Antigua
RORC Caribbean 600 : Paradox and Rambler 88 celebrate in Antigua
Wednesday 21 February 2018 –
"It was a hard race with good strong trades; 20-25 knots the whole way around the track. The whole boat was loaded up and we had to take extreme care," commented Rambler 88 owner George David. "We sailed a good race and didn’t leave much out there. Nobody got hurt and we didn’t break anything, all of which is good. Why did we beat the record Record #sailingrecord ? I think it might come down to evolution in design. Six years ago the conditions were similar, yet we are two and a half hours ahead of a 100ft boat. Boats just go faster; we made some modifications over the winter to Rambler 88. We draw 7 metres now and we took a ton and a half of displacement out of the boat. Its lighter and livelier and gets up and going quick. I want to thank the RORC and the people locally who are extremely welcoming. It is a nice place to come."
"The ride down from Tintamarre to Guadeloupe was at night, very fast, very wet and very intense," commented Paradox owner, Peter Aschenbrenner. "All-in-all, the conditions were just perfect for Paradox she loved it. This is what we dream about doing in the boat, and the combination of cruising Cruising #Cruising the boat for two weeks before the race gives that great juxtaposition (hence the name Paradox). The conditions we had in those big reaches was intense; the wave state was really big and there was a lot of wind. When you hit the wave crest with the cross-beam at 30 knots, it makes a kind-of explosive sound; the boat is moving around a lot and there is spray everywhere. Eleven is a great fleet of multihulls, and this is a great place to race them; you are going to be wet and it might as well be warm. It is a combination of great wind and great scenery, it is a wonderful course."
The USMMA Sailing Foundation’s American Volvo 70 Warrior, skippered by Steve Murray, finished the race shortly after dawn, just four hours after Rambler 88.
"Mr. Toad’s wild ride! A lot of fun and what the boat was made for. It’s a great boat, but an incredible team. We have been sailing together since our first race, the Antigua to Bermuda Race and we have really jelled as a team, anticipating each other’s moves. Good boat handling on this boat is impressive to watch."
Press info http://caribbean600.rorc.org
Track the race: http://caribbean600.rorc.org/Race-Information/Tracking/
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