RORC New Transatlantic Race 2014

Lanzarote-Grenada
www.rorc.org - Übersicht

Tuesday 2 December 2014: 0800 UTC
Day 3: Nomad IV returning to the Canaries

The inaugural RORC Transatlantic Race, in association with the International Maxi Association (IMA), started on Saturday 30th November 1000 UTC from Puerto Calero, Lanzarote, Canary Islands bound for Grenada, West Indies, 2,995 nautical miles across the Atlantic Ocean.

Nomad IV at the start of the RORC Transatlantic Race, leaving Lanzarote
© Puerto Calero/James Mitchell

Battle on for line honours. Southern Wind 94, Windfall at the start of the RORC Transatlantic Race
© Puerto Calero/James Mitchell

After leading the fleet out of the Canary Islands yesterday afternoon the Finot-Conq 100, Nomad IV, sailed by Jean-Paul Riviere, was leading the race until gear failure forced the French Maxi to head back to the Canary Islands for repairs. All of the crew are safe and well. At about 2000 UTC on Monday 1st December, Nomad IV was approximately 110 miles south west of La Palma when the RORC Transatlantic tracker showed the boat had turned around and was heading back towards the Canaries.

At 2138 UTC, Nomad IV contacted the RORC Race Committee by satellite link to report that the boom of the 100ft Maxi had broken but that all were safe on board. The RORC Race Committee have remained in contact with Nomad IV and it is understood that the crew do not require assistance and plan to head back to the Canaries, probably Tenerife, to effect repairs.

Nomad IV was the hot favourite for Line Honours for the RORC Transatlantic Race to win the prestigious IMA Trophy and hopefully the team can effect a repair that will allow them to re-continue. However, the incident occurred over 100 miles out into the Atlantic and the French team will have virtually no chance of catching the front runners, even if a solution to the problem can be found quickly.

Follow the progress of the race via the fleet tracker: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/tracking/2014-fleet-tracking.html

Nomad's misfortune means that at dawn on day three, the battle for the overall lead is between Jeremy Pilkington's RP78, Lupa of London and Russian Southern Wind 94 Windfall, skippered by Fabrizio Oddone. Windfall was 50 miles north of Lupa of London's position but in terms of distance to the finish, the two yachts are neck and neck. Windfall is positioned to skirt south around a high pressure system, which the Maxi will intend to slingshot around. Meanwhile Lupa of London seem to have taken a more conservative approach, keeping further away from the system and staying further south. The wind is due to veer east in the coming days and go lighter. If the wind does veer this will free off Windfall's angle before Lupa of London.

American Class40 Oakcliff Racing, skippered by Hobie Ponting, has had a great last 24 hours, sailing past Aref Lahham's Yacana in the early hours of this morning and at 0800 UTC was 11 miles ahead. However, Yacana, a classic Swan 68, is still estimated to be leading IRC One.

Currently 4th in IRC One, making 8.7 knots and 3 miles ahead of Sérénade, is the bright yellow Pogo 40, Bingo. One of four French teams in the race, Bingo is owned by husband and wife team from Paris, Isabelle and Yves Haudiquet and sailed with their long-time friends, Jean François Haupt and Pierre Crepin. Yves Haudiquet, from Yacht Club Paul Vatine, Le Havre, commented before the start: "I'm a lucky man with a 40ft boat able to surf day after day with the alize´ (tradewinds) and with a motivated crew. My boat was built to compete in this sort of race and I'm hoping for a long surf ride and to increase the average boat speed from my last crossing."

Nigel Passmore's British J/133, Apollo 7 is currently leading IRC Two. The Plymouth team had an excellent night, blasting along under Code Zero to open up a 22 mile lead by dawn on Frank Lang's French X-40, Optim'X.

ENDS/... Report: Louay Habib Motivated crew on the French Pogo 40, Bingo © Puerto Calero/James Mitchell Oakcliff Racing Team, Class40 © Puerto Calero/James Mitchell REPORTS, BLOGS, IMAGES: For more information visit the dedicated event minisite: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/ FOLLOW THE FLEET: Follow the progress of the race via the fleet tracker: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/tracking/2014-fleet-tracking.html Follow us on Facebook Like us on Facebook Twitter: #rorcrtr List of Entries HERE Sail No. Yacht Type Class TCC Owner Sailed By GBR 23 Lupa Of London Baltic 78 CK 1.426 Jeremy Pilkington Class Total: 1 MLT 14742 Nomad IV Finot 100 Z 1.713 FC CUBE LTD Jean-Paul Riviere MLT 7777 Windfall Southern Wind 94 Z 1.516 WF Services Ltd Fabrizio Oddone GBR 3671 Spirit of Adventure Volvo 60 Z 1.407 Derek Hatfield Class Total: 3 USA 118 Oakcliff Racing Class40 1 1.301 Hobie Ponting FRA 26 Sensation Class 40 Class40 1 1.251 Marc Lepesqueux GBR 68007 Yacana Swan 68 1 1.208 Aref Lahham FRA 37573 Bingo Pogo 40 1 1.178 Yves Haudiquet Class Total: 4 GBR 133 Apollo 7 J/133 2 1.092 Nigel Passmore FRA 35390 Optim'X X 40 2 1.066 Frank Lang Class Total: 2 FRA 36541 Sérénade JNP 12 Biquille 3 1.010 Denis Villotte Class Total: 1 Total: 11 The Royal Ocean Racing Club 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, has been an instant success and the RORC is extending its organisational expertise by creating the new RORC Transatlantic Race from Lanzarote to Grenada, starting on 29 November 2014 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

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