11th RORC Transatlantic Race - Day 3
by Louay Habib / RORC 15 Jan 03:09 NZDT
14 January 2025
Bryon Ehrhart's Juan K 88 Lucky (USA) sets a blistering pace in the 2025 RORC Transatlantic Race © Sailing Energy / Calero Marinas
The adrenaline-fueled magic carpet ride continues for the entire RORC Transatlantic Race fleet, with most boats clocking exhilarating double-digit speeds.
Leading the monohulls, Bryon Ehrhart's Juan K 88 Lucky (USA) sets a blistering pace, while Christian Zugel's Volvo 70 Tschüss 2 (USA) threatens with a fierce challenge. In the multihull class, the leader is hard to estimate with the fleet spread 300 miles apart either side of the rhumb line. Aldo Fumagalli's Rapido 53 Picomole (ITA) is the nearest multihull to the finish line outside Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina, Grenada.
The general weather scenario for the fleet between the Canaries and the Cabo Verde islands is an ENE gradient breeze with cloud and wind shadow extending to the south west of the Canary Islands, making conditions a little unstable. This is creating shifty conditions with the fleet having to put in numerous gybes.
In the multihull class, Aldo Fumagalli's Picomole currently holds the lead, 125 miles ahead of Jacopo Bracco's Banuls 53 Finn (USA), but in the early part of the race the devil is in the detail. Meanwhile, Hubert Wargny's Swan 78 Victoria made a brief pit-stop, but has rejoined the fleet, ready to battle it out across the Atlantic. The competition in the RORC Transatlantic Race is red hot.
IRC Zero
The Juan K 88 Lucky is leading the charge across the Atlantic, averaging an impressive 400 miles every 24 hours since the race began. Hot on their heels, the Volvo 70 Tschüss 2 trails by just 50 miles and continues to push hard. Both yachts opted for a northern route past the Canary Islands.
Reporting at 0800 UTC on Day 3, Tschüss 2's navigator shared an update from the nav table, positioned approximately 450 miles off the West African coast:
"The main reason for Tschuss to go over the top of the Canary Islands was that it looked like a viable option and probably a little bit easier to execute overall than to weave our way down through the channels. We have 12 on board so it was perfectly feasible to weave through the islands but that limited our options for the next 100-200 miles or so. Right now, the impact of the wind shadow from the Canary Islands is still not too far away and the high pressure ridge is also in our thoughts. The next decision is when to turn west and that is likely to happen in the next 12-14 hours. Right now we have good pressure in the high teens but the cloud activity is making the wind a little unstable. The mood on board is good and Christian (Zugel) is experiencing the longest downwind ride of his life and loving it on the helm!" reports Campbell Field.
Multihull Class
Clarin Mustad's Alibi 54 Dakota (SUI) and Aldo Fumagalli's Picomole elected to go north of the Canary Islands and after initially making big gains, both boats have seen a drop in speed after gybing south, presumably because of feeling the effects of the Canary Islands wind shadow. Oren Nataf's Pulsar 50 Rayon Vert (FRA) is the most southerly multihull, but the fastest multihull on the water on day three is Jacopo Bracco's Banuls 53 Finn (USA). Just after the start Finn had a technical problem on board and also damaged a head sail, but looks to have overcome her difficulties and is going well.
IRC One
James Neville's Carkeek 45 Ino Noir (GBR) is revelling in the fast downwind conditions to lead the class on the course and after IRC time correction. Ino Noir elected to head south of the Canary Islands and has put in a series of gybes to give the West African coast a good offing. This will probably be to avoid the hazards of fishing boats but also the forecast light wind along the inshore area. At this early stage in the race Ino Noir is estimated to have a lead of over eight hours after IRC time correction over Patrick Isoard's Open 50 Uship-pour Enfants du Mekong (FRA).
Third on the water in IRC One is the JV52 Haspa Hamburg (GER), skippered by Wibke Borrmann. Despite a challenging start, the team demonstrated resilience after a navigational error required them to turn back and round the Puerto Calero mark. Navigator Lorenz Suchy, just 23 years old and racing across the Atlantic for the first time, courageously explained the situation:
"As everyone noticed, we initially went in the wrong direction," admitted Lorenz, who usually races F18 multihulls on lakes in Southern Germany. "I was so focused on good routing for the race that I missed the first step. A rookie mistake I'd have preferred to make during a beer-can race, but fate had other plans for the biggest race of my life."
The RORC Race Team has confirmed that Haspa Hamburg has now rounded the mark and is back on course, determined to make up for lost time.
IRC Two
Andrew & Sam Hall's Lombard 46 Pata Negra (GBR) has made a great start to the RORC Transatlantic Race to lead the class on the water and after IRC time correction. Pata Negra is also estimated to be second overall for the race. Second on the water just 10 miles behind Pata Negra is Class40 Tquila (GBR), skippered by Alister Richardson. Third on the water, but estimated to be second in class after IRC time correction is Jouko Kallio's Swan 651 Spirit of Helsinki (FIN).
Alister Richardson sent this video to show what life is like on board at over 20 knots of boat speed!
Race Tracker: rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/tracking
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Race Website: rorctransatlantic.rorc.org