Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race

The Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race (STAR) is an east-to-west yacht race across the North Atlantic. When inaugurated in 1960, it was the first single-handed ocean yacht race; it is run from Plymouth to the United States, and has generally been held on a four yearly basis.

Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race
First held1960
OrganizerRoyal Western Yacht Club
Typesingle-handed offshore race
StartPlymouth
FinishNewport, RI
ChampionsJeroboam
Jonathan Green
Websitehttps://rwyc.org/ostar/
https://www.thetransat.com/

The race is organised by the Royal Western Yacht Club and was originally sponsored by the UK-based Observer newspaper, and known as the Observer Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race; due to changes in sponsorship, it has been known as the CSTAR, Europe 1 STAR, and the Europe 1 New Man STAR. After the 2000 edition, the RWYC took the decision to split the race into two events, one using smaller boats and intended for amateurs and young sailors, the other for professionals. The amateur event was raced as The OSTAR ("Original STAR") from 2005.[1] The professional version was raced as The Transat from 2004.

The 2020 races were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]

History

The Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race was conceived by Herbert "Blondie" Hasler in 1956. The whole idea of a single-handed ocean yacht race was a revolutionary concept at the time, as the idea was thought to be extremely impractical; but this was especially true given the adverse conditions of their proposed route — a westward crossing of the north Atlantic Ocean, against the prevailing winds.

Hasler sought sponsorship for a race, but by 1959, no-one had been prepared to back the race. Finally, though, The Observer newspaper provided sponsorship, and in 1960, under the management of the Royal Western Yacht Club of England, the Observer Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race, or OSTAR, was on.[3][4][5]

The first run of the race was a great success; since then, it has run every four years, and has become firmly established as one of the major events on the yachting calendar. The name of the event has changed several times due to changes in main sponsor; it has been known as the CSTAR, Europe 1 STAR, and the Europe 1 New Man STAR. The professional event has been run as The Transat from 2004, while the race smaller boats is run as the OSTAR. Throughout its history, however, the essentials of the race have remained the same. It has also become known as a testbed for new innovations in yacht racing; many new ideas started out in "the STAR".

The race

OSTAR Line Honours from 1960 to 2013

The course of the race is westwards against the prevailing winds of the north Atlantic over a distance of around 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km). The first edition of the race was from Plymouth United Kingdom to New York City; the editions from 1964 to 2000 were sailed from Plymouth to Newport, Rhode Island; the 2004 event sailed from Plymouth to Boston, Massachusetts.[5][6][7]

The actual course steered is the decision of the individual skipper, and the result of the race can hinge on the chosen route:[8]

Rhumb line
The shortest route on paper — i.e. on a Mercator projection chart — is a route which steers a constant compass course, known as the rhumb line route; this is 2,902 nautical miles. This lies between 40 degrees and 50 degrees north, and avoids the most severe weather.
Great circle
The actual shortest route is the great circle route, which is 2,810 nautical miles (5,200 km). This goes significantly farther north; sailors following this route frequently encounter fog and icebergs.
Northern route
It is sometimes possible to avoid headwinds by following a far northern route, north of the great circle and above the track followed by depressions. This is a longer way, though, at 3,130 nautical miles (5,800 km), and places the sailor in greater danger of encountering ice.
Azores route
A "softer" option can be to sail south, close to the Azores, and across the Atlantic along a more southerly latitude. This route can offer calmer reaching winds, but is longer at 3,530 nautical miles (6,540 km); the light and variable winds can also lead to slow progress.
Trade wind route
The most "natural" way to cross the Atlantic westward is to sail south to the trade winds, and then west across the ocean. However, this is the longest route of all, at 4,200 nautical miles (7,780 km).

This variety of routes is one of the factors which makes an east-to-west north Atlantic crossing interesting, as different skippers try different strategies against each other. In practice, though, the winning route is usually somewhere between the great circle and the rhumb line.

Past races

The OSTAR, 1960

The Observer Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race of 1960 was a milestone in sailing, being the first single-handed ocean yacht race. One hundred and fifteen people expressed an interest in the race, and there were eight entries, of whom five actually took part. Only four were at the starting line on June 11, however, as Jean Lacombe arrived late and started three days after the others. All of the boats were monohulls; this was to be the only edition of the race without multihulls. It was also the only edition of the race sailed from Plymouth to New York City.

The skippers tried a variety of routing strategies. Hasler chose the northern route, to avoid the depressions; Chichester and Lewis stayed closer to the great circle; Lacombe and Howells chose more southerly routes. Hasler sailed his junk-rigged Jester; Chichester had by far the longest boat, his 40-foot (12 m) Gipsy Moth III, and this was reflected in the results:[4][5]

SkipperBoatClassTime
Francis ChichesterGipsy Moth IIIMono-4040 days 12 hours 30 min
Blondie HaslerJesterMono-2648 days 12 hours 02 min
David LewisCardinal VertueMono-2555 days 00 hours 50 min
Val HowellsEIRAMono-2562 days 05 hours 50 min
Jean LacombeCap HornMono-21.574 days ?? hours ?? min

