Bermuda executive Mark Watson made his first race to Bermuda memorable with a corrected time win in Genuine Risk in the Open Division for cant-keel boats. Speedboat, owned by Alex Jackson, took line honors for the race, finishing just before dawn at 3:47:56 with an elapsed time of 59:17:56, well off the course record.  Rán, the Fastnet and Sydney Hobart race winner, finished first in Class 10 and is a strong contender for the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse trophy.

Il Mostro (Puma) skippered by Ken Read, crossed the line second and corrected just behind Genuine Risk. “We were ahead of Il Mostro and Speedboat after we all came out of the Gulf Stream west of the rhumb line,” Watson said. “We decided to take a more easterly angle to avoid a cold eddy with negative current, but that let Speedboat separate from us.” Ralph Steitz, Sailing Director for the US Merchant Marine Academy (owner of Genuine Risk, which Watson sponsored), was one of many sailors who said how much they had enjoyed the race.  “This was the easiest Bermuda Race I’ve ever done and I’ve done a few.”  

Photos of Bermuda Race Start By George Bekris  HERE

PUMA Ocean Racing’s IL Mostro (Photo by George Bekris)

  Rán, Niklas Zennstrom’s JV 72, is the provisional winner in Class 10 for big professional boats in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division after being pushed hard by Tom Hill’s Titan XV for more than 600 miles. George David’s Rambler matched up with Karl Kwok’s Beau Geste and took line honors for these fixed-keel boats. “I’ve never sailed a Bermuda Race when you’re head to head with another boat for so long,” said Rambler’s tactician, Jerry Kirby.  “It came down to the last tack to St. David’s Light.”
 
Vanquish, co-skippered by Bermudian Buddy Rego and Americans Russell Lucas and Jamie Hilton, crossed the line first in Class 8 for the big boats in the amateur St. David’s Lighthouse Division, but Gus Carlson’s Aurora is the provisional class winner. Some smaller boats have a good shot at winning the division. Carina, skippered by Rives Potts, has a 60-mile lead over her Class 3 competition. In the highly competitive Class 1, Sinn Fein, Peter Rebovich’s Cal 40 and the two-time defending St. David’s winner, has sailed farther west than anybody and is fighting for the lead with David Dickerson’s Lindy.
 
In the Double-Handed Division, iBoattrack showed Michael Hennessy’s Dragon at the head of the pack, 160 miles from the finish, with the four-time winner Lora Ann not far behind. The Cruising Division’s leader, Clover III, was about 70 miles out on Saturday afternoon with a healthy lead on the 80-footer Nirvana.

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The lead boats entered the Gulf Stream at around sunset Saturday, heading upwind into a moderate southwesterly wind with as much as 4 knots of favorable current in the long, hot meander that they have been steering for since the race start on Friday afternoon. Speedboat, at 100ft the largest yacht in the fleet, was making more than 12 knots over the bottom. The earlier “champagne conditions” were behind them as they pounded into big, square, confused seas.

iBoattrack  positions at 11 AM EDT Sunday showed Speedboat averaging almost 11 knots with 175 miles to the finish. At this rate she is behind the  48-hour elapsed time race record for cant-keel, Open Division boats – She has to average 13knots for the whole race to beat this time.

Rán was 38 miles back. Following close on the heels of this English boat in the Gibbs Hill Division were Titan XV, Beau Geste, Bella Mente, Rambler, Il Mostro, Vanquish, and Genuine Risk. This tightly bunched pack of eight has been separated by only a few miles since the start.

By this morning the ‘big boat’ leaders were clear of the Stream and entering the 250-mile stretch of often confused wind and currents between the Gulf Stream and Bermuda. Race veterans wryly call this “Happy Valley,” for it is where the race is often won and lost.              

Chris Museler, on Titan XV, filed this report just before midnight:
“Now this is what we came for! The boat is literally crashing into waves close reaching onto the Gulf Stream and the water temperature has leapt into the 80s. It’s getting darker and the Aramid rigging has been humming and groaning, and the deck bounces from each loud crack when a sheet or the traveler is eased. This wild ride comes from being in a positive eddy heading south, straight into it! (Wind and current collide to stack up the seas that the boats are crashing into.) This is getting to be fun after losing a bit to competitors this afternoon. The bright sun and the flat water sailing are gone. Can’t write anymore, quite hot and uncomfortable down here. So I’m on watch and will be seeing you in the morning. Knew I wouldn’t want to sail a Bermuda Race without a proper ‘thrash,’ as Mr. Rousmaniere calls it!”

The Smaller Boats

By dawn today, Rán was out of the Stream, and the team was speculating in their blog whether the smaller boats – a hundred miles astern, and just entering this zone – have had consistently more wind than the big ones.

In Class 1, the St. David’s Lighthouse Division class for boats of about 40 feet, Sinn Fein, the two-time defending St. David’s champion, has chosen a course well to the right of the fleet leaders, and her close class rivals sistership Gone with the Wind and the Tartan 41 Aurora, and charting a route 50 miles west of the rhumb line.   

In the Double-Handed Division, two of the light-displacement Class 40s, Dragon and KamoaE, have a healthy lead on elapsed time, but Richard du Moulin’s Lora Ann remains in contention. 

The Cruiser Division leader is the 56-foot Clover III, well ahead of the bigger boats in this Division.      

