First home in the 2022 RORC Transatlantic Race was the Multi 70 Maserati, skippered by Giovanni Soldini.

Maserati finished this morning, Saturday 15 January, at 05:51:41 UTC, to take Multihull Line Honours. The Italian modified MOD70 overhauled the more conventionally set up Powerplay, which led for the majority of the 3,000 race, and Argo, despite suffering damage to its port rudder.

The three 70ft trimarans developed an intense mid-Atlantic match race over the final 500 miles of the transatlantic, the front runners frequently sailing in sight of each other as they raced to Grenada. 

Giles Scott and Miles Seddon study the weather at the nav station on PowerPlay. Photo Paul Larsen/Powerplay/RORC

Having initially headed far north of the rhumbline in order to navigate a low pressure system tracking from Nova Scotia, the three leading trimarans engaged in a straight-line downwind speed contest over the final few days of the race, flying down to the Caribbean at speeds topping 30 knots and matching each other gybe for gybe. 

Powerplay was first to concede the lead to Argo, the pair initially duelling on a slightly more southerly line, but Maserati was sailing at 25-27 knot averages to overhaul them both in a well timed run for the finish.

As PowerPlay’s Paul Larsen reported from onboard: “We’ve effectively got a new race start with around 500 miles to go. Everyone’s pumped and Powerplay is at 100 percent. This has already been a belter of a race. Looking like it’s going to be like that all the way to the end. The blue bus is the hunted, but the hounds are all around!”

Damaged port rudder on the Multi 70 Maserati. Photo: RORC Transatlantic Race

Maserati is the more heavily modified of the three MOD70s, having been fitted with foils. However, Soldini reported that Maserati had damaged, then lost, its port rudder, so was unable to foil on starboard gybe. Argo had also suffered rudder damage during the race.

Second to cross the finish line off Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina, Grenada was Peter Cunningham’s MOD70 PowerPlay at 0646 this morning.

Double-handers lead IRC 1

This eighth edition of the RORC Transatlantic Race has attracted the strongest fleet yet.

Behind the three 70ft trimarans, the 100ft Maxi yacht Comanche is chasing monohull line honours and course record and looks set to achieve both. This morning it is leading both IRC Super Zero and IRC overall on handicap, although the Volvo 70 L4 Trifork is challenging hard for the IRC Super Zero win. It won’t be a new record eastbound transatlantic time however – Comanche already holds that at 5d 14h 21m 25s.

Comanche at the start of the RORC Transatlantic Race off Lanzarote. Photo: James Mitchell/RORC

The RORC Transatlantic Race will be a very different experience for the double-handed team on the 32ft JPK 10.10 Jangada. Richard Palmer and Jeremy Waitt are leading IRC 1 overall but still have over 1,600 miles to go.

Richard Palmer reported from onboard: “Jangada is performing well so far all systems are running as expected. With only satellite data systems to get weather updates on we are always needing to ensure our small crafts systems work, it’s taken a huge amount of preparation to be ready to race. It’s getting exciting as we close up to the top of the leader board and we hope we can continue to push for a top spot. The level of competition is immense racing against ocean going machines like Comanche and Volvo 70s makes the task a tough one.”

Jeremy Waitt said: “It’s such a privilege to be racing in the ocean like this, the moonlight dancing of the wave tops and vast expanse of this ocean is stunning. As I write we are surfing down large waves at high speeds with the spinnaker and the conditions have been tough.  

“Being two handed makes things pretty tough and sleep deprivation can make it really hard. Alongside lack of sleep each of us must manage the boat for long periods whilst the other is asleep effectively single handed, there’s no doubt we have to compromise at times compared against the fully crewed boats with 6-14 people aboard. 

“We will soon be passing the place where two year ago I fell off the boat and thankfully was retrieved by Richard, it’s a reminder of the risks involved in ocean racing.”

Thomson retires from RORC Transatlantic

Two boats have had to stop racing following damage. Alex Thomson, who was making his first competitive outing since announcing his retirement from IMOCA 60 sailing, was racing with Ken Howery on Tosca, a newly launched Gunboat 68 catamaran. 

Howery reported that Tosca had been taking on water which meant the team “could not run the basic electrical systems necessary for the safety of the crew.” The Gunboat diverted to the Azores, and intended to set off for Grenada after making repairs.

On Day 6 the Botin 56 Black Pearl reported that they had been dismasted. All crew on board were unhurt and the boat is making its way back to the Canary Islands under jury rig.

Follow the race at https://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/

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The eighth running of the RORC Transatlantic Race has attracted its strongest ever fleet, with a varied line up ranging from the 100ft canting keel Maxi Comanche to a double-handed team on the 32ft JPK 10.10 Jangada. Thirty teams, with crew from 27 nations, set off from Lanzarote to Grenada yesterday, Saturday 8 January, 2022.

Contesting for RORC Transatlantic Race line honours are three 70ft trimarans. Peter Cunningham’s MOD70 PowerPlay made an impressive start, ripping off the line at speeds of over 30 knots, with a crew that includes America’s Cup sailor and double Olympic Gold Medallist Giles Scott on board. PowerPlay was first to clear the passage between Lanzarote and Fuerteventura and after 24 hours of racing had a 40-mile lead over Jason Carroll’s MOD70 Argo (USA) and Giovanni Soldini’s Multi70 Maserati (ITA).

Before the start British multihull supremo Brian Thompson, who is tactician on Argo, commented: “It’s going to be a fantastic competition between four boats for Multihull Line Honours. The winner will be the team that manages these powerful boats, especially in the rough conditions, and the one that takes the best route. This year the trade winds are not as normal as they should be, so for the record we will have to wait and see. It is always exciting to race across the Atlantic; it hasn’t got any smaller or any easier!”

The 2022 RORC Transatlantic Race features three 70ft trimarans. Photo: James Mitchell/RORC

Also racing in the MOCRA fleet are Alex Thomson and Neal McDonald. Thomson, making his first competitive outing since announcing his retirement from IMOCA 60 racing, is sailing aboard Ken Howery’s Gunboat 68 Tosca. Tosca is one of many yachts still heading north-east as complex weather patterns sent many of the fleet north of the rhumbline, rather than the conventional ‘south ‘til the butter melts’ tradewind route.

Onboard photographer and crew member Patrick Condy reported: “Settling in well and speeding along. Ken Howery leads the max speed score – 26.1 knots! Not super warm onboard and only getting colder further north.”

Alex Thomson and Neal McDonald are aboard the Gunboat 68 Tosca in the 2022 RORC Transatantic Race. Photo James Mitchell/RORC

RORC Transatlantic tactics

Whilst there is a high pressure system north of the Cape Verde islands, a low-pressure system tracking from Nova Scotia is forecast to disrupt the north-easterly trade winds in the next 24 hours for the RORC Transatlantic fleet.

The key decision for the leading boats is when to gybe west; Go too early and the wind will decrease, go later and there is the possibility of 40-knot headwinds and big waves. This morning the 100ft Maxi yacht Comanche was first to turn their nose south-west towards Grenada.