The race had a huge impact on ocean sailing, and in particular solo sailing. Hasler's wind-vane self-steering gear revolutionised short-handed sailing, and his other major innovation — using a junk rig for safer and more manageable shorthanded sailing — influenced many subsequent sailors.[9][10]

The OSTAR, 1964

Thirteen competitors started the next edition of the race in 1964, which by now was firmly established on the racing scene. All of the five original competitors entered, and all five improved their original times; but the show was stolen by French naval officer Éric Tabarly, who entered a custom-built 44-foot (13 m) plywood ketch, Pen Duick II. The days of racers sailing the family boat were numbered following Tabarly's performance, for which he was awarded the Legion of Honour by president Charles de Gaulle. It is also noteworthy that Tabarly and Jean Lacombe were the only French entrants in this race; Tabarly's success was instrumental in popularising the sport in France, the country which in future years would come to dominate it.

This was to be the year in which several future trends were established. Multihulls made their first appearance — sailing in the same class as the other boats; and the race featured the use of radio, for the first time, by several competitors who gave daily progress reports to their sponsors.[4][6][11]

SkipperBoatClassTime
Éric TabarlyPen Duick IIMono-4427 days 03 hours 56 min
Francis ChichesterGipsy Moth IIIMono-4029 days 23 hours 57 min
Val HowellsAkkaMono-3532 days 18 hours 08 min
Alec RoseLively LadyMono-3636 days 17 hours 30 min
Blondie HaslerJesterMono-2637 days 22 hours 05 min
Bill HowellStardriftMono-3038 days 03 hours 23 min
David LewisRehu MoanaCat-4038 days 12 hours 04 min
Mike EllisonIlalaMono-3646 days 06 hours 26 min
Jean LacombeGolifMono-2246 days 07 hours 05 min
Bob BunkerVanda CaeleaMono-2549 days 18 hours 45 min
Mike ButterfieldMisty MillerCat-3053 days 00 hours 05 min
Geoffrey ChaffeyEricht 2Mono-3160 days 11 hours 15 min
Derek KelsallFolatreTri-3561 days 14 hours 04 min
Axel Nymann PedersenMarco PoloMono-2863 days 13 hours 30 min
Robin McCurdyTammie NorieMono-40retired

The OSTAR, 1968

The race was by now acquiring a reputation for pushing forward the technology of ocean sailing, and the 1968 edition featured the first use of computer-based weather routing. A far cry from today's laptop-laden yachts, this consisted of a land-based mainframe computer, the English Electric KDF9, linked by radio to Geoffrey Williams in his boat Sir Thomas Lipton. Although outside private routing advice of this kind is no longer permitted in most "unassisted" races, it is now routine for ocean sailors to do similar analyses using their on-board computers to process public weather information.

Williams created another story by his use of the "shortcut" through the Nantucket Shoal. This dangerous route was supposed to be illegal, but due to an error the race instructions required skippers only to keep south of Nantucket, instead of Nantucket Light. Williams successfully navigated the treacherous route in a gale. Gales were a major feature of the race, with a large storm on the 11th of June, and Hurricane Brenda, both contributing to the large number of retired and abandoned boats. One casualty was Éric Tabarly, aboard his new trimaran Pen Duick IV, who collided with a cargo and sailed back to England with structural damage. Another was the first woman to have taken part, the West German Edith Baumann, aboard her 39-foot trimaran "Koala III".[12]

Although won by a monohull, this race saw the multihulls firmly established on the scene. Thirteen of the thirty-five boats entered were multihulls, led by the controversial proa Cheers; many observers felt that a proa was entirely unsuitable for ocean sailing, but she made a fast time along the Azores route.[4][13]

The top seven finishers:

SkipperBoatClassTime
Geoffrey WilliamsSir Thomas LiptonMono-5725 days 20 hours 33 min
Bruce DallingVoortrekkerMono-5026 days 13 hours 42 min
Tom FollettCheersProa-4027 days 00 hours 13 min
Leslie WilliamsSpirit of Cutty SarkMono-5329 days 10 hours 17 min
Bill HowellGolden CockerelCat-42.531 days 16 hours 24 min
Brian CookeOpusMono-3234 days 08 hours 23 min
Martin Minter-KempGancia GirlTri-4234 days 13 hours 15 min

The 17 non-finishers included Éric Tabarly on Pen Duick IV, and Alex Carozzo of Italy on San Giorgio. Carozzo went on to compete in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, the other major single-handed sailing event of the year.

The OSTAR, 1972

Tabarly's trimaran Pen Duick IV made a return to the race in 1972, sailed by Alain Colas, at the head of a strong French contingent; of the 55 entrants, 12 were French, and the top three finishers were all French.

The average boat size was increasing rapidly, as longer boats are capable of higher speeds. A sign of the changing times was that the rules had a minimum size, to deter unsafe entries, but no maximum; and so the star of the monohull fleet was Vendredi Treize (Friday the 13th), a 128-foot (39 m) three-masted schooner — a huge boat for a single-hander. However, the race was now dominated by the multihulls, with Colas winning on a trimaran and four of the top six finishers being multis.

