Estrella Damm set the New York Barcelona Record at 12 days 6 hours 3 minutes 48 seconds
· W Hotels’ around 50 miles behind, perhaps due to finish around 0700hrs UTC
12 days, 6 hours, 3 minutes and 48 seconds, is the mark for the sailing record books. Estrella Damm, the IMOCA Open 60, and the crew of Alex Pella (ESP), Pepe Ribes (ESP) and Stan Schreyer (USA) set the first record for the 3670 (orthodromic) miles passage under sail from New York to Barcelona very early this Wednesday morning when they crossed the finish line in front of the Catalan capital’s 26 story iconic glass W Hotel, at 00:37:06hrs UTC/ 02:37:06 local time Barcelona. They sailed an average speed of 12.48 knots
From the top storey of the avant garde new landmark, the blinking navigation lights of Estrella Damm could finally be slowly seen becoming more distinct through an otherwise foggy evening and night. As the trio crossed the finish line, set effectively by the transit of the peak of the sail-shaped hotel and the historic Tibidabo church, they finally brought to an end a passage which comprised two stages which contrasted sharply: a very fast crossing of the Atlantic and an almost painfully slow, exacting climb up the Mediterranean in capricious spring breezes, ending with a crawl to the finish line.
And as the upbeat, relieved Estrella Damm team stepped ashore close to the hotel which was built last year, one of the chain which bears the name of their New York to Barcelona record rivals, the eponymous IMOCA Open 60 with Pachi Rivero, Toño Piris and Peter Becker on board, was still making very slow progress, some 50 or so miles further out to sea.
While the Estrella Damm crew were pleased to have got home first there was considerable disappointment for the W Hotels team who put up a close fight all of the way across the Atlantic, mostly within 20 miles of their rivals until they were struck two successive body blows last Thursday and Friday.
First their port rudder mechanism was damaged by a wave, when they were in big winds to the north of Madeira, on the edge of a malicious low pressure system. Then, while they were repairing it, they were knocked over by a big wave as W Hotels broached.
As a result they lost more than 130 miles to be 168.5 miles behind on the 1700hrs GMT position report last Friday (16th). But the tenacious Piris, Rivero and Becker fought back on the approach to and into the Mediterranean, closing the gap again to 53.9 miles on by last Sunday lunchtime (18th).
But they were never able to get back on terms with Estrella Damm which had lead across the start line at Ambrose Light, and for the final one third of the route, they were always on the back foot.
Two boats, two seas, one record.
One of the targets of the New York – Barcelona Transoceanic Sailing Record challenge was to join the two cities by establishing a record route. The weather patterns which characterize both seas have proven a worthy challenge, and the record which has been established sets the bar at a high level.
In the Atlantic Estrella Damm and W Hotels enjoyed fast hand-to-hand combat, matching each other closely, high speed reaching only a few miles apart, pacing each other to high mileages. At first they rode the front of a low pressure system in classic style, in SW’ly winds before having a simple, slow but brief respite transiting a high pressure ridge, then moving to benefit from the boisterous conditions generated by a cut-off low pressure system situated between Madeira and the Iberian peninsula.
The duo left Ambrose Light led by Estrella Damm at 1833hrs UTC/(1433 NY Time) on Thursday April 8th in conditions more reminiscent of summer, light winds and sunshine as they departed New York but were soon fast reaching out into the Atlantic in 18-25 knot winds. The first few days allowed high averages, regularly in the realms of 20 knots, and between the 9th and 11th April they surpassed 400 miles in 24 hours reaching 462 miles on the first Saturday, only 38.7 miles off the 24 hours world record set by Alex Thomson and Andrew Cape during the 2007 Barcelona World Race.
It was the ability to cross the high pressure ridge in a single day as much as the speed on the depressions which contributed to their very high speed to Gibraltar. The average of more than 15 knots was set for the passage to Gibraltar, crossing the Atlantic in a time which compared favorably with 2925 miles Ambrose Light to the Lizard passage 60 footers record, held at 7 days and 23 hours by Bernard Stamm (SUI). They were around a day quicker for the same mileage and surpassed Stamm’s 13.79 knots average considerably. That was until the Mediterranean slow down.
While the best run was in excess of 460 miles in 24 hours, by comparison it took about three days and 10 hours to cover the 528 miles to from Gibraltar to Barcelona. But a new record has been set, a new chapter in sailing history opened with the New York – Barcelona Transoceanic Sailing Record, and both cities have contributed to an exciting new ocean racing benchmark which could prove hard to beat.
(All times are provisional and subject to ratification by WSSRC
