'2Farr' Wins Half Ton Classics Cup for Ireland

10th August 2025

Afloat.ie Team

Irish yacht 2Farr, skippered by Patrick Boardman, claimed the Half Ton Classics Cup 2025 at the Royal Torbay Yacht Club with consistent podium finishes across the series Credit: Afloat

Irish yacht 2Farr claimed overall victory at the Half Ton Classics Cup 2025, hosted by the Royal Torbay Yacht Club on Saturday (August 9th).

Skippered by Patrick Boardman, with David Kelly and Rob O'Leary, the boat posted six race wins or podium finishes across ten races.

2Farr finished with a nett score of 11.3 points after discarding its two lowest results. The team’s consistent form included first places in races one, three, five, six and a second in race eight.

The Royal Cornwall Yacht Club’s Per Elisa, helmed by Paul Pullen, placed second with 20 points. Ireland’s Harmony, skippered by John Swan of Howth Yacht Club, took third with 24.5 points.

Twenty boats competed in the regatta, which applied the IRC rating system with results counted over eight of ten races.

It is 2Farr's second victory on the UK south coast this season, with a RORC Easter Challenge victory getting the season off on the right tack in April.

Results here

Race Results

You may need to scroll vertically and horizontally within the box to view the full results

Published in Half Tonners

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The Half Ton Class was created by the Offshore Racing Council for boats within the racing band not exceeding 22'-0". The ORC decided that the rule should "....permit the development of seaworthy offshore racing yachts...The Council will endeavour to protect the majority of the existing IOR fleet from rapid obsolescence caused by ....developments which produce increased performance without corresponding changes in ratings..."

When first introduced the IOR rule was perfectly adequate for rating boats in existence at that time. However yacht designers naturally examined the rule to seize upon any advantage they could find, the most noticeable of which has been a reduction in displacement and a return to fractional rigs.

After 1993, when the IOR Mk.III rule reached it termination due to lack of people building new boats, the rule was replaced by the CHS (Channel) Handicap system which in turn developed into the IRC system now used.

The IRC handicap system operates by a secret formula which tries to develop boats which are 'Cruising type' of relatively heavy boats with good internal accommodation. It tends to penalise boats with excessive stability or excessive sail area.

Competitions

The most significant events for the Half Ton Class has been the annual Half Ton Cup which was sailed under the IOR rules until 1993. More recently this has been replaced with the Half Ton Classics Cup. The venue of the event moved from continent to continent with over-representation on French or British ports. In later years the event is held biennially. Initially, it was proposed to hold events in Ireland, Britain and France by rotation. However, it was the Belgians who took the ball and ran with it. The Class is now managed from Belgium.