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The Newport Bermuda Race fleet made their upwind starts in 16 classes over a period of more than two and a half hours on Friday afternoon. There now are 183 boats, after Avatar didn’t start. In addition, Blue sailed back to the shipyard to get her broken centerboard cable fixed; she’s expected to start again after the repair.

The start found some skippers were surprisingly aggressive. Apparently forgetting that this isn’t a day race but a 635-mile marathon running several days, they also seem to have experienced a touch of amnesia about the tide table.  As the new ebb tide ran with every great velocity out of Narragansett Bay, it pushed them inexorably toward Bermuda, but also over the starting line a little earlier than their tacticians had planned.

Of the 13 boats in Class 4 (St. David’s Light Division, 45-55 footers), four found themselves over early at the pin end, with Star Chaser getting what one of her crew called “the best start in the fleet” in an email to media@BermudaRace.com. “We were at the committee boat end of the line with some of the J-Boats but higher and faster. We all chose to be slightly late on the gun: no use being OCS  on a race of 635 nm!”

In Class 8 (St. David’s Light, 65-footers) two boats were premature. One was Aurora (with Gary Jobson in the afterguard), and she had to pick her way back to the line, losing at least three minutes in the process.

The current new on the Newport Bermuda Race  is that  Speedboat took the lead from Titan XV at sunset Friday night as the big 183-boat fleet raced toward Bermuda on a fast close reach in a flat sea, clear visibility, and a moderate southwest wind that gradually strengthened and clocked toward the west.  Two boats set Code Zeros.

For current boat positions click HERE

 Chris Museler reports from Titan XV:  a collision, a Code Zero, and a champagne wake

 Friday, 2045 EDT.  What an incredible day we’ve had! When I woke up to clear skies and glassy conditions, I knew the sea breeze was setting up nicely. After our delicious hot lunch aboard Tom and Dotty Hill’s Titan XIV, we set out in a relaxed mood, everyone smiling about the conditions. The spectators were all smiles and cheers. There were so many people camped out on the Castle Hill lawn that you couldn’t see any grass.

We started well to weather of the other mini maxis in Class 10 (Gibbs Hill Division) and from then until sunset (a few moments ago) it’s been champagne sailing conditions – sailing at 13-15 knots in a steady wind.   We’ve been the lead boat for a few hours, but now as it’s getting dark, Speedboat is passing us to leeward.  She started at 4:30, an hour after we did, and it’s now after 8.  Rán (in our class) isn’t far behind.

At about 5:30 we hit a large marine animal of some kind.  It may have been a basking shark, maybe as long as 20 feet. The hit was soft and we almost stopped. The fish made a few squiggles, spun off, and swam away in our wake.  The boat appears to be undamaged.

We’ve switched to a Code Zero, and as our grinders are getting busy they look a lot bigger than before. Mark Strube, who finished second at the Star Class Europeans two weeks ago, is 250 pounds of muscle.  The crew has just had dinner – hot rice and chicken with pineapple, which took an hour to cook in two large pots, plus the usual Snickers and Pringles for snacks . . . and apples, too.

Photos By George Bekris

More Photos Of The Newport Bermuda Race Start by George Bekris click HERE

 The leader for several hours was Titan XV, in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division. She was caught by Speedboat (Open Division, which started an hour later) at about 8:45 pm.  Other positions have been changing in the extremely competitive group of mini maxis sailing in the Gibbs Hill Division, with Hap Fauth’s Bella Mente overtaking Niklas Zennstrom’s Rán soon after midnight, and Rán then catching Rambler and Beau Geste in parking-lot conditions. The wind slowly faded during the night, swung into the north for a while. After dawn, two boats reported a very light breeze from the southeast, which is the course to Bermuda.  Later on Saturday morning the wind filled in nicely with a report of 15-plus knots, whitecaps, and the first sighting of cumulus clouds over the Gulf Stream ahead.  There also were reports of U.S. Navy exercises in the area of some boats.

By John Rousmaniere

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Down in Bermuda, the best spot to watch the yachts finish in Bermuda is from the grounds of St. David’s Lighthouse. Visitors will find that the Finish Line Committee is very hospitable and depending on the finishing traffic, they may be invited up into the tower for a tour. It is a straight up climb and not for people afraid of heights. The view from the lawn is almost as good and worth the trip to St. David’s.

The HD Gateway Finish Line Cam is new for 2010.  From the high definition camera mounted on the St. David’s Lighthouse tower, finish line action will be streamed worldwide 24/7. Spectators can use iBoattrack to follow their boat of interest to the finish, then actually watch them cross the line when they arrive.

In Bermuda, digital spectators can watch boats finish from the comfort of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. A Gateway ‘SMART Board’ will be available for viewing in the Calabash Lounge and a smaller HD TV monitor will be available over the Terrace Bar.