The 55 entrants included the first female finishers, two French and one Polish. Sir Francis Chichester, now 70 years old, sailed with the fleet in Gipsy Moth V; however, he was unable to complete what was to be his last race, and he died later the same year. Peter Crowther made the longest crossing in the race's history while sailing the oldest boat, the 66-year-old gaff cutter Golden Vanity; his crossing took 88 days.[4][14]

The top ten finishers:

SkipperBoatClassTime
Alain ColasPen Duick IVTri-7020 days 13 hours 15 min
Jean-Yves TerlainVendredi TreizeMono-12821 days 05 hours 14 min
Jean-Marie VidalCap 33Tri-5324 days 05 hours 40 min
Brian CookeBritish SteelMono-5924 days 19 hours 28 min
Tom FollettThree CheersTri-4627 days 11 hours 04 min
Gerard PestyArchiteuthisTri-5528 days 11 hours 55 min
Martin Minter-KempStrongbowMono-6528 days 12 hours 46 min
Alain GliksmanToucanMono-34.528 days 12 hours 54 min
Franco FaggioniSagittarioMono-50.528 days 23 hours 05 min
James FerrisWhisperMono-53.529 days 11 hours 15 min

There were eleven retirements, and one boat was abandoned.

The OSTAR, 1976

1976 saw the biggest edition of the race, in all senses. 125 boats entered, and the 128-foot (39 m) Vendredi Treize returned as ITT Oceanic. However, the all-time size record for the race, and probably for any single-hander, was set by Alain Colas, sailing the 236-foot (72 m) four-masted schooner Club Mediterranée.[15] Although about the same overall length as HMS Victory (which had a crew of 820),[16] this modern boat was expressly designed for easy handling.

At the start of the race, during login, in it was discovered that one of the entrants, David Sandeman, was under age at 17 years and 176 days, which was 189 days or 6 months under the youngest age permitted at the time. He had entered "Sea Raider", a 35 ft monohull which had very carefully been equipped and prepared in Jersey, Channel Islands for this race. David was not allowed to officially start, but he crossed the line unofficially after the last boat had left. Halfway across the Atlantic a Russian trawler ran into him in the dark during a storm after being warned with a red spotlight. The Russian crew never saw him, but their ship damaged the starboard mast halyards, which required substantial work by the Russian crew to repair the boat sufficiently to allow it to continue. David Sandeman was later listed in the Guinness Book of Records as being the youngest person to single-handedly sail the Atlantic between Jersey, UK, and Rhode Island.

The race was organised into three classes: Jester (J): up to 38 ft (12 m); Gipsy Moth (G): 38 to 65 ft (20 m); and Penduick (P): over 65 ft, unlimited. Monohulls and multihulls were not segregated. It is notable that the second-placed boat overall was a trimaran of the smallest class, and perhaps even more so that third place went to a monohull from the same class.

Two major depressions hit the race and caused a record fifty retirements. Yvon Fauconnier and Jean-Yves Terlain, two of the top favorites, lost their boats due to structural failure and were rescued by the same Soviet cargo ship. Tony Bullimore was rescued by a passing ship after his boat caught fire. The race also suffered two fatalities, the first in its history. Englishman Mike Flanagan, brother of renowned sculptor Barry Flanagan,[17] was lost overboard from Galloping Gael. A particularly sad story was that of Mike McMullen, whose wife Lizzie was electrocuted and killed while helping him to prepare Three Cheers for the race, just two days before the start. Believing that Lizzie would have wanted him to go on, he started the race, but was never seen again.

Colas in Club Mediterranée was plagued by halyard problems; although 330 miles (531 km) in the lead, he was forced to pull into Halifax, Nova Scotia to make repairs, and was penalised 10% of his elapsed time (58 hours) for accepting help, which dropped him from second to fifth place. The race went to Éric Tabarly, whose surprise win on the 73-foot (22 m) Pen Duick VI (his radio had broken down and no one knew of his whereabouts until he crossed the finish line) was his second; it was also the last win for a monohull.[4][18]

Clare Francis in Robertson's Golly (Ohlson 38) finished 13th and broke the women's single-handed transatlantic record by three days.

The top finishers (including the top three of each class):

SkipperBoatClassTime
Éric TabarlyPen Duick VIMono-73(P)23 days 20 hours 12 min
Mike BirchThe Third TurtleTri-32(J)24 days 20 hours 39 min
Kazimierz JaworskiSpanielMono-38(J)24 days 23 hours 40 min
Tom GrossmanCap 33Tri-53(P)26 days 08 hours 15 min
Alain ColasClub MediterranéeMono-236(P)26 days 13 hours 36 min
Jean Claude ParisisPetrouchkaMono-47(G)27 days 00 hours 55 min
David PalmerFTTri-35(J)27 days 07 hours 45 min
Walter GreeneFriendsTri-30(J)27 days 10 hours 37 min
Jaques TimsitArauna IVMono-38(G)27 days 15 hours 32 min
Alain GabbayObjectif Sud 3Mono-38(J)28 days 09 hours 58 min
Francis StokesMoonshineMono-40(G)28 days 12 hours 46 min

The 1/OSTAR, 1980

The 1980 race introduced a length limit of 56 feet overall, to curb the excesses of previous races. The class sizes were adjusted downwards: Jester (J): up to 32 ft (10 m); Gipsy Moth (G): 32 to 44 ft (13 m); Penduick (P): 44 to 56 ft (17 m). The new restrictions were unpopular with some sailors, particularly the French, many of whom opted to sail instead in the new Route du Rhum race.

