Adela (Photo by Carlo Borlenghi / Studio Borlenghi)
A “Wrong Way Around” race wrapped up sailing today at the four-day St. Barths Bucket Regatta, and it was more colorful and full of goodies than a child’s Easter basket. Thirty six superyachts in four classes (Grandes Dames, Mademoiselles, Gazelles and J Boats) circumnavigated the French West Indies island of St. Barths, giving Bucket fans on shore and at sea an awe-inspiring view of some of the largest and most beautiful and technologically advanced yachts sailing in the world today.
The race course, which covered 21 to 26.4 nautical miles (depending on the class), reversed Friday’s “Around the Island” journey and put boat handling skills to the test right off the bat with a downwind start. All but the J Boat class adhered to a “pursuit-style” racing format, requiring each yacht to time its run to the gun for a separate pre-determined start time and hoist a spinnaker as soon as possible after crossing the starting line — the theory being that if all crews in each class sailed equally well, aboard their varied yachts of different speeds, they would meet at the finish line all together.
The theory worked especially well today in the 18-20 knot breezes, with yachts barreling down on the finish line, drawn again by their giant spinnakers, within minutes – sometimes seconds — of each other.
Adela Crew
In the Mademoiselles class, the 55 meter schooner Adela, built by Pendennis and helmed by Dennis Conner, maintained her regatta-long position at the top of the scoreboard with a second-place finish today. Adela was presented with the St. Barth’s Bucket trophy as the regatta’s overall winner. The 45 meter Dubois designed Salperton IV, skippered by Shirley Robertson with Cameron Appleton in the afterguard, won today’s race to claim second overall, while another Dubois design, the 50 meter Zefira, took third overall.
In the Grandes Dames class, the 48-meter Georgia, built by Alloy Yachts, claimed overall victory by crossing the finish line first in her class today. Georgia’s Captain Brent Daw said that his yacht, conceived as the ultimate family world cruiser, has seen many ocean miles since she splashed in 2000, thus she is going into the yard for a refit after the Bucket.
“We sailed steady and cautious like the hare and the turtle, and we were the steady turtle,” said Daw, who came aboard as skipper of the yacht only three months ago. He added that the crew had to sail intuitively, since the majority of them are new to the boat. “The team is more of an organic group, a mix, nationally, of South Africans and Kiwis,” he said explaining that Chris Dickson, of America’s Cup fame, is helming. “The owner lives on board and loves a great day on the water. He is thrilled!”
Claiming second place overall in this class, with a fourth today, was the 54 meter Perini Navi Parsifal III, while the 38 meter Axia, which was presented with both the All Star Crew Award and the Wolter Huisman Memorial Spirit of the Bucket Trophy at this regatta, finished third overall after posting a third for today. The winner of the Vitters Shipyard Seamanship Trophy was also from this class: the Perini Navi Zenji.
Perini Navi P2 (Photo by Carlo Borlenghi / Studio Borlenghi)
One of the biggest stories on the water today was in the Gazelles class, where the 45 meter Visione, the 38 meter Perini Navi P2, and the 30 meter Cape Arrow were all tied with six points going into today’s race. Trailing only one point behind was the Royal Huisman-built Unfurled, which won today’s race to upset the apple cart and claim overall victory in the class. P2, which took home the Perini Navi Cup, took second today to claim equal points (8) with Unfurled but conceded for a second-place finish overall, after tie-breaking rules were applied. Visione and Cape Arrow finished third and fourth overall, respectively.
LORO PIANA Cape Arrow (Photo by Carlo Borlenghi /Studio Borlenghi)
This was a historic event for the J Class, as it was the first time five of them have graced the same starting line since 1937. Hanuman, built by Royal Huisman, proved unbeatable throughout the three days, winning handily over the line and on corrected time in the first two of three races held here. Today, Lionheart edged out Hanuman by just two seconds at the line, but Hanuman still prevailed on corrected time to leave Lionheart in second overall. Velsheda, Ranger and the Holland Jachtbouw built Rainbow followed in third through fifth places, respectively.
Winning the King’s 100 Guinea Cup for Thursday’s “extra day” race for J Boats at the Bucket was Hanuman. The top Corinthian J with an amateur owner/helmsman to win the Corinthian King’s Cup was Lionheart.
“The owner was thrilled,” said Bouwwe Bekking, who called tactics on Lionheart. “This was his fourth regatta ever, and he has done remarkably well. For today’s race, it was neck-and-neck with Hanuman after 26 miles. We knew that with them that close to us they would win, but we had to get our nose out there to win line honors. We loved that we got the gun.”