 by Talbot Wilson

New Bermuda Race Entrants

Yacht	Yacht Type	Division	Captain
ANGEL	Ctm 84	CD	Edward T. Anderson
ATALANTA	Little Harbor 54	CD	James F. Volkwein
ATTITUDE	Beneteau 423	CD	Shawn Dahlen
AVATAR	Ranger 37	CD	Janusz Kedzierski
BERMUDA OYSTER	Oyster 435	CD	Paul B. Hubbard
BLE U	C&C 51xl	CD	Dan Epstein
BLUEBIRD	Migrant 45 Ketch	CD	Harry Bird
BONSPIEL	Nordic 44	CD	James J. Richter
CADENCE	Apogee 50	CD	R. David Warters
CETACEA	Hinckley 59	CD	Christopher J. Culver
CHECKMATE	Alden44	CD	Frank J. Flores
CLOVER III	Swan 56	CD	Neal F. Finnegan
CONVERGENCE	Jeanneau 43 DS	CD	James Linsley
EAGLE	J-40	CD	Dana Oviatt
ECLIPSE	Hinckley 59	CD	Barbara & Robert Cavanagh
FOX	Swan 53	CD	Ruth M. Pecherek
FREEDOM	Sabre 452	CD	Cary W. Thomson
HAERLEM	Swan 55	CD	Hendrikus (Henk) P L Wisker
I’LL THINK ABOUT IT	Beneteau 523	CD	Marc Tandourjian
ISOLA	Baltic 52	CD	Howard M. Eisenberg
KALUE	Wooden Ketch	CD	Rudy Schreiber
LAURA B	Island Packet 45	CD	Joseph R. Triggs, Jr.
LIBERTY CALL	HR 43	CD	Matthew G. Pilon
LILLA	CNB 76	CD	Simon M. De Pietro
MANANA	Swan 48	CD	Michhael V. Johnson
MISTY	Little Harbor 54	CD	Eric G. Thorkilsen
NIRVANA	Maxi 80	CD	Charles F Kiefer III
NOSTOS	Alden 44	CD	Lorenzo D. Weisman
NOVA	Swan 56	CD	Mark DiStefano
PILGRIM	Alden 44	CD	Mark Rice
POESKE	First 42	CD	Richard Donn
RESTIVE	Alden48 Ctm	CD	George P Denny III
RUTAINE	C&C 37/40+	CD	David P. McLoughlin
SCEPTRED ISLE	Ctm 63	CD	Rex G. Herbert
SHEARWATER	Morris 40	CD	Conrad Hall
SHINDIG	Pearson 39-2	CD	Kevin G. Flannery
TEMPTRESS	IMX-45	CD	Arent H Kits van Heyningen
WHISKEY GIRL	Hinckley 70	CD	Michael McAllister
WINDWALKER II	Lyman Morse 60	CD	Daniel Levangie
ALIBI	J-120	DH	Gardner L. Grant, Jr.
BOLANDS MILL	Class 40	DH	John Ryan
CHOUCAS	Jeanneau SF36	DH	Frederic Cosandey
CORDELIA	Valiant 42	DH	Roy F. Greenwald
CUTLASS	Class 40	DH	Alex / Nick Mehran / Halmos
DAWN TREADER	Swan 48 MK II	DH	Lawrence G. Cohen
DELAWANA	Swan 51	DH	Hans F. Himmelman
DIRIGO	C&C 41	DH	Eric M. Johnson
DRAGON	Class 40	DH	Michael S. Hennessy
ESMERALDE	Sabre 386	DH	Bruce R. Beard, Jr.
GREAT SCOT	J-35	DH	Darren T Garnier
HERON	J-120	DH	Greg R. Leonard
KAMOA’E	Class 40	DH	Eric Lecoq
KILLUA	Aphrodite 101	DH	James G. Binch
KIVA	Hinkley SW51CB	DH	Mark Stevens
LORA ANN	Express 37	DH	Richard T. du Moulin
MIREILLE	J-120	DH	Edwin Gaynor
NEXT BOAT	Morris 45	DH	Mark Ellman
OCEAN WANDERER1	Montivideo 43	DH	Erwin Wanderer
PALADIN	J-35	DH	Jason A Richter
PLUM CRAZY	Sabre MK II	DH	Michael R. Berg
RESOLUTE	J/122	DH	D. Scott Miller
SEABISCUIT	J-46	DH	Nathan C. Owen
SIR EDMUND	Ctm 49	DH	Fredrick R. Holt
TOOTHFACE	Akilaria Class40	DH	Michael W. Dreese
WHISPER	Hinckley 48	DH	Thomas J. Vander Salm
BEAU GESTE	Farr 80	GHL	Karl Kwok
BELLA MENTE	Mini Maxi	GHL	Hap Fauth
CAPTIVITY	Farr 60	GHL	Samuel T. Byrne
CATAPULT RACING	SouthernCross 52	GHL	Marc Glimcher
HOI AN	Custom 50	GHL	Heilner Marc
NATALIE J	TP52	GHL	Philip D. O’Niel III, D.D.S.
NOONMARK VI	Swan 56	GHL	Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy
RAMBLER	Ctm 90	GHL	George David
RAN	JV 72	GHL	Niklas Zennstrom
RIMA2	R/P 55	GHL	John Brim
SNOW LION	Ker 50	GHL	Lawrence S. Huntington
TITAN 15	ctm75	GHL	Tom Hill, Mr.
VELA VELOCE	Southern Cross	GHL	Richard H Oland
GENUINE RISK	Dubois 90	Open	Mark E / USMMA Watson III
ILMOSTRO	VOR70	Open	Ken Read
SPEEDBOAT	Maxi	Open	Alex Jackson
ACTAEA	Hinckley B40	SDL	Michael M. Cone
AKELA III	Swan 43	SDL	Djoerd Hoekstra
AKUBRA	J44	SDL	Reginald H. Goodday Dr.
AMADEUS	IMX-40	SDL	Jack R. Yaissle
AMERICAN GIRL	King 40	SDL	Daniel Galyon
AMIGO VI	J-42	SDL	Bernie P. Coyne
APSARA	J-109	SDL	Mike Sleightholme
ARBELLA	First 44.7	SDL	James P. Shaughnesy
AURORA	Tartan 41	SDL	Andrew F. Kallfelz
AURORA	Reichel/Pugh 66	SDL	Gus Carlson
AVENIR	C&C 41	SDL	Joseph T. Murray
AVRA	J/120 Mod	SDL	George Petrides