Comanche is the largest yacht in the 2022 RORC Transatlantic Race. Photo James Mitchell/RORC

Comanche, skippered by Mitch Booth for its new owners, has an all-star cast onboard and will be eyeing the transatlantic record as well as monohull line honours. The giant monohull, often nicknamed the ‘aircraft carrier’ for its exceptional beam, is the current holder of the monohull west-east transatlantic time to beat (Ambrose Light – Lizard Point) at 5d 14h 21m 25s.

Also competing in IRC Super Zero are a number of former Volvo Ocean Race yachts, including the Volvo 70 L4 Trifork, with ocean racing legend Bouwe Bekking aboard as principal helmsman and strategist.

Some of the closest racing could be in the IRC Zero class, with the Botin 52s Caro and Tala going head to head, along with the Botin 56 Black Pearl. After 24 hours of racing the three had made equal ground to the west, Tala some 18 miles north of class leader Caro, with Black Pearl a similar margin further south.

Photo: James Mitchell/RORC Transatlantic Race

Within IRC 1 there has been a split in tactics, with some boats opting to take rougher sea conditions in favour of good breeze by heading north early, while boats that stayed further south are slowed in the wind shadow west of Tenerife island.

However, a long-term strategy may yet pan out for the southerly boats, as Chris Jackson explains from on board Pata Negra: “Looking at the extreme north track, it seems to us to be very uncomfortable and also risky on getting a route south later in the race, of course this could change. We are sticking closer to the rhumb line, which will hopefully give us a better route south later.”

Double-handed transat

Meanwhile the lowest rated yacht in the RORC Transatlantic Race could yet be one of the most competitively sailed. Jeremy Waitt and Richard Palmer are co-skippers of the JPK 10.10 Jangada, one of the most successful and experienced double-handed teams around.

Jangada is competing in the 2022 RORC Transatlantic Race double-handed. Photo James Mitchell/RORC

Richard Palmer commented before the start: “We are a small boat in a big ocean and looking at the weather we’re going to be in big waves, and our light boat gets rocked around much more than the larger entries. The biggest challenge for us is fatigue. With only two of us on board, staying awake is one of the biggest tests.”

Jeremy Waitt added: “Our biggest strength is that we have raced thousands of miles together, including this race, and in light winds we think we could take an advantage compared to the big boats. The bigger boats will tend to get much faster into new weather systems and that can be a disadvantage. For Jangada, the weather tends to come to us, so keeping out of rough weather is much harder.”

Follow the RORC Transatlantic Race tracker

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Following the postponement of this year’s OSTAR and TwoSTAR transatlantic races to 2022, a small group of determined solo and double-handed skippers set off on their own challenge, the NOSTAR transatlantic.

The transat was initiated by Charlene Howard, who had entered the 2021 TwoSTAR race on her Sun Odyssey 45.2 AJ Wanderlust with co-skipper Bobby Drummond. When it became evident that the official races organised by the Royal Western YC were likely to be postponed for another year, Howard and a small group of other entries decided to cross together. She was joined by Scottish single-hander Jock Hamilton on his 32-footer Freya, Ertan Beskardes on his Rustler 36 Lazy Otter, and Guido Cantini on his Vancouver 34 Hannah of Cowes, the latter two having entered as part of their preparation for the Golden Globe Race.

“We all left together, on the exact day and time that OSTAR/TwoSTAR was supposed to leave,” Howard explained. “We were able to get the sailing instructions from the 2017 race just to confirm the course, which is very simple: you leave Plymouth breakwater, leave Eddystone light to starboard and then finish at Castle Hill, Newport 3,000 miles later.”

The ‘NOSTAR’ set off from Plymouth to follow the original OSTAR/TwoSTAR course to Newport, USA

A tough transatlantic

As is frequently the case for the official OSTAR, the NOSTAR transatlantic fleet faced a tough crossing. “When we left it was blowing quite hard. The decision we made off the south-west coast of Ireland was I didn’t want to go straight into big seas.

“The unintended impact of that was we got caught in the middle of a secondary low that was not showing on any of the charts, which forced us to go north because it was where we could make the best headway,” explains Howard.

“That helped our race a lot because we ended up skirting above the low pressure systems and getting some tailwinds, whereas the other guys decided to go a more rhumbline route and I think they encountered worse sea state because of that.

“We actually had quite a nice crossing for the first 10 days or so because we were above the low pressure systems. We went as high as 56N so, then we had to climb back down and went through five days of near-gales and quite heavy seas.”

Howard and her co-skipper Bobby Drummund

Onboard AJ Wanderlust they suffered a broken inner forestay, ripped mainsail and a destroyed wind generator, but were able to continue into Newport, arriving after 31 days.

Meanwhile, Jock Hamilton was dismasted. “Jock got about halfway across the track when he dismasted, and then showed very good seamanship and jury rigging [to sail back to] Scotland,” explains Howard, “Ertan on Lazy Otter had three knockdowns in one night and lost their self steering gear, so they went to the Azores to get sorted out.

Article continues below…

OSTAR 2017: David Southwood recounts an exceptionally brutal Atlantic storm

Competitors in the 2017 Original Single-handed Transatlantic Race (OSTAR) experienced the worst conditions since the race was initiated in 1960…

Solo Atlantic sailing: Lessons learned en-route to Madeira

It was just before midnight in the eastern fringes of the Atlantic Ocean, about 130 miles south-west of Cape Finisterre.…

Guido Cantini aboard the Vancouver 34 Hannah of Cowes © Guido Cantini/Hannah Racing

“And Guido started with us but was immediately having issues with both his hydrovane as well as his electric pilot . So he returned to Plymouth and then started again.” Cantini later retired to the Azores, leaving Howard and Drummond the default winners of the inaugural NOSTAR Race.

NOSTAR transatlantic challenge

Howard, who is American but lives on the Isle of Man, had originally entered the race in memory of her mother, Charlotte. “Since we didn’t have a sponsor I did the trophies and bought a bottle of Port Charlotte whisky that was meant to be our prize for this very Corinthian race,” she recalls.

American sailor Charlene Howard is trying to tick off as many of the big offshore races as she can

Howard is an archetypal Corinthian ocean racing sailor. She has raced some 100,000 miles on her production yacht, which she describes as ‘fairly standard but significantly beefed up’, with modified chainplates and tie-rods, and increased internal structures, plus a new strengthened rudder after an electrical fire saw AJ Wanderlust lose power and ground hard in January this year. In 2018 she even sailed back-to-back Round Britain races.

“I just absolutely love being at sea, I love a long passage. I love racing because no matter how slow you’re going, you can’t turn on the engine. So you just have to challenge yourself to make 11 tons of boat move in 3 knots of wind. And I love the self-sufficiency of leaving and knowing that it is simply yourself and your sailing partner and your skills that have to get you to the other side.” 

