Transatlantic Race 2011

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Photo by: Billy Black

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.