RORC Transatlantic Race - Lanzarote-Grenada 2014 - Moonlight Sérénade

L-R (standing) Andrew McIrvine, Matthew Thomas, Glynn Thomas, Pita Porta, Eddie Warden Owen, Denis Villotte, Nick Kingsman, Alain Houchard, Nick Elliott. (Sitting) Chrislynn Lashington , Lynn Thomas, Danny Donelan - 2014 RORC Transatlantic Race. RORC/Arthur Daniel and Orlando K Romain

Sérénade crossed the finish line of the 2014 RORC Transatlantic Race. © RORC/Arthur Daniel and Orlando K Romain

'That was very hard,' commented Denis. 'The first half because of the changing winds and the second half because we were fighting against the light winds. For the last seven days we had just nine knots of wind and we had no spinnaker for the last three days. Both Alain and Pit were close friends before the race. I knew them but less, but we are all close friends now! This is my second transatlantic, the first one was a lot easier as we had much more regular and better winds.

For this race, the variety of conditions has made it far more interesting from a navigational point of view. We each took a watch system of two hours on, two hours standby and two hours sleep, which is very tiring over 18 days, but we are delighted to be here in Grenada to such a fantastic welcome in the middle of the night. We were just looking forward to making land and when we saw Grenada, our joy was huge, but to arrive with so many smiling faces was just incredible.'

Sérénade crossed the finish line of the 2014 RORC Transatlantic Race. © RORC/Arthur Daniel and Orlando K Romain

The inaugural RORC Transatlantic Race, in association with the International Maxi Association (IMA), started on Sunday 30 November 1000 UTC from Puerto Calero, Lanzarote, Canary Islands bound for Grenada, West Indies, 2,995 nautical miles across the Atlantic Ocean.

Results

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