To the wire in Class One

The RORC's IRC Nationals conclude

Sunday June 27th 2010, Author: Louay Habib, Location: United Kingdom

The tension was mounting at the start of the final day of the RORC IRC National Championship. The international fleet from Belgium, France, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Netherlands and South Africa were waiting to act out the final chapter of the championship. The sea breeze kicked in from the southwest at about 1100 and the fleet got into race mode for the last two races of the championship.

During the day, the southwesterly built from a wispy six knots to a stiff 16 knots with wind over tide, giving the Western Solent some degree of swell; truly sublime racing conditions.

There were dramatic scenes right from the off with a bevy of boats infringing the start line of Race 7. Johnny Vincent’s TP52 Pace was called over the line and got back smartly to not only recover, but to win Race 7. In IRC One there were no less than five boats hauled back to restart.

The RORC IRC Super Zero title was won by Charles Dunstone’s highly impressive TP52 TeamOrigin Rio. Jules Salter, former Ericsson IV navigator, now with Emirates Team New Zealand, was in the afterguard and he had this to say after their win: “It was great to be back sailing in the Western Solent, I can see my house from there! It is a place that I really call home. The tides are pretty well documented but reading the effects on the wind created by the tide is always a challenge, one that I really enjoy, it is a pleasure to sail with Charles and I count many of the crew as good friends.”

In IRC Zero Glynn Williams’ Swan 45 WISC was four points off the lead overnight. WISC took up the challenge, nailing the start of Race 7 and battled all the way to the finish taking the bullet by less than 30 seconds on corrected time. IRC Zero went to the wire. Going into the last race, WISC was level on points with Nick Burns and Fred Kinmouth’s King 40 EFG Bank Mandrake.

John Shepherd’s Ker 46 Fair Do’s VII won the last race of the day, but WISC clinched the IRC National title for Class Zero after coming home second.

‘It is a big, big, big, win,” declared Glynn Williams. “When we saw the fantastic opposition in the fleet, our expectation before the start was top four, so to come here and win is very satisfying indeed. Kevin Sproul did a marvellous job at the back, as he always does but the whole crew should be congratulated; there is not a gram of emotional baggage on board, they are all a pleasure to sail with.”

In IRC One Dave Dwyer’s Mills 39 Marinerscove.ie continued their relentless onslaught, notching up win number four in Race 7. Peter Rutter’s Grand Soleil 43 Quokka 8 was a solid second, but a battle went to the wire for third place between four boats who will be racing in the Rolex Commodores’ Cup: Christopher Opielok’s Corby 36 Rockall III, Robert Davies’ Corby 36 Roxy 6 and Philippe Delaporte’s J/122 Pen Azen. In the last race Rockall III overhauled their rivals to clinch third place.

Marinerscove.ie was also declared overall RORC IRC National Champion. Successfully retaining their title, a feat only ever achieved once before by Justin Slawson’s Big Cheese in 2001.

Andy Beadsworth has a long association with David Dwyer commented: “Before the championship we decided that we would judge our performance by how well we sailed rather than the result and that still stands. I believe that we covered the basics well and got our risk strategy right. The crew work has improved since we won last year and a lot of that is down to a determined effort by everyone on board to reach and maintain a high standard of boat handling. That has enhanced our boat speed which is a crucial area in any kind of yacht racing. Marinerscove.ie is in great shape for the Rolex Commodores’ Cup.”

Chris and Hannah Neve’s No Chance has had a cracking championship and blew the opposition away with a bullet and a second to take the IRC Two title by a healthy margin. It was evident why they have been chosen to represent England for the forthcoming Rolex Commodores’ Cup. No Chance was also awarded the Jackdaw Trophy for second best yacht overall in IRC.

“Overwhelmed, it’s absolutely fantastic to win against such high class opposition, we are so up for the Rolex Commodores’ Cup,” declared a delighted Hannah Neve.