The race was once again dominated by multihulls, with the top five places all taken by trimarans, and marked the end of even competition between monos and multis. Éric Tabarly was to compete, aboard the hydrofoil trimaran Paul Ricard, but was unable to enter due to injury. The race continued its history of innovation with the first use of the Argos satellite-based tracking system; this system allows boats to be tracked during the race, and can also be used to signal distress. The use of this system has now become a major feature of many ocean races, such as the Vendée Globe. The cost of the system was covered by introducing a new race sponsor, the radio station Europe 1, in conjunction with the Observer.

The winner was American Phil Weld, in only his second OSTAR, whose trimaran Moxie was custom built to the 56-foot (17 m) limit; he set a new course record of 18 days. Many were impressed by this popular sailor's win at the age of 65. The preponderance of larger boats, and particularly multihulls, left the smaller Jesters seriously outclassed; the highest-placed was Free Newspapers, sailed by John Chaundy, who finished in 29th place, with a time of 28 days.,[4][19][20] https://web.archive.org/web/20071022075203/http://www.rwyc.org/rwdb/article/view.asp?id=67&sm=OSTAR

Dame Naomi James, who became the first lady to circumnavigate the globe single-handedly in 1977/78 was reunited with the Express Crusader (fitted out and renamed Kriter Lady) for the race. She was the first woman back and broke the women's speed record. Her husband Rob James also competed in that race, finishing twelfth in the trimaran Boatfile.

The top ten finishers:

SkipperBoat!ClassTime
Philip WeldMoxieTri-51(P)17 days 23 hours 12 min
Nick KeigThree Legs of Mann IIITri-53(P)18 days 06 hours 04 min
Philip SteggallJeans FosterTri-38(G)18 days 06 hours 45 min
Mike BirchOlympus PhotoTri-46(P)18 days 07 hours 15 min
Walter GreeneChaussettes OlympiaTri-35(G)18 days 17 hours 29 min
Kazimierz JaworskiSpaniel IIMono-56(P)19 days 13 hours 25 min
Edoardo AustoniChica BobaMono-56(P)20 days 02 hours 30 min
Daniel GilardBrittany Ferries IMono-44(G)21 days 00 hours 09 min
Richard KonkolskiNike IIMono-44(G)21 days 06 hours 21 min
Tom GrossmanKriter VIITri-56(P)21 days 08 hours 01 min
Czesław GogołkiewiczRaczyński 2Mono-56(P)retired - collision

Canadian skippers Mike Birch and Bob Lush were the subject of a National Film Board of Canada documentary Singlehanders, released in 1982.[21]

The 1/OSTAR, 1984

The 1984 race saw the pace of technical innovation continue to accelerate. Custom-built trimarans were again the main force, but the monohulls also advanced, with the introduction of water ballast and other innovations. Some controversy over the size limitations in the previous race resulted in slightly larger classes, and the removal of restrictions on bow and stern overhangs; yachts were divided into five classes, but still with no distinction between monohulls and multihulls. Europe 1 continued to support the race, and Argos beacons were again used by all boats.

The first day of the race saw several dismastings in strong gales, and several skippers were awarded time for rescuing other racers. This resulted in an upset at the finish — Philippe Poupon, sailing the 56-foot (17 m) trimaran Fleury Michon VI, arrived first with a time of 16 days 12 hours, and went to bed thinking that he had won. But the race was awarded to Yvon Fauconnier, who finished 10 hours later but was given a 16-hour time allowance for rendering assistance to Philippe Jeantot, whose catamaran Credit Agricole had capsized. The winner among the monohulls was Warren Luhrs, in his 60-footer Thursday's Child.[4][22]

The top ten finishers:

SkipperBoatClassTime
Yvon FauconnierUmupro Jardin VTri-53(I)16 days 06 hours 25 min
Philippe PouponFleury MichonTri-56(I)16 days 12 hours 25 min
Marc PajotElf Aquitaine IICat-59(I)16 days 12 hours 48 min
Éric TabarlyPaul RicardTri-60(I)16 days 14 hours 21 min
Peter PhilipsTravacrest SeawayTri-60(I)16 days 17 hours 23 min
Daniel GilardNantesTri-60(I)16 days 17 hours 51 min
Olivier MoussyRegion CentreTri-45(II)16 days 19 hours 16 min
Bruno PeyronL'AiglonCat-60(I)16 days 20 hours 21 min
Francois BoucherKer CadelacTri-50(I)16 days 21 hours 48 min
Warren LuhrsThursday's ChildMono-60(I)16 days 22 hours 27 min

