Hamilton, Bermuda: October 23, 2018: The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club announces that the third edition of the Antigua Bermuda Race will start on the May 8, 2019 and will be part of the 2019 Atlantic Ocean Racing Series (AORS).
The 2019 Atlantic Ocean Racing Series will consist of five races: RORC Caribbean 600, Antigua Bermuda Race, Transatlantic Race 2019, Rolex Fastnet Race, and Rolex Middle Sea Race. Three races, including the Transatlantic Race (weighted 1.5) will be required to qualify.
"The TR 2019 committee unanimously thinks adding the Antigua Bermuda Race to the AORS is a splendid idea and should benefit all the races included. We are very excited about the enhancement to the series," commented Co-chair Patti Young.
Read more: Antigua Bermuda Race selected for Atlantic Ocean Racing Series
NEWPORT, R.I. — With the deadline for early entries—and a savings of $1,000 off the entry fee—approaching, the confirmed fleet for the Transatlantic Race 2019 includes a diverse group of 15 yachts from 42 to 78 feet in length. A handful of the entries for 2019 completed the 2015 race, including Constantin Claviez' Swan 441 Charisma (above), which hails from Hamburg, Germany.
"We're very encouraged by the early interest in the Transatlantic Race 2019," says event chair Patricia Young (Jamestown, R.I.), who competed in the 2011 edition of the race. "This is no small undertaking; successfully completing a transatlantic race is a pretty large feather in the cap of any sailor. The previous edition of the race, in 2015, produced some thrilling moments, including a 24-hour monohull record, and left every competitor with memories that will last a lifetime. We're expecting more of the same next summer."
The Transatlantic Race 2019 starts from Newport, R.I., on June 25, 2019, and finishes off Cowes, England. The course length of 2,960 nautical miles makes this event one of the longest yacht races open to both professional and amateur sailors. It will be the 31st transatlantic race organized, at least in part, by the New York Yacht Club. The Transatlantic Race 2019 is organized by the Royal Yacht Squadron, the New York Yacht Club, the Royal Ocean Racing Club and the Storm Trysail Club. The deadline for the early entry discount is Saturday, September 1.
A new addition to the 2019 race will be a doublehanded division. In 2015, a few entries in the 40-foot Class 40 division raced with just two sailors on board. But they were scored among all the other entries.
"We've had significant interest from sailors who would like to compete doublehanded," says Young. "We're more than pleased to acknowledge their persistence, endurance and teamwork with their own division and trophies."
An additional incentive for skippers considering the Transatlantic Race 2019 is that all entrants will also be guaranteed a spot in the 2019 Rolex Fastnet Race, which starts from Cowes on Sunday, August 18, 2019. This race has become one of the most popular distance events in the world, with the entry list filling up within minutes of entries opening.
Photo credits: © Daniel Forster/NYYC
NEWPORT, R.I. — Faster boats and advanced weather forecasting technology have dramatically changed how sailors approach long ocean races such as the Transatlantic Race 2019, which will start from Newport, R.I., on Tuesday, June 25, 2019, and finish off the Royal Yacht Squadron's iconic castle in Cowes, England.
A century ago, ocean racing was a reactive sport, sailors took what Mother Nature dished out as it came. Now, bigger and faster boats enable teams to attack a course, aggressively searching for the strongest and most favorable winds. Of course, it’s not without risk.
In the Transatlantic Race 2015, the Prospector team found itself on the leading edge of a powerful weather system for much of the 3,000-mile passage from Newport, R.I., to England.
“We always had good pressure and knew when we needed more it was just off to our left,” says Paul McDowell, one of a consortium of owners based out of Eastern Long Island’s Shelter Island Yacht Club. “Playing with that weather system, which we took to calling ‘poking the bear,’ was tricky though. For one 36-hour period we got a little too close and ended up sailing in some really difficult conditions; 40- to 50-knot winds with huge breaking seas. In those 36 hours, we learned a lot about the boat, our crew and what not to do next time. We all look back on that now with mixed degrees of fondness and relief to have survived it.”
For ocean racers, the relief peaks when crossing the finish line, but the fondness grows slowly and eventually becomes the predominant emotion. Which explains why the Prospector team, with more than two years to reflect on that race, was among the first boats to officially sign-up for the Transatlantic Race 2019 and continue a tradition that dates back to the first transatlantic sailing competition, which started from New York Harbor on Christmas Day 1866.
The Transatlantic Race 2019 will be the 31st race between Europe and the United States organized, at least partially, by the New York Yacht Club. The Transatlantic Race 2019 is organized by the Royal Yacht Squadron, the New York Yacht Club, the Royal Ocean Racing Club and the Storm Trysail Club.
