RORC Transatlantic Race Updates, Team Concise, Phaedo3, Videos

Phaedo³ breaks 3 world records in one week from Ocean Images on Vimeo.
Phaedo³ spent a week breaking world records. The Fastnet Original Course, Plymouth to La Rochelle, and Cowes to Dinard. Flying along, seeing speeds in excess of 40knots and average speeds of 28.66 knots

Team Concise Day 2 Update - Published on Nov 30, 2015 - An update from Ned and Wouter from Concise 10 with their progress.

RORC Transatlantic Race - Organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club in association with The International Maxi Association - MOD's flying west and gone fishing on Nomad IV:

Day Four of the RORC Transatlantic Race and the MOD 70s are heading west at alarming speed.Zed 6 is about to have it all on to the north and the IRC fleet is experiencing light winds in the high pressure off the Western Sahara.

Lloyd Thornburg's Phaedo3, skippered by Brian Thompson and Tony Lawson's Concise 10/Ms Barbados, skippered by Ned Collier Wakefield gybed west as the sunset yesterday. Concise took a more southerly line than Phaedo3, recognising the low pressure system to the south.Phaedo3 responded by gybing further south, giving up precious miles to cover the potential advantage. Phaedo3 still holds the upper hand but Concise 10 are still very much in striking distance. Concise 10 sent in the video above via satellite link.

The three Maxis racing in the RORC Transatlantic Race have experienced light winds for the last 24 hours. Southern Wind 94, Windfall, skippered by Irish Olympic sailor Timothy Goodbody fell back after leading IRC overall on Day Three. Will Apold's Canadian Swan 78, Valkyrie cashed in on their southerly route through the Canaries and added to the bank via their tall rig and narrow hull shape, to glide into the lead on IRC corrected time from the other two Maxis. Jean-Paul Riviere's French Finot Conq 100, Nomad IV used the slow going to good measure with their Russian guests casting a line for 'the catch of the day'. Nomad IV should get into better pressure today and significantly, before the other two Maxis, which should see the team extend their lead on the water in the monohull fleet.

Gerald Bibot & Michel Kleinjans Belgian catamaran, Zed 6 gybed south yesterday afternoon after reaching a latitude of 33 degrees north which is further north than all of Florida. No doubt the Belgians will be reaching for the hot chocolate today. The wind direction is predicted to strengthen and turn to the south. This will put the 42ft catamaran into strong headwinds and the potential for big confused seas. "The boat is fantastic!" exclaimed Gerald by satellite link. " It's very fast and very sensible to any bad tuning. We stay very safe, sheets off the self-tailing and mostly in hands all the time. So it is a bit more exhausting than a Class40. We got the news this morning that the MODs are 200 nm closer than us to finish. It will be interesting to see how many days they will lead on us in the end. And who knows? I just heard that Gonzalo (Tales II) stopped in the Canaries for a rudder repair and re-started. That's good news. We have similar speeds on some angles, so it is important for us to have her as a benchmark on both sides of the pressure ridge."

With the light winds experienced yesterday and last night the clutch of 40ft yachts have come to the fore after IRC corrected time. Provisionally, J/120 Nunatak raced Two Handed by Chris Frost and Elin Haf Davies is leading the IRC fleet after time correction. Not wishing to dampenNunatak's fireworks, this may be due to the fact that Nunatak has taken a more westerly route, closer to the rhumb line. In doing so Nunatak has stayed in the high pressure vacuum but bytomorrow morning fresh winds are likely from the east, which will improve their position.

Mike Gascoyne, skipper of Class40 checked in with the RORC media team via satellite and sportingly said he was pleased to see their rival Tales II back in the race: "We had always planned to head for the southerly route and the weather files during the first night confirmed that choice," confirmed Mike. "We gybed south between Tenerife and La Palma but a couple of tactile errors meant we lost a few hours in some light patches before breaking free from the islands and heading south. We re-passed Aloha early this morning having clearly lost some miles between the islands. It was a shame for Tales II to have the rudder problem as they were really flying off the start. I'm sure with the crew they have on board they will be looking to catch us but we will do our best to make life hard for them. Life on board is good, currently pushing south west with A3, staysail and full main in 15kts of breeze and contemplating a full English breakfast for the crew, not easy to do on a jet-boil."