Bekking said that having the J Boats sailing fleet-style in their own group in the same regatta as the superyachts, which were sailing pursuit-style, worked perfectly. “It was great that we had our own start procession, it wouldn’t have worked any other way. To maneuver these boats is way harder, so the emphasis on safety is good. It was really incredible, and we owe a great thanks to the Bucket Committee and the J Class organization.”
Every year the Bucket Organization devotes a portion of its entry fees for a worthy cause in St. Barths. This year, a donation in the amount of 18,000 euros was made to the St. Barths Yacht Club Youth Sailing Program.
Next year’s event is scheduled for 27 – 30, March 2014
Results, Photos, Barby’s Blog and more http://www.bucketregattas.com
Media Pro International’s Barby MacGowan is reporting daily from St. Barths.
Complete results, photos, Barby’s recaps and more: bucketregattas.com/stbarths/
Special Awards
OVERALL WINNER of the 2013 ST BARTHS BUCKET ADELA
SKULLDUGGERY CRAVAT WILD HORSES
ALLOY YACHTS TROPHY GEORGIA
ALL STAR CREW AWARD presented by Holland Jachtbouw AXIA
WOLTER HUISMAN MEMORIAL SPIRIT OF THE BUCKET TROPHY AXIA
PERINI NAVI CUP P2
VITTER’S SHIPYARD SEAMANSHIP TROPHY ZENJI
Athos (Photo by Carlo Borlenghi / Studio Borlenghi)
“Main-mast staysail up. Do not unfurl. Raise your hands if you hear me.” Captain Tony Brookes calmly called his instructions into a hand-held from one of his dual on-deck navigation stations near the aft quarter of Athos, the 62 meter Hoek-designed Holland Jachtbouw that he commands. His crew with headsets faithfully obeyed, shooting their hands in the air before quickly jumping into action. So went the day that started with pouring rain and segued into one of the windiest here yet, taking the wind gauge to 28 knots and Athos to speeds as high as 15.8.
The owner and his rep Gary Veenman from Holland alternated at the helm, giving each other much-needed breaks from the giant wheel that played tug of war with them. Three trimmers scooted among the 40-some-odd crew, working the joy sticks on their remote control “God boxes” that controlled the hydraulic operations of winches for hoisting and dropping sails as well as sheeting them in and letting them out. For someone who normally sails 40-footers, it surely would have been something strange and wonderful to behold, but for those who regularly sail in this rarified world of superyachts it was just another approach to racing one of the most magnificent sailing yachts on the oceans today.
Athos’s closest competitor today in the Mademoiselles class at the annual St. Barths Bucket was the 55 metre twin-masted Adela, the steel hulled Dykstra designed Pendennis build that represents a historically significant salvage and rebuild of the 1903 original. Adela had won this 10-boat class yesterday, the first day of racing, and won again today, crossing the finish line first, after the traditional pursuit start had the smallest and slowest boats starting first and the larger and faster boats starting at specific time intervals afterward to try and catch up. Athos, which had finished seventh yesterday, was quite pleased with a second-place finish after being fifth in the pursuit-start lineup. That moved them to fifth overall behind Zefira, Salperton, and Lady B.
“No one caught us from behind and we passed two others, so we must be doing something right,” said Athos’s Brookes. “It was a hard-work race today. Windy and wet, and everyone’s uncomfortable but they still have to concentrate on the job they are doing. We had some problems (with the spinnaker hoist) but we dealt with them. It was more like the North Sea instead of the Caribbean there for a while.”
Adela (Photo by Carlo Borlenghi / Studio Borlenghi)
Aboard Adela, Kim “Shags” Morten conceded that the Adela team can sail well in any direction and in any conditions because they have the choice of sails to make the right calls in any given situation. “Our biggest competition is Athos; we think it comes down to the crew performance,” said Morten, adding that he has competed in every Bucket to date, the last three on Adela. “We now have top-of-the-line sails, a carbon fiber mast and a team that has sailed together in the last three superyacht regattas.”
In Grand Dames class, Georgia rose to the top of the scoreboard after taking today’s race. Blue Too, which was leading going into today, retired after a crew was injured and fell to seventh with a finish score today of 13.
Cape Arrow in the 2013 St. Barths Bucket (Photo by Carlo Borlenghi / Studio Borllenghi)
In the Gazelle class, Visione maintained its first position overall with a fifth-place finish today. However, they are tied on point score (6) with both P2 and Cape Arrow, with Unfurled only one point behind.
