RORC Transatlantic Race 2018, Day 3: The trades beckon for RORC Transatlantic Race leaders

The battle between the multihulls has entered another phase, with both Giovanni Soldini's Maserati Multi 70 and Peter Cunningham's MOD70 PowerPlay crossing the rhumb line at sundown on day 2. As dawn broke on the third day of the RORC Transatlantic Race, the two duelling trimarans tacked south. However, Maserati chose to take a hotter angle to the northwesterly breeze, whilst PowerPlay was heading downwind. The main objective for both was to escape their area of high pressure to the solid 20 knots of wind that awaits them; the difference in opinion will play out today. At 0830 UTC on day 3 both boats were ramping up the boat speed, preparing for the downwind sleigh ride to come.

It was a busy night on board Italian Supermaxi My Song. International Maxi Association member, Pier Luigi Loro Piana's magnificent 130ft Baltic put in several manoeuvres during the night which would have required all 20 of the crew to be on deck. My Song is expected to make the solid trade winds later today and unfurl its huge inventory of downwind sails: "On the delivery down to Lanzarote we saw a top speed of 22 knots without the spinnaker up. We are really looking forward to experiencing her full potential," commented My Song navigator, Nacho Postigo.

News in from the Class40 Division confirms a great battle between Catherine Pourre's Eärendil and Henrik Bergesen's Hydra: "The first 24 hours have been a little uncomfortable upwind in 12 to 16 knots and we took a reef in during the night," commented Catherine Pourre. "All-in-all it was okay in terms of speed as we managed to recover from our not-so-good start. We passed Hydra upwind when it was a bit stronger. They did a good job afterwards as they stayed close and we have been match racing. It is fun really and we are enjoying it immensely on board as we managed to stay a bit ahead of them, staying between them and the islands to the south."

Pip Hare reported in from Norwegian Class40 Hydra from the north side of Tenerife: "We are not in a lot of wind and for the most part we have been playing an intense game of cat and mouse with Eärendil. We have been swapping the lead, but right now they are just in front of us flying a Code Zero. We crossed tacks twice during the day, winning one each. We have been clinging to each other and if we do this all the way across the Atlantic it will be an amazing race."

At 0830 UTC on Day Three of the RORC Transatlantic Race, Eärendil had pulled three miles ahead of Hydra. Stephane Bry's French-Finnish team racing Sirius was 27 miles behind the leader.

In the IRC fleet, My Song was leading on the water by 53 miles from Franco Niggeler's Swiss Cookson 50 Kuka3, which pulled off a great strategic call last night. Kuka3 passed very close to the south side of El Hierro reaching a speed of over 8 knots; presumably after picking up land breeze emanating from the islands 1,500 metre high peak. Trevor Middleton's British Sun Fast 3600 Black Sheep is going well. The team saw significant gains yesterday by staying in the pressure to the north of the fleet, and on the third day of racing the high pressure ridge has moved north, giving the smallest boat in the race more wind to head south to the full trade winds.

(Race report: Louay Habib/RORC)

HOW TO FOLLOW THE RACE:

Race Minisite: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/ 
Daily stories, press releases and race updates, as well as blogs from the boats and photo gallery 
Race Tracker: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/tracking/2018-fleet-tracking.html

Individual yachts, classes or the whole fleet can be tracked throughout the race
 

Social Media: Official Race Hashtag: #rorctransatlanticrace
Facebook: @RoyalOceanRacingClub, Twitter & Instagram: #rorctransatlanticrace

Virtual Race: Armchair sailors...take on the challenge with Virtual Regatta Page Officielle, a new dimension of virtual offshore sailing! http://click.virtualregatta.com/?li=4852

http://click.virtualregatta.com/?li=4852

MEDIA IMAGE GALLERY: http://gallery.rorc.org/v/2018/rorc-transatlantic-race/

CURRENT RACE RECORDS:

Monohull Record:

10 days 07 hours 06 minutes and 59 seconds: NOMAD IV, FINOT-CONQ 100

In 2015, Jean-Paul Riviere's French Finot-Conq 100, Nomad IV set a record for the RORC Transatlantic Race and was also awarded the International Maxi Association Transatlantic Trophy for Monohull line honours

Multihull Record:

5 days 22 hours 46 minutes 03 seconds: PHAEDO3, MOD70

In 2016, Lloyd Thornburg's MOD70, Phaedo3 set the multihull record for the race

Class40 record:

12 days 12 hours 36 minutes 32 seconds: TALES II, CLASS40

Gonzalo Botin's Spanish Class40, Tales II was the first Class40 to complete the race in 2015, setting a Class40 record

NOTES TO EDITORS:

RORC RACE ENQUIRIES:

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 

THE RORC TRANSATLANTIC RACE:

The 2,865 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, such as the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race, as well as inshore regattas including the RORC Easter Challenge

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 4,000

The 5th edition of the RORC Transatlantic Race will start from Lanzarote on Saturday 24th November 2018

The annual race is organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) in association with the International Maxi Association (IMA) http://www.internationalmaxiassociation.com 

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

RORC website: www.rorc.org

Twitter: #rorctransatlanticrace @RORCracing

Facebook: www.facebook.com/royaloceanracingclub

Instagram: instagram.com/rorcracing 

IRC 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 President of the IMA is Benoît de Froidmont, 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

The IMA Transatlantic Trophy is presented to the Line Honours Monohull in the RORC Transatlantic Race

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: https://www.instagram.com/portlouismarinaofficial

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