Done and dusted

A final report, results, photos (and comments) from the IRC Nationals

Lack of wind caused a delay to racing in the final day of the IRC National Championship organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club on Sunday. Racing finally got under way at shortly after one o'clock. Windward/leeward courses with a leeward gate in the central Solent were the battle grounds for some superb sailing and plenty of drama.

There were numerous general recalls and Z flag penalties as competitors, right through all five classes, were too eager to nail the start line.

Sunday was all about spotting the wind shifts and the short course meant that slick crew work and quick and efficient preparation were both critical.

As the Class Super Zero fleet got away the wind picked up to about 12 knots from the south west. This was just as the seven speed machines were approaching the line and caused virtually every boat to be over, even though the Z Flag was flying. A general recall was announced and on the restart, with the Z Flag still flying, Charles Dunstone's Rio and the UK Sailing Academy's Chernikeeff 2 were over once again.

On the beat Ran, Flash Glove and Stay Calm showed good pace. Many hours spent on the water and a top class crew paid off for Ran who eventually took the gun.

Ran continued to dominate in the last race of the day which was a re-sail of the abandoned race at the end of Day Two. The wind had dropped to about nine knots and continued as shifty as it had been all weekend. Ran continued to play the shifts to extend their lead over the competition. Rio and Stay Calm were second and third respectively but some distance behind Ran who made it five wins out of eight to take the big boat national title.

IRC S0

	Sail No	Boat		Owner		R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R7	R7	Pts
1	GBR528R	Ran	TP52	Niklas Zennstrom	1.371	1	2	1	5.5	2	1	1	8
2	GBR5252R	Stay Calm	TP52	Stuart Robinson	1.358	3	1	5	1	6	3	3	16
3	GBR93R	Rio	TP 52	Charles Dunstone	1.373	6	3	2	4	1	7	2	18
4	IRL5252	Flash Glove	TP 52	Colm Barrington	1.368	2	7	3	3	4	2	4	18
5	GBR952R	Henri Lloyd - Cutting Edge	TP52	Robert Lutener & Martin Elwood	1.364	4	4	4	5.5	5	4	5	26
6	GBR6880R	Alegre	Mills 68	Andres Soriano	1.533	7	6	7	2	3	9	9	34
7	GBR76R	John Merricks II	TP52	Volvo RYA Keelboat Programme	1.358	5	5	6	8	8	6	6	36
8	GBR52R	Chernikeeff 2	Farr 52	Peter Harrison	1.316	8	8	8	7	7	9	7	45

In Class Zero for Race 7, two boats fell foul of the Z Flag penalty. Gery Trentesaux's First 45, Lady Courrier and, sensationally, class leader Anthony O'Leary's Ker 39, Antix Eile.

Meanwhile Belgian, Francois Goubau's First 47.7, Moana, revelled in the heavier airs, winning her first race of the championship with Tony Buckingham's IRC 40, Ngoni second. John Shepherd's Kerr 46, Fair Do's VII was just behind in third, but with Antix Eile's Z flag penalty taken into consideration Fair Do's was now winning the class with one race to go.

Race 8 was won by Lady Courrier, a great come back after the disappointment of the previous race. Antix Eile was second and Tim Costello's brand new Mills 43 finally got a podium finish with a third place. Fair Do's VII was in equal fourth place and did enough to secure a class and "psychological" win over their arch rivals for the forthcoming Rolex Commodores' Cup.

TheDailySail's Andy Nicholson raced onboard Ngoni, see the report below.

