Cervantes Trophy goes to Roxy 9

Report and full results from RORC's bank holiday race

In the build up to any race, inshore or offshore, competitors and organisers alike monitor the weather, especially with gale force winds predicted for the Channel, in the lead up to an offshore start. It turned out that the RORC race team travelling to the finish on a P & O ferry probably had the roughest ride in a force 9!

By the Saturday morning start at 0800 from the RYS line in Cowes, the worst of the weather had gone through and the fleet set off in a SW 15-17. Heading out east to the Forts with a strong tide under them the fleet were line shy giving clear starts in all classes. A pleasant reach through the Forts, a few yachts tried to hold kites, but failed. The forecast was for the wind to go lighter and more southerly throughout the day as the fleet headed across the Channel towards the French coast. The Race committee in Cowes decided to use the shorter of the two published courses which would to take the fleet direct to Le Havre.

The fleet split with Roxy 9, owned by Robert Davies and with Robbie Cameron-Davies on board, sailing the Rhumb line but the flooding tide took her 15 degrees below. This became the winning tactic, as boats which allowed themselves to slide east were the first to find the new wind, as it clocked from 220 to 140. Those who sailed high to begin with, expecting a southerly, became trapped on the right side of the course. Class Zero boats had the benefit of strong flood tides flowing up the river Seine at the finish, with Class 2 and 3 boats having to beat against a foul tide.

The finishing line became a challenge for committees and race officials. Several boats failed to finish correctly and identification in the dark hours, without co-operation from competitors was nearly impossible. Remember with RORC races please help the Race Officer! You have VHF and mobiles, speak to us!

First to finish was Windward Sailing’s, Volvo 60, Venom at 21 00 followed at 21 02 by Kit Hobday & Tim Louis’s, Farr 52, Bear of Britain, and Nick Hewson’s Volvo For Life Team Tonic at 21 10. It was then to be a long night but most of the fleet were in by dawn with the remainder finishing during Sunday morning. A prizegiving was held, in warmth and sunshine, at the Societe des Regates du Havre. Jonathan Goring and Philip Woods, RORC Committee members made a great “double act” in conducting the prizegiving and thanking the President of the Club, Anne de Bagneaux-Savatier for their wonderful hospitality.

Qualifying for the Rolex Fastnet race was important for many of the boats in the Cervantes Trophy race as they set out to gain the required race mileage to secure entry into the Fastnet. Equally important for boats such as Bear of Britain and Volvo for Life Team Tonic is tuning up for the Admiral’s Cup. Representing the Royal Thames Yacht Club and the Royal Southern Yacht Club respectively the competition between these two Farr 52s will be something to watch between now and the AC which is being held in Cowes from 10 – 23 July.

In the 88 strong fleet 5 boats were racing two-handed. With the complexity of trying to put together large numbers of crews some owners are looking at, if not two-handed, the “short handed” option. RORC General Conditions allow for a two-handed division with automatic or wind-vane steering permitted. Entries must satisfy the committee that they have suitable and adequate experience with an appropriately organised boat.

RORC medallions will be presented on Tuesday 20 May, 1930 at the Clubhouse, 20 St James’s Place, London SW1. All crews will be welcome.

Results, IRC Overall:

	Boat	Type of Boat	Owner	Elapsed	Handicap	Corrected
1	Roxy 9	J 145	Robert Davies	13:22:22	1.22	16:18:53
2	Exabyte 2	IMX 40	Shaun Frohlich	14:58:42	1.096	16:24:59
3	Bear of Britain	Farr 52	Kit Hobday / Tim Louis	12:32:21	1.318	16:31:36
4	Magnum II	IMX 40	Andrew Pearce	15:09:50	1.095	16:36:16
5	Volvo For Life Team Tonic	Farr 52	Nick Hewson	12:40:52	1.316	16:41:18
6	Cutting Edge	Mills 36	R Lutener / P James / M Elwood	15:33:00	1.076	16:43:54
7	Fastwave II	First 40.7	A C P Sailing	15:40:06	1.071	16:46:51
8	Oz Privateer	Prima 38	Donald Kennedy	15:32:20	1.089	16:55:19
9	Jeronimo	J 109	Jonathan & Lisa Goring	16:27:58	1.032	16:59:35
10	Flair IV	Elan 40	Jim MacGregor	16:20:12	1.045	17:04:19
11	Jalfrezi	J120	Andrew Greenwood	15:50:39	1.08	17:06:42
12	Longbow	Prima 38	Army Sailing Association	15:49:35	1.087	17:12:12
13	Second Love	Standfast 64	Gerard Cok	13:36:06	1.273	17:18:54
14	Jezebel	J 109	Bruce Isles & Philip Swatman	16:53:45	1.027	17:21:07
15	Closing Time	Prima 38	David Riley & Andrew Yates	15:56:28	1.089	17:21:36
16	Old Mother Gun	Humphreys one-off	Phil Farrands	16:41:16	1.041	17:22:19
17	Blue Elixir	X 412	Richard Long	16:21:48	1.062	17:22:40
18	Incisor of Wight	Corby 45	Windward Sailing	14:43:25	1.185	17:26:51
19	Highland Spirit	Sigma 38	Vince Hayter	17:33:35	0.995	17:28:19
20	Mostly Harmless	Prima 38	Tom Hayhoe & Natalie Jobling	16:04:38	1.089	17:30:29
21	Marionette	J 120	Chris Dunning	15:59:00	1.096	17:31:04
22	Euphorix	Sigma 38	Joanna Martin	17:36:41	0.995	17:31:24
23	Dark Star	X 412	Geoff Chapman	16:26:33	1.066	17:31:40
24	Xcitable	X 362	Stephen Bromley	17:00:40	1.031	17:32:18
25	Mora II	Sunfast 42	Christian Maria	16:37:03	1.062	17:38:52
26	Arbitrator	Sigma 38	Peter Hopps	17:50:26	0.995	17:45:05
27	Venom	Volvo 60	Windward Sailing	12:30:34	1.422	17:47:18
28	Scarlet Oyster	Oyster Ligtwave 48	Gordon Applebey	16:42:00	1.067	17:49:08
29	Thunder 2	Mills 36	Donald Wilks	16:00:15	1.114	17:49:43
30	One Life	Sunfast 37	Jeremy Baker	17:42:30	1.009	17:52:04
31	Night and Day	Figaro	Pascal Loison	18:01:26	0.996	17:57:06
32	Doris J of Fivestar	J109	Five Star Sailing	17:41:15	1.017	17:59:17
33	Exile	X 312	Nicholas de la Fourniere	19:29:50	0.926	18:03:16
34	Rangatira	First 40.7	Yves Ravot	16:48:11	1.077	18:05:49
35	L'Adjamé	First 36.7	Jean-Louis Chaix	17:42:39	1.024	18:08:09
36	Senequet	Figaro	Jerome Vol	18:16:56	0.997	18:13:39
37	Simply the Best	Baltic 42	Philip Wood	17:35:45	1.036	18:13:45
38	Torbellino	Sigma 38	Rob Craigie	18:19:22	0.995	18:13:52
39	Spirit of Defiance	Contessa 33	Mark Jephcott	19:27:34	0.938	18:15:11
40	Psipsina	HOD 35	John Loden	17:58:09	1.016	18:15:24
41	Mefisto	Sigma 38	Kevin Sussmilch	18:20:59	0.995	18:15:29
42	Lightning Reflex	Reflex 38	Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein SC	17:06:45	1.067	18:15:33
43	Dansos	Comfotina 38	David Lewis & Bob McPherson	18:15:54	1.002	18:18:06