The CSTAR, 1988

With Carlsberg taking over as main sponsor, the Carlsberg Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race of 1988 saw 95 entrants, with custom-built multihulls again dominating. Favourable weather made ideal conditions for a fast pace, and indeed Philippe Poupon's winning time set a new race record of 10 days, 9 hours and 10 minutes. One of the main hazards of the race was damage by whales; Mike Birch's Fujicolor was damaged by a whale, forcing him to retire from the race; and David Sellings was forced to abandon Hyccup after she was sunk by an aggressive pod of whales. Mike Richey's original Jester, which had taken part in every edition of the race, was lost in heavy weather in the tail-end of the fleet.[4][6][23]

The top eleven finishers were all Class 1 multihulls. The top five were:

SkipperBoatClassTime
Philippe PouponFleury MichonTri-60(I)10 days 09 hours 15 min
Olivier MoussyLaiterie Mt St MichelTri-60(I)11 days 04 hours 17 min
Loïck PeyronLada Poch IITri-60(I)11 days 09 hours 02 min
Philip SteggallSebagoTri-60(I)11 days 09 hours 55 min
Bruno PeyronVSDCat-60(I)12 days 23 hours 20 min

The fastest monohull, UAP 1992, finished 13th. The top five monohulls:

SkipperBoatClassTime
Jean Yves TerlainUAP 1992Mono-60(I)17 days 04 hours 05 min
John MartinAllied BankMono-60(I)17 days 08 hours 18 min
Jose UgarteCastrol SoloMono-60(I)17 days 21 hours 47 min
Titouan LamazouEcureuil d'AquitaineMono-60(I)18 days 07 hours 00 min
Courtney HazeltonMarikoMono-45(III)21 days 05 hours 44 min

The Europe 1 STAR, 1992

The Europe 1 Star of 1992 saw the fleet beset by a full range of hazards — storms, icebergs, trawlers, fog and whales hit boats on the northern route, before they were finally becalmed off Newfoundland. The monohulls managed the heavy conditions and crosswinds quite well, but the multis were plagued with capsizes and damage. Yves Parlier was the top monohull skipper in a new Open 60, setting a monohull record time of 14 days 16 hours.[4][24]

The top ten finishers included two monohulls:

SkipperBoatClassTime
Loïck PeyronFujicolorTri-60(1)11 days 01 hours 35 min
Paul vatineHaute-NormandieTri-60(1)12 days 07 hours 49 min
Francis JoyonBanque PopulaireTri(1)12 days 09 hours 14 min
Hervé LaurentTook TookTri-60(1)13 days 04 hours 01 min
Laurent BourgnonPrimagazTri-60(1)13 days 07 hours 40 min
Yves ParlierCacolac d'AquitaineMono-60(1)14 days 16 hours 01 min
Etienne GiroireUp My SleeveTri-40(4)16 days 06 hours 45 min
Mark GatehouseQueen Anne's BatteryMono-60(1)16 days 11 hours 30 min
Hervé ClérisC L MTri-50(2)16 days 12 hours 17 min
Pascal HéroldDupon DuranTri-50(2)16 days 20 hours 16 min

The Europe 1 STAR, 1996

Loïck Peyron, on the same trimaran Fujicolor II, for the 1996 edition of the race; and he led at the start, passing the Eddystone lighthouse at 28 knots (52 km/h). However, Francis Joyon dominated the race, and 600 miles (970 km) from the finish seemed set to win, at which point he was 24 hours ahead of his nearest rival; but his trimaran Banque Populaire was capsized by a gust off Nova Scotia, leaving the race to Peyron.

Peyron's time of 10 days, 10 hours and 5 minutes, was just 50 minutes short of the course record. Peyron was the first person to win two successive editions of the race, and only the second to win twice. Gerry Roufs won the monohull division, sailing the 60-foot (18 m) Groupe LG2. Italian Giovanni Soldini won the 50-foot (15 m) monohull class, in Telecom Italia.[4][6][25]

Only three multihulls overcame the conditions to make the top ten finishers:

SkipperBoatClassTime
Loïck PeyronFujicolor IITri-60(1)10 days 10 hours 05 min
Paul VatineRegion Haute NormandieTri-60(1)10 days 13 hours 05 min
Mike BirchBiscuits la TrinitaineTri-60(1)14 days 12 hours 55 min
Gerry RoufsGroupe LG 2Mono-60(1)15 days 14 hours 50 min
Giovanni SoldiniTelecom ItaliaMono-50(2)15 days 18 hours 29 min
Josh HallGartmore InvestmentsMono-60(1)16 days 15 hours 56 min
Vittorio MalingriAnicaflashMono-60(1)16 days 19 hours 24 min
Hervé LaurentGroupe LG1Mono-60(1)17 days 00 hours 55 min
Eric DumontCafé Legal le GoutMono-60(1)17 days 01 hours 11 min
Catherine ChabaudWhirlpool-Vital-Europe 2Mono-60(1)17 days 06 hours 43 min

The Europe 1 New Man STAR, 2000

With sponsorship from Europe 1 and New Man, a French sportswear manufacturer, the fortieth anniversary edition of the OSTAR was run under the title Europe 1 New Man STAR.[26]

