8th RORC Transatlantic Race: "Weapon on the open sea": fabulous record for "Comanche"

This monohull record could stand for a very long time: The 100-foot maxi "Comanche" has completed the transatlantic 3000 nautical mile leap from Lanzarote to Grenada in just 7 days, 22 hours, 1 minute and 4 seconds, beating the old record by more than two days. The fast black and red VPLP/Verdier design not only benefited from favourable wind conditions, but also from clever navigation. In contrast to many other teams, the "Comanche" crew around skipper Mitch Booth did not allow themselves to be lured by the supposedly better winds in the north, but remained almost stoically faithful to the ideal line. This can also be seen in the total nautical miles completed by "Comanche": At 3,063, it was just 63 more than the theoretical course line is long. Other boats have hundreds of nautical miles more in their wake when they reach their destination.

"Comanches" navigator WIll Oxley explained after the acclaimed arrival in the Camper & Nicholsons Port Marina on the Caribbean island of Grenada: "It was an atypical race. There were some low pressure areas. Instead of the normal southerly route where you tack west in the sunshine, we had bigger waves and the wind from the front. The conditions were quite difficult. All the teams, especially on the smaller boats, did a pretty good job of getting there. Our route was characterised by an easterly wave. It sounds like a complicated formula, but there are cloud formations that develop near the African coast and move westwards across the Atlantic. There was a kind of 'col', two high pressure systems moving in different directions and causing a windless zone. Our strategy was to manoeuvre between these two weather differences. We always tried to head for the target. We assumed that the shortest course would work in our favour. Our weather information on board is transmitted to the crew every three hours. Which meant that everyone knew what we were trying to do. We also took a closer look at the northern option. It looked like the fastest option, but we thought it would be difficult in terms of an exit strategy to the south."

In addition to skipper Mitch Booth from Australia, the "Comanche" professional team included these sailors in the successful coup: Guillermo Altadill Fischer, Diogo Cayolla, Pete Cumming, Dom Davies, Damien Durchon, Shannon Falcone, Pavlo Kalynchev, Alexei Kapustin, Pavel Karachov, Campbell Knox, Petr Lipa, Lago Lopez Marra, Paul Magee, Will Oxley, Corrado Rossignoli, Louis Sinclair, Justin Slattery, Eduard van Lierde, Rudi van Velzen, Konstantin Vasilev and Daryl Wislan. With the new record, "Comanche" also won the IMA trophy for the fastest monohull at the finish of the 8th RORC Transatlantic Race. Mitch Booth described "Comanche" as a "weapon on the open sea".

It remains to be seen what this performance will ultimately be worth in the overall IRC rankings based on calculated time. Although "Comanche" is currently leading in the handicap classification, there are a total of 21 boats competing for the grand prize of the Transatlantic Classic. For example, the smallest monohull yacht, the JPK 10.10 "Jangada", is still in a promising third place in the current interim ranking behind "Comanche" and the Oyster 48 "Scarlet Oyster". "Jangada's" two-handed crew still has around 1,300 nautical miles to go to the finish and could - like others - push further ahead or even knock "Comanche" off the IRC throne.

For the "Comanche" crew, however, after the race is already before the race: The RORC Caribbean 600 starts on 21 February off Antigua. In this classic race around eleven Caribbean islands, "Comanche" will meet another "Goliath": the Club Swan 125 "Skorpios".