Zaraffa first to finish in DaimlerChrysler Race
by Dana Paxton 29 Jun 2003 19:28 BST
Skip Sheldon’s Zaraffa crossed the finish line in the DaimlerChrysler North Atlantic Challenge at 09:17:28 (UTC) Saturday and claimed the coveted “first ship home” title in this first-ever race from Newport to Germany. The passage took 13 days, 15 hours, 7minutes and 28 seconds. During the 3,618 nautical mile journey, the Reichel/Pugh 65 recorded a top speed of 25.7 knots. Sheldon’s wife Del and his two daughters, Greta and Zoe, joined hundreds of spectators onshore and on the
water in Cuxhaven to greet him and the crew: Mark Rudiger, Richard Clarke, Neal MacDonald, Richard Mason, Greg Gendell, Michael Joubert, Justin Clougher, Josh Adams, Dave Flynn; Geoff Ewenson and Rodger Erker.
“We were extremely lucky with our weather routing,” said Sheldon of
Shelburne, Vt., who at 73-years-old adds this title to an impressive sailing
record. “It is the key to any race.”
Rudiger, whom Sheldon describes as “the best navigator in the world”
described the race briefly. “The most difficult [part] was the start,” he
said. “We went up into the cold eddies when most of the others went further
south. We invested early and that paid off. This was a trip we expected to
be awful and it came out to be great.”
Shedon added, “It is not enough to have a fast boat and a good crew, you
also need very good crew management, which we had. We had six people
aboard, who have sailed with me for three years.”
The next boat due to finish is Tempest, chartered by Arthur Bugs Baer of
Madison, Conn.; Dr. F. Karl Van Devender of Nashville, Tenn.; and Dr.
William A. Dunn of Stuart, Fla. Tempest, projected to arrive the morning of
July 2, flies the burgee of the New York Yacht Club (NYYC) of which Baer and
Van Devender are members. Lawrence S. Huntington, commodore of NYYC, and
his yacht Snow Lion currently lie in third position overall with a projected
finish of July 2.
On IRC corrected time, Team888 (ex Kingfisher) is currently in the lead,
with a projected finish on July 4.
Zephyrus V has retired from the race citing rudder problems. Ian Moore, the
yacht's navigator, told race headquarters today, "This morning we damaged
our rudder bearing. We believe the damage to the bearing is containable and
should not deteriorate as long as we keep the bearing unloaded. We have
shortened sail considerably and at this time we are heading towards
Southampton." The race committee will continue to monitor the boat's
progress to shore. Also retired from the race is Meltemi, due to problems
with the electricity.
Follow the progress of the DaimlerChrysler North Atlantic Challenge fleet at
www.dcnac.de. After choosing the language (German or English), click on
“ranking list” for a spreadsheet of each boat’s statistics.