11th RORC Transatlantic Race launches the RORC centenary year
by Louay Habib/RORC 9 Jan 00:30 AEDT
12 January 2025
Teams are making preparations for their Atlantic race in Calero Marinas -Marina Lanzarote, Arrecife © James Mitchell
The 11th edition of the RORC Transatlantic Race begins on Sunday January 12th, 2025. An impressive, highly diverse fleet will depart Calero Marinas Marina Lanzarote to tackle the 3,000-mile oceanic race to Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina, Grenada.
Sailors from 19 nations, spanning Finland to Australia and the United States to Hong Kong, unite in the thrill of racing the Atlantic, and taking on their opponents in a test of endurance and ambition.
Organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) in partnership with the International Maxi Association and Yacht Club de France, the race marks the first and longest event of the RORC's Centenary Year.
The race for IRC overall victory
The coveted RORC Transatlantic Race Trophy is awarded through IRC time correction, ensuring any IRC-rated yacht has a chance of overall victory. Across its 10 editions, this rule has delivered electrifying class battles, with an overall champion emerging from every IRC division. To claim the RORC Transatlantic Trophy, a team must demonstrate unmatched teamwork, skill and resilience in varying conditions.
IRC Zero
Bryon Ehrhart's Juan K 88 Lucky (USA) is the highest IRC rated boat in the race and favourite for Monohull Line Honours and the IMA Transatlantic Trophy. Previously as Rambler 88, Lucky achieved a hattrick of monohull line honours wins in the Rolex Fastnet Race, but this is the boat's first RORC Transatlantic Race.
After IRC time correction, Lucky will need to pull out all the stops against the other maxis in IRC Zero and in so doing, keep alive an overall win under IRC. Lucky boasts a world-class crew from stem to stern, including Juan Vila as navigator. In the afterguard Brad Butterworth, Charlie Enright and Joca Signorini are a formidable combination. Rodney Daniel is running the pit and Peter Van Niekerk the bow.
The second highest IRC rated boat is VO65 Sisi (AUT), co-skippered by Gerwin Jansen & Oliver Kobale racing with a pro-am crew. After IRC time correction Sisi receives 190 minutes every 24 hours on Lucky. Assuming a 10 day elapsed time, Lucky needs to beat Sisi by about 1 day and 8 hours.
Christian Zugel's Volvo 70 Tschüss II (USA) is on a RORC winning streak having taken Line Honours and the overall win under IRC for the 2024 Roschier Baltic Sea Race. The all-pro crew features skipper Johnny Mordaunt, Campbell Field as navigator and two of the world's best ocean racers as watch captains; Stu Bannatyne and Neal McDonald. Assuming classic RORC Transatlantic Race conditions, Tschüss 2 will find it hard to match Lucky for boat speed, but after IRC time correction Tschüss 2 receives 232 minutes every 24 hours on Lucky. Assuming a 10 day elapsed time, Lucky needs to beat Tschüss 2 by about 1 day and 16 hours.
Maxis have won the RORC Transatlantic Race overall under IRC on four occasions. The most notable being the VPLP 100 Comanche, also setting the Monohull Race Record of 7 days 22 hrs 1 mins and 4 secs (2022). All three of the boats racing this year in IRC Zero have the capability of emulating Comanche's record run.
IRC One
The highest rated boat in IRC One is Hubert Wargny's Swan 78 Victoria (FRA), co-skippered by Christophe Fresson. Victoria will be competing under the burgee of the Yacht Club de France and its President, Philippe Héral will be racing on board along with his wife Nathalie.
The second highest rated boat in IRC One is Patrick Isoard's Finot Open 50 Santosha (FRA), which will be raced Two-Handed with François Moriceau. Isoard from La Trinité-sur-Mer has an enviable record racing solo or doublehanded; six Transatlantic Races in the last decade including winning the 2024 Solo Transat CIC Vintage Class and Quebec Saint Malo Vintage Crew Class.
