PUMA’s Mar Mostro is not only the second boat across the finish line at The Lizard on the south coast of England (at 05:40 UTC on July 11) but is also the current overall standings leader based on corrected time. Skipper Ken Read (Newport, R.I.) and crew completed the 2,975 nautical mile course in 7 days, 11 hours and 40 minutes. After careful calculations, the race committee has confirmed that none of the 24 yachts still racing has a mathematical probability of beating PUMA’s Mar Mostro on corrected time, and they shall be declared provisional winners of IRC Class One and IRC Overall for the Transatlantic Race 2011.

PUMA’s Mar Mostro reached a maximum speed of just over 30 knots early in the race, traveling 551 nautical miles on day three. By day five, however, light air slowed their pace towards the finish at The Lizard and the last several hundred miles were slow going.

While PUMA’s Mar Mostro is now making its way to the team’s summer training camp in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Rambler 100, which took line honors yesterday and established a new record with an elapsed crossing time of 6 days, 22 hours, 8 minutes and 2 seconds, has made its way under motor to Endeavour Quay (Gosport, Portsmouth, U.K.) where the 100′ Maxi will be based until competing in the Rolex Fastnet Race next month.

Meanwhile back out on the North Atlantic where 24 boats are still racing, Jazz, a Cookson 50, has opened up a big lead on the other competitors in IRC Class Two. With 240 miles to go, Jazz expects to get to the finish line early evening Tuesday and have a cushion of about 270 miles over Varuna and Shatki.

In IRC Class Three, Zaraffa, skippered by Huntington Sheldon (Shelburne, Vt.), looks like a certainty for the class win and has just about 100 miles left to finish the race. Unfortunately, it could take some time yet as there is a complete lack of decent wind in the vicinity of The Lizard, so much so that Zarraffa is now well north of the rhumb line — in the Celtic Sea — looking to pick up breeze.

The leading boats in IRC Class Four still have over 500 miles left to race. Carina, the McCurdy and Rhodes 48 skippered by Rives Potts, Jr. (Essex, Conn.), is still leading on the water, but the Army Sailing Association’s British Soldier, with lighter displacement, has made up substantial miles.

The British Army crew is 60 miles behind Carina but the new wind is due to fill in from the west and British Soldier should get into fresh pressure before Carina.
In the Open Class, Maltese Falcon was never going to be able to compete with Phaedo in light air. The 289′ Perini Navi weighs 1100 tons, while Phaedo is a mere 17 tons. Phaedo is nearly 200 miles ahead of Maltese Falcon with just over 100 miles to the finish.

To track the fleet, visit www.transatlanticrace.com.