First wave away

21 yachts set sail in HSH Nordbank blue transatlantic race between Newport and Hamburg

In a classic southwesterly sea breeze that has fuelled the starts of yacht races ranging from transatlantic ocean contests to the America's Cup, 21 boats representing six nations answered the gun today to begin the 3,600-nautical mile HSH Nordbank blue race. Their destination: a finish line near the River Elbe in Hamburg, Germany.

After a week of frigid northeasterly winds, principal race office Alan Green could not have asked for a more ideal afternoon to administrate a yacht race. Calm morning breezes gave way to an ideal 10-15 knot sou'wester, and it would have been a clean start off Fort Adams in Narragansett Bay had not the Cookson 50 Chieftain jumped the gun and crossed the line early. But Chieftain quickly exonerated herself, and joined the fleet as they rounded a pair of marks near the bay's entrance before sailing out into the open Atlantic.

Former New York YC commodore Larry Huntington's Snow Lion missed the pre-race Parade of Sail in Newport Harbor while a last-minute replacement to a balky transmission was installed, but the 50-footer was right in the fray when the starting gun sounded. Moments after, the Swan 62RS Albatros suffered the fleet's first gear failure, reporting to the race committee that their main halyard had parted.

Light to moderate southwesterlies are forecast for the opening days of the race, which will take the fleet into the North Atlantic and south of the race's only mid-ocean mark, a waypoint called Point Alpha at coordinates 41N, 45W, which designates this season's southern limit of potential ice hazards, and which competitors are obliged to leave to port.

One week from today, the second start of the HSH Nordbank blue race will begin off Fort Adams. The three-boat class for the fleet's largest yachts will consist of the 90ft Rambler, skippered by Ken Read; the 80ft Reichel/Pugh-designed Bon Bon; and the event's largest entry, the Perini Navi 177 footer, Parsifal III.

The race is organized by the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV), with pre-race activities organizsd by the New York Yacht Club (NYYC). Covering about 3600 nautical miles across the Atlantic, the route passes the United Kingdom to the north and then heads to Hamburg. The race is open to all monohull offshore yachts at least 40 feet in length.