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The Transatlantic Race 2015 got underway on Sunday 28th June as the first 13 of the 38 competitiors headed out of Narragansett Bay’s East Passage, Rhode Island to cool but favourable conditions.

Tensions were high amongst the crews as the bay experienced an intense low-pressure system during the lead-up to the race, with talks of delaying the start. Thankfully the storm passed through leaving behind big swells for the smaller yachts but a favorable boost from the outgoing current and the run-off from Saturday night’s heavy rain.

The Transatlantic Race 2015 charts a 2,800-nautical-mile course from Newport, Rhode Island to Lizard Point off the Cornish coast.  The race is organized by the Royal Yacht Squadron, the New York Yacht Club, the Royal Ocean Racing Club and the Storm Trysail Club.

The Sparkman & Stephens deisgned 52-foot yawl Dorade first competed in the race in 1931 having just been built. She completed the trip in just over 17 days, took line honours and was overall champion on corrected time. She is now 85 years old and Californian owners Pam Levy and Matt Brooks are looking forward to competing in the 2015 race.

Pre-start activities took place at the New York Yacht Club’s Harbour Court clubhouse in Newport, whilst the awards will be presented at the Royal Yacht Squadron’s Cowes Castle clubhouse on the Isle of Wight.

Take a look at the entries this year and you will see a real mix of yachts, from 2015 designs to classics dating from 1915.

There are 38 entries sailing this year, with 18 American teams, six British, two German and one yacht from Belgium and another from Malta.  With a transantlatic race appealing to many sailors, the event has drawn entries ranging from classic yachts to modern technical marvels, crewed by sailors with a wide variety of backgrounds and experience.

One of the entrants this year is 50ft Solution. She suffered a tear at the head of her spinnaker less than an hour into the race and the crew scrambled to pull the sail onto the deck. Other competitors also struggled to find their downind rhythm in the large ocean swells.

The race organiser’s decided on a staggered start with the hope to have all the boats arrive at the finish in close proximity. Each yacht has been assigned to one of three start dates from Narragansett Bay (June 28, July 1 and July 5).
Thirteen yachts got underway in Start 1 on Sunday 28th June, crossing the starting line at the entrance to Narragansett Bay’s East Passage just after 2 p.m.

Among the skippers in the first start will be Bob Forman aboard the Southwest 42 Jacqueline IV. One of his crewmembers is his daughter Kara Forman, a seasoned sailor. In the 2011 Transatlantic Race, Jacqueline IV took third in her class, finishing in 19 days, 21 hours and 15 minutes.

Twenty-one boats will get underway on the afternoon of Wednesday 1st July, and the four fastest yachts in the race will make up the final start on Sunday 5th July. Super-maxi’s Comanche and Rambler, as well as multihulls Phaedo3 and Paradox are in hot competition,  with crews hoping to beat the current record of 6 days, 22 hours, 8 minutes and 2 second, set by George David’s Rambler 100 in 2011.

The 13 smaller yachts already underway expect to complete the journey in 15-20 days and so require a strong head start over the faster comptetitors. Twin-masted classic Mariette caused quite a stir on Start 1, when she took to the water alongside yachts like the 25-year-old Scarlet Oyster, who at 48ft, is nearly 100ft shorter than the legendary Nathanael Green Herreshoff designed schooner.

Mariette was entered into this year’s race as a celebration of her 100th birthday, having last competed in 1997.

The fleet will sail in a southeasterly direction to clear beneath the Right Whale Critical Habitat area east of Nantucket. Then it will head due east for approximately 900 miles—to avoid an unusually large and widespread collection of icebergs on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland—before turning north to take the Great Circle Route, which cuts precious distance off any northern transatlantic trip. See how they are progessing on the live tracker.

For more information on the race visit the Transatlantic Race website, or take a read of some fascinating facts on the history of the race.

For a list of entrants and their respective race starts, visit http://bit.ly/1BDPZcm

To follow the boats, visit the Yellowbrick Tracking here

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A new transatlantic race for women has been launched by one of Britain’s most enthusiastic private sailing backers. Property developer Tony Lawson yesterday announced that he would be running a two-handed race from Plymouth to Antigua in October to help promote women’s sailing.

Lawson’s money and time has been behind the Class 40 Team Concise, providing opportunities for a group of young sailors to race in top offshore events, most recently Ned Collier Wakefield and Sam Goodchild in the Transat Jacques Vabre. Now, he says, it’s time to lend some support to young women sailors and help them get a foothold in ocean racing.

The race is called the Women’s Offshore Worlds – acronym the WOW Race – and the plan is for it to run from Plymouth to Antigua on 28 October in 30ft one-design Bénéteau Figaros.

Three teams or skippers have already expressed an interest in taking part, says Lawson: former Clipper Race skipper Hannah Jenner and sailing partner Sammie Evans (pictured above right and left), German sailor Anne-Marie Renken and French Class 40 sailor Stephanie Alran.

The Figaro has been chosen rather than the Class 40 because the latter has a full calendar of events already this year, leaving no gap for a new race to occupy, and because the production 30ft Figaros are evenly matched and less costly to charter and run.

“The girls are keen to race in the Figaros because there is such a fleet of top sailors in this class and it offers a way in for a much smaller budget of about £30,000,” says Tony Lawson. “These boats are affordable. It’s doable.”

The race being proposed is not for profit, and there won’t be an entry fee, Lawson says. He emphasises that he himself isn’t underwriting entries – “there’s no great pot of money that I can or will splash out to get 10 boats here, but this is a platform, we have the logistics to do it, we’re happy to help the girls and we’ll do it directly if we can pull off a good sponsor.”

Races for women only are a difficult area, and leave many of us – me included – feeling a bit ambivalent. There’s plenty of media potential, and the real possibility of connection with the public. On the other hand, a far more resistant problem for women is breaking into mixed crews where there is a more reliable living to be made. That’s the real carbon ceiling.

And there is obviously a danger that a women-only race will look and be deemed a second or third tier event. This is a particular risk if racing in the Figaro class because it is of the few where women and men already compete on level terms and top women such as Jeanne Grégoire, Isabelle Joschke and Samantha Davies have excelled.

Tony Lawson sweeps away those quibbles. “It’s very, very simple. We want to focus attention on the girls,” he explains. “It’s a way to push them to the fore and build up their reputations with a meaningful event and they really seem excited about it.

“Hopefully it will help them progress to Class 40s and on to 60s. It gives them targets to aim for. I know there will be sceptics, but the thing is we don’t get anywhere by doing nothing.”

Although the budgets may be very modest by most ocean racing standards they could still be a hurdle to getting the five or six boats minimum that the WOW Race needs to be thought of as any kind of serious competitive event. Probably half of the race ideas announced never make it to fruition because of lack of financial support and entries.

Lawson is bullish about this, too. “These things go in parallel. It’s chicken and egg and you’ve got to start somewhere,” he says. “It’s logical to be modest at this time and we think we’ve got the right boat, the right time and the right route.”