A surprising total of 24 Open 60 monohulls entered the race; most of these were using the event as a qualifying run for the Vendée Globe starting later in the year. One of these was the youngest racer in the fleet at age 23, Ellen MacArthur in her Owen-Clarke designed Open 60 Kingfisher; she beat the big names to become the surprise winner of the monohull division, and the youngest ever winner of the race. The overall winner was Francis Joyon, in his trimaran Eure et Loir.[4][27][28][29]

SkipperBoatTime
ORMA 60 Multihulls
Francis JoyonEure et Loir9 days 23 hours 21 min
Marc GuillemotBiscuits la Trinitaine10 days 1 hours 59 min
Franck CammasGroupama10 days 2 hours 40 min
Alain GautierFoncia10 days 8 hours 37 min
Jean-Luc NeliasBelgacom10 days 19 hours 35 min
Yvan BourgnonBayer en France16 days 6 hours 21 min
Lalou RoucayrolBanque Populaireretired - lost a hull
IMOCA 60 Monohulls
Ellen MacArthurKingfisher14 days 23 hours 1 min
Roland JourdainSill Beurre le Gall15 days 13 hours 38 min
Mike GoldingTeam Group 415 days 14 hours 50 min
Thierry DuboisSolidaires15 days 15 hours 33 min
Giovanni SoldiniFila16 days 4 hours 10 min
Catherine ChabaudWhirlpool16 days 10 hours 19 min
Michel DesjoyeauxPRB16 days 15 hours 51 min
Marc ThiercelinActive Wear17 days 15 hours 44 min
Dominique WavreUnion Bancaire Privee17 days 17 hours 2 min
Joe SeetenNord Pas de Calais18 days 2 hours 22 min
Xavier LecoeurGEB19 days 13 hours 3 min
Didier MunduteguyDDP 60me Sud21 days 7 hours 18 min
Patrick FavreAdrenalines31 days 5 hours 19 min
Yves ParlierAquitaine Innovationsretired - dismasted
Thomas CovilleSodebo Savourons la Vieretired - dismasted
Eric DumontServices Eurokaretired - dismasted
Dirk GunstTomidiretired - autopilot failure
Richard TolkienThis Timeretired - sail damage
Bruce BurgessHawaiian Expressretired for personal reasons

The Transat, 2004

After the 2000 event, the RWYC decided to split the race into two separate events. The 2004 professional edition of the race featured a new title — The Transat — and a new finish, at Boston, Massachusetts. 37 boats entered, in four classes: ORMA 50 and 60-foot (18 m) multihulls; and IMOCA 50 and 60-foot (18 m) monohulls. Despite stormy conditions, all four classes of boats broke records; seven of the Open 60 monohulls broke the previous monohull record. Of the first four IMOCA Open 60's, Ecover, Pindar AlphaGraphics and Skandia (ex Kingfisher) were all designed by the British designers, Owen Clarke Design. This office also designed the first IMOCA 50, Artforms, which broke the 'Class 2' record. Several boats suffered damage, however.[7]

SkipperBoatTime
ORMA 60 Multihulls
Michel DesjoyeauxGeant8 days 8 hours 29 min
Thomas CovilleSodebo8 days 10 hours 38 min
Franck CammasGroupama8 days 14 hours 16 min
Alain GautierFoncia9 days 7 hours 5 min
Karine FauconnierSergio Tacchini9 days 12 hours 36 min
Lalou RoucayrolBanque Populaire9 days 14 hours 5 min
Giovanni SoldiniTIM Progetto Italia10 days 6 hours 26 min
Philippe MonnetSopra10 days 9 hours 28 min
Fred Le PeutrecGitana XI11 days 9 hours 20 min
Steve RavussinBanque Covefi12 days 4 hours 27 min
Yves ParlierMediatis Region Aquitaine13 days 7 hours 11 min
Marc GuillemotGitana Xretired - broken centerboard
IMOCA 60 Monohulls
Mike GoldingEcover12 days 15 hours 18 min
Dominique WavreTemenos12 days 18 hours 22 min
Mike SandersonPindar Alphagraphics12 days 20 hours 54 min
Nick MoloneySkandia13 days 9 hours 13 min
Conrad HumphreysHellomoto13 days 20 hours 24 min
Marc ThiercelinPro-Form14 days 1 hours 41 min
Hervé LaurentUUDS14 days 3 hours 58 min
Sebastien JosseVMI14 days 10 hours 2 min (corrected)
Karen LeiboviciAtlantica-Charente Maritime17 days 17 hours 12 min
Norbert SedlacekAustria One17 days 18 hours 35 min
Charles HedrichObjectif 318 days 4 hours 12 min
Anne LiardetQuicksilver19 days 14 hours 27 min
Jean-Pierre DickVirbacretired - dismasted
Vincent RiouPRBdismasted
Bernard StammCheminees Poujoulat Armour Luxcapsized
ORMA 50 Multihulls
Éric BruneelTrilogic14 days 1 hours 23 min
Rich WilsonGreat American II15 days 0 hours 19 min
Dominique DemachyGify15 days 13 hours 13 min
Etienne HochedePiR219 days 13 hours 45 min
Franck-Yves EscoffierCrepes Whaou!retired - broke daggerboard
Mike BirchNootkaretired - broken autopilot
IMOCA 50 Monohulls
Kip StoneArtforms15 days 5 hours 20 min
Joe HarrisWells Fargo16 days 14 hours 21 min
Jacques BouchacourtOkami17 days 23 hours 17 min
Roger LangevinBranec IIIover time limit

Faraday Mill OSTAR 2005

The 2005 event was the first held for smaller boats, again under the name OSTAR, sponsored by Faraday Mill.

