8th RORC Transat Race 2022: "PowerPlay" sets the pace for the Transat fleet

Fast start, furious fun: The highly diverse fleet of the 8th edition of the RORC Transat Race survived the first night without any retirements despite the tough conditions. At the head of the field, Peter Cunningham's MOD70 "PowerPlay" is setting the pace and, as the leader in the "Line Honours" interim classification, has already established a 25 nautical mile lead over her MOD70 rival "Argo" and 50 nautical miles ahead of Giovanni Soldini's Multi 70 "Maserati".

One of the most ambitious drivers on board the "PowerPlay" for its transatlantic premiere is likely to be two-time Olympic Finn champion Giles Scott. Before the start of the 3000 nautical mile ocean marathon from Lanzarote to Grenada, the Briton said: "The only offshore race I've ever done before was the Rolex Fastnet Race on the same boat. It was still called 'Concise' then. So it will be a bit new for me. I'm used to the speeds I can expect, but of course this is something completely different(Editor: Scott draws the comparison to his races on the "flying" yachts in the America's Cup, where he is in action for the British team Ineos Britannia). We are sailing across the Atlantic and will experience high waves. Hopefully we'll get nice trade winds and 3000 nautical miles downwind. That would be nice."

The big difference for Olympic and America's Cup sailor Scott will be being in action day and night. He has never experienced this in either the Finn or the America's Cup. "I'm entering completely uncharted territory," says Scott. "It's a first step into this world." So far, it seems to be going very well. Scott continued: "I'm looking forward to the challenge, but I'm anything but an expert here. I will follow the lead of the guys around me. I have no idea what to expect in the middle of the Atlantic. It's almost a completely different sport. I hope that I can serve the team at a high level. I'm leaving my comfort zone. That's why I want to do it. It will be an experience with a great group of people and I'm sure I'll learn a lot."

Brian Thompson described the four-way battle between the fastest multihulls for the "Line Honours" well shortly before the start. The tactician on Jason Carroll's MOD70 "Argo" said: "It will be a fantastic competition between four boats for the 'Line Honours'. The winner will be the team that best manages these powerful boats, especially in rough conditions. And the one that chooses the best route. This year, the trade winds are not as normal as they should be. So we'll have to wait and see with regard to possible records. But it's always exciting to sail across the Atlantic. The course has neither become shorter nor easier."

The battle for class victories is also exciting in the other classification divisions alongside the fast-paced Mocras - IRC Super Zero, IRC Zero, IRC 1 and IRC 2H. Around 24 hours after the start, Maximilian Klink's Botin 52 Custom "Caro" was in the lead in the overall IRC standings and also led in IRC Zero. In IRC Super Zero, the top favourites on the 100-foot record chaser "Comanche" continue to live up to their role on day two. The "Comanche" team around skipper Mitch Booth could finish around 15 January and set a new race record.

The German owners and their teams have also had a strong race so far. Stefan Jentzsch's IRC 56 "Black Pearl" was in third place in IRC Zero at the start of the second day of racing. This initially meant an impressive sixth place in terms of time sailed. Jens Lindner's Volvo Ocean 70 "Hypr" was in fifth place in IRC Super Zero, equivalent to 13th place in the "Line Honours" classification for the entire fleet in terms of time sailed. After a technical problem at the start, the British-German Imcoa trio on "Rosalba" with Frank Sturm from Berlin worked their way up from 27th place to 18th place in terms of time sailed within 24 hours. Click here for the tracker and the intermediate results (please click!).