Royal Cork Yacht Club Olympic helmsman Harold Cudmore will be on the tiller of the oldest and the smallest yacht at the classic yacht Centenary Trophy fleet in Saint Tropez later this month.
Cudmore is skippering RCYC's restored Cork Harbour One Design, Jap.
The Gstaad Yacht Club Centenary Trophy is a French classic regatta reserved for boats of one hundred or more years old.
Jap returns for the third time to try for the trophy, now one of the most prestigious in classic yachting circles.
It's not Cudmore's first time sailing in Jap this season, he was at the helm in August during the Cork 300 celebrations in Cork Harbour as Afloat reported here.
One of seven remaining Cork Harbour One Designs, created by designer William Fife III, Jap was the ninth to be built in 1896 and was accepted into the class in 1897.
Harold Cudmore at the helm of Jap in August during the Cork 300 celebrations in Cork Harbour Photo: Bob Bateman
As regular Afloat readers will know, the immaculately restored 'Jap' was back on home waters in June 2020 at the marina at Royal Cork Yacht Club in celebration of Cork300.
And, as Afloat's Tom MacSweeney reported in March 2020, C4, Jap, after many years based on the South Coast of England, was donated by her owner to the Royal Cork YC.
Best performing classic yachts
In Saint Tropez, this month's Centenary trophy has gathered some of the most gorgeous and best performing classic yachts from the past century for this tenth edition. The event, raced in a pursuit format with staggered starts, has been created and organised by the Gstaad Yacht Club since 2011.
Over the past ten years, the event, according to the organisers, features an especially created and constantly refined handicap system, allowing very different boats in size and rig to compete on equal terms.
Much more on the CHOD fleet here
