Mark Brown’s JPK 1010 Jetpack has become the latest class winner in the RORC Round Britain and Ireland Race, taking provisional IRC Three honours as the flow of finishers into Cowes gathered pace overnight and into Saturday.
The 1,805-nautical-mile race is entering its closing stages, with Jetpack, the Army Sailing Association’s Fujitsu British Soldier and six more boats completing the course since Friday’s arrivals, while three crews remain hundreds of miles from the finish.
Jetpack Completes IRC Three Campaign
Brown’s JPK 1010 Jetpack crossed the Cowes finish after leading IRC Three for much of the race and is now the provisional winner of the class. The campaign began almost casually when Brown proposed entering the Round Britain and Ireland Race to his crew over drinks at the RORC Annual Dinner.
Class Act – Mark Brown’s JPK 1010 Jetpack powers towards provisional IRC Three victory in the 1,805-nautical-mile RORC Round Britain and Ireland Race. Photo: James Tomlinson
Brown, a six-time Rolex Fastnet Race competitor, described the 1,805-mile course beforehand as roughly equivalent to racing three Fastnets, but said the reality was considerably more demanding.
“It is a long way and 61 degrees north is cold,” Brown said after finishing. “The experience was surreal. It was just amazing. It was the boat and the camaraderie on board.”
The four-strong crew comprised Brown, navigator Sam Jones, Chris Philby-Roberts and Mark Stevens. “To win our class in the Round Britain and Ireland Race is absolutely amazing,” Brown said. “There were a couple of boats that gave us a scare, but we have no regrets.”
British Soldier Completes Fifth Campaign
The Army Sailing Association’s Sun Fast 3600 Fujitsu British Soldier has also reached Cowes, completing skipper Will Naylor’s fifth Round Britain and Ireland Race. All seven crew are serving members of the British Army and had not previously raced together as one team. Five were making their debut in the race, while Tom Court was completing it for a second time.
Mission Afloat – The Army Sailing Association’s Sun Fast 3600 Fujitsu British Soldier completed the Round Britain and Ireland course with its seven-strong serving Army crew. Photo: James Tomlinson
Naylor described the event as “the sailors’ ultra-marathon”, saying the challenge was knowing when to push hard and when to protect the crew and equipment during almost two weeks offshore.
The crew finished the 1,805-mile course with few breakages after a race that tested the newly assembled team in conditions ranging from gales to prolonged light airs.
Mission Accomplished – The Fujitsu British Soldier crew celebrate in Cowes after completing the race, skipper Will Naylor’s fifth Round Britain and Ireland campaign. Photo: RORC
Astrid Among Latest Cowes Finishers
The stream of arrivals has also included Loewe von Bremen, the double-handed Tigris, Cameron Davis’s Farr 40 Espresso Martini Too, the two double-handed JPK 1030s Zanzibar and Ronin, and Paddy Moriarty’s Swan 44 Astrid.
Homeward Bound – Double-handed JPK 1030 Ronin, sailed by Benjamin Grosman and Klaus Rasmussen, was among the latest finishers welcomed back to Cowes. Photo: James Tomlinson
For Tigris co-skipper Maggie Adamson, the race included a passage through her home waters around Shetland, where friends sailed out to greet the boat.
Espresso Martini Too, meanwhile, completed the race without an autopilot, requiring its mixed-experience charter crew to hand-steer throughout, including downwind at night.
Farr Out – Cameron Davis’s Farr 40 Espresso Martini Too completed the 1,805-mile course without an autopilot, leaving the crew to hand-steer throughout the race. Photo: Rick Tomlinson
Three More Closing on Cowes
Three more boats were approaching the finish on Saturday morning.
At 8.30 am BST, Richard and Emma Breese’s double-handed J/105 Mojo had 24 nautical miles remaining and was projected to finish shortly after midday. The Nicholson 55 Quailo III was 41 miles from Cowes, with the Dutch Xp 44 Xantho two miles farther back. Both were expected during Saturday afternoon.
Their arrivals would leave only three boats still racing.
Final Three Still Have Hundreds of Miles to Sail
Kuba Szymanski’s Polished Manx 2 had 227 nautical miles remaining at Saturday morning’s 8.30 am update, while Dirk Lahmann’s 1978 Two Tonner Snifix Dry had 255 miles to complete. Both were provisionally projected to reach Cowes on Monday, 24 August.
AJ Wanderlust remained considerably farther north with 518 miles still to sail and a projected arrival on Thursday, 27 August.
A northerly airflow could improve the passage south through the North Sea for the final three boats, although the long-range arrival estimates remain dependent on weather, tide and progress through the English Channel.
