‘Pyewacket’ Takes Monohull Line Honors in RORC 600
Roy P. Disney’s well-traveled, turbocharged Volvo 70 Pyewacket is doing an Atlantic tour, having done the Jamaica Race last month, and is just now finishing the RORC 600 out of Antigua. She took monohull line honors with an elapsed time of 42 hours 45 mins 06 secs for the 600-mile race. Unlike her West Coast races, this one has lots of upwind, downwind and reaching.
The crew for the RORC included skipper Ben Mitchell, navigator Peter Isler, and crew Tony Mutter, Brad Jackson, Brian Janney, Daryl Wislang, David Tank, Jan Majer, Mark Callahan, Matt Mialik, Robbie Kane, Rodney Daniel, and Tristan Louwrens. Ben Mitchell was the stand-in skipper for Roy Pat Disney, who was not on board due to knee surgery.
“RP [Roy Pat Disney], thank you for letting us take your toy and racing the Caribbean 600 in a successful manner. We are so disappointed you are not with us to enjoy this spectacular victory,” commented Ben Mitchell. “The real wow factor is that Pyewacket 70 was here for the RORC 600 and this team is so good. We had a great mix of crew that know this course very well, and crew like me who experienced this wonderful race for the first time. Each leg is like a race in itself, which keeps everybody going, but on a boat like Pyewacket 70 those legs become very short. Getting any sleep is a challenge as the whole crew is up for every maneuver.”
Peter Isler added, “The name of the game for the navigator is to study the weather, and the nuances in this race are so different. When you get out there all your expectations can be blown. I had preconceptions of what the tactics are at different points in the race, and I will say at least half the time I was wrong! In this race you have to keep your eyes open and understand the fundamentals of weather and be ready to adjust to the changes. A great example was going through the lee of Guadeloupe; it is the big X factor in this race and a total nightmare for navigators. It seems so random as to where you go to get through that wind hole, and this year was unlike any other experience I have had going through the lee.”
The next monohull to finish the RORC Caribbean 600 is Volvo 70 I Love Poland (POL), skippered by Grzegorz Baranowski. Most of the fleet are expected to finish the race over the next two days. Callisto, pictured above, should be finishing later today. You can follow the boats still on course here.