tel: +44 (0)2380 456205


23rd July 2015« All News Items

The Red Ensign Azores and Back Race

The 2,400 mile Red Ensign Azores And Back (AZAB) Race took place in June. This  epic race, specifically for single-handed or double-handed race crews is sailed over two legs, with Leg One raced from Falmouth to Ponta Del Garda in the Azores and Leg Two is raced back to Falmouth. Two clients of Ultimate Sails took part in the 2015 edition.

 

Ultimate Sails’ Director, Paul Hooker joined his long-time double handed sailing partner Simon Costain have long looked forward to the AZAB. They raced Simon’s Class 40 together for several years and in 2013, with the AZAB race firmly in his sights, Simon bought Xanadu, an X-50 specifically for the race. During the Autumn and winter of 2013-14, Xanadu was furnished with a Mainsail, a Code 2 Jib, a Staysail, a Code 4 Asymmetric kite, an IRC Code Zero plus a storm jib and Tri Sail, all by Ultimate Sails.

 

James Mansell (a client of Ultimate Sails) and his crew Eric Zon raced the Jeanneau SO37 Dreamcatcher in the 2015 race. James and Eric met during the 2014 Three Peaks Yacht Race, performed well and subsequently formed an indomitable partnership for the AZAB. Dreamcatcher is equipped with a new mainsail, genoa and spinnaker by Ultimate Sails. 

 

Dreamcatcher

 

The fleet faced extremely tough and challenging conditions during Leg One starting in Falmouth in big breeze and then sailing straight into a full Atlantic storm. It’s not a race for the fainthearted and a number of boats were unfortunately forced to retire.

 

Paul Hooker explained a little about the challenges that faced the fleet; 

 

We had all done our own weather routing, of course, but at the briefing we were pre-warned about the conditions and about the sea state in particular. We all seem to get over the continental shelf without too much difficulty but at around 300 miles in to the race we had full-on conditions from behind with big breaking waves at our transoms and a really confused sea state with side waves that picked the boat up and threw the transom around. We saw around 35-38 AWS so 40-45Kts TWS quite consistently. This was then followed by some great conditions with lighter winds until the last stages of the approach to the Azores which proved to be a car Park for our part of the fleet! We ended up with a large bunch just off the island (and within sight of the bar!) for around ten hours in glassy seas and no wind. We finally crossed the finish line for Leg One at 0.3knots at 04.30am.

 

Conditions were a little easier for Leg Two, according to Paul.

 

We started Leg Two in a nice breeze for the first two hours but then we all parked up for the night and in the morning crept slowly away from the island. Leg Two was mostly sailed in light airs. We drifted in to the finish in Falmouth at 0200 to be met by the race management’s RIB. We were shepherded into Falmouth Marina and given two bottles of specially brewed AZAB beer which sent us both straight to sleep.’

 

Xanadu’s aggregate or ‘overall’ result at the end of the two legs was eleventh in Class 1. James and Eric also put in a mighty show on board Dreamcatcher, and topping Class 4 at the finish line for Leg One and with a final finishing position of second in Class 4 at the end of the race.

 

Congratulations to Simon, James, Eric, Paul and all the other competitors who completed this brutal race from all at Ultimate Sails.

 

 

Unit 20 Hamble Yacht Services
Port Hamble
Southampton, SO31 4NN
+44 (0)2380 456205