On Sunday morning, twenty-one boats set sail from the coast of Arrecife for the island of Grenada.
The tenth edition of the RORC Transatlantic Race got underway this Sunday with an impressive start for this year’s 21 participating crews. More than 200 sailors set off from the capital of Lanzarote, facing a 3000 nautical mile challenge that will take them to Port Louis Marina on the island of Grenada. All was right for a superb start under the watchful supervision of the committee comprising the Royal Ocean Racing Club and the Real Club Náutico de Arrecife. The fleet started the crossing with impeccable downwind conditions, just in front of the Islote de la Fermina, creating a magnificent sight for those watching from the shore in Arrecife.
The “European Sports Destination” spectator boat, which had been fully booked for several days, had the privilege of witnessing the spectacular start of the regatta up close, positioned just a few metres away from the fleet. Meanwhile, in Marina Lanzarote, a large group of local well-wishers followed the start of the regatta on a giant screen, enjoying the commentary provided by the outstanding local sailors Alfredo González and Rayco Tabares.
The multihulls were first to start, with Adrian Keller’s Allegra, Jason Carroll’s Argo, Erik Maris’ Zoulou and Alexia Barrier’s Limosa heading towards the lay mark in Puerto Calero. Once over the line, the impressive speed of these boats and the exceptional agility of their crews were immediately apparent, not willing to concede an inch to their rivals. Limosa and Argo were the first to pass the mark, closely followed by Zoulou. The record for multihulls, set in the previous edition, is held by Giovanni Soldini’s Multi70 Maserati, with a time of 05 days, 05 hrs, 46 minutes and 26 seconds. Allegra, the 84-foot catamaran is the largest multihull in the race, demonstrating an outstanding performance and asserting herself as the favourite in the MOCRA Class after time correction.
Ten minutes after the start of the race, the race committee signalled the start for the monohull classes. All 17 boats were extremely careful to avoid mistakes in the early stages of this transatlantic crossing. The Farr 100 Leopard 3, led by Chris Sherlock, is emerging as the favourite to win in monohulls; with the right conditions, Leopard 3 has the potential to challenge the monohull record set by Comanche in 2022, which stands at 07 days, 22 hrs, 1 minute and 4 seconds. The boat skippered by Sherlock reached the lay mark in just one hour and fifteen minutes, beating even Zoulou, confirming its remarkable speed and its chances of setting a new record in this competition. In second place came Chris Sheehan’s PAC52 Warrior Won, followed by Jean-Pierre Dreau’s Mylius 60 Lady First III in third place.
This event can be followed in real time on the website: rorctransatlantic.rorc.org, thanks to live tracking that allows you to observe the routing decisions made by each boat in the fleet, as they strive to reach the island of Grenada in the shortest possible time.
The RORC Transatlantic Race has quickly achieved an outstanding status as one of the most prestigious transatlantic events, enjoying the recognition of the best sailors worldwide. For Calero Marinas MD José Juan Calero, “it is a great honour to know that organisations such as the RORC trust Calero Marinas to host this race, and we have forged a solid bond over the last 10 years”.
This spectacular transatlantic regatta is sponsored by the Canary Islands Government, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) within the NextGenerationEU funds, the Canary Islands Tourism Board, the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Lanzarote Tourism, Lanzarote European Sport Destination, Arrecife City Council and its Tourism and Festivities area, and the collaboration of the Cicar group and the Real Club Náutico de Arrecife.