ISORA champion Pata Negra has provisionally won IRC One in the RORC Round Britain and Ireland Race after completing the 1,805-nautical-mile course early on Thursday morning (20 August).
Sam Hall’s Lombard 46 crossed the Cowes finish after 10 days, 11 hours, 36 minutes and 48 seconds, ending a race-long battle with Valdo Dhoyer’s French Volvo 60 Challenge Ocean. Challenge Ocean finished just 13 minutes and 41 seconds later after more than ten days of racing around Britain and Ireland.
The result puts Pata Negra provisionally at the top of IRC One as a rush of finishers heads towards Cowes.
Pata Negra Completes Long Lap
Pata Negra is a familiar name in offshore racing through its ISORA campaigns, while also competing extensively on the international RORC circuit.
The Lombard 46 has previously finished on the podium in the RORC Transatlantic Race and RORC Caribbean 600 and won the Round Britain and Ireland Race overall in 2018. This was its first edition of the race under the stewardship of Andrew and Sam Hall, with 25-year-old Sam skippering a predominantly young crew.
Andrew Hall said the constantly changing conditions had made for a frustrating but memorable lap.
“To be fair, we have had our share of luck in previous races, but in this one, every time we turned a corner the wind seemed to turn against us,” he said. “We even had to kedge at Beachy Head last night for 45 minutes." “Having said all that, it was a fascinating experience. We might not have had any lucky breaks, but what a course and what a race.”
Black Leader — Sam Hall’s Lombard 46 Pata Negra on the racecourse during the RORC Round Britain and Ireland Race, where the ISORA campaigner provisionally won IRC One | Photo: James Tomlinson
Sam Hall said the crew had repaired sail damage and dealt with several other problems during the race.
“The biggest takeaway is how complicated and constantly changing this course is,” he said. “Usually, you try to get into a rhythm during a race, but that is very difficult when the scenario is in a constant state of flux. “This has not been a tough race physically, but mentally it has been exhausting.”
Asked whether he would race around Britain and Ireland again, Hall replied: “Ask me in a couple of years!”
Two-Handed Match Race for Cowes
Attention is now turning to an exceptionally close battle for both IRC Two and IRC Two-Handed honours.
Simon Bamford and Zeb Fellows aboard the Sun Fast 3300 Kestrel were neck and neck with Ian Hoddle and Willow Bland’s sistership Sky Business – Game On at 1100 BST on Thursday, with about 80 miles remaining.
The contest has an added dimension. Fellows and Bland were teammates at the 2025 Offshore Double Handed World Championship, where they finished runners-up, but are now racing against each other.
Sky Business – Game On has the lower IRC rating and can afford to finish slightly behind Kestrel on the water.
Game On — Sky Business – Game On races towards Cowes as Ian Hoddle and Willow Bland battle Kestrel for both IRC Two and IRC Two-Handed honours | Photo: Rick Tomlinson
The JPK 1080 Mzungu!, sailed double-handed by Sam White and Nathan Steffenoni, also remains in contention but was several hours behind the leading pair.
Bellino Battles On After Boom Failure
Rob Craigie’s Sun Fast 3600 Bellino is continuing towards Cowes despite a broken boom ending its challenge for a podium place.
RORC Commodore Deb Fish reported from aboard that the crew, including Irish sailors Nicole Hemeryck and Joe Griffiths, was still pushing hard as it raced down the English Channel.
Boom or Bust — Deb Fish and Joe Griffiths aboard Bellino, which continued racing hard towards Cowes despite a broken boom ending its hopes of a podium finish | Photo: Bellino
“All credit to the crew. We have been pushing as hard since the breakage as we were before it, even though we are no longer fighting for a podium position,” Fish said. “It is now a matter of how long we can hold the other Sun Fast 3600s off. RORC Griffin is on our tail!”
Barn Owl Rescued Offshore
One of the more unusual stories of the race came from the Army Sailing Association’s Sun Fast 3600 Fujitsu British Soldier, which rescued an exhausted barn owl about 70 miles offshore east of Newcastle.
The bird repeatedly attempted to land on the yacht and fell into the sea three times before eventually collapsing on the side deck. The crew covered the owl with a towel and began caring for it, naming it Little Reg before discovering it was female and changing the name to Little Regina.
Owl Aboard — An exhausted barn owl, nicknamed Little Regina, is cared for by the crew of Fujitsu British Soldier after reaching the yacht around 70 miles offshore east of Newcastle | Photo: Fujitsu British Soldier
The independent Caister Lifeboat subsequently collected the bird near Great Yarmouth, after coordinating with the Barn Owl Trust and Marine and Wildlife Rescue. She is recovering at East Winch Wildlife Centre.
“She simply refused to give up,” crew member Mark Petherbridge said.
More Finishers Heading for Cowes
Numerous boats are expected into Cowes through Thursday and overnight as the fleet completes one of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s longest offshore challenges.
Conditions remain unsettled, with light and unstable winds potentially slowing boats approaching the finish. A developing northerly is forecast to provide a boost to boats farther north, with 15 to 20 knots expected along the eastern side of Britain on Friday.
That could produce fast downwind conditions for the remaining competitors as the battle for class positions continues on the final miles to Cowes.
