Gavin Howe and Maggie Adamson, racing Sun Fast 3600 Tigris (GBR), won IRC Two-Handed in the RORC Transatlantic Race after hand steering without the use of an autopilot for over 2,000 miles.
Racing double handed across the Atlantic adds an extra dimension to the RORC Transatlantic Race. Just like the fully crewed teams, it requires meticulous planning and preparation before the race, and mental and physical toughness during the marathon.
However, when problems occur, as they always will, a two-handed team is short on the invaluable resource of crew.
Sun Fast 3600 Tigris finished the RORC Transatlantic Race in an elapsed time of 18 Days 06 Hrs 24 Mins 19 Secs.
After IRC time correction, as well as winning IRC Two-Handed, Tigris was third in IRC One and sixth overall. Howe and Adamson have raced over 10,000 miles together, but this was the first RORC Transatlantic Race for the pair.
“It’s a big challenge for Tigris to race across the Atlantic, and Maggie and I were very keen to take it on,” commented owner and co-skipper Gavin Howe. “The weather forecast for the race was worrying and not what we expected. The fronts and gales that would come through were not the usual conditions of a sleigh ride to the Tropics.”
“Strategically, the north route was not a good option for a 35ft boat racing two-handed, so we decided to go south and play to the boat’s downwind strengths, even though it was a long way in miles.”
Maggie Adamson is a navigator for the Lerwick Lifeboat crew in the Shetland Islands, located 110 miles north of the Scottish mainland. The remote lifeboat station has been presented with 62 awards for gallantry, including the RNLI’s highest accolade the Gold Medal.
Tigris’ next adventure will be the RORC Caribbean 600 and the 2024 RORC Season’s Points Championship.
