In Class Super Zero, the cream of British yachting racing Niklas Zennstrom’s TP 52, Rán, finished off the regatta in style with a perfect row of eight bullets. The crew included; Ado Stead; Steve Hayles; Andy Hemmings; Guy Reid and Mo Gray who have all competed in the America’s Cup.
Rán Skipper, Tim Powell commented; “It will be a while before we are sailing in the Solent again, so we were motivated to go out on a bang and eight straight wins was very satisfying. Heartfelt congratulations to Marinerscove for winning the overall title.”
The overall champion is decided with a formula that reflects the size of the classes so despite a perfect score, Rán was beaten by the winners of a larger class.
Robert Lutener & Martin Elwood’s TP 52, Cutting Edge was second and the UK Sailing Academy racing Peter Harrison’s Farr 52, Chernikeef 2 was third.
In IRC Class Zero, Michael Bartholomew’s King 40, Tokoloshe won the penultimate race by less than a minute, but Piet Vroon’s Ker 46, Tonnerre de Breskens bounced back to take the last race to clinch the class title. “ I am delighted for Piet and his crew,” Commented yacht designer, Jason Ker. “I am sure there is more room for improvement, but they handled the boat extremely well in a huge variety of conditions. Winning our class at the RORC IRC National Championship shows that a fast light boat, under 50ft, can rate well under the rule. Tonnerre will be competing for the De Guingand Bowl next weekend and we will find out how she goes offshore.”
Tokoloshe had a fine regatta to take second place in class and Tony Langley’s Farr 45, Atomic of Cowes managed to sneak into third place, with a second place in the last race of the championship.
There was a titanic battle in IRC Class One between Dave Dwyer’s Mills 39, MarinersCove.ie and Peter Rutter’s, Corby 30, Quokka and it went right to the wire. Quokka won race seven to pile on the pressure and MarinersCove.ie responded, winning the last race by under a minute. The victory not only meant a class win, but the MarinersCove.ie team from Ireland also won the glittering prize of overall champion for the RORC IRC National Championship 2009.
“I am absolutely delighted to have come here and won. It is tremendous. We came over here to practice for the Rolex Commodores’ Cup, but now we have a very short time to get back to Ireland to defend the IRC National title we won in Howth last year.”
Tactician, Andy Beadsworth added; “I have sailed with Dave and his crew on MarinersCove on many occasions and they are always great fun to sail with. I would have to add that I would be amazed if the boat is not selected to represent Ireland at the next Rolex Commodores’ Cup.”
Quokka were second in class and overall to claim The Jackdaw Trophy. Third in the class was John Patterson’s J 122, Panacea.
There was high drama in IRC Class Two as the runaway leader, Steve Northmore’s A 35, Waterjet and Mike Bridges Elan 37, Elaine had a collision. However, Waterjet managed to hold on to claim first place in IRC Class Two overall, but lost their chance of winning the overall title with two mid-fleet results on the last day’s racing. Chris & Hannah Neve’s First 34.7, No Doubt was third overall and was also the best performing First 34.7 at the championship.
Adam Gosling’s Corby 30, Yes! was the clear winner of Class IRC Three. “It was a great three day event with a bit of everything; a good range of courses, variable wind conditions and some superb sailing. I think the medium to heavy weather really suited the Corby, but make no mistake, the well prepared and sailed Quarter Tonners have really improved the standard of racing amongst the smaller boats in the Solent.”
Louise Morton’s all-girl crew on the Quarter Tonner Espada was second and sister ship, Paul Kelsey’s, Runaway Bus was third.
After the prizegiving at the Cowes Yacht Haven Event Centre, RORC Racing Manager, Ian Loffhagen said: “62 boats competed in a total of 40 races over three days and the variable conditions caused many adjustments to race courses. Getting all of the races in was a difficult task for the RORC Racing team and they should be applauded for their efforts. At this year’s championship, we have seen a high standard of boat handling and a very impressive fleet of new, old and stunning examples of custom boats built for IRC.”
RORC IRC NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Cowes, Isle of Wight
Overall Winner of the RORC IRC Championship Trophy
(IRL) Marinerscove.ie, Mills 39, David Dwyer, (Series Points 9)
Jackdaw Trophy (Second Overall)
(GBR) Quokka, Corby 36, Peter Rutter, (11)
Provisional Overall Class Results: (After 8 races)
Super Zero
1. Rán, TP 52, Niklas Zennstrom, (Series Points 7)
2. Cutting Edge, TP 52, Robert Lutener & Martin Elwood, (16)
3. Chernikeeff 2, Farr 52, Peter Harrison, (20)
IRC Zero
1. Tonnerre de Breskens, Ker 46, Pieter Willem Vroon, (Series Points 10)
2. Tokoloshe, King 40, Michael Bartholomew, (19)
3. Atomic of Cowes, Farr 45, Tony Langley, (28)
IRC One
1. Marinerscove.ie, Mills 39, David Dwyer, (Series Points 9)
2. Quokka, Corby 36, Peter Rutter, (11)
3. Panacea, J 122, John Patterson, (22)
IRC Two
1. Waterjet, A35, Steve Northmore, (Series Points 19)
2. Sleeper, J 39, Jonty Layfield, (23)
3. No Doubt, First 34.7, Chris & Hannah Neve, (26)
IRC Three
1. Yes!,Corby 30, Adam Gosling, (Series Points 12)
2. Espada, Quarter Tonner, Louise Morton, (22)
3. Runaway Bus, Quarter Tonner, Paul Kelsey, (31)
We celebrate Dave Dwyer';s wiun with a selection of event phots from the weekend by pwpictures.com - Paul Wyeth