Hanuman claimed another bullet, its third, in the J Boat class today. When asked what was different about today, tactician Kevin Burnham joked, “Nothing, we won the race!” But in all honesty, the win didn’t come easy. “The biggest challenge in pushing that type of machine around the race course (in today’s conditions) is that stuff gets shocked-waved,” said Burnham. “We blew up a kite — it just exploded into a million pieces.”
The crews on all 36 Bucket boats are glad to be back on terra firma for tonight’s pirate-themed “Bucket Bash.” The party should do its part to prepare them for tomorrow’s Wrong-Way Around (the island) Course.
Results as of Saturday
PRELIMINARY PURSUIT as of 30 March, 2013 – UPDATED MARCH 31 0800
Race 2: Not So Wiggley Course
Saturday 30-Mar-13 PRELIMINARY
Start Sequence: B
Results: Race 2 Results: Cumulative
GRAND DAMES (Long Course 27.2 nm)
Race 2 FINISH TIME Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Total
Points TIME Delta Points Points Points Points Rank
GEORGIA 1 2:36:58 PM 0:00:00 GEORGIA 3 1 4 1
PARSIFAL III* 2 2:39:25 PM 0:02:27 PARSIFAL III 4 2 6 2
AXIA 3 2:46:15 PM 0:09:17 PANTHALASSA 2 8 10 3
ZENJI 4 2:48:42 PM 0:11:44 AXIA 7 3 10 4
ANDROMEDA LA DEA 5 2:51:48 PM 0:14:50 ZENJI 8 4 12 5
PANTHALASSA* ** 8 2:54:09 PM 0:17:11 SALUTE 6 7 13 6
SALUTE 7 3:13:48 PM 0:36:50 BLUE TOO 1 13 14 7
LUNA 8 3:15:05 PM 0:38:07 ANDROMEDA LA DEA 9 5 14 8
ROSEHEARTY 9 3:15:51 PM 0:38:53 SILENCIO 5 13 18 9
MALTESE FALCON 10 3:22:00 PM 0:45:02 LUNA 10 8 18 10
BLUE TOO 13 DNF N/A MALTESE FALCON 11 10 21 11
SILENCIO 13 DNF N/A ROSEHEARTY 13 9 22 12
MADEMOISELLES (Long Course 27.2 nm)
Race 2 FINISH TIME Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Total
Points TIME Delta Points Points Points Points Rank
ADELA 1 2:46:45 PM 0:00:00 ADELA 1 1 2 1
ATHOS 2 2:51:57 PM 0:05:12 ZEFIRA 4 3 7 2
ZEFIRA 3 2:54:32 PM 0:07:47 SALPERTON 2 6 8 3
KOO 4 2:56:12 PM 0:09:27 LADY B 3 5 8 4
LADY B 5 2:57:36 PM 0:10:51 ATHOS 7 2 9 5
SALPERTON 6 3:04:39 PM 0:17:54 KOO 10 4 14 6
WILD HORSES 7 3:08:22 PM 0:21:37 SARAFIN’ 6 8 14 7
SARAFIN’ 8 3:08:40 PM 0:21:55 PRANA 5 10 15 8
SYMMETRY 9 3:11:55 PM 0:25:10 WILD HORSES 8 7 15 9
PRANA 10 3:21:03 PM 0:34:18 SYMMETRY 9 9 18 10
GAZELLES (Long Course 27.2 nm)
Race 2 FINISH TIME Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Total
Points TIME Delta Points Points Points Points Rank
UNFURLED 1 3:03:21 PM 0:00:00 VISIONE 1 5 6 1
REBECCA 2 3:05:24 PM 0:02:03 P2 2 4 6 2
CAPE ARROW 3 3:06:24 PM 0:03:03 CAPE ARROW 3 3 6 3
P2 4 3:07:13 PM 0:03:52 UNFURLED 6 1 7 4
VISIONE 5 3:10:12 PM 0:06:51 REBECCA 8 2 10 5
INDIO 6 3:11:44 PM 0:08:23 INDIO 4 6 10 6
LEOPARD3 7 3:16:27 PM 0:13:06 CHRISCO 5 8 13 7
CHRISCO 8 3:16:42 PM 0:13:21 LEOPARD3 7 7 14 8
BAIURDO VI 10 DNS N/A BAIURDO VI 9 10 19 9
* 5 MINUTE PENALTY FOR OVER THE LINE EARLY
** PANTHALASSA TOOK A 20% SCORING PENALTY IN ACCORDANCE WITH SI 18.2
Race 1: Around the Island
