Celebrating the 90th Anniversary of the Royal Ocean Racing Club, this year's RORC Annual Dinner & Prize Giving will take place later this month in the spectacular setting of the Natural History Museum, South Kensington, London. Prize winners, competitors, crews, members and guests will be out of their foul weather gear, spruced up for the black tie dinner and awards ceremony.
The 2015 RORC Season's Points Championship is the world's largest and arguably most competitive offshore yacht racing series. Over nine months, 13 races have been organised for 579 yachts with over 3,000 miles of racing in European and Caribbean locations. The RORC Annual Dinner & Prize Giving is the 'Oscars Ceremony' of the Royal Ocean Racing Club. The sailors, the setting and the occasion will make for a truly memorable evening.
RORC Yacht of the Year
Ian Walker, the first British skipper to win the Volvo Ocean Race will be presenting the prizes, bar one. The Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing team's Volvo Ocean 65, Azzam, skippered by Walker, has been awarded the RORC Yacht of the Year. Winning the Volvo Ocean Race in a one-design boat, competing against equally experienced sailors over nine gruelling legs with conditions ranging from calm to storm force, has been recognised by the RORC Committee as a truly outstanding achievement and a worthy winner of the Somerset Memorial Trophy
RORC Season's Points Championship Winner
Géry Trentesaux, campaigning his latest Courrier, a brand new JPK 10.80, Courrier Du Leon has also had an astounding year, culminating in winning one of the most sought after trophies in offshore yacht racing: The Fastnet Challenge Cup for the outright winner of the Rolex Fastnet Race. For his achievements this year Trentesaux will add a further seven trophies to the bulging cabinet which includes the Jazz Trophy for best yacht in IRC Overall, the Grenade Goblet as winner of IRC Three and the Corinthian Meritorious Award.
IRC Canting Keel
Mikey Ferguson's Open 60, Artemis Ocean Racing has had a tremendous season battling mainly with another Open 60, Rosalba. With five race wins and line honours achievements in many of the races, Mikey and crew romped home to win IRC Canting Keel.
IRC Zero
Piet Vroon's Ker 51, Tonnerre 4 and Windward Sailing's Farr 60, Venomous dominated IRC Zero. Tonnerre 4's outstanding performance to take second place in class for the heavily weighted Rolex Fastnet Race being the difference. Piet and the team will be awarded the Europeans Cup for the best yacht in IRC Zero.
IRC One
In IRC One it came down to the Cherbourg Race, the last of the domestic season to decide the winner of the championship. After a top ten class result in his 17th Fastnet Race, past RORC Commodore, Mike Greville will collect the Trenchemer Cup for Ker 39, Erivale III, the best yacht out of 118 entries in IRC One, narrowly beating Vice Commodore, Steven Anderson sailing his Corby 40, Cracklin Rosie into second place.
IRC Two
Vincent Willemart and Eric Van Campenhout's MC34, Azawakh will lift the Emily Verger Plate as winners of IRC Two, which was one of the most competitive classes racing in the championship. Azawakh only managed one race victory all season, but their consistent performance and a second in class for the Rolex Fastnet Race secured her class victory ahead of three boats that all finished within a point of one another: Patrick Ponchelet in Eception with 471 points, Peter Newlands in Anticipation with 470.8 points and RORC Admiral, Andrew McIrvine in La Réponse with 470 points.
IRC Three
IRC Three was dominated not only by the new JPK designs, but also the French, with the top four being based just across the English Channel. Géry Trentesaux's Courrier Du Leon was victorious in class, followed by her sister ship, Arnaud Delamere and Eric Mordret's Dream Pearls. Third place went to 2013 Rolex Fastnet Race winner, Pascal Loison in his JPK 10.10, Night and Day and fourth, the very well travelled JPK10.10, Raging Bee. Louis-Marie Dussere followed up the Transquadra in January with the RORC Caribbean 600 in February, before returning to show very well in IRC Three and win the IRC Two-Handed Division for a second successive year.
IRC Four
In IRC Four, Noel Racine's JPK 10.10, Foggy Dew made the podium on five occasions, winning three races in class to win the Cowland Trophy for the third consecutive year. Noel and his team were pushed hard all the way by Jonathan Rolls in his Swan SR 38, Xara (top Swan in the championship winning the Arambalza Swan Cup) and the 1934 S & S classic yawl, Stormy Weather of Cowes owned by Christopher Spray. Christopher wins the Freddie Morgan Trophy for top Classic Yacht in IRC for boats built before 1974.
Two-Handed Division
Over 100 yachts raced Two-Handed in the 2015 RORC Season's Points Championship and Louis-Marie Dussere's JPK 10.10, Raging Bee won the class despite being beaten in IRC Three by Pascal Loison's Night and Day, fellow Cherbourg-based Two-Handers. Raging Bee triumphed in the Two-Handed division due to competitors being spread across the classes.
MOCRA Class
The MOCRA Multihull Class has produced some fantastic competition across a number of the races and despite being slightly smaller, heavier and some might say more comfortable than some of her rivals, Peter Aschenbrenner's Nigel Irens 63ft Trimaran, Paradox has won the class from Lloyd Thornburg's record breaking MOD 70, Phaedo3 and Tony Lawson's MOD 70, Concise 10 skippered by Ned Collier-Wakefield.
Class40
Also from Tony Lawson's Team Concise came the top two boats in the Class40 Division. Concise 8, skippered by Jack Trigger narrowly beating Concise 2 skippered by Phillippa Hutton-Squire.
This year's winning teams come from six different countries; Belgium; France; Great Britain; The Netherlands; United Arab Emirates and USA. 19 yachts will be awarded with trophies, including the Dennis P Miller Memorial Trophy for outstanding performance by a British Yacht Overseas; this year awarded to the J24, Il Riccio for winning the J24 World Championship. Other trophies reward consistent high performance, youth in offshore racing, seamanship and assistance rendered to other vessels during racing.
