2018 RORC Transatlantic Race: Hydra happy in Grenada
by Louay Habib / RORC 10 Dec 2018 11:07 UTC
10 December 2018
Team Hydra Class40 finishes in Grenada: Pip Hare, Henrik Bergesen, Paul Peggs, Tristan Kinloch - 2018 RORC Transatlantic Race © RORC / Arthur Daniel
Henrik Bergesen's Norwegian Class40 Hydra, skippered by Tristan Kinloch, finished the RORC Transatlantic Race at 22:02:23 UTC on Sunday, 09 December in an elapsed time of 15 days 10 hours two minutes 23 seconds.
Hydra was runner-up in the Class40 Division to Catherine Pourre's Eärendil. Early in the race, Hydra was very much in contention for the class win until a rudder problem forced the team to make a pit stop in the Cape Verde Islands.
After completing the race, Hydra's team received a warm welcome on the dock from RORC CEO Eddie Warden Owen and Race Officer Steve Cole. Marina Manager Charlotte Bonin greeted the team with ice cold beers and presented the crew with a basket of Grenadian goods, including rum and chocolates, courtesy of the Grenada Tourism Authority.
It's been an epic race; absolutely fantastic," commented Henrik Bergesen dockside at Camper and Nicholsons Port Louis Marina. "I have had a great crew and we had perfect conditions. We had an issue with the rudder, but we came back and did a good job; we kept going and got back into second place, so I am very happy about that. After eating freeze dried food and desalinated water, the beer tastes really good. We are looking forward to some real food; barbecue chicken I think! After this race, we're well prepared for the RORC Caribbean 600 in February and it should also be great fun."
Stephane Bry's Class40 Sirius is expected to be the next boat to finish the RORC Transatlantic Race. As Hydra crossed the finish line, Sirius had approximately 200 miles to go and was expected to be in Camper and Nicholsons Port Louis Marina on Monday evening, 10 December.
Trevor Middleton's British Sun Fast 3600 Black Sheep was less than 400 miles from the finish and spoke with the RORC media team on Sunday 09 December at 1800 UTC. "We have about 48 hours to go. All is well on board and we are making good progress," commented Middleton. "This has been a cracking race with lots of great sailing," added Black Sheep's skipper, Jake Carter. "The crew have worked really, really hard and we are looking forward to celebrating when we arrive in Grenada."
Arto Linnervuo, skipper of Finnish Xp-44 Xtra-Staerk spoke by Satellite phone 380 miles from the finish."We are all fine on board," confirmed Arto. "We have about 17 knots of wind from the east and we are going well. We have plenty of food and water to give us the energy for the last miles. We have had a few small problems in the last few days so we have had decided to be conservative, but we are making good speed. It looks like we will finish at about sunset on Tuesday 11 December as long as the conditions are steady. We would like to congratulate everyone in the race. All of us have shared a fantastic experience and it couldn't have been better. We hope everyone has enjoyed the race as much as we have."
Benedikt Clauberg, owner of Swiss First 47.7 Kali spoke by satellite phone on Sunday 10 December, 670 miles from Grenada. "All is well on board Kali but last night we saw a rocket flair and turned around to investigate under engine, but we didn't find anything. We returned back to our original position and started sailing again. We are having great fun; it's all downwind with the spinnaker up. Everybody is safe and the sailing is brilliant!"
Find complete race results here