DaimlerChrysler North Atlantic Challenge 2nd Race Start
by Dana Paxton 22 Jun 2003 08:50 BST
Bigger, Faster Five Join Race Across Atlantic
Zephyrus V, Windrose, UCA, HSH Nordbank and Team 888 set sails
Five of the world’s most exotic yachts departed Newport today at 2:10 p.m. (EDT) in the final group of entries in the DaimlerChrysler North Atlantic Challenge: Zephyrus V, owned by Robert McNeil of San Francisco, Calif.; Windrose, owned by Chris Gongriep of the Netherlands; UCA, owned by Klaus Murmann of Germany; Team 888, the re-named Kingfisher, chartered by Mark Denton and Jonny Malbon of the U.K.; and HSH Nordbank, the re-named Morning Glory. The five speedsters started the race in 10-12 knot winds under cloudy skies on Newport Harbor and within minutes Zephyrus V quickly charged ahead, leaving the large spectator fleet behind in its wake. The main group of 58 slower yachts
started on June 14 in this 3,600 nautical mile race across the Atlantic Ocean to Cuxhaven, Germany and on to Hamburg.
The New York Yacht Club race committee started the race ashore at Fort Adams State Park, with a starting line across Newport Harbor. Before departing Newport, Ian Moore of the U.K., a veteran of illbruck Round the World Race winner and the navigator onboard the 86-foot Zephyrus V was looking forward to the race and predicted a quick trip. “Ten days if we get the right weather pattern,” he said.
Onboard the 79-foot HSH Nordbank is Adam Ostenfeld, who competed in five America’s Cup campaigns with Dennis Conner. HSH Nordbank is the Ex-Morning Glory, formerly owned by Hasso Plattner, that broke records in the Cape-to-Rio and the Sydney-Hobart races. “We have put together a great
crew, some professionals, all with good experience,” said Ostenfeld. The brand new 85-foot UCA has 19 crew, including Tim Kröger, veteran of the French America’s Cup team Le Défi, and four-time around-the-globe navigator Juan Vila from Spain who was the number one navigator onboard illbruck.
The Open 60 Team888 has six crew onboard. Denton said that it will be a bit cramped as the boat was originally designed for one sailor, the petite powerhouse Ellen MacArthur. “The interior, everything really, is fit for a five-foot-three person, so even the nav [sic] station is a tight squeeze to get into,” he said. “We can't wait to race against some formidable opposition, on one of the fastest mono-hulls in the world."
After the finish, the fleet will continue on to Hamburg in celebration of
the 100th anniversary of the Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt, a
long-standing sailing club based there. Hourly updates of the fleet are
available on www.dcnac.de. After selecting the language, click on the link labeled “ranking list” on the right-hand side of the homepage for detailed data from each yacht including location, speed and fleet position based on
handicap ratings.