HSH Nordbank blue race start in classic breeze

by Event media on 17 Jun 2007 In the classic southwesterly sea breeze that has fueled the starts of yacht races ranging from transatlantic ocean contests to the America’s Cup, 21 boats representing six nations (Antigua, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Switzerland and the United States)answered the gun today to begin the 3,600-nautical mile HSH Nordbank blue race. Their destination: a finish line near the River Elbe in Hamburg, Germany.

After a week of frigid nor’east winds, principal race office Alan Green could not have asked for a more ideal afternoon to administrate a yacht race. Calm morning breezes gave way to an ideal 10-15 knot sou’wester, and it would have been a clean start off Fort Adams in Narragansett Bay had not the Cookson 50, Chieftain, jumped the gun and crossed the line early. But Chieftain quickly exonerated herself, and joined the fleet as they rounded a pair of marks near the bay’s entrance before sailing out into the open Atlantic.

Former New York YC commodore Larry Huntington’s Snow Lion missed the pre-race Parade of Sail in Newport Harbor while a last-minute replacement to a balky transmission was installed, but the 50-footer was right in the fray when the starting gun sounded. Moments after, the Swan 62RS Albatros suffered the fleet’s first gear failure, reporting to the race committee that their main halyard had parted.

One week from today, the second start of the HSH Nordbank blue race will begin off Fort Adams. The three-boat class for the fleet’s largest yachts will consist of the 90-foot Rambler, skippered by Ken Read; the 80-foot Reichel/Pugh-designed BonBon; and the event’s largest entry, the Perini Navi 177-footer, Parsifal III.

http://www.hsh-nordbank-blue-race.com

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