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Coming of age |
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Friday, 25 February 2011 18:31 |
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The RORC Caribbean 600 has been a special event for all of the competitors, last night the closest battle in any class was decided and the two remaining yachts racing, showing great fighting spirit, provided a fitting finale to racing, in the beautiful but sometimes brutal waters of the central Caribbean.
Late yesterday evening, the Army Sailing Association's A40, British Soldier, crossed the finish line. The team largely consists of British soldiers on leave from active duty in Afghanistan but not entirely. Two of the crew were from the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force and had no offshore sailing experience. The Antiguans put there hands up for the trip and were shown the ropes by some of the more experienced members of the crew. British Soldier had a blistering start to the race and sailed intelligently around the track, to claim a well deserved win in Class Two, showing dedication to duty but also allowing the soldiers a relaxing shakedown from their vital role.
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Read more... [Coming of age]
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Concise finishes |
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Thursday, 24 February 2011 18:34 |
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Tony Lawson's Class 40, Concise, completed the RORC Caribbean 600 after just under 3 days at sea. With six crew with an average age of just 22 years, they are by far the youngest team in the race. Concise retained the Concise Trophy for the third year running, much to the delight of the owner, Tony Lawson.
"Although Ned Collier Wakefield is down as the skipper, this really is a combined effort from a great bunch of very talented lads. The new boat is going well with less freeboard and a much more ergonomic cockpit and the articulated bowsprit gives the crew more options. It was important that we continued to build on our success in the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland and we were very please to see that we went even faster than in the similar conditions we experienced in the 2009 RC600. We feel we have nudged the bar slightly higher." |
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Tonnerre gets out of jail |
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Thursday, 24 February 2011 18:15 |
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Piet Vroon's Ker 46, Tonnerre de Breskens 3 crossed the finish line just after eight in the morning, on the third day of the RORC Caribbean 600, Piet's corinthian crew were tired and a bit deflated. They had been enjoying a fantastic ride all the way to Guadeloupe, when the flashing blue hull came to a complete stop. The powerful hull form had been powering around the course but they became caught on the windless southeast corner of the course. Like a hornet in a caught in a spider's web, Tonnerre struggled to get free but remained there for seven hours.
"It was a difficult time," declared Piet Vroon. "All we could do was wait for the wind but we felt that our chance had gone. The rest of the time we had been enjoying some fantastic sailing but this is a much tougher race than we expected, it was quite rough, it was like driving down a road full of potholes. The sail across to Nevis was probably the most spectacular part of the race for us, powering along at great speed into the setting sun under spinnaker."
Despite parking up at Guadeloupe, Tonnerre's performance around the rest of the race track proved to be their savior, although the rest of the class are still racing, by the afternoon it became mathematically impossible for the rest of them to beat Tonnerre on corrected time. |
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Buzzing in Antigua |
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Thursday, 24 February 2011 13:35 |
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With the big showdown done and dusted between the Maxis. It was a full ten hours before the third yacht crossed the finish line of the RORC Caribbean 600.
Peter Harrison's magnificent 115 ketch, Sojana, has produced a powerful performance, completing the course on Wednesday afternoon. There were happy smiles on board, especially Peter Harrison who has been an admirer of the race since conception. "Due to circumstances, we couldn't race in the first two editions but it was third time lucky and what a magnificent race this is, it is a fantastic way to see some of the beautiful islands in the Caribbean." Commented Peter dockside.
Next home was Brian Benjamin's stunning Carbon Ocean 82, Aegir. Brian typifies the characters in this sport. "We broke a few things but that was to be expected really, this is the first time that the new boat has been fully tested. It is always better to win but I will always remember my first race with this delightful boat and the great people that were sailing on her." Commented Benjamin after tying up.
Lloyd Thornburg's head turning Gunboat 66, Phaedo, finished the race in the early evening. The Lamborghini-orange hull has been flashing around the course, eating up the miles. "Phaedo, just finished the Caribbean 600, would like to thank everyone of my team, awesome team, 5th to finish, THAT'S what I am taking about" said Lloyd Thornburg.
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Read more... [Buzzing in Antigua]
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Charming despite defeat |
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Wednesday, 23 February 2011 17:02 |
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George David's Rambler 100 may have defeated Mike Slade's ICAP Leopard, but Slade was his usual charming self dockside, he even quoted Shakespeare:
"Well we have to suffer the slings and arrows, Rambler is really quick, we made a valiant effort and we enjoyed ourselves, as we always do, that was just a fantastic sail. We had a few issues, which cost us but Rambler sailed impeccably and hardly put a foot wrong, the whole way around the course."
Clarke Murphy, who has joins forces with Mike Slade on ICAP Leopard for this race and the forthcoming Transatlantic Race, was racing on Leopard for the first time and despite the defeat, was wide-eyed about the experience; "Hitting those speeds hour after hour was just amazing, I couldn't have asked for a more exciting sail with a great bunch of guys who are really at the top of their game. Early on, just before Barbuda, we had a major issue with the main and although the crew managed to repair it, the sheet went again, later in the race, putting a small tear in the main, which we had to fix but we are not making any excuses, Rambler showed how quick they were and were deserving winners."
