Cape to Rio 2023

[shebeen]

seems to be very little hype about this, both locally and abroad. Due to covid it coincided with the St Helena race this year, but not sure how many boats would have done both.

doesn't seem like champagne downwind conditions for this edition, yet still quite a few retirements pulled into St Helena.

https://cape2riorace.com/

 

[lostmydetailsagain]

Probably has to do with a lack of "headline acts" and possibly the number of entrants as well. I could not find any teams that have a track record of performing globally. I mean with Leopard, Rambler, Zephyrus, Black Pearl you had teams that would make headlines at every event they attended for one. And with the RORC Transat, all of a sudden there's a transatlantic race that is pretty much at the same time but gets your race boat from Europe to Carieb on a more direct route (and with this year's conditions looks like a no brainer).
It seems that only a few programs outside of the region might still consider it because of the history with a large number of entrants. And perhaps really only those that have a new built in SA and what to get it to the Carib and/or East Coast (a bit like that new Balance catamaran)

 

[ol70]

Congrats to Norhi for taking line honors this morning! She’s a gorgeous Balance 526 MkII sailed by her family, finish 200+ ahead of a very nice race prepared Outremer 51 also sailed by an accomplished racer and his family.

 

[Rangi]

First mono to finish is looking like the only single handed sailor to ever complete the race, and in the smallest boat in the field I think. An impressive result.

 

[TheDragon]

Indeed, on a 34-ft boat named Atalanta, a JPK 1030, see this review by Pip Hare. Holding off a Beneteau First 44.7, a Finot 16m, and a Swan 65, all crewed.

JPK 1030 test: The intuitive French flier that’s easy for couples to control

Pip Hare feels right at home on the JPK 1030 – a quick, no-nonsense boat that’s ideal for short-handers and cruising couples

www.yachtingworld.com

 

[ol70]

Hell of a finish coming up

 

[TheDragon]

The Beneteau Ray-of-Light pipped Atalanta to the line by an hour, but Atalanta has the corrected handicap win by 2.5 DAYS!

 

[Trovão]

Congrats to Norhi for taking line honors this morning! She’s a gorgeous Balance 526 MkII sailed by her family, finish 200+ ahead of a very nice race prepared Outremer 51 also sailed by an accomplished racer and his family.

plus some pros, afaik. not trying to diminish their acomplishment at all...

 

[ol70]

plus some pros, afaik. not trying to diminish their acomplishment at all...

Just some extra details...The Outremer had a crew of 6, the Balance had a crew of 9. The Balance finish 29 hours ahead and sailed an additional 161 nautical miles to do so even though the Outremer was the boat favored to win (it was handicapped owning the Balance 12 hours at the finish). The Balance also weighed in over 4,000 pounds heavier than the Outremer, not including the larger crew and all their gear.

Both boats are pretty awesome cruising machines and were sailed very well by their Captains.

 

[jmh2002]

I made the comment in another thread that I wondered if the Outremer, supposedly stripped for racing, would be able to be sailed to it's potential in this event?

Not trying to take anything away from the Balance (in fact maybe the opposite in this case) but it's one thing to have a fast boat (by it's rating) and another thing to sail it to this rating, over an extended period, across a large ocean.

- it may be that 9 vs 6 crew helped with this
- it may be that the Balance, although more in cruising trim than the Outremer, was easier to extract performance from
- it may be that the Balance is also a very fast boat (in fact we know it is)

So there are a lot of different factors at play.

But certainly on ocean crossings, either racing or cruising, having a boat that enables you to more easily keep the average performance up is very important.

 

[ol70]

I made the comment in another thread that I wondered if the Outremer, supposedly stripped for racing, would be able to be sailed to it's potential in this event?

Not trying to take anything away from the Balance (in fact maybe the opposite in this case) but it's one thing to have a fast boat (by it's rating) and another thing to sail it to this rating, over an extended period, across a large ocean.

- it may be that 9 vs 6 crew helped with this
- it may be that the Balance, although more in cruising trim than the Outremer, was easier to extract performance from
- it may be that the Balance is also a very fast boat (in fact we know it is)

So there are a lot of different factors at play.

But certainly on ocean crossings, either racing or cruising, having a boat that enables you to more easily keep the average performance up is very important.

For what it’s worth I messaged with Larry the captain of Norhi and he said the winds were pretty light the majority of the crossing.

They hit 28.1 knots top speed and when they did have a brief pocket of wind they averaged 15.8knots over a 6 hour period. I definitely can see how having 3 extra crew could be advantageous in such a long race. He plans on entering some more regattas in the Caribbean and racing some more before heading to the South Pacific in ‘24.

And of course I’m admittedly 100% biased because Larry and Norhi are our friends. : )

 

[lostmydetailsagain]

For what it’s worth I messaged with Larry the captain of Norhi and he said the winds were pretty light the majority of the crossing.

They hit 28.1 knots top speed and when they did have a brief pocket of wind they averaged 15.8knots over a 6 hour period. I definitely can see how having 3 extra crew could be advantageous in such a long race. He plans on entering some more regattas in the Caribbean and racing some more before heading to the South Pacific in ‘24.

And of course I’m admittedly 100% biased because Larry and Norhi are our friends. : )

Without wanting to take anything away from the performance of any of the competitors and especially the family on board of Norhi.
How much can we include the owner's team of husband, wife and two kids in the crew and how much would it have been a learning trip? I honestly got no idea and the pros brought on board, for me, would have been high on the list for their seamanship skills first and foremost.

Regardless, for a boat that has done a few trials in CT, the qualifier (in 40kts) and then the race itself: a fantastic achievement by the owning family and their supporting friends/crew as well as the yard and their suppliers. What a way to start the new experience and new project!

Oh, and please let it be clear I am being envious here as I'm on the forum rather than sailing. So a case of missing out and wishing more of us could be out on a boat (of any kind and in any shape/form)

 

[Trovão]

For what it’s worth I messaged with Larry the captain of Norhi and he said the winds were pretty light the majority of the crossing.

They hit 28.1 knots top speed and when they did have a brief pocket of wind they averaged 15.8knots over a 6 hour period. I definitely can see how having 3 extra crew could be advantageous in such a long race. He plans on entering some more regattas in the Caribbean and racing some more before heading to the South Pacific in ‘24.

And of course I’m admittedly 100% biased because Larry and Norhi are our friends. : )

Same goes here - I am friend with Hans and his family, the Outremer owners

 

[Trovão]

For what it’s worth I messaged with Larry the captain of Norhi and he said the winds were pretty light the majority of the crossing.

They hit 28.1 knots top speed and when they did have a brief pocket of wind they averaged 15.8knots over a 6 hour period. I definitely can see how having 3 extra crew could be advantageous in such a long race. He plans on entering some more regattas in the Caribbean and racing some more before heading to the South Pacific in ‘24.

And of course I’m admittedly 100% biased because Larry and Norhi are our friends. : )

According to Hans Hutzler, the Outremer owner/capitain, Norhi was driven in a much more "agressive" (for the lack of a better word) way than Aventureiro 4 (the Outremer). And Norhi supposedly had high speed Internet, which allowed them to download more frequent and detailed weather gribs. Again, not diminishing Norhi's accomplishment. Congrats for them on the win!