Friday 29-Mar-13
Start Sequence: C
Results: Race 1
GRAND DAMES (Short Course 17.0 nm)
Race 1 FINISH TIME
Points TIME Delta
BLUE TOO 1 2:06:51 PM 0:00:00
PANTHALASSA 2 2:17:46 PM 0:10:55
GEORGIA 3 2:18:20 PM 0:11:29
PARSIFAL III 4 2:22:08 PM 0:15:17
SILENCIO 5 2:22:25 PM 0:15:34
SALUTE 6 2:24:35 PM 0:17:44
AXIA 7 2:24:48 PM 0:17:57
ZENJI 8 2:31:45 PM 0:24:54
ANDROMEDA LA DEA 9 2:33:55 PM 0:27:04
LUNA 10 2:38:20 PM 0:31:29
MALTESE FALCON 11 2:42:43 PM 0:35:52
ROSEHEARTY 13 DNS N/A
MADEMOISELLES
(Medium Course 20.8 nm)
Race 1 FINISH TIME
Points TIME Delta
ADELA 1 2:15:18 PM 0:00:00
SALPERTON 2 2:18:07 PM 0:02:49
LADY B 3 2:23:35 PM 0:08:17
ZEFIRA 4 2:27:51 PM 0:12:33
PRANA 5 2:28:10 PM 0:12:52
SARAFIN’ 6 2:29:28 PM 0:14:10
ATHOS 7 2:31:01 PM 0:15:43
WILD HORSES 8 2:33:05 PM 0:17:47
SYMMETRY 9 2:35:40 PM 0:20:22
KOO 10 2:37:35 PM 0:22:17
GAZELLES
(Medium Course 20.8 nm)
Race 1 FINISH TIME
Points TIME Delta
VISIONE 1 2:29:51 PM 0:00:00
P2 2 2:31:55 PM 0:02:04
CAPE ARROW 3 2:32:04 PM 0:02:13
INDIO 4 2:34:02 PM 0:04:11
CHRISCO 5 2:34:29 PM 0:04:38
UNFURLED 6 2:36:47 PM 0:06:56
LEOPARD3 7 2:37:43 PM 0:07:52
REBECCA 8 2:39:32 PM 0:09:41
BAIURDO VI 9 2:41:04 PM 0:11:13
FOLLOW THE J CLASS ON THE WATER: tractrac.com
J Class – PROVISIONAL as of Saturday 30 March
Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Total
Points Points Points Points Points Rank
HANUMAN 1 1 1 3 1
LIONHEART 2 2 4 8 2
VELSHEDA 5 3 2 10 3
RANGER 4 5 3 12 4
RAINBOW 3 4 6 13 5
Saturday 30-Mar-13
Results: Race 3 Course Type: CR
Wind Range: Heavy
Start Time: 11:00:00 AM Approx Dist: 29.4 nm
FINISH ELAPSED CORRECTED
Rating TIME TIME TIME Rank
HANUMAN 1.017 2:01:44 PM 3:01:44 3:04:49 1
VELSHEDA 1.013 2:05:22 PM 3:05:22 3:07:47 2
RANGER 1.018 2:04:59 PM 3:04:59 3:08:19 3
LIONHEART 1.021 2:09:03 PM 3:09:03 3:13:01 4
RAINBOW 1.018 8:00:00 PM 9:00:00 DNF 6
Friday 29-Mar-13
Results: Race 2
Course Type: CR
FINISH ELAPSED CORRECTED
Rating TIME TIME TIME
HANUMAN 1.018 1:31:04 PM 2:31:04 2:33:47
LIONHEART 1.020 1:31:48 PM 2:31:48 2:34:50
VELSHEDA 1.014 1:32:50 PM 2:32:50 2:34:58
RAINBOW 1.020 1:34:24 PM 2:34:24 2:37:29
RANGER 1.015 1:35:14 PM 2:35:14 2:37:34
Thursday 28-Mar-13
Results: Race 1
Course Type: WL
Wind Range: Light
Start Time: 12:10:00 PM Approx Dist: 12NM
FINISH ELAPSED CORRECTED
Rating TIME TIME TIME
HANUMAN 1.028 2:21:59 PM 2:11:59 2:15:41
LIONHEART 1.029 2:24:42 PM 2:14:42 2:18:36
RAINBOW 1.034 2:28:09 PM 2:18:09 2:22:51
RANGER 1.012 2:31:38 PM 2:21:38 2:23:20
VELSHEDA 1.018 2:31:39 PM 2:21:39 2:24:12y
Rebecca in 2013 St. Barths Bucket Day 3( Photo by Carlo Borlenghi / Studio Borlenghi )
St. Barths Bucket Regatta 2012 (Photo © 2012 by Tim Wright / www.photoaction.com)
The 2013 St Barths Bucket Regatta action starts on March 28. This annual yachting spectacular will feature the latest in superyacht designs along with true classics. Thirty-five yachts are ready to join the festivities and racing.
