British crew onboard Concise 2 ready for Transatlantic Race

June 28, 2011 - PRLog -- The America to Britain race organised by The Royal Yacht Squadron and New York Yacht Club in association with the Royal Ocean Racing Club and Storm Trysail Club, is often one of the most challenging races for many sailors. As one of the youngest crews and on one of the smallest boats in the race, Team Concise are not daunted by the 3,000 nautical miles they will travel across the Atlantic Ocean.

Concise 2 skipper Ned Collier Wakefield (23) says “This is a real David and Goliath story. We start at same time as Maltese Falcon, she’s nearly 300 ft long and we measure in at just 40ft. We will need near perfect sailing conditions if we are to stay in touch. For us that’s over 15 knots of wind, which we are not seeing at the moment”

Despite concerns over light winds, final preparations for the race have gone well and the crew are happy with their race plans.

Navigator Luke McCarthy says “With different starts and Classes in different weather systems you don’t want to focus on the other boats too much. The shortest route is always the Rhum line and we will be looking at that, but at the moment weather patterns are pushing us far north. I have to watch out for the ice gates set by the safety committee to keep us away from icebergs. There is also the added problem of pods of Right whales; they could sink us so we have to stay well clear of them. I’m going to be busy that’s for sure!”

The race has three start dates; 26, 29 June and 1 July. The aim is for all competing boats to cross the finishing line off the Lizard, Cornwall at the same time. Team Concise will be trying to hunt down the slower boats that have already started and in turn, will be chased by professionally crewed racing boats such as the 100ft Rambler (USA) and Leopard (GB) as well as the Volvo 70 Puma.

Having watched the first race start on Sunday, Ned says “the excitement at the race start got the adrenaline pumping and we cannot wait to get going. The support and interest we’ve had both at home and over here in the States has been brilliant. We’re looking forward to a great race and will see you at the finish!”

You can track the progress of Concise 2 on the Transatlantic Race’s official tracker and on the Team Concise’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

Ends

Notes to Editor
Concise was founded in 2007 by Tony Lawson with the intention of helping young British sailing compete in offshore racing.

Skippered by Ned Collier-Wakefield 23, this young crew (Luke McCarthy, Tom Smedley, Tristan Jaques, Tom Dawson and Sam Pearson) have plenty of experience in high performance sailing.

Following the Transatlantic Race they will be competing in the Rolex Fastnet (August), Class 40 Worlds (September) and Transat Jacques (November).

http://www.teamconcise.com

Media enquiries – Jessica Padley, teamconcise.GBR93@gmail.com

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Concise was launched in August 2007, with the intention of helping young talented sailors compete in the offshore sailing scene.