Transatlantic Race: "Tschüss 2" will be racing across the Atlantic in a week's time
A Volvo 70 can easily carry a crew across the Atlantic. This is what "Tschüss 2" owner Christian Zugel and his crew have now experienced in the Transatlantic Race. After just 7 days, 15 hours and 29 minutes, they finished as "first ship home". Everything indicates that this successful transatlantic sprint will also be enough for the calculated IRC victory in the small field. Many boats are still racing in the middle of the Atlantic.
"Bye 2" continues winning streak in the Transatlantic Race
The race from Newport to Cowes on the Isle of Wight, organised by the New York Yacht Club and the British Royal Ocean Racing Club with the support of the Royal Yacht Squadron and the Storm Trysail Club, has a dominator sailing under the US flag, "Bye 2". Zugel's team consisted of Johnny Mordant, Al Fraser, Andrew McLean, Campbelll Field, Christopher Welsh, Edward Meyers, Fredric Shanks, Neal McDonald, Nicholas O'Leary, Pete Cumming, Stefano Nova, Stu Bannatyne and Trystan Seal.
Christian Zugel may still be relatively new to offshore racing, but his recent successes with the "Tschüss 2" are impressive. Since July 2024, the Volvo 70 racer has won a total of four major offshore regattas under IRC, covering 22,000 nautical miles in the process. "Tschüss 2" is the overall winner of the Roschier Baltic Sea Race 2024, the RORC Transatlantic Race 2025 and the RORC Caribbean 600. Now the boat also looks hard to beat in the Transatlantic Race.
Transatlantic Race: hard but cleverly fought
"That was a phenomenal race - very fast and far beyond my expectations," said Christian Zugel in Cowes. The Stuttgart-born former car racing driver and founder of the asset management company Zais Group continued: "In the end, we broke the IRC-corrected time record by 30 hours. I would never have dreamed of that at the beginning. This season we have now sailed one lap around the equator - including two transatlantic regattas. We have fought hard, but wisely. Our boat is still in excellent condition and our crew is motivated and uninjured. We could probably start again tomorrow!"
I've flown across the ocean 150 times, but sailing it is something completely different." Christian Zugel
Commenting on the transatlantic sailing experience, Zugel said: "It's hard to put into words. You leave Newport in the fog, meander through the Gulf Stream with bizarre wave patterns and bubbling 25 degree Celsius water and then head north just in time to ride a cold front across the Atlantic." His advice to others? "Give it a go - but be prepared. You need a solid boat and a professional crew. If you get caught unprepared in 55 knots of wind, you'll be in trouble. But for me, this was the race of my life."
The "Bye 2" trimmer and helmsman took a look at the Atlantic nature experiences. Nicholas O'Leary said: "And then there's the marine life! I love fishing, and when a few fish washed up on deck after a nosedive, I made ceviche with lime - Campbell and I were the only ones who got a bite! We saw whales, dolphins and moonfish and even passed a longliner laying out 40 miles of swordfish lines. We warned the boats behind us via WhatsApp. This camaraderie, sharing safety information in the middle of the ocean, was something very special."
Fastnet Race: "The most demanding offshore fleet"
The "Tschüss 2" crew already have the next race in sight: the Rolex Fastnet Race starts on 26 July - also as the conclusion of the Admiral's Cup, which will then be decided. "Bye 2" skipper Johnny Mordant said: "Now we are focussing on the Rolex Fastnet Race. Tomorrow we pick up new sails and head into what is probably the most challenging offshore fleet imaginable. With the centenary of the race and the return of the Admiral's Cup, it's going to be an incredible event - even for someone like me who's been around for decades, it's really inspiring."
Oliver Kobale's Volvo Ocean 65 "Sisi" with the sail number AUT 1 is expected to be the next boat to cross the finish line in the Transatlantic Race. The Austrians only had around 70 nautical miles to go on the morning of 27 June. The German boats will be travelling a little longer. For Hanno Ziehm's Marten 49 "Moana", which is in third place in the line honours classification, it was still 1150 nautical miles to Cowes at the last update on 27 June.
The Judel/Vrolijk 52 "Haspa Hamburg" with its young crew led by skipper Katrina Westphal from the Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt still had around 1200 nautical miles to cover and was in fifth place. The Swan 441 "Charisma" sailed towards her Atlantic mountain festival with just under 1900 nautical miles remaining. Click here for the tracker for the Transatlantic Race 2025. During their challenge in the Transatlantic Race, all participants may well have thought about the origins of the race. Its roots go back to the 19th century.
Transatlantic Race: How it all began...
In 1866, the American owners of three yachts - "Henrietta", "Fleetwing" and "Vesta" - made a legendary bet: Each of them put 30,000 dollars on the table before they sailed from New York to the Isle of Wight in the Great Ocean Race. The winner received all the winnings. "Henrietta" won the then daring adventure in the middle of winter in a time of 13 days, 21 hours and 55 minutes. She was skippered by James Gordon Bennett Jr. who became Commodore of the New York Yacht Club in 1870. It was the first truly publicised transatlantic yacht race at the time and probably the moment when ocean racing was born.
