Aragon finish RORC Transatlantic Race in style
by Louay Habib 8 Dec 2017 05:01 PST
8 December 2017
Happy to be in Grenada after a competitive race - Team Aragon dockside at C&N Port Louis Marina in the RORC Transatlantic Race © RORC / Arthur Daniel
The second boat to finish the 2017 RORC Transatlantic Race was Jochen Bovenkamp's Marten 72 Aragon, crossing the finish line in Grenada at 07 hrs 49 mins 37 secs UTC on Friday 8 December.
Completing the race in an elapsed time of 12 days 19 hrs 49 mins 37 secs, the powerful Maxi showed a tremendous turn of speed in the last 24 hours to power ahead of their close rivals. Aragon now takes the overall lead after IRC time correction for the RORC Transatlantic Race Trophy.
RORC Admiral, Andrew McIrvine and Port Louis Marina General Manager, Glynn Thomas welcomed Aragon and her team on arrival at Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina. Once safely docked, the crew enjoyed an ice-cold beer for the first time in nearly two weeks.
"It was a very enjoyable race with a real racing boat and a great crew. I have learnt so much," said Jochen Bovenkamp who had chartered the Marten 72 for the 4th edition of the race. "There are so many memorable moments from the race, especially sailing at 23 knots downwind with a wake like a speedboat at the stern - just incredible! Back in Germany it is very cold now, but we have had such a warm welcome in Grenada."
"This year we always had wind to sail into. The only barrier was the high pressure shortly after the start," explained Aragon's Boat Captain Nico Lecarpentier. "Aragon was chartered for this race, so we had some crew that were completely new to this type of boat. This is a real race for sure and in the last five days we pushed the hardest. The crew became a great unit and it was really tight racing with Outsider, Sorceress and Teasing Machine. We spent most of the race battling with them on the water. It is fantastic to arrive in Port Louis, surrounded by some of the world's largest superyachts, which is a little different to last year."
Aragon is the provisional overall leader for the RORC Transatlantic Race, completing the 3,000 nautical mile race over three hours quicker than their overall win in 2016. However, Eric de Turckheim's French Teasing Machine is currently 113 miles from the finish and is estimated to be on track to finish the race well ahead of Aragon's corrected time. Will Apold's Canadian Southern Wind 96 Sorceress and Tilmar Hansen's German Elliott 52 Outsider are all expected to finish the race later today.
Follow the fleet and watch the 2017 RORC Transatlantic Race unfold at rorctransatlantic.rorc.org
YB Race Tracker at rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/tracking/2017-fleet-tracking.html
Individual yachts, classes or the whole fleet can be tracked throughout the race