Two-handed Transatlantic Race – TWOSTAR

TWOSTAR 2020

The Royal Western Yacht Club of England will run its major transatlantic races, the Original Single-handed Transatlantic Race (OSTAR) and the Two-handed Transatlantic Race (TWOSTAR), again in 2020.

The start of the OSTAR has been brought in one year (it normally runs every four years) to mark the 60th anniversary of the first race run in 1960. The TWOSTAR will again sail in conjunction with the OSTAR. With the two races we will be celebrating 60 years of shorthanded trans-oceanic racing in the Royal Western Yacht Club.

TWOSTAR Background

The Two-handed Transatlantic Race was created in response to the overwhelming success of the Singlehanded OSTAR.

The Club had come under pressure around 1976 from “the establishment” to reduce the boat size and the number of boats in the OSTAR fleet. However it was soon clear that the 1980 OSTAR would massively oversubscribed and that competitors were unhappy about the new boat length restrictions.

So in 1978 the decision was made to accommodate the overflow by running a second race in 1981. Because it was to be for boats sailed by a crew of two it could have more generous limits – 150 entries (100 for 1980 OSTAR) and boat lengths up to 85ft (56ft).

The event, which soon became known as the TwoSTAR, proved popular and it too was oversubscribed.

In that first race the partnership of Chay Blyth and Rob James proved successful and they crossed the line in Newport, Rhode Island in fourteen and a half days. Robin Knox-Johnston entered in Sea Falcon, a huge seventy foot catamaran, and also Jean Lacombe in Yang a twenty-five foot monohull. Once again the Club’s unique and refreshing approach to yacht racing rules allowed for a very wide selection of hull and rig designs. Not only was this policy encouraging technological advances but it was also attracting a wide spectrum of the sailing fraternity.

The success of this first event guaranteed its future and it was repeated in 1986 and 1990. The number of entries decreased for these two races to a more manageable number of 55 and 37 respectively, as the international yachting calendar became busier. The 1990 Race saw the introduction of a new rule. Overall boat length was limited to sixty feet to keep the competition closer and to ease some budgets.

In 1994 the records fell. The 60 foot trimaran Primagaz took 9 days 08 hours and 58 minutes for a new race and multihull race record while Cherbourg Technologies finished in 15 days 00 hours and 31 minutes for the monohull race record.

After 1994 it was clear that the professional racing calendar was overflowing and there would be no room for a TWOSTAR in 1998, so the race was dropped.

However, after the split of the professional ‘grand prix’ media circus from the OSTAR and the success of its return to its original Corinthian ethos in 2005 and 2009, it was decided to run another TWOSTAR in 2012.

The following edition was held in 2017 when it was raced alongside the OSTAR.

The next TWOSTAR starts in 2020 along with the anniversary edition of the OSTAR.

For the history of the race please visit TWOSTAR History