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 Newport, R.I.
USA (July 22, 2011) – As “an extended adventurous voyage,” the
odyssey that is the Transatlantic Race 2011 was a defining event in ocean
racing, as well as in the lives of the sailors aboard the 26 competing
yachts. The race made history with the establishment of a new record -
crossing 2,975 miles of ocean from Newport, R.I. to The Lizard on the south
coast of England – and was the result of a successful collaboration between the
Royal Yacht Squadron (founded in 1815), the New York Yacht Club (1844), the
Royal Ocean Racing Club (1925) and the Storm Trysail Club (1938).

“This race will
bring together generations, to build character and to reaffirm values,”
said Commodore Robert C. Towse, Jr., during the send-off celebration held at
New York Yacht Club’s Harbour Court clubhouse two days before the first yachts
departed. “The cold North Atlantic may test that purpose, but at The
Lizard finish those boats and their crews will have earned one of the hardest
of sailing distinctions.”

On June 26, cannon fire
from the iconic Castle Hill Lighthouse signaled the beginning of the historic
ocean adventure. It was the first of three staggered starts, implemented
so that yachts ranging in size from 40′ to 289′ would finish off The Lizard in
close proximity to one another. And, over the three weeks the yachts were
at sea, thousands of armchair sailors were captivated by the drama as it unfolded. 
Using state-of-the-art satellite communication systems, life onboard was beamed
to a global audience as the competing yachts raced across the desolate North
Atlantic. An ice gate established by the Race Committee prevented the
fleet from going too far north, but sea temperatures lower than 4º Celsius were
recorded during the race and sea fog obscured the sun for days on end.

Representing 10 nations,
the 26 entries were crewed by world-class professionals as well as Corinthian
amateurs. The youngest competitor was just 16 years of age, the oldest
80, and the yachts themselves were just as diverse. The 289′ Maltese
Falcon was nearly three times the length of any other participant and the fleet
included maritime creations from high performance canting keel Maxis to pocket
rocket Class 40s. All 26 yachts entered were destined to finish but each
has written a different story.

On June 26 the sunshine
burned off the morning fog as the first start of the Transatlantic Race 2011
got underway with six of the smallest yachts beginning their journey across the
Atlantic in champagne sailing conditions. With four fathers and five sons
onboard, local favorite Carina got away to a great start with Rives Potts, Jr.
(Essex, Conn.) at the helm. Within a few days, Carina had extended on the
fleet by some by 400 miles. Later in the race, however, an area of high
pressure mid-Atlantic was to be their nemesis, as well as that of many others.

There was high drama for
the second start of the Transatlantic Race 2011 on June 29. With the 14
yachts on final approach and the breeze building, three boats were caught over
early and were forced to turn back just as the mighty Maltese Falcon was
bearing down on the line. Announcing its intentions with a bone-rattling
blast of air horns, the 289′ Perini Navi set sail for the open ocean. 
Zaraffa made the best start as 80-year-old Huntington Sheldon (Shelburne, Vt.)
held the helm, hoping to emulate his Transatlantic win of 2003. The
second start was also notable for the inclusion of the Volvo 60 Ambersail, the
first-ever Lithuanian yacht to compete in a Transatlantic Race. “To
see our flag flying at the New York Yacht Club was very special,” said
skipper Simonas Steponavicius (Vilnius, Lithuania).  For the next
few days the North Atlantic would fail to live up to its notorious reputation
as light winds frustrated the 20 yachts taking on this North Atlantic odyssey.

“If we were looking
to set an Atlantic record, we would choose to leave today,” said a smiling
Peter Isler (San Diego, Calif.), navigator on Rambler 100, on the morning of
July 3 as Newport was bathed in warm sunshine giving an indication he knew
conditions were about to change. A low-pressure system was sweeping
across the Midwest, right on cue, to give the fastest boats in the
Transatlantic Race 2011 a blistering start. As if by magic, grey clouds
rolled in as the Maxi fleet powered up in the starting area. Beau Geste,
skippered by Karl Kwok (Hong Kong) got away well and showed a clean pair of
heels to the giants of world offshore racing. It was not long, though,
before the 100′ Maxis, ICAP Leopard, skippered by Clarke Murphy (New York,
N.Y.), and Rambler 100, skippered by George David (Hartford, Conn.), caught
up. PUMA’s Mar Mostro, helmed by Ken Read (Newport, R.I.), and the
Oakcliff All-American Offshore Team’s Vanquish were the two smallest yachts in
the class but their crews could not be more different: Vanquish sailed by
young sailors with little offshore experience, and Mar Mostro bristling with
Volvo Ocean Race winners. The PUMA was on the prowl and by the end of the
race the black cat had caught its prey.

The 20 yachts that had
preceded the high performance fleet had a significant head start, but it wasn’t
long before Rambler 100 was running them down, ripping through the Atlantic
swell at speeds in excess of 25 knots with PUMA’s Mar Mostro in hot
pursuit. Within three days, Rambler 100 was leading the entire fleet, but
what was surprising was that ICAP Leopard was well off the pace. It was July
4 when ICAP Leopard heard a big bang which, unfortunately for them, had nothing
to do with celebrating America’s birthday. The bowsprit had sheered off
and the Leopard was badly wounded. The crew rallied round and mitigated
the danger of the carbon fibre spear smashing into the hull, but without the
sprit, the chance for a race win was effectively over just 36 hours into the
race. Rambler 100 and PUMA’s Mar Mostro continued to power ahead as fast
as the wind could carry them, and sometimes even faster.

By July 8, however, most
of the fleet could not ride the weather system and soon would be languishing in
the vacuum and turbulent waters left behind. Using guile and no less amount of
skill, several yachts managed to escape the windless zone, including Zaraffa and
Jazz, skippered by Nigel King (Lymington, U.K.). Phaedo, the Gunboat 66
owned by Lloyd Thornburg (St. Barthelemy), managed to escape the clutches of
the 1100-ton Maltese Falcon in the light air. But it was a short-lived
freedom as all, bar the leading boats, were entangled in the eerie calm that
spread across the mid-Atlantic.

Meanwhile, Rambler and
PUMA’s Mar Mostro were experiencing their defining moments of the race. 
The wind was dying and the big decision was how to hook into another weather
system which was slowly moving in from the north. The problem was how to get to
it, judging where to cross the windless zone and to get onto the new pressure
at the right angle. It was like trying to jump onto a merry-go-round, and
while Rambler 100 did a good job, PUMA was even better.

On Sunday, 10 July, at
16h 08m UTC, Rambler 100 was the first yacht to cross the finish line of the
Transatlantic Race 2011.  The elapsed time for Rambler 100 was six
days, 22 hours, eight minutes and two seconds. which established a new record
for the 2,975 nautical mile course from Newport, R.I., to Lizard Point, South
Cornwall, U.K.

“For the first 80
hours of this race we were ripping along,” said David at the finish. 
“Towards the end we hit a few holes in the wind but we feel very happy
about the time. Crossing the Atlantic in under seven days is pretty
exhilarating. Kenny Read is about 100 miles behind us with his PUMA
Team. The odds are he is probably going to win the race on corrected
time.”

