RORC Transatlantic Race

[Doug Lord]

Starting Saturday, November 26: from the Canary Islands(start off Arrecife on the Island of Lanzarote) to Grenada(finish just off MoineRouge)
http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/entries/entries-expressions-of-interest.html

Tracker: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/tracking/2016-fleet-tracking.html

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Highlight for me will be seeing what Maserati, the very modified MOD 70 can do. Eventually she will be able to foil on both tacks but for this race she is limited to foiling on stb tack due to a collision just before the Malta race which she won. I have no idea what her chances are of being able to sail on stb tack-if anyone knows please post it here.

Maserati foiling on port tack:

 

[Doug Lord]

RORC Transat

Looks like Maserati is a bit behind Phaedo.

UPDATE- Phaedo is 126 miles in front but going slower right now.

 

[Doug Lord]

RORC Transat

From Maserati:
1--11/28/16
Storms, unstable winds and peak speeds of 38 knots. That was the situation Maserati Multi70 left in her wake as she emerged from the second night of the RORC Transatlantic Race. Now at the same longitude as Cape Verde, she is continuing her race north to catch the Trade Winds this evening.
Aboard there is great satisfaction with how Maserati Multi70 is performing on the ocean in flying trim as Giovanni Soldini confirmed this morning by sat phone (at 09.00 GMT): «The boat is doing really well: last night, we foiled for a couple of hours in complete darkness. Flying between the Atlantic waves at 33/36 knots with not even a sliver of moon was quite stressful but we’re happy with how the foils are coping with the long ocean waves».
The current weather situation in the North Atlantic (12.00 GMT) sees Maserati Multi70 still grappling with a weak N/NE airflow that doesn’t get above 15 knots. The coming hours will be pivotal for the Italian multihull which is now 170 nautical miles from the American trimaran, Phaedo3, which took the southerly route and is sailing in a 15-knot E/SE wind.
Soldini explained: «We are trying to pass a bubble with very little wind to position ourselves even further north where the Trade Winds will come in good and strong tonight. They will then stay with us for the next 500 miles as we sail west. Unfortunately, we are slower than anticipated and at south Phaedo3 has more wind than we thought she’d get. But now she’ll have to go north to avoid the dead calm ahead of her. Our paths will cross in a couple of days at around 30°N and 36°W».

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2--11/28/16

A total of 215 miles separate Maserati Multi70 from her sole class rival in the RORC Transatlantic Race, Phaedo3. However, the American boat has now changed course and is heading north.
As of 17:00 GMT, Maserati Multi70’s speed had dropped to 5.5 knots while the N/NE wind she is sailing in is struggling to get above 10 knots. The US trimaran, Phaedo3,is presently making 21.4 knots.
What happens overnight will prove pivotal. Maserati Multi70 still has another 2,369 nautical miles to go to the finish-line off Grenada, having put 496 miles behind her.
Both trimarans are focusing on catching the very large depression in the North Atlantic as quickly as possible as this should provide Maserati Multi70 with perfect “flying” (foiling) conditions.

 

[Doug Lord]

RORC Transat

More on the race from Scuttlebutt tonight:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2..._source=Email Newsletter&utm_term=Full report

 

[Doug Lord]

RORC Transat

From Euro Scuttlebutt this morning:

In the MOD70 duel, Phaedo3, skippered by Brian Thompson has consolidated their advantage over Giovanni Soldini's Maserati. Over the last 24 hours, Phaedo3 climbed north, maintaining a boat speed consistently well over 20 knots on port gybe before executing a move onto starboard in between Maserati and the finish. Initially, Maserati closed the gap as Phaedo3 negotiated the pressure ridge in front of them, but once they punched through, the team extended their advantage, pulling away at twice the boat speed of Maserati. This morning Phaedo3 has a 220 mile lead and has sailed a massive 280 additional miles to achieve it.
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UPDATE: Unless there's an error in the tracker Maserati has taken the lead!! Go guys! Turns out it was a tracker glitch...

From Maserati:

Fifth day of the race. 20.00 GMT. Close reaching, average speeds of 30 knots, peaks of 38. Maserati Multi70 flies toward the Grenada finish-line.
Giovanni Soldini describes how he and the crew spent the fifth day of the RORC Transatlantic Race aboard Maserati Multi70:
«An incredible day! We’re making 20/22 knots on a close reach. We flew for a couple of hours. We stuck at it for as long as possible but then when the waves got too big, we adopted wave trim. That means we are able to maintain quite considerable average speeds yet still sail Maserati Multi70 safely. We’ve managed to find the right trim for these conditions and we’re very satisfied. We’re making average speeds of around 30 knots without taking any risks or forcing anything. Every now and then, we have a stability issue with the profile of the foiling rudder when we’re going flat out at 38 knots. Sometimes bearing away, sometimes hauling windward. We’re logging some big numbers. The boat skids sideways and we have to strike all the sails, then start again very calmly after taking a couple of big deep breaths!»

 

[Doug Lord]

RORC Transat

From Maserati today:

http://maserati.soldini.it/1000-miles-off-grenada/

 

[Doug Lord]

RORC Transat

From Maserati today:

Maserati Multi70 in now into day seven of racing and is expected to make landfall at Grenada between tomorrow and Sunday morning. The shore teams and organizers are already in situ preparing to welcome the two trimarans.
Phaedo3 is leading the RORC Transatlantic Race fleet, 379 miles ahead of Maserati Multi70 at 8.00 GMT at with time the Italian trimaran was still 730 miles off Grenada. As Soldini explained it will be difficult to bridge the gap in the coming hours because both MOD 70 are sailing in the same wind conditions at an average speed of 22 knots.
Aboard the team is taking stock of the race and the ocean-going experience. As Giovanni Soldini commented this morning: «Conditions have been fantastic over the last 24 hours: we managed to find just the right adjustments to fly downwind and the results are surprising. We’re able to get amazing angles. Maserati Multi70 takes off and then stabilises at 140° to the real wind. She starts to accelerates resting only on her L-foil, the weight-bearing surface of the T-foil rudder and the wing we have on the centerboard. It’s completely unprecedented: we’re able to bear away at 10° more and make two knots more with the L-foil. We’re definitely on the right path! This ocean has given us a super experience. We’re beginning to feel less like we’re experimenting and more at ease in getting the most from the appendages that make Maserati Multi70 a flying trimaran!»

 

[Doug Lord]

RORC Transat

The multihull portion of the race is over ,won by Phaedo by over 370 miles.