More than 200 sailors from 21 countries want to turn the RORC Transatlantic Race into a sailing festival. The starting signal for the very diverse fleet will be given one week before the start of the Ocean Race this Sunday (8 January) at 2 pm local time (3 pm German time). The 3,000 nautical mile long Transat classic will take the Transat field from Lanzarote across the Atlantic to the Port Louis Marina in Grenada. The largest boat in the field is the Swan 115 "Jasi". Prominent record hunters such as Giovanni Soldini's "Maserati" will be at the start of the RORC Transatlantic Race, as will determined German Atlantic enthusiasts.
"Rafale" skipper Philipp Kadelbach: "The first day will be tricky"
The eleven-strong crew on the Berlin Elliott 52 "Rafale" skippered by and with Henri de Bokay are taking part in their first RORC Transatlantic Race together. For Philipp Kadelbach from the Seglerhaus am Wannsee association, this is his third Transat challenge, but his first as skipper. Andreas Baden is the navigator. Other team members are Christian Rathgen, Bouwe van de Weiden, Jörg Reißland, Jens Steinborn, Kirstie Smeaton, Malte Päsler, Sophie Waldow and Tom Swift.
"We are fit and ready," announced Philipp Kadelbach shortly before the start. The "Rafale" crew will sail in two watches of five crew members each. The navigator will stay awake. The multiple circumnavigator and top router Marcel van Triest has supported the German team in their preparations for the RORC Transatlantic Race. "The first day will be tricky," says Philipp Kadelbach, "it's all about getting through the islands and finding the channel north of the westernmost Canary Island of El Hierro. The challenge is not to get caught in the high winds, but also not in the lee of the island. There is already a trade wind with 15 to 18 knots VMG down."
The "Black Pearl" crew still has a score to settle with the Transat ...
The wind forecasts point to a fast transat with possible new records. Rafale's competitors include the Finnish Infiniti 52 "Tulikettu", Eric de Turckheim's NMYD-54 endurance racer "Teasing Machine" and the highly optimised Botin 56 "Black Pearl" with the international professional crew led by owner and helmsman Stefan Jentzsch. After a broken bowsprit and mast breakage in the last two editions, the "Black Pearl" team still has a score to settle with the RORC Transatlantic Race. "If we could beat one or more of these boats, that would be really good," says Philipp Kadelbach, "we're really looking forward to this race, we're a great team. The atmosphere on board is very good."
In addition to freeze-dried provisions, for which the team has opted for a new French manufacturer following tips from Ocean Race sailor Annie Lush from Guyot Environnement - Team Europe, there is also a bottle of sherry on board. "In addition, each crew member has the task of delighting the entire team with a small surprise on one day of the race," says Philipp Kadelbach about special motivational measures for the RORC Transatlantic Race.
"If we can do it in eleven days, that would be really good!"
The overall winner of the 9th RORC Transatlantic Race will be determined according to IRC. There will also be line honours, class wins and perhaps even new best times. The fact that north-easterly winds of 20 knots and more are expected to blow for almost a week speaks in favour of a fast transatlantic ride. "If we can do it in eleven days, that would be really good," says Kadelbach.
The best multihulls will make the leap across the Atlantic at a faster pace. Teams from Belgium, France, Italy and the United States make up the high-performance multihull division. The three MOD70 trimarans among them are well capable of breaking the multihull race record set by the MOD70 "Phaedo 3" in 2015. Loyd Thurnburg's team completed the course in 5 days, 22 hours, 46 minutes and 3 seconds.
The monohull record could also fall
The monohull race record from 2022 could also fall. The "Comanche" with Mitch Booth's crew set the record in 2022 with 7 days, 22 hours, 1 minute and 4 seconds. In addition to the "Jasi" skippered by Toby Clarke with professional heavyweight Ken Read, the Volvo 70 yachts "I love Poland" and "Green Dragon" skippered by Johannes Schwarz from Switzerland will also be racing. The Imoca 60 "Canada Ocean Racing" will be sailed by a double-handed crew.
