Oakcliff Ocean Racing Team to race RORC Transatlantic Race

by Dawn Riley on 28 Oct 2014 The Oakcliff Ocean Racing Team is pleased today, to confirm their entry in the inaugural RORC Transatlantic Race. The team will start their training in less than a week, sailing the newly donated Class 40 Bodacious Dream from England to Lanzarote in the Spanish Canary Islands.

The RORC Transatlantic Race starts in Lanzarote November 29, off the coast of Africa and finishes 2700nm later at the Caribbean island of Grenada. With an impressive fleet of boats the race will be an intense proving ground for the team.

The ability to compete in this race marks an incredible opportunity for the Oakcliff Ocean Racing Team, which was formed almost 12 months ago by Oakcliff Grads, Dan Flanigan (23) and Hobie Ponting (23). The goal for the team has always been to sail the 2015 NYYC/RORC Transatlantic Race starting in Newport, RI with the finish in Lizard Point, UK.

The 6600 miles that will be sailed in the coming months aboard this Class 40 will give the core team a huge bucket of experience to pull from going forward. The generosity of Bodacious Dream LLC has made this possible.

The boat has an excellent pedigree, placing second in 2012 Atlantic Cup and first in 2013. She also safely carried Dave Rearick around the world in a 2013-2014 solo voyage. Dave’s story is featured in the current Sailing Magazine.

'We have worked hard over the past 12 months to make our Ocean Racing Team a reality,' explained navigator Hobie Ponting. 'Building your own team is difficult and it often seemed like it would never happen. And then all of the sudden we have a boat and a program and we are headed to Europe!'

The team of Oakcliff Grads, Dan Flanigan, Chris Kennedy (26), Andrew 'OD' O’Donnell (27), and Hobie Ponting will be departing for England at the beginning of November after they meet with the crew of Bodacious Dream to get a walkthrough of the boat before the handover.

After completing the race the team will go into full fundraising mode as they set their sights on the west to east transatlantic.



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