RORC Transatlantic Race - Mammoth to minute

Ludde Ingvall's 98ft Maxi, CQS is Line Honours favourite for the 2017 RORC Transatlantic Race, part of the Atlantic Anniversary Regatta Rolex/ Kurt Arrigo http://www.regattanews.com

JPK 10.10 Jangada, the smallest boat in the race will be sailed Two Handed by Richard Palmer and Rupert Holmes in the RORC Transatlantic Race, first leg of the Atlantic Anniversary Regatta © Rick Tomlinson http://www.rick-tomlinson.com

Ludde Ingvall's 98ft Maxi CQS from Australia is a front-runner to take Line Honours in the RORC Transatlantic Race. Ingvall has thousands of racing miles under his belt, notching up 15 transatlantic crossings; his most famous Transatlantic Race was in 1997. As skipper of Nicorette, Ingvall broke the 92-year old record set in 1905 by Charlie Barr's Atlantic.

'When you are a young kid dreaming of racing, the Transatlantic Race is a very special one. I have enjoyed them all; it is a great adventure and very historic. You become part of something that has been going on for hundreds of years. To share that experience with your crew and other boats is really unique, and I feel very privileged to be doing this race,' explains Ingvall. 'For this race we have a rather young crew. Many will be crossing the Atlantic for the first time and they are excited to race in an organised fashion.'

The new Southern Wind 96 Sorceress has already shown impressive performance and the long transatlantic race will also allow the boat to show off her capabilities © Rolex/Carlo Baroncini

Sorceress is a brand new Southern Wind 96; the Canadian owner has a huge amount of offshore racing experience and the RORC Transatlantic Race will be a real test for the fast Maxi Cruiser's capabilities. Sorceress Skipper Daniel Stump knows the yacht extremely well, having been involved in the final stages of the build. Daniel was the skipper of Lupa of London which took Line Honours and the overall win in the inaugural RORC Transatlantic Race in 2014. Sorceress raced for the first time at the 2017 Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup:

'Our first regatta gave us some ideas to improve her performance. She is a very quick boat and we are very impressed with her,' commented Stump. 'The prospect of the RORC Transatlantic Race is very exciting as there are not many opportunities to race across the Atlantic and every time is different. We do not have a massive inventory of racing sails, but we will be pushing without getting aggressive. In a race like this, putting yourself in the right position will always be key.'

An onboard shot shows Volvo 70 Monster Project coming up to the iconic Fastnet Rock in the Rolex Fastnet Race this year © Monster Project

Roman Guerra's Volvo 70 Monster Project will also be vying for Line Honours and the race record. Roman is originally from Australia and bought Monster Project to further his passion for offshore racing, take part in top offshore races around the world, and to share his experience with others. After the RORC Transatlantic Race, Monster Project will take part in the RORC Caribbean 600, the Antigua Bermuda Race and the Atlantic Anniversary Regatta from Bermuda to Hamburg.

'I wanted to do a proper race and I really like what the RORC stands for,' commented Guerra. 'The Monster Project crew are currently delivering the boat from Plymouth to Lanzarote and putting in 270 mile days without even trying. So, the race record is possible given the right conditions. We have a crew of 14 for the race, with space for three more and we intend to have a fantastic experience.'

Isle of Wight resident Richard Palmer will be racing his JPK 10.10 Jangada, Two Handed with Rupert Holmes. The British pair have sailed thousands of miles Two Handed, including a full Rolex Fastnet Race programme this year. This will be Palmer's second short-handed Atlantic, having come second in IRC for the 2012 TwoStar North Transatlantic Race. Jangada has a full inventory of racing sails, solar panels and a fuel cell which provide alternative power for vital systems such as their autopilot. At just 33ft (10.10 metres) in length, Jangada is by far the smallest yacht in the race:

'Our focus is very much on the RORC 2018 season and we have 7,000 miles of racing planned, including the RORC Transatlantic, RORC Caribbean 600, Round Ireland and the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland,' says Palmer. 'Reliability and consistency are important. Jangada is very well maintained and we are out to reduce any potential failure points. We are both experienced so we tend to have a less structured approach to a watch system; taking lots of short sleeps helps keep the boat going. The key is to rest when you can, but putting a lot of time on deck when you need to. This is a hard challenge and achieving it gives greater reward and satisfaction.'

For more information follow the RORC Transatlantic Race and Atlantic Anniversary Regatta.

2017 Entries

	Boat Name	Boat Type	Owner/Skipper Name
	Aragon	Marten 72	Jochen Bovenkamp
	Bank Von Bremen	J/V 53	SKWB / Alexander Beilken
	Broader View Hamburg	Andrews 56	Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt / Bjoern Woge
	Challenger	Whitbread 60	Chris Stanmore-Major
	Cqs	Supermaxi	Ludde Ingvall
	Emma	Swan 60	Dr. Johann Killinger and Alfred Paulsen / Sven Hadler
	Gemervescence	Cutter	Steven Anderson
	Haspa Hamburg	J/V 52 Custom	Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt / Max Gaertner
	Hatha Maris	Dufour 40	Lyssandra Barbieri
	High Yield	Swan 45	Hanns Ostmeier
	Jangada	JPK 10.10	Richard Palmer
	Latona	Swan 56r	Pit Nikolas Brockhausen
	Lunatix	Xp-50	Friedrich Boehnert
	Mariejo	Class40	Berthold Brinkmann / Tobias Brinkmann
	Monster Project	Volvo 70	Roman Guerra
	No Doubt	Jeanneau 54 DS	Berry Aarts
	Outsider	Elliott 52 SS	Tilmar Hansen / Bo Teichmann
	Red	Class40	Mathias Mueller von Blumencron
	Sorceress	Southernwind 96 5.44	Daniel Stump
	Teasing Machine	Nmydd 54	Eric de Turckheim
	Varuna	Ker 56	Jens Kellinghusen / Vasco Ollero Caprani
	Zed 6	Prototype Catamaran TS42	Gerald Bibot