IRC 0

	Sail No	Boat	Type of Boat	Owner		R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	Pts
1	GBR4601L	Fair Do's VII	Ker 46	John Shepherd	1.189	2.5	3	3	1	1	4	3	4.5	17.5
2	IRL3939	Antix Eile	Ker 39	Anthony O'Leary	1.125	1	2	2	11	2	2	10	2	21
3	GBR1294R	Ngoni	IRC40	Anthony Buckingham	1.146	7	1	9.5	4	3	6	2	4.5	27.5
4	FRA35547	Lady Courrier	First 45	Gery Trentesaux	1.124	5	7	4	8	8	3	8	1	36
5	GBR95R	Dark & Steamy	DK46	Nick Haigh	1.21	6	5	8	2	7	7	15	9	44
6	GBR124R	Yeoman XXXII	Rogers 46	David Aisher	1.275	12	4	1	3	5	19	9	12	46
7	GBR1545R	Poppy of Portland Marina	First 45	John Dean	1.135	2.5	12	6	12	14	1	5	8	46.5
8	IRL12345	Tiamat	Mills43	Tim Costello	1.189	10	14	5	9	6	5	17	3	52
9	GBR11N	Apollo	J133	Nigel Passmore	1.12	8	11	7	10	4	11	6.5	6	52.5
10	BEL4701	Moana	First 47.7	François Goubau	1.12	13	13	9.5	17	10	8	1	15	69.5
11	GBR4908R	Pace	Marten 49	Simon Tate & Johnny Vincent	1.257	9	15	14	5	13	12	17	7	75
12	GBR46L	Shockwave	DK46	Nick Lutte	1.209	4	20	20	7	11	15	8	11	76
13	NED7842	Holmatro ING Real Estate	Club Swan 42	Lennard van Oeveren	1.175	11	6	12	15	16	10	12	16	82
14	GBR9402R	Audacious	Dubois 40	Jon Pegg	1.167	20	8	16	6	9	17	14	13	83
15	GBR4321	Oystercatcher XXVI	Humphreys 42R	Richard Matthews	1.216	14	13.2	13.2	13	12	16	11	10	86.4
16	GBR150L	Novus Arca	First 50	Tony McBride	1.16	17	9	13	18	15	9	10	14	87
17	FRA27967	Jivaro	J133	Yves Grosjean	1.13	16	10	15	14	17	13	20	20	105
18	GBR51R	Argie Bargie	King 40	Allan Hogg	1.125	15	16	11	16	18	14	20	20	110
19	GBR9640R	Predator	Murray 41	Penny Pariso	1.142	18	20	20	19	19	18	16	17	127

Class One was also subject to several restarts and eventually the fleet got away in Race seven with three boats taking a Z Flag penalty. Dramatically the class leader, Eamon Rohan's Mills 40, Blondie IV was scored OCS. Connor & Denise Phelan's Ker 36, Jump Juice, took full advantage with a win. The Army Sailing Association's Archambault 40, British Soldier, showed electric pace, especially upwind and scored a second with Bernard Moureau's Archambault 40, Aria in third.

Although Aria won the last race in Class One, it was Jump Juice that scored a crucial second place to win the class. Blondie IV could only manage a fourth. Such was the level of competition in Class one Blondie IV made just one slip up in the entire regatta but it cost them the title.

IRC 1

	Sail No	Boat	Type of Boat	Owner		R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	Pts
1	IRL2007	Jump Juice	Ker 37	Conor & Denise Phelan	1.098	4	1	2	1	2	3	1	2	12
2	IRL3008	Blondie IV	King 40	Eamonn Rohan	1.117	1	2	1	2	1	2	18	4	13
3	FRA34645	Aria	Archambault A40RC	Bernard Moureau	1.098	5	6	3	3	3	4	4	1	23
4	GBR5940R	Tokoloshe	King 40	Michael Bartholomew	1.117	2	3	6	6	6	5	5.5	3	30.5
5	NED4343	ROARK	Grand Soleil 43	Kees Kaan	1.114	3	7	8	4	7	1	14	18	44
6	GBR1429L	British Soldier	Archambault A40RC	Army Sailing Association	1.095	9	9	7	5	11	8	3	6	47
7	GBR236R	Erivale III	Kerr 39CR	Mike Greville	1.118	7	5	10	13	4	9	9	5	49
8	GBR8410R	Premier Flair	Elan 410	Jim Macgregor	1.081	11	13	5	9	9	10	5.5	7	56.5
9	BEL3939	Allard	Sydeney 39	Rudi Floridor	1.106	10	11	9	7	8	7	5	11	57
10	FRA27909	Courrier du Coeur	First 44.7	Marc de Saint Denis	1.107	6	12	4	17	5	6	18	9	59
11	GBR6501N	White Knuckles	Prima 38	Mervyn Hughes	1.075	13	10	13	10	10	11	13	10	77
12	GBR79R	Software Mistress	Ker 36 Custom	Ian Maclean	1.086	8	8	12	15	17	14	8	13	78
13	GBR6665R	Cajou	IMX 40	Mark Chatfield	1.091	14	4	11	12	16	16	10	14	81
14	GBR851R	Cracklin Rosie	Corby 40	Brian Wilkinson	1.1	12	15	14	8	12	17	14	8	83
15	GBR7640T	Cracker	IMX 40	Stephen Heppell	1.091	18	18	18	14	13	13	7	12	95
16	GBR4477L	Koko Kai	First 44.7	Kristin Pagano	1.105	15	18	15	11	14	12	15	15	97
17	GBR560	Simply the Best	Grand Soleil 43	Philip Wood	1.098	16	14	18	16	15	15	18	18	112