BABE	Swan 46	SDL	Colin E. Couper MD
BACCI	Swan 53	SDL	Lorenzo Vascotto
BARLEYCORN	NYYC Swan 42	SDL	Brendan J. Brownyard
BEAGLE	J-44	SDL	Philip H. Gutin
BEAUSOLEIL	Beneteau 456SD	SDL	Richard A Parent
BELLE AURORE	Cal 40	SDL	R Douglas Jurrius
BIG BOOTY	Lutra 42	SDL	Patrick Eudy
BOMBARDINO	Santa Cruz 52	SDL	James W. Sykes
BRAND NEW DAY	J-65	SDL	James C. Madden
BUZZ	Sydney 38	SDL	Richard E. Stevenson, Jr
CARINA	CTM 48	SDL	Rives Potts
CHARLIE V	J-44	SDL	Norman H. Schulman MD
CILISTA	J-130	SDL	Jeffrey L. Eberle
CONVICTUS MAXIMUS	Farr IRC 42	SDL	Donald W. Nicholson
CYBELE	IMX-45	SDL	Richard M. Burnes, Jr
CYGNETTE	Swan 441	SDL	William J. Mayer
DENALI	Nelson Marek 70	SDL	Michael A. D’Amelio
DOGSLED	Kaufman 47	SDL	Todd F. Barnard
DOLPHIN	J-42	SDL	Henry S. Morgan
DONNYBROOK	Ctm Sloop	SDL	James P. Muldoon
FEARLESS	Farr 395 OD	SDL	Shaun J. Ensor
FINESSE	J-42	SDL	Newton P.S. Merrill
FLIRT	Navy 44 MK1	SDL	US NAVAL ACADEMY
FLYING GOOSE	Ctm 56	SDL	Daniel C. van Starrenburg
FROLIC	Sabre 362	SDL	Peter G. Brown
GLORY	J-44	SDL	Jack Neades/ USCGA
GOLD DIGGER	J-44	SDL	James D. Bishop
GONE WITH THE WIND	Cal 40	SDL	William M. LeRoy
GRACIE	Ctm 69	SDL	Stephan A. & Simon W Frank
GREY MATTER	Hanse 470e	SDL	Brian R. Parselle
GREYGHOST	Zaal 38	SDL	Philip W. Parish
HAKUNA MATATA	Cal 39	SDL	Christopher J. Andrews
HIGH NOON	Tripp 41	SDL	Colin Rath
HIRO MARU	Swan 43 Classic	SDL	Hiroshi Nakajima
HOUND	Ctm 60	SDL	Eberhart Frank
INVICTUS	TP52	SDL	US Naval Academy
JACKNIFE	J-133	SDL	Andrew Hall
JACQUELINE IV	Hinckley SW42	SDL	Robert S. Forman, Jr
JADE	J-42	SDL	Robert W. Thuss, Jr.
KALEVALA II	Grand Soleil 37	SDL	Tapio O. Saavalainen
KODIAK	Swan 601	SDL	E. Llwyd Ecclestone
LAPIN	Benn Frst 40.7	SDL	Christopher Clark
LINDY	Peterson 38	SDL	David G. Dickerson
MAGIC	Santa Cruz 52	SDL	Kenneth Laudon
MERLIN	Swan57	SDL	John H Duerden
MISCHIEVOUS	Ctm 65	SDL	Albert J. Fitzgibbons
MISTY	J-40 WK	SDL	Fred A. Allardyce
MOJOE	Peterson 43	SDL	Joseph M. Naroski
MORGAN OF MARIETTA	Centurion 42	SDL	Colin G Golder
NASTY MEDICINE	Corby 41.5	SDL	Stephen J. Sherwin MD
RAGANA	Cape Fear 38R	SDL	Darius Peleda
RAINMAKER	Swan40	SDL	Kenneth P. Hylwa Mr.
REGATTA	CARTER41	SDL	Constantine G. Koste
REINDEER	Morris 47	SDL	Peter/Tony Driscoll/Parker
RELATIVITY	Beneteau 53F5	SDL	Hall Palmer
RESOLUTE	J-44 WK	SDL	Fred Madeira
RICOCHET	J-120	SDL	USCGA
ROCKET SCIENCE	J-120	SDL	Rick F. Oricchio
RUNAWAY	J-44	SDL	Lawrence R. Glenn
SAILOR BANDIDO	Quest 33	SDL	Christopher A. Palabrica
SARAH	X-41	SDL	Gregory B. Manning
SFORZANDO	Ker 55	SDL	Clayton G. Deutsch
SHINNECOCK	J-120	SDL	James C. Praley
SINN FEIN	Cal 40	SDL	Peter S. Rebovich, Sr.
SIRENA BELLA	J44	SDL	Joe Murli
SIRENSONG	J-133	SDL	Thomas J Carroll
SLIDE RULE	First 44.7	SDL	Scott Bearse
SPIRIT	Baltic 38DP	SDL	A. John Gregg
STAR CHASER	Swan 51	SDL	Wijnand (Boogie) van den Boogaard
STARLIGHT	Simonis Voogd 56	SDL	Michael Dybvik
SWIFT	Navy 44 MK1	SDL	US Naval Academy
TEMPTATION	Taylor 45	SDL	Arthur & Peter Santry
TERRAPIN	Beneteau 40.7	SDL	Jonathan Litt
THEJACKAL	Beneteau 40.7	SDL	John DeFilippo
THREEBEANS	Santa Cruz 37	SDL	Christopher Rosow
TIGER	Swan 46	SDL	Thomas & Nancy Grieb
TRIPLE LINDY	Swan 44 MK II	SDL	Joseph Mele
TRUE	J-42 (mod)	SDL	Howard B. Hodgson, Jr.
UPGRADE	Farr 395	SDL	Peter Gibbons-Neff
VALKYRIE	First 44.7	SDL	David Andril
VAMP	J-44	SDL	Leonard J. Sitar
VANQUISH	STP 65	SDL	Rego / Riker Lucas / USMMA
VORTICES	J 145	SDL	Christopher L Saxton
WAZIMO	Aerodyne 38	SDL	W. Barrett Holby, Jr.
WESTRAY	Concordia 39	SDL	John D. Melvin
WHISPER	Canning 48	SDL	Sheldon Brotman
WHITE RHINO	Swan 56	SDL	Todd Stuart
WINDBORN	J-120	SDL	Richard W. Born
XCELSIOR	IMX-45	SDL	Alice O. Martin
XENOPHON	Swan 44 MKII	SDL	Jeffrey V. Rabuffo, MD
ZEST	Hinckley SW42	SDL	Brian E. Swiggett
ZWERVER	S&S 57′ Berm Cut	SDL	Frans van Schaik