In IRC Three, Louise Morton, steering Anchor Challenge. was first in class beating two other Quarter Tonners; James Morland’s Menace and Mark Lees’ Espada, into second and third respectively. Louise was not sailing her usual boat Espada, but her sistership Anchor Challenge, which is usually sailed by Peter Morton, on duty at the IRC Nationals aboard TeamOrigin Rio. “We are obviously delighted with the win and it was great to sail Anchor Challenge," she said. "We decided to sail her because she is a far more tweaky boat than Espada with additional systems such as halyard locks, but I feel that the greater sail area is more suited to the boys, who weigh a fair bit more than the my all girl crew.”

Racing continues for the Royal Ocean Racing Club, on Friday 2 July with the 164 mile Cowes–Dinard–St Malo Race in association with UNCL, Yacht Club de Dinard, Société Nautique de la Baie de St. Malo and the Royal Yacht Squadron as part of the RORC Season’s Points Championship.

Full results:

Pos	Boat	Type	Owner	IRC	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	Tot

	SuperZero
1	TEAMORIGIN Rio	TP 52	Charles Dunstone	1.375	1	1	1	1	2	2	3	1	9
2	Pace	TP 52	Johnny Vincent	1.374	2	2	2	2	3	3	1	2	14
3	Bob	Farr 52	R Gray & S Laidlaw	1.316	3	3	3	2	1	1	2	3	15


	Zero
1	WISC	Swan 45	Glynn Williams	1.189	2	3	6	1	2	11	1	2	17
2	EFG Bank Mandrake	Mills 40	N Burns & F Kinmonth	1.149	1	1	9	6	1	1	5	7	22
3	Tokoloshe	King 40	Michael Bartholomew	1.12	7	9	2	2	3	4	4	6	28
4	Antix	Ker 39	Anthony O'Leary	1.126	5	4	1	4	10	6	15	3	33
5	Antilope	Grand Soleil 43	Willem Wester	1.115	4	6	4	7	5	7	3	4	33
6	Fair Do's VII	Ker 46	John Shepherd	1.191	8	2	5	8	7	3	10	1	34
7	Dark & Steamy	DK 46	Nick Haigh	1.204	6	5	7	5	6	12	2	5	36
8	Blondie IV	King 40	Anthony Day	1.121	3	7.5	3	3	11	9	8	8	41.5
9	Jeronimo	J 133	Jackie Dobson	1.129	10	7.5	8	9	4	8	7	10.5	53.5
10	Weerga	King 40	Wessel Liezenga	1.116	11	11	11	10	12	5	6	9	63
11	Erivale III	Ker 39	Michael Greville	1.117	9	10	10	11	8	13	11	10.5	69.5
12	Paragon	Ker 11.3	Seb Blair	1.159	15	15	15	12	9	2	12	12	77
13	Pharo	X 41	Baune/Biosse-Duplan/Renier	1.117	12	12	15	13	13	10	9	13	82
14	Atomic of Cowes	Farr 45	Tony Langley	1.226	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	105

	One
1	Marinerscove.ie	Mills 39	David Dwyer	1.111	1	1	3	1	2	2	1	2	10
2	Quokka 8	Grand Soleil 43	Peter Rutter	1.104	2	2	1	3	8	16	3	3	22
3	Rockall III	Corby 36	Christopher Opielok	1.074	6	8.5	6	2	1	6	9	6	35.5
4	Roxy 6	Dale Corby 36	Robert Davies	1.07	11	5	2	7	4	4	6	10	38
5	Pen Azen	J 122	Philippe Delaporte	1.089	4	7	5	4	12	1	7	21	40
6	Gaia	JND 35	Bernard Moureau	1.065	8	4	8	11	5	3	8	5	41
7	La Reponse	First 40	A McIrvine & P Morton	1.085	12	3	4	5	9	11.5	21	1	45.5
8	Passion	Elan 410	Jim Macgregor	1.067	5	8.5	7	13	6	8	2	11	47.5
9	Portia	First 40.7	Andrew Iyer	1.066	7	11	9	9	3	9	10	8	55
10	Coup De Coeur	First 40	M de Saint Denis & G Trentesaux	1.083	3	6	10	10	16	5	13	9	56
11	Allard Natural Stone	Sydney 39	Rudi Floridor	1.1	9	12	14	8	7	19	4	4	58
12	Artemis	Grand Soleil 43	Paul Turner	1.087	10	10	12	16	17	11.5	15	7	81.5
13	Incognito	First 40.7	Paul McNamara	1.061	21	21	21	6	11	7	5	12	83
14	Jua Kali	Grand Soleil 43	Dominic Hurndall	1.097	19	13.5	11	15	19	13	11	14	96.5
15	Tradition Philosophie IV	First 40.7	Nicolas Gaumont-Prat	1.064	13	13.5	13	19	21	15	12	13	98.5
16	Interceptor Of Swanage	First 40.7	Stuart Wilkie	1.065	17	18	15	12	10	20	19	15	106
17	Encore	First 40.7	Steven Anderson	1.061	15	16	16	14	13	18	14	18	106
18	Deliverance 2	Dehler 39	Chris Shipman	1.073	14	15	18	18	14	17	17	17	112
19	Cracklin Rosie	Corby 40	Brian Wilkinson	1.107	16	19	19	17	15	10	18	21	114
20	Biela	Comet 41S	Richard Barnes	1.086	18	17	17	20	18	14	16	16	116