The Class Two fleet had a long wait to get away due to the large number of restarts in the other classes. They then added to the wait with two more general recalls of their own. They got away third time lucky, but with no less than six boats receiving a Z Flag penalty. Steve Northmore's Archambault 35, Waterjet has improved all regatta and came out on top in Race 7, Eamon and Alan Crosbie's Teng Tools ( Voodoo Chile) was in second place and Peter Rutter continued to impress in third. The real story here was David Nixon in his Corby 36, Rosie who decided to race sistership Quokka 7 off the course to settle the class win. Skipper David Dixon admitted they got themselves in a real mess;

"We thought there was only going to be one race today and we decided to sail Quokka to the back of the fleet. But it all went badly wrong for us and fair play to Quokka, they sailed smartly and got out of the trap."

So, the pendulum swung towards a class win for Peter Rutter's Corby 36, Quokka 7. In the last race, Jamie McWilliam's J/109, Yeoman of Wight, won by a comfortable margin and it would have been two "bullets" today for the team from Hong Kong, if it had not been for a Z Flag penalty in Race 7. Quokka 7 had a shocker, managing only seventh when they had the Class win within grasp. In the end, David Nixon's team from Howth on Rosie hung on for a class win, a big relief for them after the shenanigans of Race 7.

	Sail No	Boat				R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	Pts
1	IRL789	Rosie	Corby 36	Roy & Vera Dickson	1.074	1	1	1	3	5.5	3	8	5	19.5
2	GBR1236L	Quokka 7	Corby 36	Peter Rutter	1.071	4	2	2	6	1	1	5	8	21
3	HKG1242R	Yeoman of Wight	J109	Jamie McWilliam	1.031	7	3	7	2	4	9	7	1	31
4	IRL3232	Teng Tools (Voodoo Chile)	Ker 32	Eamon & Alan Crosbie	1.051	2	4	4	8	5.5	10	4	6	33.5
5	GBR7735R	Waterjet	A35	Steve Northmore	1.035	10	21	3	5	3	2	2	9	34
6	IRL11137	No Naked Flames	Sllim 37	Andrew Allen	1.073	3	13	8	1	2	29	9	2	38
7	FRA34634	Prime Time	A35	Daignaux Huillard	1.035	17	6	6	11	14	4	6	7	54
8	GBR8522R	Love Shack	First 40.7	Tim Spalding	1.073	9	29	5	4	9	5	29	4	65
9	GBR9735T	Vortex	X-35	Tim & Sophie Harrington	1.051	20	23	20	12	7	6	13	3	81
10	GBR9359R	Sir Duck Tion	HOD35	Roy Morgan	1.031	14	11	10	9	15	14	10	14	82
11	GBR5991T	Prime Suspect	Mills 36	Dave Richards	1.074	5	15	15	15	21	8	14	11	83
12	GBR7712R	Zarafa	HOD 35	Peter Scholfield	1.031	8	14	9	13	12	15	22	15	86