The above list subject to change.

 

For More Photos of the Newport bermuda Race 2008 by George Bekris click  HERE

 From the June 18^th start in Newport to finish in Bermuda 635 miles later, this classic ocean race is almost a spectator sport.

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Although several boat are still racing, Richard Bamford’s Swan 38 Dolfijn retired this morning which means that at tonight’s prize giving Karl Kwok’s Farr 80, Beau Geste, will be awarded the RORC Caribbean 600 trophy for best yacht overall under IRC, the line honours trophy for monohulls and Class trophy for IRC Super Zero.

“I have never cleaned up as well before so it feels really good,” smiled Karl Kwok upon hearing the news. “There may have been a lack of wind but we kept on going all the time and when the wind was with us we had flat water and some fantastic sailing. Beau Geste has a great spirit, I have been friends with Gavin Brady for two decades and we sit down and decide who we will have on board. Friendship is very important to me, we choose the best sailors but also the right people. I have to say a big thank you to Gavin Brady and the two watch captains, Jonno Swain and David Endean but all of the crew did a great job.

Beau Geste races all over the world and I would like to invite all of the competitors we come across to do this race. The sailing is as good as can be and I have enjoyed it immensely.”

Winner overall of the CSA division and second place overall under IRC is Richard Oland’s Southern Cross 52, Vela Veloce.

“We had a close battle with Privateer who beat us by less than a minute in our last encounter, so beating them this time was a bit of payback,” admitted Richard Oland, skipper of Vela Veloce. “Privateer are good sports and I am sure we will share a beer with them tonight. Although I have done a lot of cruising here, this is the first time I have raced in the Caribbean since the 60s. The boat comes from New Brunswick, Canada and it amazes me why people don’t come down here and enjoy these water.

Winner of IRC Super Zero Canting keel, third overall under IRC and second under CSA was Ron O’Hanley’s Cookson 52, Privateer.

“We have never raced against another Cookson 50 which we were really looking forward to but Privateer is a newer boat with some differences and we weren’t really racing close to Lee Overlay Partners. We had a really good fight with Vela Veloce. This is the first time we have competed in a RORC race and I would like to give a big thank you to the organisers; this has been a very well run event.” Commented Vela Veloce boat captain Scott Innes-Jones.

Third overall under CSA and fourth overall under IRC was Adrian Lee’s Cookson 50, Lee Overlay Partners. Dockside Adrian Lee was still full of admiration for the race. “Very different to last year but we have enjoyed it just the same, this was as much a challenge but for different reasons, keeping the boat going and concentrating the whole time were so important. The last few miles were agonizingly slow but we kept cool under pressure and to be honest, we were delighted just to finish. Congratulations to Beau Geste on an excellent performance.”

Only one boat, AAG Big One has finished since Lee Overlay Partners came in last night. The breeze virtually shut down, right across the racecourse, causing many yachts to retire. ‘H’ one of the BLESMA crew describes the scene on board as Spirit of Juno made the decision to stop racing. “The skipper went to every guy and asked him for his view, everybody had their say but when he turned the engine on, it was a sickening feeling. We just ran out of time and needed to get back for flights home. We have developed as a team and really got to grips with the physical side of things but we need to work more on the tactical side, we will be back for sure. The RORC Caribbean 600 is unfinished business.”

Antigua is usually blessed with easterly Trade Winds and the unusual weather is extremely rare. However, the competitors in the RORC Caribbean 600 did have the sensation of surfing through the Caribbean sea in sublime conditions, at least some of the time.

