Ludde’s trimmed down crew for RORC Trans-At

by John Roberson on 25 Nov 2017 Ludde Ingvall has selected a trimmed down crew of just fifteen on his super maxi CQS, for the Royal Ocean Racing Clubs Trans-Atlantic Race, starting from Lazarote, in the Canary Islands tomorrow, 25th November.

Sharing the skipper’s duties with Ludde is Finland’s Ken Thelen, while there are three watch leaders, Rokas Milevicius from Lithuania, England’s Robin Elsey and New Zealander Malcolm Paine.

The 3,000 mile race finishes in Granada, one of the Grenadine Islands in the Caribbean, where the fleet will be hosted by Camper & Nicholsons' Port Louis Marina, and is expected to take about ten days.

For the most part Ludde’s crew are up-and-coming young professional sailors, and a great part of his motivation to keep going is passing on his knowledge and experience to the next generation, and giving them a chance to sail big boats.

“In my early days I had the pleasure of racing with Harold Cudmore and we are still great friends,” he said. “I remember meeting with Harold and asking him what drives us on, now that we have been racing so many years. He replied we must 'pass it on' and that is what we are doing for young sailors that show great ability and the attitude to succeed.”

Weather forecasts for the race are showing a strong bias towards a more northerly course across the Atlantic, which is unusual at this time of the year. The fleet should experience downwind conditions right from the start of the race, which could signal at fast passage to Granada.

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Full crew list:

• Ludde Ingvall – AUS co-skipper
• Ken Thelen – FIN co-skipper
• Rokas Milevicius – LIT Watch leader
• Robin Elsey – GBR Watch leader
• Malcolm Paine – NZL Watch leader
• Martyn Baker – NZL
• Liam Gardner – GBR
• David Kenefick – IRL
• James Oxenham – GBR
• Logan Andresen – NZL
• Philip Barnard – CAN
• James Espey – IRL
• James Tomlinson – GBR
• Charlie Egerton-Warburton – GBR
• Paul Heyrman - GBR