44	A.W.O.L.	Corby 33	Stephen Thomas	17:52:52	1.024	18:18:37
45	Predator of Wight	Murray 41	Windward Sailing	16:03:33	1.143	18:21:20
46	Lutine	Swan 53	Lloyds of London YC	16:40:49	1.104	18:24:54
47	Rainmaker	Lightwave 395	Julian Charles Nichols	17:35:58	1.05	18:28:46
48	Nightlife	Sigma 41	Tom & Karen Sperrey	18:51:43	0.98	18:29:05
49	Forward Thinking	Reflex 38	Geoffrey West	17:21:06	1.067	18:30:51
50	Njos	Corby 35	Tim Octon	17:39:00	1.05	18:31:57
51	Roaring Meg	IMX 38	Sail UK Yachting & Racing	17:27:42	1.073	18:44:11
52	Pendulum	Sigma 38	Russell Seekins / Christopher Cockell	19:00:44	0.995	18:55:02
53	Premier Cru	Sigma 38	James Barr	19:01:50	0.995	18:56:07
54	Ingotism	X 412	Bank of England Sailing Club	17:44:00	1.068	18:56:21
55	Sigress	Sigma 33	David & Fiona Crawforth	20:29:32	0.928	19:01:00
56	Domaine	J 32	Chris Burbidge	19:47:49	0.962	19:02:41
57	Vitesse	Sigma 38	Simcox / Taunt / England	19:15:52	0.995	19:10:05
58	Dragonfly of Bosham	Sigma 38	N Aitchison/G Charwood/P Griffiths	19:17:35	0.995	19:11:48
59	Wave Train	Sigma 38	Robin Miller	19:18:15	0.995	19:12:28
60	Draig O'r Mor	Dehler 36 Mod	Nick Barlow	19:20:49	0.994	19:13:51
61	Spirit of Isis	Farr 65	Alex Thomson	15:08:43	1.274	19:17:42
62	Cas	Dehler 34	Philippe Falle	20:42:17	0.937	19:24:01
63	Ocean Breeze	Elan 38	Philip Ives	19:23:54	1.002	19:26:14
64	Hope & Glory Unicef	IOR 50	Sail UK Yachting & Racing	16:40:08	1.178	19:38:09
65	Mavis III of Gosport	Carter One-off	Stephen Winter	20:48:41	0.948	19:43:45
67	Heavens Above V	Freedom 35	Christopher Anderson	21:22:09	0.93	19:52:24
68	Billy Whiz	Sigma 38	Ivan Fawcett	20:01:04	0.995	19:55:04
69	Girolle	First 36s7	Tim Corner	20:06:16	0.991	19:55:25
70	Jos of Hamble	J 105	Clemency Williams	19:36:37	1.016	19:55:27
71	Boozeroo	Thomas 33	Mr Richard Butler	21:33:44	0.928	20:00:35
72	Flame	Sweden 38	Martin Fordham	19:56:41	1.004	20:01:28
73	Black Adder	Sigma 41	Timothy Carlisle	19:58:20	1.009	20:09:07
74	San Miguel	Dufour 40	Christian Girerd	19:46:29	1.04	20:33:57
66	In X Celsis	X 119	Peter Jones	18:42:47	1.06	19:50:09
75	Prime Evil	Sigma 400	Tony Bull	19:35:29	1.056	20:41:19
76	Prospero of Hamble	Sigma 33	John Harmer	22:30:54	0.928	20:53:38
77	Mogibear	X 402	Gary Richardson	20:04:59	1.043	20:56:48
78	Chied	First 31.7	Andrew Robert Cannell	22:19:51	0.949	21:11:31
79	Dreamcatcher of Hamble	Oceanis 411	Dennis Pearce	21:34:58	0.982	21:11:39
80	Mustigo II	Sigma 38	Stephen Scholefield	21:24:26	0.995	21:18:01
81	Wild Goose II	Rush	Michael Conroy	1 - 01:00:59	0.87	21:45:51
82	Splash	Scanmar 40	Gordon Berry	22:14:42	0.997	22:10:42
83	Wishstream II	Nicholson 43	Gareth Mann	1 - 00:00:03	0.945	22:40:51
84	Idefix	First 31.7	Jean-Jacques Néré	23:59:29	0.965	23:09:06
85	Spellbinder	Starlight 39	Phoenix Yacht Club	1 - 00:24:33	0.97	23:40:37
86	Moonshadow II	Contessa 32	Ian Coglin	1 - 05:02:20	0.874	1 - 01:22:48
87	White Knuckles	Prima 38	Mike Ridley	1 - 01:50:46	1.086	1 - 04:04:08