Racing begins on Thursday March 28 when five J Class yachts head for the starting line. This will be the first gathering of five or more J’s since 1937!
Three more races are planned, with all yachts racing in four separate classes -Les Mademoiselles des Mers, Les Grandes Dames des Mers, Les Gazelles des Mers, and the J Class.
The largest yacht is the 88m Perini Navi built schooner Maltese Falcon. Eleven of the current entries are 50 meters or larger. Among new boats to the St Barths Bucket is the 31m Dubois Naval Architects designed Sarafin and the 31m Newport Bucket winner Indio.
Newport Bucket Regatta Overall wWnner Indio (Photo by George Bekris)
The around the island courses create spectacular opportunities to view these breathtaking vessels under sail. The racing format has been modified somewhat, with the start times set so that the classes should finish together. This change is designed to make the racing both more competitive and safer.
Now in their 27th year, the Bucket regattas attract the crème de la crème of yacht builders from every sailing nation, with several builders boasting multiple entries. The “Big Five” sailing yacht builders (Perini Navi, Royal Huisman, Holland Jachtbouw, Alloy Yachts and Vitters) have for many years supported the Bucket Regattas, playing a meaningful role in growing the Bucket and helping maintain the non-commercial atmosphere, another significant hallmark of Bucket races.
Parsifal III (Photo by George Bekris / www.georgebekris. com)
One of Executive Director Tim Laughridge’s goals is to ensure that the renowned Spirit of the Bucket is retained while providing participants with great class racing. He’ll be helming Parsifal III and racing to win, but reminds everyone that the overriding theme is to sail safe and win the party!
The four class winners of the 2013 St Barths Bucket will each receive a Ship’s Bell Clock from Chelsea Clock.
St. Barths Bucket Regatta 2012 rounding the island. (Photo © 2012 by Tim Wright / www.photoaction.com)
| J Class | ||||
| Yachts (5) | LOA(m) | Type | Builder | Designer |
| Hanuman | 42m | sloop | Royal Huisman | Dykstra Naval Architects |
| Lionheart | 43m | sloop | Bloemsma/Claasen Jachtbouw | Hoek Design |
| Rainbow | 40m | sloop | Holland Jachtbouw | Dykstra Naval Architects |
| Ranger | 41m | sloop | Danish Yacht | Sparkman & Stephens |
| Velsheda | 40m | sloop | Camper & Nicholson | Nicholson |
| les Gazelles des Mers | ||||
| Yachts (9) | LOA(m) | Type | Builder | Designer |
| Baiurdo VI | 35m | sloop | Abeking & Rasmussen | Gilles Vaton |
| Cape Arrow | 30m | sloop | Southern Wind | Farr – Nauta |
| Chrisco | 31m | sloop | CNB | Luca Brenta |
| Indio | 30m | sloop | Wally Yachts | Frers Naval Architecture |
| Leopard3 | 30m | sloop | McConaghy | Farr Yacht Design |
| P2 | 38m | sloop | Perini Navi | Philippe Briand |
| Rebecca | 43m | ketch | Pendennis | Frers Naval Architecture |
| Unfurled | 34m | sloop | Royal Huisman | Frers Naval Architecture |
| Visione | 45m | sloop | Baltic Yachts | Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design |
| les Mademoiselles des Mers | ||||
| Yachts (10) | LOA(m) | Type | Builder | Designer |
| Adela | 55m | schooner | Pendennis | Dykstra Naval Architects |
| Athos | 62m | schooner | Holland Jachtbouw | Hoek Design |
| Koo (non spin) | 43m | sloop | Vitters Shipyard | Dubois Naval Architects |
| Lady B | 45m | sloop | Vitters Shipyard | Dubois Naval Architects |
| Prana | 52m | sloop | Alloy Yachts | Dubois Naval Architects |
| Salperton IV | 45m | sloop | Fitzroy Yachts | Dubois Naval Architects |
| Sarafin’ | 31m | sloop | Oyster/RMK Marine | Dubois Naval Architects |
| Symmetry | 29m | sloop | Yachting Developments | Frers Naval Architecture |
| Wild Horses | 24m | sloop | Brooklin Boat Yard | Joel White |
| Zefira | 50m | sloop | Fitzroy Yachts | Dubois Naval Architects |