Latest news, blogs from the boats and photos: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/

Follow the progress of the race via the fleet: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/tracking/2015-fleet-tracking.html

Other Sailing NEWS:
Franck Cammas injured his right leg - Groupama Team France: "During training for the America's Cup on Monday, November 30, Franck Cammas, skipper of Groupama Team France was seriously wounded in the right leg. As part of the preparation for the America's Cup, Franck Cammas and his team were training with two boats (GC32) at the National Sailing School in Quiberon Bay.   With winds at 17 knots, and while he was at the helm, the champion went overboard and the rudder hit his right leg while the hydrofoil catamaran was moving at full speed."

Franck Cammas undergoes a successful operation: "Injuring his right leg on Monday 30 November during a crew training session in Quiberon Bay, Brittany, aboard a 10-metre long flying catamaran, the skipper of Groupama Team France will be away from the race zone for several weeks. The orthopaedic surgery department at the University Hospital Hôtel Dieu in Nantes operated on a double Tibia-Fibula fracture early evening yesterday and Franck Cammas will begin his rehabilitation in January 2016...." (read more at the link above)

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2015 RORC Transatlantic Race, Nov 28 Start, Lanzarote to Grenada

THE RORC TRANSATLANTIC RACE 2015: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/

• The second RORC Transatlantic Race starts in Lanzarote on Saturday 28th November 2015 and the 2,995 nautical mile race runs through the Canary Islands before crossing the Atlantic to arrive in Grenada
• The race is run in association with the International Maxi Association (IMA)
• The winner of the inaugural RORC Transatlantic Race Trophy for best elapsed time under IRC in 2014 was Jeremy Pilkington's Lupa of London. The Baltic 78 was also presented with the International Maxi Association's Line Honours Trophy at a prizegiving ceremony held at Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina at the finish in Grenada

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A highly varied fleet with fascinating competitors will set off on 28th November from Lanzarote - the most eastern island in the Canary Islands chain - bound for the island of Grenada in the Caribbean in the RORC Transatlantic Race, organised by The Royal Ocean Racing Club in association with The International Maxi Association. Two MOD 70s will be locking horns in the 2015 RORC Transatlantic Race, aiming for line honours and victory in a highly competitive, high-speed duel: Lloyd Thornburg's Phaedo^3 and Tony Lawson's Concise 10, skippered by Ned Collier Wakefield are capable of a top speed in excess of 40 knots and an average 25 knots for the race. Two of the world's fastest multihulls could complete the 3000 nautical mile course in just five days.

The two MOD 70s have raced each other twice. Concise 10 got the better of Phaedo^3 in the Artemis Challenge, around the Isle of Wight Race and Phaedo^3 squared the match, beating Concise 10 in the Rolex Fastnet Race. The RORC Transatlantic Race will be the first transoceanic race between two fully crewed MOD 70s for over three years and it is highly likely that the race will be incredibly close. In the last fully crewed Transatlantic Race featuring MOD 70s, three teams finished within two hours of each other.

"There is no difference in speed between the two boats and it will come down to tactics and navigation," explains Thompson. "The MOD 70 is the best boat in the world; super-fast, very strong and reasonably safe offshore. In terms of navigation, once we leave Lanzarote we will have to negotiate the Canary Islands which will be an interesting conundrum before heading towards Grenada. Then it is principally a downwind course, although at this time of year, there is the choice of going north to hook into a cold front or going south to find the trade winds. During the race, squalls are always a big factor and this is a very open race course, so we could be hundreds of miles apart, but we will be watching each other and I think this will be a really close race. The last few hours could be very interesting. Which side of Barbados to go will be in the mix and we could see some double bluffing going on. It is quite rare to have this opportunity and a big thank you to the RORC for organising the race. We are very glad to be supporting it and the RORC Transatlantic Race is the perfect way to arrive for the RORC Caribbean 600."

The exciting addition of two MOD 70s in the second running of the RORC Transatlantic Race led to the decision to move the start location to Puerto Calero's sister facility Marina Lanzarote which is conveniently located in the island's capital Arrecife. The brand new Marina Lanzarote will host the start of the 2015 RORC Transatlantic Race on Saturday 28 November. Calero Marinas, committed to hosting the RORC Transatlantic Race for the next three years. José Juan Calero, Managing Director for Calero Marinas and RORC Chief Executive, Eddie Warden Owen.

THE ORGANISERS:
Established in 1925, The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) became famous for the biennial Fastnet Race and the international team event, the Admiral's Cup. It organises an annual series of domestic offshore races from its base in Cowes as well as inshore regattas such as the RORC Easter Challenge and IRC National Championships in the Solent.
rorc.org
rorcrating.com
Twitter:  #rorcrtr #rorcracing

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 new 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

ROYAL OCEAN RACING CLUB:
20 St James's Place
London SW1A 1NN
RORC RACE ENQUIRIES: rorc.org

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