During this week the crews have been able to ultimate the last adjustments for their boats before crossing the Atlantic while enjoying the benefits of the island of Lanzarote.
Marina Lanzarote, November 23, 2018. At 11 o’clock in the morning the fifth edition of the RORC Transatlantic Race was presented at Marina Lanzarote, this year the event was the consolidation of the competition as the reference event to cross the Atlantic for the real competitors.
The conference was attended by José Juan Calero, CEO of Calero Marinas, who began the talk by thanking the Royal Ocean Racing Club for the trust it has placed in Calero Marinas for the past five years. This prestigious event with a worldwide impact has reinforced the image of Lanzarote as a top-level nautical destination. He also thanked the Real Club Nautico Arrecife, for their commitment to sailing and their great support in all the events held by Calero Marinas, events that have taken place thanks to the invaluable collaboration of Canary Islands Tourism and Lanzarote Tourism, who have had a clear and determined strategy for the promotion of the Canary Islands destination and in particular, Lanzarote, as a navigation destination.
David Warden Owen, CEO of the Royal Ocean Racing Club has valued the direction and of the RORC Transatlantic Race in Lanzarote during these past five years and the organization of this regatta thanks to the support of Calero Marinas, the Canary Islands and Lanzarote. He highlighted the ten boats that will set off tomorrow, for their quality, but especially for their crews that with more than half a dozen nationalities, bring together the transoceanic sailing elite.
Ángel Vázquez, The Councillor of Tourism from the Cabildo of Lanzarote declared “from the Lanzarote Foreign Promotion Society (SPEL-Lanzarote Tourism) we are very determined to support nautical events of this magnitude, with a cast of sailors who are among the best in the world. An outdoor promotion for the island of Lanzarote as a nautical-sporting destination of great value. He also added that he wanted to specifically congratulate the Calero family, for the magnificent sporting events that promote and help to reinforce the position of Lanzarote as a nautical destination, and to the RORC CEO, Edward Warden Owen. “
The president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Pedro San Ginés, had the opportunity to officially welcome the participants of the RORC Transatlantic Race to the island and thanked Calero Marinas for bringing these events to the island making it possible to publicise the magnificent conditions of Lanzarote for the practice of water sports and thanks to the facilities that make these events possible, such as Marina Lanzarote.
The presentation from the institutions was closed by the Minister of Tourism from the Canary Islands Government, Isaac Castellano, who express that “events such as the RORC Transatlantic Race 2018 strengthen the commitment of the Canary Islands Government to unite in the same area Tourism, Culture and Sports and demonstrate the important synergies that these areas can generate “. “Sport is an important added value for the tourist offer, for the destination, and for the promotion of the Islands on an international level. Sport is a tool through which we can show our strengths, our peculiarities, our identity and everything we are. “
A very Spanish RORC Transatlantic Race
This edition of the RORC Transatlantic has a very good representation of Spanish sailors. During the presentation, we had the chance and honour to have Chuni Bermúdez, skipper of the Kuka 3, a transoceanic sailor who has seven Volvo Ocean Race under his belt, and Carlos Hernández, a sailor from Lanzarote who has been sailing in the Maserati the last few years and who also had navigated for Mapfre. Chuni is accompanied in the Kuka 3 by Gonzalo Araujo. In the maxi ‘My Song’, we will have Nacho Postigo at the helm and sailing in the Maserati with Carlos Hernández, we will have another Canarian, Oliver Herrera.
For Chuni, this is not his first sailing experience in Lanzarote, he remembers with great affection the championships held by the Real Club Náutico in which he has participated. Moreover, emphasise that the Kuka 3´s crew is very concentrated in this competition, This last week they have been able to make the last adjustments and get the team ready. Chuni took the opportunity to thank his owner, Franco Niggele, for the trust he has placed in him. Franco took advantage of his speech to highlight the magnificent experience during this week of preparation, where not only has the boat been tuned, but they have also been able to enjoy “the wonderful energy of the island and its people”.
Carlos Hernández, sailor of the Maserati, said that reaching this level of competitive sailing isn´t easy, but very satisfactory. He stated that they are doing everything possible to make it very difficult for the other Mod70, the Powerplay.
In the case of boats like the Mod70, crossing the Atlantic will take around five days, and can be tracked throughout the event on the official website. (http://rorctransatlantic.
The fleet of the 2018 RORC Transatlantic Race is consisted of:
Black Sheep (Sun Fast 3600 ) Trevor Middleton
Eärendil (Class40) Catherine Pourre
Hydra (Class40 ) Henrik Bergesen
Kali (First 47.7) Benedikt Clauberg
Kuka 3 (Cookson 50) Franco Niggeler
Maserati (MOD 70) Giovanni Soldini
My Song Baltic ( 130 ) Pier Luigi Loro Piana
PowerPlay ( MOD 70) Peter Cunningham
Sirius (Class40 ) Stephan Bry
Xtra Staerk (XP 44) Arto Linnervuo