Transatlantic Race 2019 Fleet Growing Steadily As Early Entry Deadline Approaches
NEWPORT, R.I. — With the deadline for early entries—and a savings of $1,000 off the entry fee—approaching, the confirmed fleet for the Transatlantic Race 2019 includes a diverse group of 15 yachts from 42 to 78 feet in length. A handful of the entries for 2019 completed the 2015 race, including Constantin Claviez' Swan 441 Charisma (above), which hails from Hamburg, Germany.
"We're very encouraged by the early interest in the Transatlantic Race 2019," says event chair Patricia Young (Jamestown, R.I.), who competed in the 2011 edition of the race. "This is no small undertaking; successfully completing a transatlantic race is a pretty large feather in the cap of any sailor. The previous edition of the race, in 2015, produced some thrilling moments, including a 24-hour monohull record, and left every competitor with memories that will last a lifetime. We're expecting more of the same next summer."
The Transatlantic Race 2019 starts from Newport, R.I., on June 25, 2019, and finishes off Cowes, England. The course length of 2,960 nautical miles makes this event one of the longest yacht races open to both professional and amateur sailors. It will be the 31st transatlantic race organized, at least in part, by the New York Yacht Club. The Transatlantic Race 2019 is organized by the Royal Yacht Squadron, the New York Yacht Club, the Royal Ocean Racing Club and the Storm Trysail Club. The deadline for the early entry discount is Saturday, September 1.
A new addition to the 2019 race will be a doublehanded division. In 2015, a few entries in the 40-foot Class 40 division raced with just two sailors on board. But they were scored among all the other entries.
"We've had significant interest from sailors who would like to compete doublehanded," says Young. "We're more than pleased to acknowledge their persistence, endurance and teamwork with their own division and trophies."
An additional incentive for skippers considering the Transatlantic Race 2019 is that all entrants will also be guaranteed a spot in the 2019 Rolex Fastnet Race, which starts from Cowes on Sunday, August 18, 2019. This race has become one of the most popular distance events in the world, with the entry list filling up within minutes of entries opening.
Photo credits: © Daniel Forster/NYYC
Prospector Team To Mine for More Golden Moments in Transatlantic Race 2019
NEWPORT, R.I. — Faster boats and advanced weather forecasting technology have dramatically changed how sailors approach long ocean races such as the Transatlantic Race 2019, which will start from Newport, R.I., on Tuesday, June 25, 2019, and finish off the Royal Yacht Squadron's iconic castle in Cowes, England.
A century ago, ocean racing was a reactive sport, sailors took what Mother Nature dished out as it came. Now, bigger and faster boats enable teams to attack a course, aggressively searching for the strongest and most favorable winds. Of course, it’s not without risk.
In the Transatlantic Race 2015, the Prospector team found itself on the leading edge of a powerful weather system for much of the 3,000-mile passage from Newport, R.I., to England.
“We always had good pressure and knew when we needed more it was just off to our left,” says Paul McDowell, one of a consortium of owners based out of Eastern Long Island’s Shelter Island Yacht Club. “Playing with that weather system, which we took to calling ‘poking the bear,’ was tricky though. For one 36-hour period we got a little too close and ended up sailing in some really difficult conditions; 40- to 50-knot winds with huge breaking seas. In those 36 hours, we learned a lot about the boat, our crew and what not to do next time. We all look back on that now with mixed degrees of fondness and relief to have survived it.”
For ocean racers, the relief peaks when crossing the finish line, but the fondness grows slowly and eventually becomes the predominant emotion. Which explains why the Prospector team, with more than two years to reflect on that race, was among the first boats to officially sign-up for the Transatlantic Race 2019 and continue a tradition that dates back to the first transatlantic sailing competition, which started from New York Harbor on Christmas Day 1866.
The Transatlantic Race 2019 will be the 31st race between Europe and the United States organized, at least partially, by the New York Yacht Club. The Transatlantic Race 2019 is organized by the Royal Yacht Squadron, the New York Yacht Club, the Royal Ocean Racing Club and the Storm Trysail Club.
Read more: Prospector Team To Mine for More Golden Moments in Transatlantic Race 2019
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