David’s hunch was
right. PUMA’s Mar Mostro crossed the finish line at The Lizard at 05:40
UTC on July 11, and once calculations proved that none of the 24 yachts still
racing could beat them on handicap, PUMA’s Mar Mostro was declared winner of
IRC Class One and IRC Overall for the Transatlantic Race 2011. And, even
with a four-day head start, it would be more than 24 hours before another yacht
would cross the finish line. In time, Zaraffa, Phaedo and Jazz finished
to claim well-deserved victory in their respective classes.

On July 15, more than a
dozen yachts completed the race, providing some dramatic close encounters in a
dash to the finish. From IRC Class One, which took the final start of the
Transatlantic Race 2011 on July 3, Beau Geste was followed eight minutes later
by the Oakcliff All-American Offshore Team’s Vanquish, and 13 minutes later,
Sojana, the grand ketch skippered by Peter Harrison (Reigate, U.K.) had
completed the race as well.

 In IRC Class Two,
Christoph Avenarius and Gorm Gondesen’s Shakti and Jens Kellinghausen’s Varuna
had enjoyed a match race across the ocean. The two Simon Rogers
46-footers, both based in Hamburg, Germany, had barely been out of sight of
each other for 16 days. Varuna was first to cross the line, with a mere
three-minute lead, but Shakti won the duel on corrected time to claim second in
class. Prodigy, owned by Chris Frost (Durban, South Africa), was to
finish less than an hour later to take fourth place overall.

In IRC Class Three,
Ambersail became the second yacht to finish the race followed by Scho-ka-kola,
skippered by Uwe Lubens (Hamburg, Germany), however, neither yacht was to make
the class podium on corrected time. The youth team on Norddeutsche
Vermogen Hamburg had put in a stellar performance in the second half of the
race, as did Snow Lion, skippered by former NYYC Commodore Lawrence Huntington
(New York, N.Y.), to claim second and third, respectively, in the division.
Ourson Rapide skippered by Paolo Roasenda (Vedano al Lambro, Italy) finished
just before dawn to complete the race.

Tony Lawson’s Class 40
Concise 2, skippered by Ned Collier-Wakefield (Oxford, U.K.), had one of the
best performances of any yacht in the early part of the race, putting an
impressive 300-mile lead on their class rival, Dragon, skippered by Mike
Hennessy (Mystic, Conn). However, the mid-Atlantic doldrums wiped out
their advantage as Dragon, sailing double-handed, not only caught Concise 2 but
also passed the six-strong British youth team. In a fight to the finish, Concise
2 managed to get ahead and take the line by less than half an hour.

All of the yachts in IRC
Class Four finished the race on July 15. Class line honors went to the
oldest yacht in the race, Nordwind, the 86′ yawl skippered by Hans Albrecht
(Germany). Carina and British Soldier, crewed by members of the British
Army, were engaged in a battle royal. While Carina was well ahead on
corrected time, it did not stop the two yachts having a close-reaching duel
through the night — within touching distance of each other. British
Soldier won the race to the line by less than a minute, an astounding finish
after nearly three weeks at sea, and while Carina looked likely to win Class
IRC Four on corrected time, their hopes were about to be dashed. Before
the day was out, Dawn Star, co-skippered by Bill Hubbard and his son Will
Hubbard (both New York, N.Y.), finished The Transatlantic Race to claim the
class victory by less than an hour. Jacqueline IV, the McCurdy &
Rhodes 42′ skippered by Robert Forman (Bay Shore, N.Y.), finished the following
day to beat British Soldier on corrected time and claim third in class.

As the last yacht to
finish, Sasha, skippered by Albrecht and Erika Peters (Munich, Germany),
experienced the roughest weather conditions of any yacht in the race. As
they approached The Lizard a storm took hold in the Western Approaches with
very high waves with overhanging crests, large patches of foam turning the sea
white with rage, and large amounts of airborne spray, which dramatically
reduced visibility. 

After
22 days at sea, Sasha came screaming through the finish line in a dramatic
conclusion to the Transatlantic Race 2011. With all yachts and sailors
safe in port, there is now time to reflect: on the incredible record set by
Rambler 100; the bonds forged while racing across the North Atlantic; and the
lessons of dedication and courage that every valiant soul that completed the
challenge will value forever.

The post Round up of the Transatlantic Race 2011 appeared first on Yachting World.

ICAP Leopard contacted the Transatlantic Race media team today to reveal a major breakage in board. All of the crew are fine and the boat is structurally sound. However, one can only wonder what might have been for ICAP Leopard if they had not suffered this fundamental failure so early in the race.

   
 
ICAP Leopard’s captain, Chris Sherlock, has announced that their bowsprit broke at 20.20 UT on Monday 04 July, just over a day after leaving Newport, R.I. The damage happened in flat water after passing the George’s Bank with a fractional sail flying off the sprit.

No one was hurt in the incident and both the sail and the sprit were recovered safely. Since then Chris has been working with the crew and the Farr office, Leopard’s designers, to work out ways to keep racing safely.

Fortunately the way the boat is built has meant that there is no threat to the integrity of the hull nor to the strength of the bow so that sails can still be flown from the stem. This has meant that Leopard’s performance on the long beam reach of the first three days from Newport has not been much compromised except that the yacht has had to sail slightly higher than optimum, which is why it is to the south side of its main competition. However, as the high pressure system is approached, there are very few options for sailing downwind without the sprit.
 
“Obviously we are very disappointed but happy that nobody was hurt and we are now concentrating on finishing as well as possible,” said Sherlock by sat phone earlier today. “We have a team on stand-by for our arrival in Southampton to make an effective repair in time for our corporate charter commitments and the start of the Fastnet Race. We are unable at this stage to establish the cause of failure.”
 
Leopard’s owner, Mike Slade, who is not onboard for this race, is as ever determined that Leopard will be back racing as soon as possible and Clarke Murphy, who is the charterer and skipper for the Transatlantic race, is still loving the sleigh ride across the Atlantic.

The post Transatlantic Race: first breakage appeared first on Yachting World.

In the last 24 hours, the arrival of big breeze has seen boat speeds at near record-breaking pace. Rambler 100 has just recorded a 12-hour run of 288.8 nautical miles, and, with the breeze building, a new world record is a possibility. The standing 24-hour monohull world record was set by the Volvo 70, Ericsson 4, at 596.6 nautical miles in October of 2008.

“Some awesome sailing out here,” said Peter Isler (San Diego, Calif.), navigator for Rambler 100. “Down below its like riding in a subway car, hurtling along at full speed. Up on deck it’s like being on … well, one of the world’s fastest monohulls in big breeze just sending it. No more smooth seas, no more cruise-y ride, it’s all on now and the boys (and girl) on Rambler 100 are loving it. It is very wet everywhere… especially on deck where visibility is only a few dozen yards in fog.”

