The field is small, the challenge is big: the Transatlantic Race 2025 starts today. Eleven boats are expected on the starting line, including three German yachts: the Judel/Vrolijk 52 "Haspa Hamburg" with skipper Katrina Westphal, the Marten 49 "Moana" with skipper Lorenz Pinck and the Swan 441 "Charisma" with Constantin Claviez. Oliver Kobale will lead the Volvo Ocean 65 "Sisi" into the race under the Austrian flag.
"Haspa Hamburg": no professionals, but ambitious
Organised by the New York Yacht Club and the Royal Ocean Racing Club with the support of the Storm Trysail Club, this transatlantic race takes its challengers over around 3000 nautical miles from west to east across the North Atlantic. For many sailors, it is their first transatlantic race, while others are returning to their European home waters.
The starting signal will be given on 18 June at 7 p.m. German time off Newport, with the award ceremony in Cowes on the Isle of Wight in southern England scheduled for 23 July. The Admiral's Cup, in which three German teams, each with two boats, are taking part, is already underway in the English Solent sailing cradle. Sailing will be according to IRC. Click here for the Transatlantic Race tracker after the start of the race.
The twelve-strong crew on the "Haspa Hamburg" from the Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt is once again likely to be the youngest crew to start the Transat. The six women and six men are 26 years old on average. Skipper Katrina Westphal is an experienced sea sailor and knows: "Even though it's the height of summer, we can expect icy temperatures, a constant wind with an average of 20 to 25 knots and the challenge of performing at full capacity for 16 days in this brutal environment in order to get the 'Haspa' across the world's second largest ocean as quickly as possible at the end."
First Transat, then Rolex Fastnet Race
Katrina Westphal went on to explain in an interview with the organisers: "A major goal of our club is to teach young people how to sail. That's why it's always important that the younger ones learn a lot. I always learn a lot at the regattas too. And the other thing is that I also like racing, so we're a bit ambitious, but we're not professionals."
The team on the "Haspa Hamburg" is continuing the 2025 transatlantic regatta series, which began with the RORC Transatlantic Race from Lanzarote in January. This was followed by several Caribbean regattas such as the RORC Caribbean 600, and in July, the starting signal for the Rolex Fastnet Race awaits in Cowes after the current west-to-east transatlantic race. The famous race around the Fastnet Rocks in the Irish Sea will be 100 years old this British-influenced sailing summer.
The Transat 2025 starts in front of the Castle Hill lighthouse in Narragansett Bay off Rhode Island. The teams have been preparing intensively for this over the past few days and weeks between anticipation and excitement. Pleasant downwind conditions are expected for the first 48 to 72 hours.
Transat between "uncomfortable" and "delightful"
A press release from the organisers cheerfully stated: "Endurance racing is an inherently uncomfortable sport. It can be exciting, boring, maddening and exhilarating by turns. But it is consistently uncomfortable. Crossing the North Atlantic - known for its rough weather, cold water and constant wet conditions - takes this to an extreme that most sailors are unaware of. Of course, that's also where the appeal lies."
The organisers added: "The distance, the weather and the history all contribute to making this race, which was first sailed in 1866 but has not taken place since 2019, a challenge on many sailors' bucket lists." The highly experienced navigator Campbell Field, who is competing in the Transatlantic Race on the favoured Volvo Ocean 70 "Tschüss 2", has a soft spot for this particular course.
Campbell Field said: "I'm really looking forward to it. These west-east transatlantic races don't happen often. The last one was six years ago. It's a rare opportunity to tackle such a complex course - and for me it's special to be sailing back home to the south of England. Sailing through the Needles after a race like this? That's satisfying sailing!" Click here for the farewell clip from Newport before the start of the race.
What the crews can expect when transiting from west to east: Experienced navigator Mike Broughton on the Atlantic challenge:
