The Royal Yacht Squadron is delighted to announce the inaugural Biscay Race that forms part of the Atlantic Ocean Racing Series (AORS) in which competitors are required to take part in three races, including the Transatlantic Race (TR 2011), to qualify for a series victory. The Biscay Race is also open to any yacht only wishing to compete in this historic race.

Organised by the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes, England, with the assistance of Real Club Náutico de Sanxenxo in Northern Spain, the Biscay Race will start from the Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) line at midday on Sunday 11th September and finish off the yacht club in Sanxenxo. The Notice of Race and Entry Form are now available online at: www.rys.org.uk

RYS Commodore Yachting, David Aisher explains the RYS’ foray into offshore racing: “When the New York Yacht Club first announced that they wished to join with RYS, RORC and the Storm Trysail Club to form the AORS, the Royal Yacht Squadron was the only club that did not have a race that was a part of this new circuit. On the East side of the Atlantic, the RORC was the Organising Authority for the Rolex Fastnet and was also a part of the Rolex Middle Sea Race. Between the two races was a large gap in the sailing calendar that we felt was an ideal opportunity for the RYS to run its first offshore race. The RYS has for many years been organising some of the best inshore regattas in the UK and for us, to be a true part of this new AORS event, we needed to show that we could also run a first rate offshore event as well. This is not an attempt to compete with the RORC or any other of the excellent offshore clubs, but is our contribution to this exciting racing series.”

Newport, R.I. USA (July 5, 2011) – The Maxi Yachts that started on July 3 from Newport, R.I. to The Lizard in southeast England have been making fantastic progress in the Transatlantic Race 2011.  Little in the way of tactics have come into play thus far, as all six yachts in IRC Class One have been taking the direct route, coaxing every knot of speed out of their powerful machines.

Rambler 100 has been averaging close to 20 knots and with just under 2000 miles to go is predicted to finish on the 10th of July.  The Juan Kouyoumdjian-designed 100’ canting keel maxi is on course to set an exceptional benchmark for a transatlantic.

“Great sailing, so far, aboard Rambler 100,” said navigator Peter Isler (San Diego, Calif.), confirming by satellite link that Rambler 100 is fully in the groove.  “By our calculations we did a 464-mile 24-hour run from the start.  That's a 19.3 knot average!  Great sailing for sure.  We've had basically the same sail combination up since turning the corner at Nantucket Shoals.”

On the water Rambler 100’s nearest competitor is PUMA Mar Mostro, skippered by Ken Read (Newport, R.I.).  PUMA has taken up a slightly more northerly position and is in good breeze, however, the Point Alpha ice gate is looming and the Volvo 70 may need to alter course towards the east to leave the mark of the course to port.  Nearly one hundred miles behind Rambler 100, ICAP Leopard, skippered by Clarke Murphy (New York, N.Y.), is south of the rhumb line and enjoying better breeze than the two rivals in front.  Even at this early stage in the race, it looks as though Rambler 100 will take the spoils -- as long as they do not suffer any major gear failure.