35 boats took part with 16 forced to retire. Franco Mozoli won the race in Cotonella, taking 17 days and 21 hours to finish. The 2005 race featured the first single-handed, trans-atlantic crossing by a profoundly deaf person: Gerry Hughes.[30]

SkipperBoatTime
Trimarans
Franco ManzoliCotonella17 days 21 hours 41 min
Roger LangevinBranec IV18 days 6 hours 7 min
Pierre AntoineSpirit18 days 8 hours 43 min
Leon BartHoud van Hout25 days 16 hours 45 min
Aurelia DittonShockwave27 days 9 hours 19 min
Anne CaseneuveAcanthe Ingeniereretired - injured knee
Etienne GiroireUp My Sleeveretired
Ross HobsonMollymawkretired - broken daggerboard
Monohulls
Steve WhiteOlympian Challenger20 days 5 hours 24 min
Yves LepineAtlantix Express21 days 4 hours 40 min
Nico BudelHayai21 days 18 hours 17 min
Philip RubrightEcho Zulu23 days 22 hours 50 min
Lionel RegnierTrois Mille Sabords25 days 23 hours 48 min
Mervyn WheatleyTamarind26 days 2 hours 48 min
Peter KeigZeal27 days 11 hours 31 min
Stephen GrattonAmelie of Dart30 days 4 hours 32 min
Richard HattonChimp30 days 18 hours 7 min
Huib SwetsVijaya32 days 5 hours 4 min
Gerry HughesQuest II34 days 4 hours 15 min
Paul HeineyAyesha of St Mawes35 days 14 hours 19 min
Groot CeesReality41 days 16 hours 15 min
Tony WaldeckAdrienne Mayretired - broken mainsail luff cars
Michel JahenyChivas IIIretired
Patrice CarpentierVM Materiauxretired
Bart BoosmanDe Franschmanretired - broken shroud
Hannah WhiteSpirit of Canadaretired - broken autopilot
Peter CrowtherSuomi Kuduretired - broken forestay
Michel KleinjansRoaring Fortyretired - bulkhead problems
Pieter ArdiaansRobosailretired - boom, vang problems
Ronny NolletLa Promesseretired - previous back injury
Pierre ChatelinDestination Calaisretired - problems with boat
Bertus BuysSea Berylretired - mainsail damage
Bram Van De LoosdrechtOctavusretired - dismasted
Jacques DewezBlue Shadowretired - damaged at start

The Artemis Transat, 2008

The 2008 Transat race was named after its sponsor, Artemis. On Thursday 15 May, Frenchman Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) had to retire from the race after a collision with a whale. Sebastien Josse (BT), who was leading, had to retire owing to damage to the mainsail carriage on Saturday 17 May, leaving Vincent Riou (PRB) take the lead on the Sunday morning. Loïck Peyron, on Gitana Eighty, caught up with Vincent Riou, who had to abandon the race due to serious keel damage after a collision with a basking shark on the night of Monday 12 / Tuesday 13 May. The race jury decided to grant two and a half hours of bonus time to Loïck Peyron after he rescued Vincent Riou. Starting on 11 May from Plymouth, Peyron spent 12 days, 11 hours, 15 minutes and 35 seconds (not including the time bonus) to cover the 2,992 miles of the race (averaging 8.7 knots), thus improving previous record of 12 days, 15 hours, 18 minutes and 8 seconds, which was held by Mike Golding (Ecover).

PositionSkipperBoatTime
IMOCA 60 Monohulls
1 Loïck PeyronGitana Eighty12 days 8 hours 45 min
2 Armel Le Cleac'hBrit Air12 days 12 hours 28 min
3 Yann ElièsGenerali13 days 14 hours 30 min
4 Marc GuillemotSafran14 days 21 hours 18 min
5 Samantha DaviesRoxy15 days 10 hours 00 min
Ab Vincent RiouPRBretired - broken keel
Ab Sébastien JosseBTretired - sail damage
Ab Michel DesjoyeauxFonciaretired - broken skeg
Ab Unai BasurkoPakea Bizkaia

OSTAR 2009

The 2009 OSTAR started on 25 May 2009. The skipper's blogs were published on www.blogstar.org.uk

