The Atlantic Ocean will be a huge, shifting puzzle when the RORC Transatlantic Race Fleet slips off its moorings on Sunday in Lanzarote. It's 3,000 miles of pressure systems, trade winds and hard decisions.
Three of the best navigators in the sport will take on the challenge with radically different approaches, each adapted to the characteristics, limits, and latent speeds of the yachts beneath them.
All three have world-class credentials: Juan Vila, on the Carkeek Ino Noir, Will Oxley, aboard the Baltic 111 Raven designed by Botin, and Miles Seddon, navigating the MOD70 Zoulou. They will use their personal experiences and the boat they are sailing to guide them.
Vila is the embodiment of patience. "Ino noir is not as quick as the large maxis that I've worked with, and this changes everything," he said in Marina Lanzarote when the boat was being prepped for the race.
"On a faster boat, you can sail from one system of weather to the next. The America's Cup veteran said that on a smaller boat, you have to wait for the weather. Positioning becomes more important. His medium-range strategy focuses more on trade winds and currents than it does on distant weather systems.
Oxley must also manage a superyacht that can maintain speeds of 25-27 knots. Oxley, the man who guided Comanche to 2022 monohull world record, said: "The faster you are going, the more waves matter."
"We actively navigate?to avoid rough waters, even if it means sailing longer."
The first competitive Atlantic crossing by Australian Oxley is all about execution. We have been learning the boat for a long period of time and improving reliability. "Success is sailing to your full potential throughout the race, finishing with a healthy team and yacht and a time that compares well to recent benchmark runs."
Seddon faces a hybrid navigation and match-racing challenge on the MOD70, Zoulou. The Briton explained that with two boats such as Argo and Zoulou you're racing against each other just as much as it is the weather.
If you find a boat that is capable of 18 to 20 knots on flat water and has a full power, then the miles will disappear. All happens quickly. Before manoeuvres, we set limits for wind direction and strength. Communication is constant with only six crew members and plans must be clear.
Seddon says that discipline is more important than technology. Small risks are possible due to the high speeds and your ability to recover quickly. If you don't pay attention, it is possible to get off course.
Chris Jackson, race officer Chris Jackson, forecasts that the trade winds are well established and will allow for a direct Atlantic crossing. The fleet is likely to prefer the rhumb-line -- the constant-compass route between Lanzarote & the Caribbean -- rather than dive deep south towards Cape Verde. He anticipates a fast start at around 10 knots (18.5 kph), with a slight freshening in the afternoon.
Jackson said that after rounding the mark at Puerto Calero Marina crews can expect a lightening of the wind from the Canary Islands, before moving into more reliable conditions with trade winds offshore. He also warned about possible isolated squalls, which will require close monitoring.
The strength of each boat will determine how those variables are read and acted on. Vila, Oxley, and Seddon, for example, could all make very different tactical decisions across 3,000 nautical miles to the finish line in Antigua. (Reporting and editing by Clare Fallon; Ossian shine)
(source: Reuters)
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