Read more: Prospector Team To Mine for More Golden Moments in Transatlantic Race 2019
Sailing's greatest Corinthian challenge has confirmed the start date for its next edition; and this time, every competitor will depart Newport, R.I., on the same day. The entire Transatlantic Race 2019 fleet will cross the starting line on Tuesday, June 25, 2019, bound for the southern coast of England. A virtual gate off Lizard Point will enable teams to challenge the course record for this historic passage, but the official finish will take place off the Royal Yacht Squadron's waterfront castle in Cowes, England.
The Transatlantic Race 2019, which is organized jointly by the Royal Yacht Squadron, New York Yacht Club, Royal Ocean Racing Club and Storm Trysail Club, is a direct descendant of the first great transatlantic ocean race (at right), which started from New York Harbor on December 11, 1866. In the years since, this course has been plied with less frequency than other, shorter offshore race tracks; the 2019 edition will be just the 31st transatlantic race organized by the New York Yacht Club. Because of that, and the fact that a race from the United States to Europe (or the return) is virtually guaranteed at least one significant storm, simply finishing a transatlantic race remains one of sailing's most coveted accomplishments.
"Faster boats and evolving communications technology have aggressively shrunk the number of places where a team of sailors can truly feel they are alone against the elements," said NYYC Commodore Philip A. Lotz. "The North Atlantic remains one of the great wild places on this earth. In 2011, the four organizing clubs made a commitment to running the Transatlantic Race on a quadrennial schedule. The rise in interest from 2011 to 2015 is an indication that the thirst for true adventure still runs strong within our sport. We're excited to carry on this historic tradition, which dates back to the first quarter century of the New York Yacht Club."
Read more: One Great Challenge, One Great Start for Transatlantic Race 2019
(July 31, 2015) – If the Transatlantic Race 2015 were easy, to borrow a popular expression, it wouldn’t be nearly as worthwhile an experience. So the energy level was high last Friday, July 24, as competitors, race officials and dignitaries gathered at the Royal Yacht Squadron’s Castle, in Cowes, England, to honor the winners, recount a few sea stories and celebrate the shared experience of racing across one of the planet’s least hospitable bodies of water.
A nearly 50 percent increase in entries from 2011, the last time this race was run, shows that interest in long-distance blue-water racing remains high. The six starters that failed to finish due to a variety of technical issues are an equally strong indication that despite modern materials, construction techniques and communication technology, racing from Newport, R.I. to The Lizard off the southwestern tip of England isn’t getting any easier.
“The weather was the dominant feature of the race,” said Event Co-Chair George David, New York Yacht Club, who also raced in the event onboard his Rambler 88. “For the [Start 2] starters, they had great wind the whole way across, in some cases more wind than people wanted.”
- Day 19 Race Report: Curtain Closes on Transatlantic Race 2015
- Day 18 Race Report: Lucky Claims Top Honors in Transatlantic Race 2015
- Cowes Social Events
- Day 17 Race Report: Further Podium Positions Decided
- Day 16 Race Report: 60 Knot Winds, Record Boat Speeds and an Outstanding Classic
- Day 15 Race Report: The Fast and the Furious Reach The Lizard
- Day 14 Race Report: Top Results for Germany
- Day 13 Race Report: War Stories of the Giants, Comanche Sets New 24 Hour Record
- Day 12 Race Report: Line Honors and Bragging Rights for Lucky
- Day 11 Race Report: Tricky Finish Ahead for Lucky
- Day 10 Race Report: Storm-Force Winds in the Mid-Atlantic
- Day 9 Race Report: Gales and Flat Calms in the Atlantic
- Day 8 Race Report: Stop-Start Transatlantic Race
- Third Start Report: Final Four Make Lasting Impression
- Day 7 Report: Halfway Back to the Old Country
- Day 6 Report: From the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave
- Day 5 Report: Next Stop Europe
- Final Start: Third Time’s a Charm
- Day 4 Race Report: Second Time Lucky
- The Largest Group is On its Way
- Day 3 Race Report: Bigger is Better
- Second of Three Starts: Age is Just a Number
- Day 2 Race Report: Two Schools of Thought
- Day 1 Race Report: Stomach-Churning Opening Night
- First of Three Starts: Off and Running!
- TR 2015 Roster of Entries Starting on June 28
- The Long and Short of The Transatlantic Race
- For Two Teams, the TR2015 is a Family Affair
- Dorade’s Quest to Repeat her 1931 Transatlantic Race Victory
- An Adventure of a Lifetime: the Transatlantic Race 2015
- Class 40s Go Transatlantic: Little Boats, Big Ocean, Intense Competition
- Sailing Heavyweights To Battle Across the Atlantic in 2015
- Transatlantic Race 2015 Fleet Expanded Due to Significant Interest
- A Course of Legend...
- Transatlantic Race 2015 Schedule
- Organizing Clubs Announce Atlantic Ocean Racing Series Results, Look Ahead to 2015
- Transatlantic Race 2015 NOR
- Transatlantic Race 2015 Entry Form & Expression of Interest