James Neville's Carkeek 45 Ino Noir (GBR) is the smallest boat in IRC One, but in fast reaching conditions the all-carbon lightweight flyer has the potential to out-pace its classmates. James Neville, 2023 RORC Commodore, will be taking part in his first RORC Transatlantic Race as will Ino Noir, which has an all-British, tight-knit, experienced crew.
The youngest team in the 2025 RORC Transatlantic Race is the German JV52 Haspa Hamburg (GER), with nine of 12 crew members under 30. Owned by the Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt (HVS), which has trained young sailors on ocean yachts since 1903. The HVS has been racing with RORC for decades. Skipper for the 2025 RORC Transatlantic Race will be Wibke Borrmann, joined by her husband Lars and their daughter Inken, one of three 19-year-olds on board.
To win IRC One after time correction, assuming a 12 day elapsed time, Victoria will need to beat Haspa Hamburg by about 38 hours, Ino noir by about 30 hours, and Santosha by about 10 hours.
IRC Two and Class40
Two pocket-rocket Class40s will be racing under IRC for the race. Bridge Sailing's 2009 Owen Clarke designed Rock'n'Roll (GBR) is based at the Warsash Sailing Club on the River Hamble and will be racing four-up. Class40 Tquila (GBR) will be racing three-up. Tquila's Skipper Alister Richardson last completed the race a year ago, taking Multihull Line Honours on Jason Carroll's MOD70 Argo in under six and a half days. James McHugh will be at the helm for Tquila with David Vera completing the team. Rock 'n' Roll and Tquila have almost identical IRC Ratings but 10 years of design development for Tquila makes the boat hot favourite to be the first Class40 into Port Louis Grenada.
The IRC Record for the race was set in 2021 by Olivier Magre's Class40 Palanad 3 with a corrected time of 12 days 9 hrs 17 mins and 29 secs. Tquila is an identical Manuard Mach 40.4 design and given the right conditions, Tquila can challenge Palanad's record.
Jouko Kallio's Swan 651 Spirit of Helsinki (FIN) will race with an all-Finnish crew, many of which competed in the 2024 Ocean Globe Race, where Spirit of Helsinki came runner-up to Maiden after IRC time correction. The 65ft (19.95m) German Frers design was built in 1984 and competed in the '86 Whitbread as Fazer Finland. As the heaviest and longest water-line length in IRC Two by some margin, Spirit of Helsinki will have an advantage upwind and on a fetch in her class, especially after IRC time correction.
Andrew and Sam Hall's Lombard 46 Pata Negra (GBR) is no stranger to the RORC Transatlantic Race, having competed in five previous editions. Pata Negra has won its IRC Class on two occasions and came second overall in 2019. The father and son duo have put together a crew of seven from Great Britain, Ireland and Australia. Andrew Hall just celebrated his 75th birthday and is believed to be the oldest sailor in the race.
The JV44 Fujimo (POL) is co-skippered by Grzegorz Grabowski and Tomasz Kosobucki with an all Polish crew of four on board. Fujimo is well-travelled, completing both the 2023 Rolex Fastnet Race and 2024 Rolex Middle Sea Race. Fujimo has the lowest IRC Rating for the 2025 RORC Transatlantic Race, the highest rated boat, Maxi 88 Lucky, will give Fujimo over 10 hours per day in IRC time correction.
Multihulls
For a rundown of the Multihulls competing in the 2025 RORC Transatlantic Race, read the exclusive article: Multihull Class Chasing Lifelong Dreams
All of the competing boats in the 2025 RORC Transatlantic Race will be equipped with satellite trackers displaying their position, course and speed. Race fans will also be given a boat's estimated corrected time for the race, offering dynamic insights into class and overall standings throughout the race. To view the free YB Tracker go to the official website. For smartphones, go to your app store for the free YB Races download.
For more information visit the official website: rorctransatlantic.rorc.org
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