13	GBR4206T	Sleeper	J39	Jonty Layfield	1.059	11	16	18	16	8	13	9	17	90
14	NED7307	Rosetta From The Rocks	Dehler 36	Raboud Crul	1.039	29	29	11	10	17	7	7	13	94
15	GBR7031T	Sanguma	Ker 31	Chris Walmsley	1.036	21	5	14	21	10	17.5	15	12	94.5
16	GBR9570T	Jaguar of Burnham	J109	Adrian Lower	1.034	12	17	23	7	13	19.5	12	16	96.5
17	GBR7383R	Puma Logic	Reflex 38	Sailing Logic	1.069	13	8	13	20	19	16	28	10	99
18	GBR1405R	Elaine	Elan 37	Mike Bridges	1.031	19	22	17	14	22	11	18.5	18	119.5
19	GBR704R	Tradition Philosophie IV	First 40.7	Nicolas Gaumont-Prat	1.064	23	10	22	25	11	12	23	22	123
20	GBR979R	Malice	HOD 35	Mike Moxley	1.032	18	19	12	23	16	22	20	19	126
21	GBR9033R	No Retreat	Corby 33	David Riley	1.042	15	20	19	22	23	21	16	20	133
22	GBR7777L	Passion	Elan 410	Paul Jones	1.072	25	9	29	17	18	17.5	27	21	134.5
23	GBR7080T	Tarka	First 40.7	Guy Prest	1.064	24	7	21	24	20	19.5	29	29	144.5
24	GBR7382R	Jaguar Logic	Reflex 38	Sailing Logic	1.066	22	18	24	19	25	29	18.5	29	155.5
25	GBR4070L	Incognito	First 40.7	Paul McNamara	1.061	16	12	16	29	29	29	29	29	160
26	IRL3550	Exaltation	X35	David McFarland	1.048	6	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	180
27	GBR9470R	Iskareen	Corby 33	Robert Napier	1.047	29	29	29	18	26	23	29	29	183
28	GBR5109R	Designstar 2	J109	Roger Phillips	1.03	29	29	29	26	24	24	29	29	190

Class Three saw the Z flag causing mayhem for the leaders but Peter Morton's First 34.7, Salvo, stayed out of trouble, posting a win and a second to take the class title. Salvo won three races out of eight, but more importantly kept out of the protest room or did not concede a penalty. They were also consistent on the water, never lower than sixth in any race.

Overall, the standard of sailing at the RORC IRC Nationals was exceptional. Inevitably, the eventual class winners and the overall champion were the boats that posted consistent results and stayed out of trouble. Many crews learnt that whilst sometimes it may be possible to try a risky move to gain a couple of places if it goes wrong then the percentage losses can be very costly indeed. Fortune does sometimes favour the brave, but consistency is always the mark of champions.

As always, special thanks goes to the RORC Race Committee, many of whom are volunteers. Without their time and effort, it would not be possible for the event to take place.