Update as of Sunday

Willy Bissainte and Benoit Reffe’s Class 40, Tradition Guadeloupe were rightly proud as they crossed the finish line in the early hours of Sunday morning, having spent five nights at sea. A large contingent greeted Tradition Guadeloupe including Elizabeth Jordan, Commodore of the Antigua Yacht Club and Ian Loffhagen, RORC Racing manager. Every yacht competing in the RORC Caribbean 600 was welcomed back to Antigua, regardless of the time. Jonathon Cornelius and his ABSAR team was on call day and night through out the race and piloted every yacht into Falmouth Bay.

“We were never going to retire,” said Willy Bissainte dockside. “The RORC Caribbean 600 is a big part of my training for the Route de Rhum, which I will be racing solo, later in the year. We always had at least a little wind, we kept going all of the time. It was great to have such a reception from the Antigua Yacht Club and the RORC. We will only be staying for a short while though, we must go back to work in Guadeloupe in just a few hours.”

Willy Bissainte and his co-skipper Benoit Reffe picked up the Concise Trophy for the best Class 40 and the class trophy for IRC Zero. After a quick shower, the two sailors who defied the unusual weather, set sail for home.

The last yacht in the 2010 RORC Caribbean 600 was finally accounted for.

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 ICAP Leopard was the  first home at the 2009 Rolex Middle Sea Race taking the award for line honours. Try as they might, Mike Slade’s all-star crew were unable to crack the nut that is Rambler’s course record. Arriving just before midday at the Royal Malta Yacht Club line in Marsamxett Harbour, the 100-foot Farr designed supermaxi was just over half an hour outside the mark set by George David and Ken Read two years ago. She had made a tremendous effort never straying far from the pace required despite less than perfect conditions.

Slade  believes they raced as well as they could. He was quick to acknowledge that for every frustration they may have encountered this year, Rambler was sure to have suffered in some similar way herself in 2007. Asked if he could identify any points on the course they could have made up the wayward 30 minutes, he replied wryly, “at least twenty.”

ICAP Leopard‘s record attempt was always in the balance the moment they crossed the start line. They gave it a good go though, relishing a promising forecast. Slade was quick to compliment his crew on a job well done, “it’s fantastic to have finished this tough race. The record was tantalisingly close, but the important thing is that we achieved our goal of getting line honours and bringing the boat home in one piece. The crew were fantastic and our reception in Malta has been amazing – what a wonderful event!”

Even if one sails the boat to its full potential and suffer no breakages, success is still dependent upon the weather. Completing the 606 nautical mile Rolex Middle Sea Race in less than 48 hours is well within the capability of a canting keeled, water ballasted flying machine staffed by some of the world’s top inshore and offshore yacht racing specialists. Brad Jackson, Jules Salter and Guy Salter were all on the winning boat in the last Volvo Ocean Race. Rob Greenhalgh raced on the second placed yacht, whilst Justin Slattery raced on the winning boat in the previous VOR. Jason Carrington has probably built more race winning boats than there have been Rolex Middle Sea Races. Sailmaker Jeremy Elliott is another who has raced around the world and at the America’s Cup. Hugh Agnew navigated the winning yacht at the 2004 Rolex Sydney Hobart. And, in case anyone needed reminding, Mike Slade has moulded teams around him and raced at the grand-prix level of the sport on a variety of state of the art maxi yachts since the early 1990s, invariably with the reassuring hand of Chris Sherlock to run the boat. Experience and ability were two things in plentiful supply. What kept holding Leopard back was the vagaries of the wind.

Slade explained how the race had unfolded, “this race is very special. It always is. It is a tough race and a great race, but any race that goes round in a circle is going to have lots of pitfalls. You are seeing land all the time and you suffer all the things that happen because of the land. There’s a saying that Etna sucks wind out of the Strait and it was true for us. We got stuck in its shadow. We got through and punched on towards Stromboli and that’s where the problems really started.” It was here that the mini maxis Rosebud/Team DYT (USA) and Bella Mente (USA) dropped by the wayside in dramatic fashion on Sunday. Since then some twenty other competing yachts have followed these two into the sickbay as strong gusting winds lashed the northeastern corner of Sicily for a 36-hour period.

“After Stromboli was tough,” comments Slade. “We had 5 or 6 hours of real weather front. We’re a big strong boat and can cope with it. In fact we were hoping to get more of the same at the bottom of the course.” This hope never fully materialised, as he went on to explain. “It took 12 hours to get across to the Egadi Islands and it was only then on the way down to Pantelleria that we started putting on some real boat speed. It was bump, bang, everyone hold on. We would have liked it to carry on down to Lampedusa, but it just didn’t happen. There was no wind there of any consequence.” At this point Leopard was only 75-minutes off Rambler’s blistering pace. Munching the miles to Comino was something this boat was born to do. But she needs wind. Slade had said before the start that 20 knots of wind and flat water would be ideal. What he got for the final long leg was sloppy water and soft winds bouncing between 12 and 18 knots.

“It was a struggle to get back from Lampedusa to Comino,” continued Slade. “And it was a struggle to get into the harbour because the wind was dead aft and we had to do some monumental gybes.” Philosophical in defeat, if line honours in a second successive 600-mile race may be described as such (ICAP Leopard had been first home at the Rolex Fastnet in August), Slade admitted asking himself several times where they could have saved the deal-breaking thirty-minutes. He was adamant that there were any number of places and not one thing in particular could be blamed, adding “that’s yacht racing and we’ll have to do it again now, won’t we!” Malta cannot wait.

