Cowes, England (August 12, 2011) – With the presentation of the awards this week at the Royal Yacht Squadron’s Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight, the cast of players has taken its final bow, and the production that was the Transatlantic Race 2011 has closed to rave reviews.  The race made history with the establishment of a new record – crossing 2,975 miles of ocean from Newport, R.I. to The Lizard on the south coast of England – and was the result of a successful collaboration between the Royal Yacht Squadron (founded in 1815), the New York Yacht Club (1844), the Royal Ocean Racing Club (1925) and the Storm Trysail Club (1938).
 
A twenty-one gun salute greeted HRH the Princess Royal, President of the Royal Yachting Association, as she arrived at Cowes Castle for the official Prize Giving Reception.  The Princess Royal’s father, HRH Prince Phillip, has been the Admiral of the Royal Yacht Squadron for over 40 years and Princess Anne seemed very much at home as she was introduced to the honored guests before presenting the trophies.
 

Also officiating at the awards ceremony were the Commodores of the four organizing entities:  Michael Campbell of the Royal Yacht Squadron, Robert C. Towse, Jr. of the New York Yacht Club, Andrew McIrvine of the Royal Ocean Racing Club and Eric Kreuter of the Storm Trysail Club.
 

Newport, R.I. USA (July 22, 2011) – As “an extended adventurous voyage,” the odyssey that is the Transatlantic Race 2011 was a defining event in ocean racing, as well as in the lives of the sailors aboard the 26 competing yachts.  The race made history with the establishment of a new record – crossing 2,975 miles of ocean from Newport, R.I. to The Lizard on the south coast of England – and was the result of a successful collaboration between the Royal Yacht Squadron (founded in 1815), the New York Yacht Club (1844), the Royal Ocean Racing Club (1925) and the Storm Trysail Club (1938).

“This race will bring together generations, to build character and to reaffirm values,” said Commodore Robert C. Towse, Jr., during the send-off celebration held at New York Yacht Club’s Harbour Court clubhouse two days before the first yachts departed.  “The cold North Atlantic may test that purpose, but at The Lizard finish those boats and their crews will have earned one of the hardest of sailing distinctions.”

On June 26, cannon fire from the iconic Castle Hill Lighthouse signaled the beginning of the historic ocean adventure.  It was the first of three staggered starts, implemented so that yachts ranging in size from 40’ to 289’ would finish off The Lizard in close proximity to one another.  And, over the three weeks the yachts were at sea, thousands of armchair sailors were captivated by the drama as it unfolded.  Using state-of-the-art satellite communication systems, life onboard was beamed to a global audience as the competing yachts raced across the desolate North Atlantic.  An ice gate established by the Race Committee prevented the fleet from going too far north, but sea temperatures lower than 4º Celsius were recorded during the race and sea fog obscured the sun for days on end.

Newport, R.I. USA (July 18, 2011) – Experiencing the roughest weather conditions of any yacht in the Transatlantic Race 2011, Sasha, skippered by Albrecht and Erika Peters (Munich, Germany), crossed the finish line at The Lizard at 20:10 UTC on 17 July.  At sea for over 22 days, the husband and wife team sailed their 1970 Sparkman & Stephens-designed wooden yacht with another couple, Christine Beech and Ron Melton of Picton, New Zealand.  With Sasha’s finish, all 26 of the yachts which left Newport, R.I. over the course of three staggered starts have now successfully completed the Transatlantic Race 2011.

As Sasha approached the finish, a storm took hold in the Western Approaches generating very high waves with overhanging crests; large patches of foam turning the sea white with rage; and large amounts of airborne spray that dramatically reduced visibility.

Newport, R.I. USA (July 17, 2011) – Jacqueline IV, the McCurdy & Rhodes 42' skippered by Robert Forman (Bay Shore, N.Y.), with daughter Kara Forman (San Francisco, Calif.) as navigator, crossed the finish line of The Transatlantic Race 2011 on 16 July at 15:29:08 UTC and currently stands third overall in IRC Class Four.

However, Sasha, skippered by Albrecht and Erika Peters (Munich, Germany), has until approximately 16:10 UTC on 17 July to bump Jacqueline IV out of the last podium position in the class, and, as of 10:00, had 63.4 miles to go and was making well over seven knots in northwesterly winds.  The day’s spectacular conditions in the southwest approaches to The Lizard – 30 knots of wind gusting to near gale force with 15’ waves – will provide Sasha a wild downwind sleigh ride as the final finisher of The Transatlantic Race 2011.

Newport, R.I. USA (July 16, 2011) – Crossing the finish line in rain and fog, Dawn Star, the C&C 46 skippered by William Hubbard (New York, N.Y.), finished the Transatlantic Race 2011 at 22:03:51 UTC on July 15.  Throughout its 20 day crossing, Dawn Star sent regular blog updates – covering everything from “parking lots” in the North Atlantic to fixing problems onboard – which was continued right to the end of the race.

“With five miles to go, we hailed the race committee who were standing by in the Lizard Point Lighthouse waiting to mark our arrival across the finish line,” reported Hubbard.  “As we sailed into the gloomy night, we were buoyed by the possibility of a win on this long race.  As the time passed, we practiced taking bearings from the bow so we could announce our arrival across the line per the race committee's instructions.  Approaching the line, we shined a spotlight on our sail numbers to help the race committee spot us on the line.

Newport, R.I. USA (July 15, 2011) – Today’s riddle, “where can you find the Prodigy, the Snow Lion, and the Dragon?,” can be correctly answered “at The Lizard,” as these yachts, plus 13 more, today crossed the finish line for the Transatlantic Race 2011 at Lizard Point on the south coast of England. 

Of the 16 yachts that completed the 2,975 mile race in the early hours of the day, 10 departed Newport, R.I., during the second of the three staggered starts aimed at having the boats arrive in England in close proximity to one another.  That goal was realized starting at 2:58 UTC when Ambersail concluded their race across the North Atlantic and started a procession that would keep the race committee busy for the next four hours.  Beau Geste followed 19 minutes later, then Vanquish at 3:25, Sojana at 3:38, Varuna at 3:58, Shakti at 4:01 and Scho-ka-kola at 4:04.  There was a 20 minute respite for the race committee before the parade resumed, with Concise and Prodigy arriving within five minutes of each other, and another half hour break before Norddeutsche Vermoegen Hamburg, Dragon, and Ourson Rapide finished in rapid succession.  By 6:44 Snow Lion, Nordwind, British Soldier and Carina had received their welcome from the race committee as well.  

As predicted, it was a nerve-jangling finale for several yachts, none more so than British Soldier and Carina: after 17 days of racing the two yachts (competing in IRC Class Four) arrived just a minute apart at The Lizard.