander Beilken. In IRC One, Bjoerne Woge's Andrews 56 Broader View Hamburg has raced 176 miles in the last 24 hours, more than any other team in the class.

Friedrich Boehnert's Xp-50 Lunatix, and Chris Stanmore-Major's Whitbread 60 Challenger have for now chosen to race the rhumb line towards Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina in Grenada. Arno Boehnert aboard Lunatix is already looking forward to the spice of Grenada.

"It's all good on board Lunatix, but we are bashing upwind at the moment," reported Arno Boehnert in a race blog. "Tonight we are eating our delicious freeze-dried food with hot sauce, which you never want to forget when you are racing the Atlantic! Rounding the (Canary) Islands we had a pretty tough day with everything from light winds to strong gusts, so we really needed to stay focused. Earlier we had a great battle with Broader View Hamburg, but now no other boats are in sight. We are on our own."

(RAce Report: Louay Habib)

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Follow the fleet and watch the 2017 RORC Transatlantic Race unfold: 

Minisite: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/ 

YB Race Tracker: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/tracking/2017-fleet-tracking.html
Individual yachts, classes or the whole fleet can be tracked throughout the race

Social media - How to follow the race:-

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Photo albums and news stories: Instagram: @rorcracing

A selection of the best photographs to bring the race alive

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Media Requests:

Trish Jenkins - Press Officer

RORC Transatlantic Race

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RACE REPORTER:

Louay Habib

M: +44 (0)7801 800521

E: louayhabib@gmail.com

RORC RACE ENQUIRIES:

Royal Ocean Racing Club

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E:   racing@rorc.org

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ROYAL OCEAN RACING CLUB:

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London SW1A 1NN

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THE ATLANTIC ANNIVERSARY REGATTA - incorporating the RORC Transatlantic Race

The westbound leg of the celebratory Atlantic Anniversary Regatta incorporates the 4th edition of the RORC Transatlantic Race, an annual race organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club in association with the International Maxi Association (IMA) http://www.internationalmaxiassociation.com

The fleet will depart from Marina Lanzarote on Saturday 25th November 2017 and the 2,995 nautical mile race runs through the Canary Islands before crossing the Atlantic to arrive at Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina in Grenada

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 including the RORC Easter Challenge and IRC National Championship in the Solent

The club is based in St James' Place, London, but after a merger with The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club in Cowes, now boasts a superb clubhouse facility at the entrance to Cowes Harbour and a membership of over 4000

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

RORC website: www.rorc.org

Twitter: #rorctransatlanticrace @RORCracing

Facebook: www.facebook.com/royaloceanracingclub

Instagram: instagram.com/rorcracing 

The AAR is a celebration of the jubilees of two of the most highly regarded sailing clubs in the world - the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV) from Hamburg (150th anniversary) and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) from Sardinia (50th anniversary)

It is an extraordinary series of events spanning a 9-month period between November 2017 and July 2018, connecting Grenada and Bermuda with the vibrant maritime metropolis of Hamburg

Starts: Westbound (Lanzarote - Grenada) - Saturday 25th November 2017, Eastbound (Bermuda - Hamburg) - Saturday 7th July 2018

It is the first regatta series to cross the Atlantic ocean twice, in both directions

The regatta is supported by: The Royal Ocean Racing Club; Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, International Maxi Class Association, Segler-Vereinigung Cuxhaven.

http://anniversary-regatta.com

https://www.facebook.com/AtlanticAnniversaryRegatta @AtlanticAnniversaryRegatta

RORC RATING:

The RORC has also been a leader in yacht handicap systems and in co-operation with the French offshore racing club, UNCL, created IRC - the principal yacht measurement system for the rating of racing yachts 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 and for IRC rating globally www.ircrating.org

Social media: www.facebook.com/rorcratingwww.facebook.com/ircrating 

Twitter @RORCrating @IRCrating 

THE INTERNATIONAL MAXI ASSOCIATION (IMA):

The International Maxi Association (IMA) represents owners of Maxi yachts worldwide

Recognised in 2010 as the World Sailing international class of Maxi yachts, the IMA has the exclusive right to organise World championships for Maxi yachts. The current President of the IMA is Thomas Bscher, the Secretary General is Andrew McIrvine, also Admiral of the Royal Ocean Racing Club

The IMA has been closely associated with the RORC Transatlantic Race since its inception. The IMA is registered in Geneva, has a base in Porto Cervo and an office in the UK, for rating and technical matters. It has two affiliated classes (Maxi 72s, and J Class) and one associated class (Wally Class). The IMA's function is to 'guide, structure and encourage maxi yacht racing worldwide

The IMA rule defines and categorises maxi yachts: it aims to embrace all maxi yachts and encourage any development that has a positive effect on the construction and performance of maxi yachts'

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

https://www.facebook.com/CaleroMarinas/ @CaleroMarinas 

Enquiries: msymes@caleromarinas.com

Other social media handles: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Canary.Islands.Tourism

#CanaryIslands, Twitter: @CanaryIslandsEN, #CanaryIslands, Instagram: theCanaryIslands - #CanaryIslands. Lanzarote: FB: @Visit Lanzarote -# Lanzarote, Twitter: @TurismoLZT - #Lanzarote, Instagram : turismolzt - #Lanzarote. Arrecife: @Turismo Arrecife, Real Club Náutico de Arrecife:  https://www.facebook.com/rcna.info, @rcna.info

CAMPER & NICHOLSONS MARINAS:

Camper & Nicholsons Marinas 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 Marinas 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 159 berths, including 30 superyacht berths for vessels from 25m to 90m LOA, and up to 6m draft

For more information about Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina visit: www.cnmarinas.com/plm

Twitter: @portlouismarina

Facebook: www.facebook.com/portlouismarina

Instagram: http://instagram.com/portlouismarina  

GRENADA TOURISM AUTHORITY:

The premium yachting destination in the southern Caribbean, Grenada and its sister islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique are widely considered to be the most unspoiled cruising grounds in the Caribbean. Famed for its people's warm and gregarious hospitality Pure Grenada, the Spice of the Caribbean 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/discovergrenada

Instagram: www.instagram.com/discovergrenada

Youtube: www.youtube.com/puregrenada