Hibernia Racing, The International Irish Marathon Offshore Powerboat Racing Team headed by driver and throttle man John Ryan are set to take on their toughest challenge to date; the Cowes Classic 2016 Offshore Powerboat Race. The race takes place this Sunday, September 4th, starting at Cowes on the Isle of Wight with 'Hibernia Racing' being the first Irish boat to ever enter the race.

The Hibernia team includes Phillip Fitzgibbon navigating, Denis Dillon dealing with logistics and on-board hydraulic monitoring. Jonathan Napier is co–driver, Jonathan was famously the last Concorde flight pilot.
The mechanics include Christoff, Piotr and Mark Soper from the boats engine manufacturer FPT. 

John Ryan driver and throttle man of Team Hibernia – realistic about chances in Cowes Photo: Afloat.ie

The team is also supported by Dingle's Tom Crean's lager, the Isle of Wight Distillery's Mermaid Gin and Henri Lloyd clothing.

The 200–mile classic has long been recognised as one of powerboating’s toughest challenges, it's the longest running offshore powerboat event in the world and comparisons have been made with motorsport events such as Le Mans and the Indy 500.

Around 20 boats are expected to be in the line-up for this high speed challenge including some boats with over 3000 hp available to drive their boats at speeds in excess of 210 km per hour.

Ryan is realistic about the teams chances saying that "we're in this to genuinely compete against the best teams and boats in the world, we know that our boat doesn't have the top speed or power of a lot of the other competitors but we have proven our overall reliability and high performance with our recent Round Ireland World record so hopefully at the end of the race we'll be up there with the best, remember to win you first have to finish!

Howth's Bedrock skippered by Richard Burrows was the sole Irish Etchells competing at a star studded Sir Kenneth Preston Trophy fleet at the Royal Yacht Squadron at the weekend. The HYC boat finished 19th from 28 in a fleet that included former Volvo Round the World racer Lawrie Smith. The regatta attracted one of the largest fleets of Etchells seen in the Solent for many years. Bolstered by the forthcoming 2016 Etchells World Championship, to be held in the Solent 31 August – 10 September. 

The Sir Kenneth Preston Trophy was first competed for in 1995, after Sir Kenneth Preston, who had led the British sailing team in the 1960 Olympics, presented it to the Royal Yacht Squadron shortly prior to his death. Sir Kenneth wished that the trophy be competed for by a deserving one design fleet that had the spirit of one design and involves young sailors. It is a feather in the cap for the Cowes Etchells fleet to have retained it for so many years.

28 teams with sailors from Australia, Great Britain, Hong Kong and the United States of America, raced for the Sir Kenneth Preston Trophy. Three Royal London Etchells Youth Academy Teams took part, skippered by Anna Watkins, Owen Bannerman and Martin Evans.

The eight race programme over three days produced thrilling racing, with 11 teams achieving podium results. Peter Duncan was the winner of the Sir Kenneth Preston Trophy, Ante Razmilovic was second with Lawrie Smith third.

Commodore of the America Yacht Club, Peter Duncan and Tom Blackwell have campaigned Etchells for many years with top finishes including second, third, fourth, and fifth in world championships. Both grew up sailing in the JAYC (Junior American Yacht Club) program. Jud Smith, a Sonar, Mumm30 and Etchells World Champion, has been sailing with the team since 2013.

“We found the racing very tight with a solid mix of local and visitors trying to get ready for the Worlds.” commented Peter Duncan. “Throughout the regatta we had a lot of boats arriving at the weather mark together and there were some exciting leeward gate roundings. Cowes is a very interesting place to sail, as you not only have to be on your toes for shifts in the breeze, the current has to minded at all times. We saw a bit of everything this past weekend, which made it a great warm up event to the Worlds. In 2007 and since, we have not sailed in the breeze direction we had on Saturday so that was good to experience.

Our stay as always in Cowes was wonderful as there are so many fun places to go. The Royal Yacht Squadron did an outstanding job running the races in the varied conditions and especially setting up the starting lines. As always, David Franks and team did a wonderful job on the social side of the event with the dinner event at RYS being awesome. Not too many of us from overseas have ever been there so what a treat.”

David Franks, Cowes Etchells fleet captain. "We have been delighted that the interest in the Cowes Etchells Fleet continues to grow."
David Franks, the Cowes Etchells fleet captain commented: "We have been delighted that the interest in the Cowes Etchells Fleet continues to grow with record numbers competing for the Sir Kenneth Preston Trophy. This is the 22nd year that this Trophy has been awarded by the Royal Yacht Squadron; they ran eight excellent races and provided a superb supper on the Platform in the Castle for 94 competitors and their guests. Wonderful racing; wonderful food."

The Saida Cup 11-12 June, organised by the Royal Thames Yacht Club, is the next event in a busy season for the Cowes Etchells Fleet. The Etchells UK National Championship, organised by the Royal London Yacht Club, from 24-26 June, is an Etchells World Championship qualifying event.

Full results of the Sir Kenneth Preston Trophy are downloadable below.

The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) has appointed Andrew Overton as the new General Manager of RORC Cowes. He has an extensive background in the hospitality industry with experience across a range of unique high quality new business ventures, acquisitions and integrations.

