Cruise Ship VS Sailboats, Race Across the Atlantic :: Catamaran Sailboats at TheBeachcats.com

The Queen Mary 2 is racing four ocean racing Trimarans transatlantic, the ship is about 500 miles ahead of the tris at the moment. The sailboats can go much faster than the 24 knots of the Queen Mary 2 but so far the conditions haven't been ideal.

Right now the biggest cruise ship in the world is mopping the floor with four of the fastest tris in the world in a transat celebrating the 100th anniversary of American troops arriving in France in WWI.

Having to tack to avoid a ship and that ship is one of the race entries!

Link to The Bridge Race Tracker

Excerpt from recent press release:

QuoteSamantha Davies, the only British sailor racing in The Bridge Centennial Transat revealed that the race between the Queen Mary 2 and four of the greatest trimarans in the world will be unforgettable for her in more ways than one.

As the crowds lined the harbour walls of St Nazaire – and the decks of the QM2, to see the boats cross the start line, Davies, the navigator on board the 30 metre-long trimaran, Actual, and the four other crew, had to perform a last minute manoeuvre to avoid being run over by their vast rival.

“At the time we didn’t have time to take the whole thing in,” said Davies, one of Britain’s best sailors but adopted by France, where she has long-lived and honed her trade. “It’s actually quite stressful sailing these machines in a very confined space, because the big trimarans are more designed to be sent across the Atlantic than short tack in a river with a huge liner. We had quite a close call with them just off the start line and had to tack with a bit urgency to get a way from being run down by the Queen Mary. It was quite stressful but a once in a lifetime experience and I don’t think I’ll ever forget that.”
Now in the fourth day of the race, the QM2, which is more than halfway to New York, has disappeared far over the horizon on as the trimarans battle with upwind conditions and the crew with the correspondingly tough living conditions. “We were jumping waves and the movement is pretty violent,” Davies said, “so trying to get any kind of sleep is tricky because you just get thrown out of your bunk. They’re noisy and there’s a lot of vibration as well. There’s not much respite but luckily we go quite fast so it doesn’t last for long.

“It’s pretty interesting and funny to have the Queen Mary on our race report screen. We can see them hooning across the Atlantic at 24-25 knots in a nice straight line and every time I look at their position on the chart I think about all the people in their nice comfy beds eating nice meals in the restaurant.”

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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

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