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Read more... [Charming despite defeat]
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Rambler 100 breaks the RORC Caribbean 600 Monohull record |
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Wednesday, 23 February 2011 12:02 |
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George David's maxi yacht, Rambler 100, crossed the finish line in Antigua in the early hours of Wednesday morning in an elapsed time of 1 day 16 hours 20 minutes and 2 seconds.
Subject to official confirmation, Rambler 100 has broken the monohull race record set by race rival, Mike Slade's ICAP Leopard by nearly four hours.
Two of the world's most impressive racing yachts have been locking horns over 600 miles of high-speed action in a fight to the finish. Competing against each other for the first time and battling it out to snatch the record for the third edition of the RORC Caribbean 600.
The Rambler crew contained the entire compliment of the Puma Ocean Racing team which will be competing in the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race, tired but elated, Puma skipper, Kenny Read commented dockside in Antigua:
"That was a lot of fun but hard work for a while, you do something like sail around the world and that is almost easy compared to this, because there is no time to take any sleep, you're taking so many corners and turns but it is also a gorgeous course, it's a dream come true type of event. I am glad we came and that George invited me. Probably the most memorable part of the course was at night with a full moon at the top of St. Maarten, big breeze and massive breaking waves, it was huge fun and really cool, we came out of their doing 26 knots, it has been a real adventure and a this course and Rambler 100 is a whole new dimension for sailing."
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Read more... [Rambler 100 breaks the RORC Caribbean 600 Monohull record]
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News Flash: Rambler 100 breaks RORC Caribbean 600 Monohull Record |
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Wednesday, 23 February 2011 10:14 |
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George David's maxi yacht, Rambler 100 crossed the finish line in Antigua in the early hours of Wednesday morning in an elapsed time of 1 day 16 hours 20 minutes and 2 seconds.
Rambler 100 has broken the monohull race record set by race rival, Mike Slade's ICAP Leopard by nearly four hours.
Two of the world's most impressive racing yachts have been locking horns over 600 miles of high-speed action in a fight to the finish. Competing against each other for the first time and battling it out to snatch the record for the third edition of the RORC Caribbean 600.
32 other yachts from 15 different nations crossed the start line of the RORC Caribbean 600, off English Harbour in Antigua, Caribbean on February 21st. Most of the fleet is expected to finish over the next 24 hours. |
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Day Two Update by John Burnie |
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Thrills and Spills |
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Tuesday, 22 February 2011 14:23 |
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By mid-morning on day two, the RORC Caribbean 600 was very much living up to its billing as a high-speed thrilling race around the stunning Caribbean. The majority of the fleet is now heading for the top part of the course and should be around St.Maarten during the day. It has been an action packed start to the race.
George David's Maxi, Rambler 100, is setting an amazing pace and is only two hours from reaching the bottom west corner of Guadeloupe, 270 miles from the finish. The canting keel speed machine is expected to cross the finish line before day light tomorrow and is well on course to beat the monohull course record of 44hr 5m 14sec, set by Mike Slade's Maxi, ICAP Leopard, in 2009.
ICAP Leopard is 42 miles behind Rambler 100, screeching along at over 20 knots, on the long sleigh ride to the bottom of the course. Rambler 100 is the hot favourite to take line honours and is currently winning the race on corrected time but the outcome is by no means a forgone conclusion.
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Read more... [Thrills and Spills]
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Sailing in the shadows - looking for the lifts |
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Tuesday, 22 February 2011 15:00 |
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Overnight the RORC Caribbean 600 fleet has spread out across the course, most boats now lying between Saba and Tintimare north of St Martin. Rambler has set a blistering pace and is fast approaching Basseterre in Guadeloupe - the crew must be looking towards setting a new monohull course record. The trade winds remained very constant throughout the night which saw the fleet working their way past the islands of Nevis, St Kitts, Eustatia and Saba. Aegir reported fluky air on this leg and several yachts including Ocean Seven and Selene gybed away from the land in search of more consistent air. The North part of St Kitts is broad and high - wind shadow can affect the whole area on the rhumbline between Nevis and Saba. Clearly some yachts gained or lost out here depending on the wind phase. Being closer or further out can profit either way but being further offshore usually pays.
The beat up to St Bart's from Saba, never a comfortable one, is where part of the fleet are now engaged and it is interesting to see the differing options boats are taking. British Soldier has chosen to close the St Martin coast in one large tack, presumably looking for shallow water with less current and calmer seas. Heavier yachts beating hard close to the rhumbline look to be doing better with Lila, EHO1 and Hydrocarbon at the head of a series of Class 40's including Fitz and Ocean Warrior. Behind them the two 40.7s including Coyote will be having a bumpy and wet bash upwind in the increased swell - there is little option for them other than to tough it out staying close to the rhumbline as they slowly make their way up towards St Bart's. Boats already around St Bart's the first time are enjoying a short period of flatter water with down wind sailing - Concise has set an excellent benchmark leading the Class 40's ahead of Venomous (Whitbread 60) and just behind Selene (Swan 80).
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Read more... [Sailing in the shadows - looking for the lifts]
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