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Plattner’s Morning Glory Leads Bermuda Race FleetRacing in the IMS Big Boat Demonstration Division, Hasso Plattner’s canting keel maxZ86 Morning Glory led the Newport to Bermuda Race fleet this morning at the 8:00 AM radio check. Plattner’s Reichel Pugh-designed 86-footer, powered by patented CBTF™ (Canting Ballast Twin Foil™) technology, had averaged nine and a half knots in overnight foggy conditions with light north to northeasterly winds. At the radio check, seas were calm and the wind five knots out of the southeast. Roy Disney’s maxZ86 Pyewacket, the other CBTF boat in the race, was holding on to second place, just 12 miles astern, as the sister ships dueled for advantage over the 470 nautical miles remaining to the finish line in Bermuda. Despite the relatively slow start to the race, both boats still have an opportunity to set a new monohull race record to Bermuda. The official race record for conventional-keel boats is 53 hours 39 minutes 22 seconds, set by Disney in 2002, in his previous Pyewacket, a 75-footer. Because they are racing in a demonstration class, any mark set by the CBTF twins will not be counted by race officials as the official record for the IMS class. At 2:00 AM East Coast time today, after 12 hours of sailing, Pyewacket’s navigator Stan Honey reported pea-soup fog and decreasing wind. “At times it is just possible to see the bow and it is hard to keep one's reference with no horizon,” he said. “It seems as though we are just ghosting along in the eight knots of wind, until you look over the rail and notice the water going by at 11 knots.” The two CBTF boats were only launched late last year and Newport to Bermuda is their first major ocean race and their first chance to stretch their legs in competition. The third maxZ86 in the division is Windquest a conventional-keeled Reichel Pugh 86-footer sailed by Dick and Doug DeVos. Windquest was in third place 13 miles behind Pyewacket. According to Commanders Weather, the specialty weather service in Nashua, NH, the fleet is expected to sail into stronger winds, from the southwest this afternoon, as they thread their way through the meanders of the Gulf Stream and begin to close Bermuda. The offshore overnight forecast for Bermuda and surrounding waters was south southwest at 22 knots this afternoon, veering to west southwest at 20-25 knots tonight and continuing into Sunday morning. CBTF Co., a San Diego-based company, was renamed from DynaYacht Inc. in April of 2003 to market and promote the patented CBTF™ (Canting Ballast Twin Foil™) technology. This innovative technology provides a prime opportunity for a new line of custom and production boats for the racing and cruising markets. Along with providing licenses for CBTF boats, CBTF Co. focuses on working with owners, designers and builders around the world to help optimize their use of CBTF technology. High resolution copyright-free photos for media use are available by contacting the race Press Office at press@bermudarace.com
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Keith Taylor
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Phone: (619) 232-8664 Fax: (619) 232-8759
Email: info@cbtfco.com
401 West A Street, Suite 2125 San Diego, CA 92101 |