The wait for the next boat home was a short one. Just as during the Rolex Fastnet, Karl Kwok’sBeau Geste (HKG) had been shadowing her bigger rival for the whole course, waiting for a chink in the armour that might let her snatch the lead. Skipper Gavin Brady, tactician Francesco de Angelis and navigator Andrew Cape are a deep-filled talent pool, but even they found the conditions testing. Brady is a tough customer, but even he acknowledged the severity of the situation after Stromboli on Saturday night/Sunday morning, “up until then we had been concentrating on getting away from the competition, but when the weather struck we were glad to have some company. We were in survival mode for some time.” The small boats have been reporting difficulties with sail changes at night as bandit squalls struck without warning. Cape confirmed Beau Geste had struggled with this too, particularly as they turned the corner at Favignana, “we had the wrong sail combination up, which caused us to lose a bit of time. In those conditions it can take around an hour to execute a sail change on a boat this size.”

De Angelis was able to throw some humour into the situation describing an incident on board where coming off a wave Cape somersaulted across the cabin to land on top of him, “I have raced against Capey for a long time, but at this moment I got to know him very well!” Karl Kwok is coming to the end of this season’s European adventure, which has seen him and his crew impress at a number of major races and regattas. “We are very happy with the way the boat held up in the conditions. Like others from the [United] States we came to Europe to race because the competition is so good. We’ve not been disappointed.”

With two boats tied up in the harbour we have a yacht race. When Beau Geste crossed the line at 15.28 she moved into pole position on handicap. Her moment in the spotlight was short lived. Alegre (GBR) finished at 18.33 and moved back into a lead that she has held since Stromboli. Neither Rán (GBR) nor Luna Rossa (ITA) were in a position to dislodge her when they finished. Intermatica VO70 (ITA) won the battle of the two Volvo boats, beating Ericsson (SWE) on handicap although not on the water.

The bulk of the fleet is still racing. 23 yachts have now retired citing various reasons, mostly sail and equipment damage resulting from the vicious squalls that persisted until midday today. Next boat home will be DSK Pioneer Investments (ITA), which is halfway between Lampedusa and Malta. After that we are in for a long wait as the competing yachts struggle down the western edge of the course. Seven yachts including the two remaining double-handers have yet to pass Capo San Vito at the northwestern point of Sicily. The forecast shows winds to be remaining from the northwest during the next twelve hours, but lightning up considerably. The smaller yachts are in for a long slog home and those yachts safely back in port will be feeling happier by the hour.

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Final day at the 20th Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup dawned with blue sky and a gentle north-easterly breeze between 8 and 10 knots. One more opportunity for those already at the top of the standings to prove themselves worthy of winning. Good news also for those yachts still within touching distance of the top. A race would mean opportunity and in yacht-racing opportunity is everything, but only if you are prepared to take it. Getting your name inscribed on the trophies at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is no easy feat. Only those most deserving achieve the feat. At close of play those truly in clover were: Ronald de Waal and Velsheda (GBR); Claus Peter Offen and Y3K (GER); Mick Cotter and Whisper (IRL); Filippo Faruffini and Roma-Aniene (ITA), and, Neville Crichton and Alfa Romeo (NZL). Flush with victory and the spoils associated – the Maxi Yacht Cup and a Rolex Yacht-master Chronometer.

If only it were so simple. In Cruising/Spirit of Tradition, Velsheda had wrapped up her division a day early by virtue of winning every race to that point. In Wally, Y3K was also impregnable, by virtue of having scored more firsts than her closest rival, Open Season (GER), which could only match Y3Ks score however badly Offen’s crew sailed the last race; a situation where count-back would favour Offen.

In Racing/Cruising, Roma-Aniene never seemed likely to be overtaken by DSK Pioneer Investments, but the door was still open if DSK could repeat yesterday’s result and finish ahead of Roma. The chances of this seemed slim given Roma had not given DSK a sniff all week until her mainsail issues of yesterday. The same scenario existed in Mini Maxi Racing/Cruising, where both Aegir (GBR) and OPS 5 (ITA) had a mathematical chance to overtake Whisper, should she finish seventh or worse, something Whisper had not done all week. She had had problems yesterday, though, finishing fifth. So a glimmer of hope flickered on. In both cases you had to think lightning does not strike twice.

The classification where the duelling would go closest to the wire looked to be Mini Maxi Racing. Tight battles looked likely in both Mini Maxi Racing (Owner/Driver) and the larger overall Mini Maxi Racing 00 group. The Owner/Driver contest was between Neville Crichton’s Alfa Romeo 3 (NZL) and Hap Fauth’s Bella Mente (USA). The stakes were high; the pressure was on. The maths were simple for Bella Mente, she had to come first. Anything less would not be enough. For Alfa, if she could win or prevent the American crew from winning she would prevail.

The 00 group was also a two-way tussle and also involved Alfa Romeo, with the likes of triple Olympic Gold medallist Ben Ainslie in the crew roster, along with Niklas Zennström’s Rán (GBR). With a three-point separation, the onus was on Alfa to win and hope Rán would finish no better than fourth. Heading out to the start there was every possibility that Crichton might be distracted by his battle with Fauth, since that was where the major prize would be awarded. At the beginning of the week, though, Crichton had stated his aim was to win both groups. Given his competitive streak is longer and wider than most, no one would bet against the New Zealander attempting to win outright from the front.