	Two
1	No Chance	First 35	Chris and Hannah Neve	1.032	1	2	3	6	3	2.5	1	2	14.5
2	Waterjet.co.uk	A 35	Steve Northmore	1.032	2	19	2	8	4	2.5	2	1	21.5
3	Mongoose	First 34.7	Tom Snowball	0.997	3	7	5	1	7	4	7	3	30
4	Stiletto	First 35	J Barrett & P Woodward	1.021	4	3	9	2	5	8	3	6.5	31.5
5	Prime Time	A 35	M Alperovitch & J Huillard	1.033	11	1	1	10	1	6	19	5	35
6	Yeoman of Wight	J 109	David Aisher	1.031	13	5	7	4.5	2	1	8	9	36.5
7	Elaine	Elan 37	Mike Bridges	1.017	10	4	6	4.5	12	7	6	11	48.5
8	Thrust	Prism 28	Malcolm Struth	1.009	8	8.5	13	11	13	5	5	4	54.5
9	Banshee	Corby 33	Lance Adams	1.043	16	19	4	3	6	11	14	6.5	60.5
10	Xcitable	X 362	Peter Hodgkinson	1.016	5	10	10	7	11	9	10	15	62
11	Madraco	First 34.7	Richard Lewis	1.003	7	6	12	14	9	10	9	10	63
12	High Tension	J 109	Andrew Given	1.016	14	11	11	12	8	14	4	8	68
13	Malice	HOD 35	Mike Moxley	1.031	15	12	8	9	10	12	13	13	77
14	The Geek !	Stewart 30	Ian Langston	1.014	6	8.5	14	13	15	13	12	12	78.5
15	Tontin	A 35	Wouter Borghijs	1.03	9	13	15	15	19	19	11	19	101
16	Sunshine	Ker 9M	Malcolm Roberts	1.056	17	14	16	16	14	15	16	14	105
17	Brio	Elan 380	Tim Barnett	1.028	12	15	17	17	16	16	15	16	107
18	Newton's Wonder	J 109	David Ballantyne	1.032	18	19	19	19	17	17	17	17	124

	Three
1	Anchor Challenge	Quarter Tonner	Louise Morton		9	3	2	3	1	1	1	1	0.917
2	Menace	Quarter Tonner	James Morland		14	2	1	4	5	2	2	3	0.892
3	Espada	Quarter Tonner	Mark Lees		18	5	3	6	2	3	3	2	0.901
4	Jika Jika	J 97	Mike & Jamie Holmes		20	1	5	1	3	5	6	5	0.983
5	Chimp	Half Tonner	Michael Kershaw		22	4	4	2	4	4	5	4	0.93
6	Who's To No	J 92	Richard Sparrow		33	6	6	5	6	6	4	6	0.983
7	Wizard	J 92	William Howard		42	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	0.984
8	Great Bear IV 1/4	Quarter Tonner	Graham Hetherington		60	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	0.908
8	Runaway Bus	Quarter Tonner	Paul Kelsey		60	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	0.892