| les Grandes Dames des Mers | ||||
| Yachts (12) | LOA(m) | Type | Builder | Designer |
| Andromeda La Dea | 48m | ketch | Perini Navi | Perini Navi |
| Axia | 38m | ketch | Palmer Johnson | Sparkman & Stephens |
| Blue Too | 34m | ketch | Alloy Yachts | Ron Holland Design |
| Georgia | 48m | sloop | Alloy Yachts | Studio Scanu Sri Butch |
| Luna | 52m | sloop | Perini Navi | Perini Navi |
| Maltese Falcon | 88m | schooner | Perini Istanbul | Dykstra Naval Architects |
| Panthalassa | 56m | ketch | Perini Navi | Ron Holland Design |
| Parsifal III | 54m | ketch | Perini Navi | Ron Holland Design |
| Rosehearty | 56m | ketch | Perini Navi | Ron Holland Design |
| Salute | 56m | sloop | Perini Navi | Ron Holland Design |
| Silencio | 50m | ketch | Perini Navi | Perini Navi |
| Zenji | 56m | ketch | Perini Navi | Ron Holland Des |
.
St. Barths Bucket Regatta 2012 (Photo © 2012 by Tim Wright / www.photoaction.com)
Niklas Zennstrom's Rán. (Photo: by RORC/Tim Wright photoaction.com)
It has been a busy 24 hours at the Antigua Yacht Club. At dawn on the fifth day of the RORC Caribbean 600, only three yachts were still at sea vying to complete the course before tonight’s Prizegiving celebrations and all of the class winners are now provisionally decided. The bar at the Antigua Yacht Club has been in full swing, buzzing with stories between the crews and songs in a myriad of different languages.
Team Selene skippered by Benjamin Davitt finished yesterday morning. The Swan 80 sailed an excellent race to claim third place overall and will lift the prestigious Swan Caribbean Challenge Trophy later this evening.
Without doubt, the closest racing for this year’s event was in IRC One. Colin Buffin’s Swan 62, Uxorious IV, was first to finish, but the team did not celebrate a class win. Buffin and his young team knew that Amanda Hartley’s Swan 56, Clem, was extremely close to eclipsing their corrected time. Just over three and half hours passed before Clem crossed the finish line to win the class by just 21 seconds on corrected time. There were ecstatic scenes dockside as the Spanish crew of Clem celebrated their class win. The entire crew of Uxorious IV including Colin Buffin sportingly applauded their rivals. Amanda Hartley spoke of their win.
“‘We had no idea until we crossed the line and turned on our phones which went crazy with people calling in from Spain. By our calculation we thought we had lost out by five minutes. We got stuck at Guadeloupe for four hours and we could only sit and watch Uxorious get away. We are obviously extremely delighted and really appreciate Colin and his team coming over to give us such a lovely welcome back to Antigua.”
Jaime Torres’ Puerto Rican First 40, Smile And Wave, finished shortly after midnight last night to claim third in IRC One.
Scarlet Logic, co-skippered by Ross Applebey and Tim Thubron, finished the RORC Caribbean 600 shortly after 2300 last night. The Oyster 48 has been vying for the overall win for the last two days. In the end Scarlet Logic missed out, but the team had put in an incredible effort and have been rewarded with a convincing win in IRC Two. Scarlet Logic has the best corrected time in IRC One, Two and Three and as a result will be awarded the fantastic prize of a week’s accommodation at the luxurious Inn at English Harbour.
“Fantastic, elated but bloody tired,” admitted Tim Thubron, co-skipper of Scarlet Logic. The weather lined up nicely for us and we were aware that we were in with a chance of beating the big, well funded professional teams and that really spurred us on and made us push even harder. A lot of credit must go to the whole team, especially Ross Applebey. Scarlet was immaculately prepared and we hardly had a single breakage, however we did need to drop the main to replace a sail slide. The job was done and the main back up in eight minutes, that to me says it all.”