IRC 3

	Sail No	Boat				R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	Pts
1	GBR73R	Salvo	First 34.7	Peter Morton	1.012	4	6	4	5	1	1	2	1	18
2	GBR9999T	ASAP	Quarter Ton	Alexander Christie	0.917	1	1	10	2	6	10	4	2	26
3	GBR362T	Extra Djinn	X362 Sport	Neville Hodkin	1.026	10	3	3	14	3	3	3	3	28
4	GBR4365T	Dean and Dyball Enigma	MG346	Ian Braham	0.95	5	5	5	4	4	5	5	5.5	33
5	GBR8500R	Brightwork	X332	Bob Baker	0.994	9	9	4	8	2	4	9	7	43
6	GBR5678T	Scarlet Jester	Seaquest SJ320	Jamie Muir	0.988	8	11	8	6	8	12	1	5.5	47.5
7	NED118	Winsome	S & S 41	Harry Heijst	0.992	13	4	2	13	5	2	10	17	49
8	GBR221T	BlackBerry ® with Catch 22	Humphreys Custom 27	David Rider	0.918	7	2	11	3	13	11	9	8	51
9	GBR8534R	Jostix	J92s	Nicholas Over	0.996	2	10	9	7	7	17	16	4	55
10	GBR6895T	Xcitable	X362 Sport	Peter Hodgkinson	1.021	3	14	7	10	9	8	11	10	58
11	GBR3851	Hephzibah	High Tension 36	David Lees	0.956	11	7	14	1	11	6	10	17	60
12	GBR9395R	Elusive	Elan 333	Jackie & Robert Dobson	0.98	14	12	12	9	12	7	8	9	69
13	GBR9716R	Hot Rats	Humphreys 30	S G (Robbie) Robinson	0.995	6	8	13	14	14	13	12	11	77
14	GBR9887	Electra	X-99 MOD	Mike Tattersall	0.963	12	13	6	12	10	9	17	17	79
15	GBR8853T	Trumble Too	Bavaria 44	Neil Brailsford	1.017	15	15	15	15	15	14	14	12	100
16	GBR4983R	Jos of Hamble	Beneteau First 34.7	Clemency Williams	0.992	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	119

TheDailySail’s Andy Nicholson was racing in Class 0 on Tony Buckingham’s Mills 40 Ngoni .

This morning it feels like I have just returned from Spi Ouest, such are the hours we have logged on the water at the IRC Nationals. We like several other big boats ‘commuted’ from Hamble to the race area each day and that meant leaving the dock at 8.30 am and not returning until gone 7pm. The French yachts competing must have loved it!

This event marked a return for Tony to racing and not having steered (apart from helming his 41m sailing ketch) for four years he was back into the groove on Friday winning the second race. After the first day it quickly became apparent that both Fair Do’s and especially the Irish on Antix Eile (still with Magic Glove on the side so that what we called them) were going to be a tough task to beat. What cost the Irish was two OCS’s, one of which they were not able to recover from and that let Fair Do’s in for the class win on the final race.

I felt that in the end the RORC, with 75 boats entered should have run two race committees - this would have helped them out enormously and made the whole thing more manageable. Because of the depth of water needed for Class Super 0 (especially Alegre who draws 4.5m) all the smaller boats had to come off the same start line – Classes 1,2,3 could have had fantastic racing all weekend long on Hill Head, but instead were stuck with us in the notoriously difficult Ryde Middle area in fickle seabreeze conditions with 40 degree shifts and 14m of water. And we ended up doing long (the same as the TP52s) and at times tedious races, which wasn’t necessary.

My view also is that the Committee did not respect the calibre of the sailors in the fleets either during the course of the weekend – asking ‘us’ to “respect the line” at one point! (Put in a decent line etc…) The rigid style of the race management was not up to dealing with the professional/highly experienced teams on many of the yachts. The RORC’s Eddie Warden Owen was sailing on the TP52 Flash Glove and I hope that seeing it all first hand will be of benefit to everyone in the future.

Sunday saw the Russian VOR70 (in the background) come out for a sail


It was great to see so many yachts out racing and many to such a high standard. UK based IRC sailing is very healthy. A few trends were noted: Black is the new Black – wearing any other colour nowadays is just not cool. Bowmen shinning out to the end of one’s bowsprit during the prestart to check for damage is a good look and the Ker Irish team have my money on them for the Rolex Commodore’s Cup.

Unfortunately Tony was unable to sail for Saturday and Sunday and so Elvstrom Sobstad’s Kevin Sproul took to the wheel and on Saturday pulled of a start that will I remember for some time. Everyone wanted the pin end (against foul tide) – it was a big scrap from 1 minute 30 out. We nearly locked out Fair Do’s who slid across our bow, but then couldn’t lay the pin. Nor could we, but with 2 seconds to go Kevin brought the bow up and we tacked onto port within inches of the pin end buoy, crossed Tiamat by 2 feet and port tacked the fleet. It was a ‘money can’t buy this experience’ moment and of great amusement to all of us onboard!

Buzzed by the matching helicopter on Sunday as Tony returns home to Jersey


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