The second boat on the water in IRC Class One is PUMA’s Mar Mostro, this is the first time the latest version of the Volvo Ocean Race yacht has raced and the ‘sea monster’ is an absolute flier, having recorded a boat speed of 28 knots today.

Ken Read On board PUMA Mar Mostro:

“Right now, we are doing 25 knots,” relayed Ken Read. “We are really delighted with the boat’s performance and a lot of credit should go to the shore crew who has done as good a job as the sailing team. While we have literally been heading straight for England since we left Nantucket Shoals, there is an area of light winds up ahead. But right now, we are sailing really fast and enjoying the ride.”

On ICAP Leopard, skipper Clarke Murphy (New York, N.Y.) is having the time of his life: “This cat can run! Leopard is aptly named this afternoon as she blast reaches, scampering across the North Atlantic at 25 knots of boat speeed. She is all speed and jumping through and across the waves like her namesake cat on land. Though foggy, the boat is performing and the ride is a thrill. Like a 100′ foot kayak flying through rapids. The day started out gray as we hit the Labrador Current and the fogbanks settled in with little visibility, though the breeze held. But for several hours it was torrential, torrential rain as we tested the foulies and seals on our boots. Fairly quiet on deck at that point!! The rain abated and as predicted the breeze built a knot per hour to the current consistent 25 knots. Everyone who is on deck perches in the stern quarter, egging on the helmsman and the speedo with bravado and an occasional hoot as we surpass the watch before.”

In the Open Class, Phaedo, the Gunboat 66, has enjoyed the best of the duel with Maltese Falcon thus far and are still some miles ahead. However, the rising seas and extra breeze is propelling the 298′ Perini Navi at some pace and they are most definitely closing the gap.

In IRC Two, the yachts are also showing some ballistic pace. Jazz, skippered by Nigel King (Lymington, U.K.), is still the class leader on the water. However, Varuna, driven by Jens Kellinghusen (Hamburg, Germany), is now only 19 miles astern and probably leading the class after time correction.

“As I am sitting (working) on the laptop the boat lifts out of a wave,” said Kellinghusen via satellite link of the thrilling ride. “Check the speedo.. 22…24…25,8…29 knots! This is what we came for; Varuna is alive and the boys are loving it. Everybody is on deck, just the helmsmen sleep every hour to be able to drive our grey lady with the concentration she needs. The boys are working hard to keep up the speed. A great team effort.”

Huntingdon Sheldon (Shelburne, Vt.), skipper of Zaraffa, is still way out in front in IRC Class Three and could well be a contender for the overall winner. The Reichel Pugh 65 turned south of the rhumb line today and is currently in a transition zone between two weather systems but should get into fresh pressure before tomorrow. The next weather system could provide near gale-force conditions and Zaraffa could ride the system all the way to the finish. If they do, the Canadian-born skipper could well be in line to win his second Transatlantic Race, on corrected time.

In IRC Class Four, Carina, skippered by Rives Potts, Jr. (Essex, Conn.) is no longer the closest boat to the finish. Zaraffa has overtaken Carina and many more are sure to follow. Carina, however, is very much the favorite to win the class. The crew on Carina has now been at sea for over 10 days and apart from wildlife nothing else will have existed outside the 48′ boat, save miles and miles of ocean.

Onboard is Dirk Johnson, Jr., who, at 16 years of age, is the youngest sailor in the race. Also onboard is his father, Dirk Johnson, Sr., an experienced offshore sailor who will no doubt be teaching his son about life on the ocean.

To follow the race via tracker, visit www.transatlanticrace.com.

The post Transatlantic Race: big breeze appeared first on Yachting World.

For more, visit www.transatlanticrace.org

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One of the greatest moments in the history of offshore racing took place yesterday with the final start of the Transatlantic Race 2011 setting six yachts on their course from Newport to The Lizard off the southeast coast of England. And as the six magnificent yachts hoisted their sails, the huge crowd of spectators gathered at Castle Hill observed the fastest ocean-going monohulls built in 145 years of transatlantic racing.

Navigators of ICAP Leopard, Puma Mar Mostro and Rambler 100 predict a fast start:

Clarke Murphy (New York, NY), competed in the previous edition of the race and was delighted to return to take up the reins of ICAP Leopard. “Leopard has a phenomenal crew who are also a great bunch of guys, and I have been looking forward to this for a very long time. We have done a lot of racing together, but all of those races have been the build up to this. For me and the crew, the Transatlantic Race is what it is all about,” he said.

A weather front arrived as if by magic, and with the wind speed at the top of the rigs approaching 15 knots, the six yachts cruised the starting area like reef sharks ready to attack. As the starting gun sounded from Castle Hill Light, the Maxi fleet powered up and the sound of immense loads echoed across the water as sheets were pulled on and rigs raked back to propel the high-performance racing machines out towards the open ocean. The sheer power on display was awe-inspiring, as the fastest yachts in the Transatlantic Race 2011, searing through the water, foam hissing at the rail, started on their one-way ride across the untamed Atlantic Ocean.

Beau Geste, the Farr 80 skippered by Karl Kwok (Hong Kong), got the best start and sped away toward Brenton Point. PUMA’s mar mostro, skippered by Ken Read (Newport, RI), was next to cross the line followed by Rambler 100 – skippered by George David (Hartford Conn) – and ICAP Leopard. Vanquish was caught up in the Maxi mêlée and was stalled as the two 100-footers powered up on either side of the 65′ yacht crewed by the Oakcliff All American Offshore Team. For the young crew aboard Vanquish, this is a ride of their life, lining up against the best in the world.

Beau Geste and PUMA’s mar mostro continued up the right-hand side of the course, playing touch and go with the rocky shoreline, while Rambler 100 and ICAP Leopard seemed locked in their own private tussle as the fleet headed offshore. The magnificent 115′ ketch, Sojana, with a mahogany interior, is far heavier than her sporting rivals and skipper Peter Harrison (Reigate, U.K.) will surely be hoping for more wind.

For the yachts in IRC Class Four, which took the first race start on June 26 and are now a week into their journey, it’s a case of the rich getting richer. Rives Potts Jr. (Essex, Conn.), skipper of Carina, leads the class with only the classic yawl Nordwind for company. British Soldier is now 200 miles astern.

Jazz, the Cookson 50 skippered by Nigel King (Lymington, UK), is nearly 700 miles ahead of today’s starters and leads in IRC Class Two. Jazz is struggling for breeze at the moment, but a low-pressure system located just to their north is tantalizingly close. This area of wind is moving west, however, and if they can get to it, they will be carried swiftly along; if they don’t, they will be left to wallow in the short seas and little wind that it leaves behind.

Meanwhile, Huntington Sheldon, skipper of the Reichel Pugh 65, Zaraffa, is a happy man today. Zaraffa is now in the breeze after a day of fickle wind. And, as predicted, the Lithuanian Volvo 60, Ambersail, have made a big gain to the south and have been the fastest boat in class over the last 24 hours.