There was joy and pain for both IRC Canting Keel and the Class40s. Ernesto Cortina’s Volvo 70 Gran Jotiti finished the race in just over two days. The Spanish team is racing the yacht formerly known as Telefonica Black in the last Volvo Ocean Race. Ernesto spoke about his team shortly after finishing. “This has been a great experience, even though our result was badly affected by a lot of sail damage. Many of the sails are tired from thousands of miles of racing. However, the crew have been a joy to sail with and this race is helping us build for the future. Gran Jotiti’s aim is to create a world class amateur Spanish offshore sailing team and we have learnt a lot through this race.
Ron O’Hanley’s Cookson 50, Privateer, showed exceptional pace and boat handling throughout. Unfortunately the American team failed to start correctly and accepted a 10% penalty from the race organisers resulting in Gran Jotiti being declared winner of IRC Canting Keel.
IRC One, Two, Three and Class40 Start. Smile and Wave, Scarlet Logic, Clem and Uxorious IV (Photo by Tim Wright)
The Class40s turned into a battle royale between Christophe Coatnoan’s Partouche and Christof Petter’s Vaquita. The two Class40s were locked in a heroic tacking duel for the final push to the finish line, a 40-mile beat from Redonda to the finish in Antigua.
Vaquita crossed the line just after sunset beating Partouche by a slender margin, just 15 minutes in a race lasting over 3 days. However, Vaquita failed to start the race correctly and to the Austrian crew’s disappointment, the class win was awarded to Partouche: “It was a tough race and we had a couple of moments that really slowed us down,” commented Christophe Coatnoan who raced two-handed with Eric Calmard. “We picked up a fishing float after Nevis without realising and we probably lost 8 miles before we knew it was there. Later at Guadeloupe, I had to dive into the water to free Partouche from yet another fishing buoy. The race was an excellent test for our new design especially for our sails as I think we used every one of them during the race.”
Superyacht Start. Windrose, Adela, Hetairos, Sojana and P2 line up for the start. (Photo by Tim Wright)
Vaquita’s Andreas Hanakamp commented: “Obviously we are disappointed to have been penalised but we were delighted with our performance. Partouche is a brand new Finot design, whilst Vaquita is a 2006 Akilaria. The RORC Caribbean 600 is a testing race course and a very tough race, exactly what we needed to prepare for our main competition of the season, The Atlantic Cup later this year.”
The latest competitor to finish the RORC Caribbean 600 is Bernie Evan-Wong’s Mumm 36, High Tension. Falmouth Harbour exploded with noise as the smallest yacht in the race tied up right outside the Antigua Yacht Club. Thunderous blasts from megayachts, superyachts and foghorns literally shook the dock as the whole of the sailing community in Falmouth heralded the arrival of local hero Bernie and his crew.
“I said we would be here tonight but I always like to be early for appointments,” joked the Antiguan dentist. “It was a hard but satisfying race and the beat from Redonda to the finish seemed to take forever. We could see Antigua but it just didn’t seem to be getting any bigger, however a few miles out a massive rain squall hit and veered the wind favourably for us to speed our way to Antigua. After last year’s dismasting, I think maybe someone was looking out for us!”
Tonight the RORC Caribbean 600 Prizegiving Ceremony will take place at the Antigua Yacht Club. The two yachts still racing are Igor Zaretskiy’s, First 40.7 Coyote II and the RACYC Offshore Racing Team – White Knight’s Spirit of Venus. Both are expected to make tonight’s party, which should be a momentous occasion.
Rayon Vert Pulsar 50 (Photo by Tim Wright )
Ran (Photo by George Bekris)
The 4th RORC Caribbean 600, starts at 1100 on Monday 20th February. There isn’t a single hotel room left near Antigua Yacht Club, as competitors fly in to the magical island of Antigua from all four corners of the world – Falmouth Harbour is filled to the brim with astounding yachts.
Niklas Zennström’s JV72, Rán, and George David’s RP90, Rambler, are the hot favourites for the RORC Caribbean Trophy, but the two highly impressive yachts are almost hidden in Falmouth Harbour. Rán were out practicing today and Navigator Steve Hayles reports that conditions were a bit lighter than usual, but he expects 15-20 knots of trade winds for the race with their weather routing predicting that they could finish the race in 48 hours, may be less.
RORC member, Stan Pearson has lived and sailed the sublime waters around Antigua for over 20 years. He was one of the creators of the RORC Caribbean 600 and will be racing this year on Adela, the 181′ twin masted schooner:
“I can’t remember ever seeing Nelson’s Dockyard and Falmouth Harbour with so many impressive yachts but I know why they are here; there is nowhere in the world quite like Antigua and the ’600 is a real celebration of all that the Caribbean has to offer. The sailing is just fantastic; constant trade winds, warm water and air temperature in the high 20′s provides brilliant sailing, but this is a tough race. The course has a lot of corners and there is a lot of activity for the crews. Looking at the fleet, there are going to be some great duels going on, it is going to be a very competitive race.”