SkipperBoatElapsed Time
JanKees LampeLA PROMESSE17 days 17 hours 40 min
Rob CraigieJbellino19 days 00 hours 10 min
Roberto WestermanSpinning Wheel19 days 03 hours 14 min
Hannah WhitePure Solo20 days 00 hours 22 min
Barry HurleyDinah20 days 22 hours 35 min
Luca ZoccoliIn Direzione Ostinata e Contraria20 days 22 hours 39 min
Jerry FreemanQII21 days 02 hours 49 min
Oscar MeadKing of Shaves21 days 12 hours 24 min
Katie MillerBluQube21 days 18 hours 53 min
Uwe RottgeringFanfan!21 days 22 hours 42 min
Marco NanniniBritish Beagle21 days 23 hours 44 min
Huib SwetsVijaya22 days 03 hours 41 min
Dick KoopmansJager22 days 04 hours 35 min
Bard BoosmanDe Franschman22 days 21 hours 04 min
Will SayerElmarleen23 days 01 hours 30 min
Pip HildesleyCazenove Capital23 days 14 hours 05 min
Christian ChalandreOlbia24 days 09 hours 06 min
John FallaBanjaard24 days 20 hours 55 min
Michael CollinsFlamingo Lady27 days 05 hours 31 min
Andrew PettyJemima Nicholas28 days 15 hours 57 min
Peter CrowtherSuomi Kudu29 days 02 hours 15 min
Peter Bourke"Rubicon"39 days 07 hours 56 min

[31]

OSTAR 2013

The 2013 OSTAR started on 27 May 2013.

SkipperBoatTime
Multihull Class
Roger LangevinBranec VI
Joanna PajkowskaCabrio 2
Gypsy Moth Class
Richard LettPathway to Children
Andrea MuraVento Di Sardegna17 days 11 hours 12 min (elapsed)
Jac SandbergSpirit
Nico Budelsec. Hayai
Ralph VilligerNtombifuti
Jester Class
Jonathan GreenJeroboam22 days 4 hours 25 min (corrected)
Charles EmmettBritish Beagle
Krystian SzypkaSunrise
Mervyn WheatleyTamarind
Pether CrowtherSuomi Kudu
Eira Class
Geoff AlcornWind of Lorne II

[32]

References

  1. "Royal Western Yacht Club - A friendly club with full range of sailing and social activities, an excellent waterside venue for weddings and corporate events and home to famous oceanic races such as OSTAR, RB & I and Fastnet". rwyc.org.
  2. "Organisers officially cancel The Transat CIC 2020". thetransat.com. 28 April 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  3. All the Single handed Transatlantic Race history Archived 2006-12-29 at the Wayback Machine, from Team Woodbase
  4. Marsh, Peter. "The Singlehanded Trans-Atlantic Race 1960–2000". Archived from the original on 2009-06-27.
  5. History — 11 June 1960 Archived 4 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine, from Team Woodbase
  6. Peyron Repeats STAR Triumph Archived 2006-05-09 at the Wayback Machine, from Sailing World
  7. Records Tumble in Classic Transat Race Archived 2005-12-27 at the Wayback Machine, from the official web site
  8. The Race — The Course Archived 2006-05-04 at the Wayback Machine, from Team Woodbase
  9. The Golden Globe Race, by Barry Pickthall, from boats.com
  10. Finding Beauty in a Junk, by Michelle Potter
  11. History — 23 May 1964 Archived 4 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine, from Team Woodbase
  12. Foster, Lloyd (1989). OSTAR The full story of The Observer single-handed transtlantic and the two-handed round Britain races, p. 27. Haynes, Sparkford. ISBN 0854297308.
  13. History — 1 June 1968 Archived 4 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine, from Team Woodbase
  14. History — 17 June 1972 Archived 4 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine, from Team Woodbase
  15. Club Méditerranée: un géant parmi les monocoques (French), with a picture of the boat
  16. The Battle of Trafalgar Muster Roll, from the official HMS Victory website
  17. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/barry-flanagan-sculptor-known-for-his-distinctive-giant-bronzes-1781433.html
  18. History — 5 June 1976 Archived 4 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine, from Team Woodbase
  19. 1980 — Triumph of the Multihulls Archived 2006-01-15 at the Wayback Machine, from the official web site
  20. History — 7 June 1980 Archived 5 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine, from Team Woodbase
  21. Shelagh Mackenzie and Kent Nason (co-directors) (1982). "Singlehanders" (49-minute film; requires Adobe Flash). Documentary film. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  22. History — 2 June 1984 Archived 4 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine, from Team Woodbase
  23. History — 5 June 1988, from Team Woodbase
  24. History — 7 June 1992 Archived 4 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine, from Team Woodbase
  25. History — 1996 Archived 2006-05-04 at the Wayback Machine, from Team Woodbase
  26. The Race — This Year Archived 2006-05-04 at the Wayback Machine, from Team Woodbase
  27. 2000 — Open 60 battle Archived 2006-01-15 at the Wayback Machine, from the official web site
  28. Kingfisher Challenge 2000 — She Did It!, from Adverc Battery Management
  29. LARGEST EVER PROFESSIONAL 60-FOOT CLASS TO COMPETE IN THE TRANSAT Archived 2006-01-27 at the Wayback Machine, from Nick Moloney
  30. Gerry Hughes. "Gerry Hughes". gerrysmhughes.com.
  31. The Royal Western Yacht Club of England "OSTAR 2009", Retrieved on 1 October 2014.
  32. The Royal Western Yacht Club of England "OSTAR 2013 - Race Results"
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