In the Open Class, Phaedo, skippered by Lloyd Thornburg, has been enjoying some great wind after moving south on Friday afternoon. Maltese Falcon, on the other hand, has been playing the shifts up the coastline of Nova Scotia, putting in a myriad of gybes. Those who thought that the 298′ art deco superyacht would be coasting across the Atlantic are very mistaken. The two highly distinctive yachts look like they are coming back together after over 50 miles of separation and it will be interesting to see which one will be out in front. The two Class 40s also parted company after following the same line for the first 48 hours. Concise 2, skippered by Ned Collier-Wakefield (Oxford, UK) went south and Dragon did not follow; the two yachts are now 70 miles apart on the race track.

All of the 24 yachts competing in the Transatlantic Race will be carefully planning their next move as they can never fully work out what lies ahead of them. The yachts that have already settled into the race know one thing for certain, the magnificent yachts in IRC One will be coming on fast and almost certainly Rambler 100 or ICAP Leopard will overtake them before long: just four hours into the race, Rambler 100 was exceeding 18 knots boatspeed and had already covered 40 miles.

For more information, visit www.transatlanticrace.org

The post Transatlantic Race: start number three appeared first on Yachting World.

Yesterday morning the tension was mounting dockside as 14 yachts made final preparations before they took the second start of the Transatlantic Race 2011 in a spectacular scene full of drama.

With a huge number of spectator boats gathered to see the fleet off, the breeze started to build just as the first warning signal sounded from the Castle Hill Light at 13:50 EDT. A southwesterly caught several competitors off-guard, resulting in three boats — Scho-ka-kola, Concise 2 and Jazz — being called over the line at the start. Scho-ka-kola returned almost immediately, however, Concise 2 and Jazz continued to race and it was nearly half an hour before these two yachts returned to cross the line correctly.

Concise 2 is one of two Class 40s in the fleet, and the eagerness of its young crew gave Dragon, which is being sailed double-handed by Michael Hennesy (Mystic, Conn.) and Rob Windsor (East Northport, NY), an early lead in the class – by the time Concise restarted, Dragon was 4.5 miles ahead. No doubt the Concise crew will be digging deep to make up for lost time.

Jazz, the Cookson 50 skippered by Nigel King (Lymington, UK), came back very strongly after their premature start. Navigator Mike Broughton (Hamble, UK), speaking dockside just an hour before the start, believes it will be an interesting first night. “The cold front should come through as we go around the Nantucket Shoals, and how we play that could be pretty much a key area. I am seeing a bit of coastal racing for this ocean race. This is a fascinating racecourse and has been for hundreds of years. The conditions are the same now as they have been for all those years…the jet stream, the low pressure systems, the Gulf Stream.

Many of the grand prix offshore events can be broken down into a series of legs, but this one is more like trying to hit a moving target; trying to work out where you want to go and when that pressure will get there.”

In IRC Class Two, Christoph Avenarius and Gorm Gondesen’s Shakti and Jens Kellinghusen’s Varuna have begun their battle within the race. Both yachts are from Germany and have exactly the same hull, however, there are subtle differences between the two yachts as Shakti’s tactician, Bendix Hügelmann (Hamburg, Germany) explained before the start. “Varuna has more sail area and weight in her keel, which should give them an advantage in heavier conditions. However, we recently raced each other and there was little difference in speed between us. Two days ago, the crews of both Shakti and Varuna had dinner together. We hope to make each other go faster by our close competition, rather than slow each other down. It is also very useful to have another yacht close by, should we need assistance in an emergency. We will be pushing Shakti to win, but safety is always the most important aspect of any yacht race.”

In IRC Class Three, the Reichel Pugh 66 Zaraffa made the best start. Owner Huntington Sheldon (Shelburne, Vt.), at 80 years of age, is believed to be the oldest competitor in the Transatlantic Race 2011, and has a crack crew on board including Axel Maghdal (Norway), Richard Mason (New Zealand), Jens Dolmer (Denmark) and Matt Humphries (England), all of whom have all competed in the Volvo Ocean Race. “This is a professionally run team and Zaraffa won the Transatlantic in 2003 and a lot of people said that was a fluke,” said a defiant Sheldon just hours before the start. “I aim to prove those people wrong.” From the way Zaraffa started it looks as though the team mean business.

The team on the Volvo 60 Ambersail is proud to be the first-ever Lithuanian yacht to compete in a Transatlantic Race. “To see the Lithuanian flag at the New York Yacht Club was very special,” said skipper Simonas Steponavicius (Vilnius, Lithuania) just hours before the start. “The sail number of Ambersail is LTU 1000, which was chosen as it signifies one thousand years of our country’s history. This is a very proud moment for the crew and also for our country. We wish all of the competitors good luck and fair winds for the race.”

Notably absent from the starting area was Chris Frost’s (Durban, South Africa) Prodigy. The 54′ canting-keeled yacht, which took line honors in the 2011 Cape to Rio yacht race (easily breaking the record set 40 years ago by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s Ocean Spirit), developed a technical problem just minutes before the start. The issue seems to have been resolved, however, as Prodigy set off on the race within an hour of the rest of the fleet.

While the first start of the day produced some high drama, the start for the two yachts in the Open Class was just as extraordinary. As the magnificent 298′ Maltese Falcon unfurled acres of canvas and entered the starting area, the Gunboat 66, Phaedo, owned by Lloyd Thornburg (St. Barthelemy) was dwarfed in comparison. Phaedo is one of the world’s most head-turning maritime creations and the carbon fibre, Lamborghini-orange catamaran has become one of the most well-known yachts on the regatta circuit. However, the spectacle of the Art Deco giant, Maltese Falcon, dominated the proceedings, announcing its intentions with a bone-rattling blast of colossal air-horns to warn spectator yachts that they were about to tack for the line. It was a full five minutes before the three rotating rigs, each weighing 30 tons, completed their revolutions and Maltese Falcon heeled over bound for the start of the Transatlantic Race 2011.

Phaedo, however, was far more exuberant and timed the approach to perfection, coming up under Maltese Falcon. At first they were caught in the enormous wind shadow of their leviathan nemesis, but as Phaedo came out of the wind hole, gasping for air, the crew onboard hauled in the sheets. Pulling the trigger, Phaedo accelerated away from the opposition, but not for long. Weighing in at an unbelievable 1110 tons, Maltese Falcon soon overhauled Phaedo and the rest of the fleet in today’s start, achieving a boat speed of over 14 knots.

Today’s starters have a lot of ground to make up just to catch up with the six yachts that started on June 26. The yachts in IRC Class 4 and the classic yacht Nordwind have a 400 mile head start.

Star of the show in the leading pack is the McCurdy and Rhodes 48, Carina, skippered by Rives Potts, Jr. (Essex, Conn.). Carina is the closest yacht to The Lizard finish – albeit with 2360 miles to go.

The post Transatlantic Race: start two appeared first on Yachting World.