For the first time, a Volvo Open 70 will be competing in the RORC Caribbean 600. Some might suggest that the canting keel carbon fibre flyer could have been designed for this course. Ernesto Cortina’s Gran Jotiti has a highly talented Spanish crew and could well be a contender for line honours and an overall win.
IRC Zero has 16 entries and may well be the class to watch for the overall winner. George David’s Rambler 100 is the trophy holder and George David’s all-star crew will not be giving it up without a fight.
Sojana (Photo courtesy of International Maxi Association)
With a combined water line length that would soar 500ft above the Eiffel Tower, there are some truly amazing yachts in IRC Zero. The 214′ ketch Hetairos is an impressive sight. The crew of 36 have been out practicing all this week and on board there are enough sails to cover a full size football pitch. Sojana is expected to have a Superyacht duel with 124′ Pernini Navi, P2, owned by businessman and philanthropist, Gerhard Andlinger. Sojana was on mark laying duty today. The only laid mark of the course is the North Sails mark, off Barbuda. No doubt the crew, will be using the exercise to practice the first 45 miles of racing.
In the Spirit of Tradition class Adela will line up against Windrose. This will be the first time these magnificent yachts have raced against each other offshore, however Adela did get the better of Windrose in The Superyacht Challenge inshore regatta. A close battle with these two powerful yachts fully off the leash is a mouth-watering prospect. Past RORC Commodore, Andrew McIrvine and a team of 11 RORC members including current Commodore, Mike Greville, have chartered the 145ft Windrose.
The multihull record for the RORC Caribbean 600 has not been beaten since the inaugural race in 2009. The 63′ Trimaran, Paradox, skippered by Olivier Vigoureux says the six crew on board are out to ‘beat the current record’. The American, French and British crew members have raced in the Figaro Race, Transat Jacques Vabres, America’s Cup and Mini Transat.
Anders Nordquist’s Swan 90, Nefertiti, has an international crew including Rolex Middle Sea Race winner, Christian Ripard from Malta. They should have a close battle with Wendy Schmidt’s Swan 80, Selene, and Irish entry, RP78, Whisper.
There are a huge variety of yachts racing in IRC One, including Hound, skippered by Hound from Maine USA. The 60′ classic will be competing in the Caribbean 600 for the first time with a family crew of avid racers. Hound has competed in the last 8 Newport-Bermuda races, winning her class twice.
Ondeck’s 40.7 Spirit of Venus is chartered to the Royal Armoured Corp Offshore Racing Team. The majority of the 11 strong crew are part of the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank Regiment which returned from Afghanistan last spring.
Lt Col Paul Macro RTR: “Soldiers have to work together as a team, under time pressure, when cold, wet and tired, in difficult and even dangerous conditions. The adventurous team spirit required by a successful offshore racing crew is the same as that required by the crew of a tank or any other armoured vehicle.”
There are four Class40s competing. Close duels are expected right through the fleet, but a hard fought and close encounter is expected in this class. Trade wind sailing provides perfect conditions for Class40s, with long reaches and downwind legs, these pocket rockets are capable of surfing at speeds of up to 25 knots. Class40s from America, Austria, France and Great Britain are taking on the 600 mile Caribbean odyssey; Tim Fetch’s Icarus Racing, Christophe Coatnoan’s Partouche, Andreas Hanakamp’s Vaquita and Peter Harding’s 40 Degrees, co-skippered by Hannah Jenner. The Class40s will be level-racing under their own rules. First to finish will claim the Concise Trophy; a full barrel of English Harbour rum.
IRC Two includes the smallest yacht in the fleet, Bernie Evan-Wong’s Mumm 36, High Tension. Antiguan dentist, Bernie has competed in all four RORC Caribbean 600 races, however last year, High Tension did not finish the race.
“It is definitely a case of unfinished business,” said Bernie. “We have actually used our downfall to modify the rig, so we have made something good out of the incident. Like many Antiguans, I am amazed how this race has developed since 2009, I have been sailing in the Caribbean for over 50 years and what has been really missing is a well-run, exciting offshore race. The RORC Caribbean 600 has provided that and made my dreams come true.”
Icarus Racing (Photo by George Bekris)
