Saturday's (May 18th) RORC 160 nautical mile De Guingand Bowl Race will start off the Royal Yacht Squadron line.
Almost uniquely in the RORC series, the De Guingand Bowl Race starts and finishes in The Solent. This allows the RORC Race team to devise a course that is both tactical and strategic without the influence of a pre-determined route. The racetrack will be decided just 24 hours from the start, depending on weather conditions.
Tim Goodhew and Kelvin Matthews racing Sun Fast 3200 Cora Photo: Paul Wyeth
Nineteen teams will be competing for Race One of the 2024 IRC Two Handed National Championship. Tim Goodhew & Kelvin Matthews racing Sun Fast 3200 Cora (GB) are the reigning champions, having won both races for the championship last year. Tough British opposition to Cora includes Rob Craigie & RORC Commodore Deb Fish racing Sun Fast 3600 Bellino and Ian Hoddle’s Sun Fast 3300 Game On, racing with Ollie Wyatt. Top overseas competition includes Astrid de Vin & Roeland Franssens with JPK 1030 Il Corvo (NED) and two French Sun Fast 3200s: Philippe Benaben’s Platypus and Oliver Hays Kia Ora. Hamish Pimm’s pocket-rocket Dehler 30 Black Betty (GBR) is the highest rated double-handed entry, all be it the smallest boat in the race.
Eric de Turckheim’s NMD 54 Teasing Machine (FRA) Photo: Paul Wyeth
The fastest boat on rating for this year’s De Guingand Bowl Race is Eric de Turckheim’s NMD 54 Teasing Machine (FRA) which was second overall for the 2023 RORC Season’s Points Championship.
Mark Emerson’s A13 Phosphorous II (GBR) Photo: James Mitchell
Competition in IRC Zero will come from Mark Emerson’s A13 Phosphorous II (GBR) which is the current leader for IRC Zero for 2024. The De Graaf family’s Ker 43 Barak GP (NED) will be taking part in their second race of the season.
Derek Shakespeare’s J/122 Bulldog Photo: Paul Wyeth
In IRC One, Sport Nautique Club’s Xp44 Orange Mecanix 2 (FRA) will be once again skippered by Maxime de Mareuil. Two J/122s will do battle with RORC Treasurer Derek Shakespeare’s Bulldog (GBR) up against Tim Tolcher’s Raging Bull 4 (GBR).
Racing fully-crewed in IRC Two are three highly successful RORC regulars: Trevor Middleton’s Sun Fast 3600 Black Sheep (GBR), overall winner of the Cervantes Trophy Race. Multiple season class champion, Ross Applebey’s Oyster 48 Scarlet Oyster (GBR) and the Army Sailing Association’s Sun Fast 3600 Fujitsu British Soldier (GBR). The oldest boat in the race is the 1973 Admiral’s Cupper, Nicholson 55 Quailo III, owned by Andrew Tseng.
Andrew Tseng's Nicholson 55 Quailo III Photo: Rick Tomlinson
Three Sun Fast 30 One Designs will have their own personal battle in IRC Two. Kevin Armstrong’s Cap Altair will be racing Two-Handed with Joza Cic. Their one design opposition will be two Sun Fast 30s chartered to the RORC and fully-crewed by the Griffin Youth Squad. Charlie Muldoon skippers Cap Polaris and Matt Beecher skippers Cap Sela.
Sun Fast 30 ODs Cap Sela & Cap Polaris Photo: Paul Wyeth
IRC Three has eleven entries with Sun Fast 3200 Cora as one of the favourites. Rob Cotterill’s J/109 Mojo Risin (GBR) pushed Cora all the way last year, claiming runner-up on IRC corrected time and third overall by just under seven minutes. Two J/99s will also be in the mix: Jean-Lin Flipo’s Yalla! (FRA) and Mark Kendall’s Jiro (GBR).
Rob Cotterill’s J/109 Mojo Risin' Photo: Paul Wyeth
As with all RORC Offshore races, the overall winner will be decided by the best elapsed time after IRC time correction. The De Guingand Bowl is the prize, named after E.P. Buster de Guingand. A RORC Vice Commodore in the 1960s, Buster played an integral part in steering the American CCA and RORC rules into a combined IOR rule in 1969.
2024 De Guingand Bowl Race entries are here