In the end, the excitement came in only one spot.

Velsheda confirmed her supremacy in Cruising/Spirit of Tradition winning the final race. Hasso Plattner’s Visione (GER) did enough to beat Charles Dunstone’s Hamilton II (GBR) in the race today and to take second on the podium. Roma-Aniene confirmed yesterday’s problems were no more than a blip by adding a fourth bullet to her Racing/Cruising scoreline. Danilo Salsi’s DSK’s second place in the race and the overall standing will be some compensation. Whisper, too, asserted herself once more adding a fourth bullet to her Mini Maxi Racing/Cruising record and securing the class by 10-points over Brian Benjamin’s Aegir.

Ronald de Waal skipper and helmsman of Velsheda attributed his victory in Cruising/Spirit of Tradition to his crew, “the team we sail with has been together for a long time, some have been with us for eight years. Of course, we sail with some of the very best in the world and that helps.” This is de Waal’s first overall win at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup; he has sailed several times before and really enjoys the competition and the location, “it’s a combination of nature, the area, we always have beautiful wind, really beautiful surroundings and always a very good fleet.”

Claus Peter Offen sealed his Wally Division victory with another win. Not bad for a yacht launched in July this year. Sailing with designer Mani Frers onboard as a guest, Offen was understandably delighted with his yacht and the win, “we thought we could get in the top three, but to win with a brand-new boat is unexpected. You usually will have some technical problems, but in all six races we were always first over the line and never had any problems.” Offen paid tribute to his crew, particularly acknowledging the work on the first two days when conditions were at their most difficult.

Filippo Faruffini came, saw and conquered for the second time; Roma confirming her superiority over the series in Racing/Cruising. Faruffini was surprised given how they had come into the competition, “this is sport and you can leave nothing to chance. We only decided only one month ago to race and were really under-prepared. Our sails are old and we broke many, many things.” A number of his crew, from the Circolo Canottieri Aniene (a sporting club in Rome), were new to sailing and to turn them into a team capable of holding their own against the likes of DSK is a true achievement, as tactician Vascotto explains, “all the guys made a real effort today. We pushed hard. We had 22 guys that are not professional at all, but at the end of the week we look to be doing the same manoeuvres as we do with professional guys. Everyone has improved and they can see this, which is our aim.”

Mick Cotter’s emphatic result with Whisper in Mini Maxi Racing/Cruising was a revelation, but had been hinted at last year’s Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup when Cotter’s crew won a sub-division prize, “it’s been a wonderful week, everything went really well. I had a great team and that’s what did it for me. We had few mistakes yesterday, but you can’t expect to go through a week’s regatta and not have a few. The conditions were ideal for us, which helped us considerably in the overall results. The crew know the boat well and the pros have got to know both us and the boat.”

As predicted, the true battle came in Mini Maxi Racing and it was fought tooth and nail between two boats – Bella Mente and Alfa Romeo. Fauth’s crew knew they had to win. Tactician Dee Smith saw to it that Bella Mente won the start at the pin end, whilst Alfa went for the committee boat end. As both yachts sailed their own race for the first leg, the first crossing was a critical moment. It went to Bella Mente and she held off her larger rival until the top of the second beat. At this point the Americans were still within a shout of victory. They were sailing so well that within the Owner/Driver category they were undoubtedly winning. With three more legs it was never going to be easy and, unfortunately for them, Alfa had no thoughts of mercy in mind. She forced her way past and then proceeded to match-race Hap Fauth’s yacht progressively out of the running. Conceding waterline length and therefore speed it was never going to end happily for Fauth. Bella Mente corrected out ahead of Alfa, but critically Andres Soriano’s Alegre (GBR) and Sir Peter Ogden’s Jethou (GBR) corrected out ahead of her. Crichton won by one point.

Crichton knew he had been in a scrap and paid due compliment to the tenacity and sailing skills of Fauth and his crew, as did his tactician, Michael Coxon, and relief helm, Ben Ainslie, who knows plenty about the need for ruthlessness in such circumstances. Crichton was thoroughly pleased with the result “we’re delighted. It was pretty tough out there today. We had to do what we had to do, and we got there in the end. They (Bella Mente) camped on us on the first beat. We finally got them back and then just sat on top of them.”

Meanwhile, Zennström and his Rán crew were able to sail their own race with the fight going on far behind. Once again, Rán took the gun and in doing so walked away with an eight-point victory over Alfa Romeo in the Min Maxi Racing 00 grouping. Zennstrom readily admitted they were flattered by the gap, which had been accentuated by the duel between the Alfa Romeo and Bella Mente.

All in all it has been an enthralling week of competition. The weather has played ball. Each day of racing has produced quality conditions and allowed the crews of the gathered maxis to strut their stuff in style. We’ll allow a newcomer to capture the sensation of racing here. Rachel Howe is the sole female navigator competing this week. Not only that, but she did so on Jethou in the intense environment of the Mini Maxi Racing group. Jethou went out on a high today, finishing the race first in Owner/Driver and second in 00. According to Howe, “this is the most prestigious event that I’ve done, the field that we’re racing in is absolutely spectacular. It’s an inspirational fleet to be part of. To get the opportunity to race against the people we’re racing against is just incredible. It is a real privilege. It’s intimidating at first, but once you are out there getting on with your job you realise everyone is pretty normal.once you see past the (Olympic) gold medals and the America’s Cups!”

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