A new transatlantic race for super-sailing yachts has been announced by the organisers of the Superyacht Cup Palma, the organisation promoting a growing number of events for large sailing yachts. The new race will start from Antigua in April 2008 and is designed to attract yachts that would normally be crossing in delivery mode to re-position for the Mediterranean season.
The Superyacht Cup organisers, who are well known for their October regatta in Palma, the rating system they use and the pursuit race style of racing for big yachts, will stage a fleet start in Antigua.
The course then takes them to the Azores where the re-start will be for a pursuit style race to a finish point on the European mainland, yet to be announced.
Kate Branagh of the Superyacht Cup, said that it is hoped that those owners who can not afford the time to do the whole race will hopefully join in the Azores for the 800 to 900-mile leg from the Azores.
The popularity of the race has been buoyed by the large number of entries already paid up for the Superyacht Cup Palma in June, designed to be staged between the Louis Vuitton challenger series for the America’s Cup and the Cup match itself which starts on 23 June.
There are at least 25 boats measuring in excess of 30m already signed up with the final entry hoped to be close to 60. Entries include the likes of Maltese Falcon, the J Class yacht Ranger and the cream of the world’s biggest sailing yachts.
For more details see Yachting World’s March edition due out at the beginning of February. Also, see www.superyachtcup.com

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Twenty of the world’s largest yachts set sail from New York yesterday on the Rolex Transatlantic Challenge, a 3,000-mile ride across the North Atlantic bound for England’s Lizard point in southern Cornwall and ultimately the Needles, Isle of Wight.

The Rolex Transatlantic Challenge is the 100th anniversary of the New York Yacht Club’s race for the Kaiser’s Cup, which was won in record breaking style by Wilson Marshall’s Atlantic and America’s Cup legend Charlie Barr, who was at the helm. Just as the 1905 race was delayed by a day due to dense fog in the start area, 100 years later the start also was postponed by one day, on this occasion due to a forecast of potential gale-force headwinds.

With a grey sky and scattered showers over Manhattan, the day began with farewells for the crews as they bade goodbye to family and friends before casting off. Led by Charles Brown and Bill Buckley’s new Grand Prix class yacht Maximus, the fleet paraded in line down the Hudson River, past the wall-to-wall skyscrapers of Manhattan’s financial district and the site of Ground Zero, to the Statue of Liberty, and under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, marking the entrance to New York Harbour.

By the time the yachts had motored 15 more miles towards Ambrose Light (the top end of the north-south orientated start line), conditions had dramatically changed, revealing a brilliant sun, but light winds: a fluky breeze of 3-5 knots shifting between east and south-east.

In the minutes prior to the Grand Prix class start at 1410 EDT, both the America’s Cup calibre crews on Maximus and Mari-Cha IV had hoisted crewmen aloft to check for any sign of breeze up the course. The New Zealand maxi and Robert Miller’s giant schooner hounded each other down the line as best they could in the light conditions. Meanwhile Joe Dockery’s smaller Carrera started closer to the race committee boat, the pilot ship New Jersey, but with greater pace. Approximately 15 seconds after the gun, all three crossed the line on starboard tack, favoured in the south-east wind.

The most tense start was between the giants in Performance Cruising class 2. Mike Slade’s Leopard of London hit the line perfectly at the Ambrose Light end, while there was near contact at the committee boat end, with Peter Harrison’s Sojana squeezing inside the Swan 112 Anemos and the massive Tiara.

Ten minutes later, for the start of Performance Cruising class 3, Arthur Bugs Baer and William Hubbard III’s classic S&S yacht Tempest was over the line early. “We recalled the boat and advised them and assumed they would continue and accept a penalty, but eventually they turned around and came back,” recounted Principal Race Officer John Mendez. “We were a little surprised, because by that time it seemed it wouldn’t be in her favour. The time that they would have to give up – 30 minutes – might be exceeded by their returning.” On returning, Tempest once again failed to clear the line and was forced to cross it a third time. In the four class starts, this was the only infringement. The best start in this class was made in the middle of the line by the smallest boat in the fleet, the Swan 70 Stay Calm.

In the final class, the four classics got underway at 1440 EDT. The most stunning image from the start was of the massive square rigger Stad Amsterdam, chartered by the Storm Trysail Club, sailing under her entire spread of canvas, her deck teeming with crew. She showed impressive speed approaching the line but was early, slowed and was unable to recover her pace.

Late in the afternoon, Mari-Cha IV led overall. “The first line-up with Maximus had the two boats performing very similarly with a small speed advantage for Mari-Cha IV,” recounted navigator Jef d’Etiveaud. “This is a good feeling for us, as this weather could have given an advantage to the smaller boat. Everyone is concentrating on the boat — there is not a sound. It is a horrendous weather pattern for breaking a record, though.”

Along the race route, the only mark that must be observed is Point Alpha. This exists to give the Race Committee the provision to keep the yachts away from any potential ice threat. This year, however, the US National Ice Service and its Canadian equivalent have advised the Race Committee that there is very little threat from ice. Point Alpha has been set at 47 degrees north, 51 degrees west, some 90 miles east-north-east of Newfoundland’s Cape Race, allowing competitors to sail a course close to the great circle route.

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A severe depression centred off Cape Cod, potentially producing headwinds gusting up to 50 knots, caused the Race Committee to delay the start of the Rolex Transatlantic Challenge yesterday. A new start time was provisionally set for 1400EDT today, 22 May 22.

At the Captains’ Briefing in the New York Yacht Club’s Model Room on Friday night, David Tunick, Chairman of the Technical and Compliance Subcommittee for the Rolex Transatlantic Challenge, gave the reasons for the decision: “We looked at the weather all week. We not only monitored the National Weather Service ourselves, but we also took advice from two professional weather services. Their advice, coming to us independently this morning, was to postpone the start. The reason is that there were two lows out there that looked as if they might be merging – a double whammy. With the history of the Sydney-Hobart and the Fastnet, they considered it highly irresponsible of the New York Yacht Club to send off the race.”

Tunick added that many of the top skippers taking part in the Rolex Transatlantic Challenge had spoken to him during the day, also urging him to postpone the start. “I was pleased to hear that advice, and it was on that advice that the decision was taken.”

Mike Sanderson, racing helmsman of line honours favourite Mari-Cha IV gave his views: “If it had gone to a vote, we would have voted to go, because we think we’re battle-ready. But I think it is smart what they have done. There is no point in burning out half the fleet in one fell swoop. Time will tell what the weather does in the following days. I think we will get away Sunday. Three days into it, we should get good breeze again, but on the wind.”

Mike Slade felt his water-ballasted 90ft (29.9m) Leopard of London would have handled the conditions had the start not been postponed but was happy with the decision. “As the owner, I am quite relieved. When you hit the Gulf Stream, if there is a north-easterly coming down at you and the Gulf Stream coming from the south-southwest, you have wind against tide. And then you have a shelf, as well, over the Grand Banks – then you’re asking for some serious weather.”

A start for Sunday looks promising, Tunick said at the briefing. “We have been looking at the weather this afternoon and have been in touch with both our weather services. We will be looking at it again tomorrow morning.”

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