Andrew has built his experience from the bottom up, learning the trade at the Marriott Hotel group, developing his knowledge at the Pomme d'Or Hotel in Jersey, the Marine Hotel in Troon and more recently as the General Manager of the U.K. Trains operation for the Orient-Express company. He is delighted to have the opportunity to bring his experience to the benefit of RORC's clubhouse in Cowes:

"This will be an exciting challenge and one that I am very much looking forward to. The elevated position of the club with its stunning views over the Solent is hugely attractive and the open nature of the club in Cowes to welcome all sailors is something I am excited to develop. I understand the seasonal nature of the leisure boating market and, in particular on the Isle of Wight,but I do not see that as a barrier in developing fun and exciting activities during the winter months."

Michael Boyd, the Commodore of the RORC is delighted with Andrew's appointment, commenting:

"Andrew has huge experience in the hotel, food and beverage sector having worked in a variety of high profile businesses where the quality of the product and the quality of service are required at a very high standard. We know he will develop and maintain those standards at the club in Cowes giving his own brand of welcome to RORC's members and visitors."

A fire at a boatyard in Cowes on the Isle of Wight yesterday has seen the destruction of around 30 yachts and one-design dayboats, including many irreplaceable classics.

Vintage boats, including a World War Two rescue vessel, are among those feared to have been destroyed in a fire on an Isle of Wight industrial estate.

Thick black smoke billowed over Cowes when the major blaze broke out at Medina Village on Monday.

Classic vessels, including the Dunkirk "little ship" Vere, and racing yachts are believed to be among the wreckage.
Boat building firm owner David Heritage said they were "irreplaceable".

XOD class captain Mike Till reported that seven XOD one-designs were among the boats destroyed in the blaze, which ripped through an industrial unit off Bridge Road known as Samuel White's, formerly Souter's yard. Till described it as 'an unmitigated disaster'.

"It's probably the greatest single loss of boats ever recorded in one place. They were all top-class XODs, old obviously, but in beautiful condition. Three of those boats are the core of the Cowes Division, so it's a huge loss. The Vice-Captain lost his boat, and I am now Class Captain of the whole fleet without an XOD.

"You can't buy a replacement. You could buy another XOD, it's never going to be the boat you've lost. You can't just walk out and buy something off the shelf. My boat was built in 1938, called 'Delight' X75, many of the others were post-war. The point about these boats, we're just guardians of them. There's a heritage here and in the XOD fleet there's a finite number of boats, there are no new ones being built at the moment. They've been around since 1911 and they've never had a loss like this in the XOD fleet before."

Fifteen Etchells keelboats were also destroyed. More from the Yachts and Yachting website here. 

The Solent's XOD fleet were featured in WM Nixon's blog here

#quarterton – Three Irish entries are among the line up for this week's Coutts Quarter Ton Cup at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, in Cowes. IRL 8164 Enigma R Stewart, (N Young & S Smith), IRL 3087 Anchor Challenge (Paul Gibbons) and the renamed 2014 Corinthian champion Illes Pitiuses IRL 1392 Cobh Pirate (Ben Daly) will be in action this morning after yesterday's first races were scrubbed.

Sadly strong winds and big seas stopped racing on the opening day yesterday. The event, which runs from 8 to 11 July, has attracted an entry of 21 boats from across the UK, Ireland and France. At the opening skipper's briefing Race Officer Rob Lamb warned the competitors of the impending strong winds, but declared his intention to run racing if at all possible with a first planned start time of 11.00.

The race committee went afloat at 09.00 and headed straight to the planned race area off Hill Head. Sadly conditions there were extremely rough with strong gusty winds making sailing for the historic and relatively fragile Quarter Tonners impossible. The committee then moved in towards Osborne Bay in the hope of achieving some shelter from the Island, but even there conditions were already marginal. Rob Lamb initially announced a postponement, but after an hour's wait, with gusts well up into the high 30s and the forecasting promising even more wind, the decision was made to hoist AP over A and call off racing for the day.

Whilst disappointed not the sail, the fleet were in agreement with the decision and made the most of the unexpected free day ashore. Whilst some took the opportunity to catch up on work, others created impromptu adventures including the crew of Alice II, whose owner Rickard Melander celebrated his birthday today with a delicious seafood lunch with his team at legendary Island eatery The Hut.

Four teams who perhaps were not disappointed to stay ashore were the four newest crews in the fleet, who had all be presented with a welcome bottle of Mount Gay Rum at last night's welcome reception. Julian Wetherell, new owner of Espada, Ben and Mike Daley who now own Cobh Pirate (the former Illes Pitiuses, winner of last year's Corinthian Quarter Ton Cup), Rob Mclean of Spider Pig and Paul Gibbons, new owner of Anchor Challenge, were all warmly welcomed by the assembled fleet who explained that tradition demand they drink their bottle of Mount Gay there and then.

One team that sadly cannot be here this year is Ian Southworth's Whiskers. The Whiskers crew is as famed for their sailing talent as they are notorious for their lack of organisational and planning skills. Typically they enter the event at the eleventh hour and finish preparing the boat on their way to the first start. So disappointed are they not to be here this year that Whiskers' navigator Lincoln Reading has been in contact to announce they are donating a very special prize for presentation at the final dinner. The prize will be presented to the team who in the opinion of the race committee is the most organised and prepared for the regatta - in other words a boat that is the complete antithesis of Whiskers!

This evening the crews are enjoying a BBQ at the RORC/RCYC's waterside clubhouse where the sailors remain enthusiastic to get racing underway tomorrow. "There's a very nice camaraderie around the event, but equally it's a very competitive fleet. There are probably more than half a dozen boats capable of winning this year." Noted Quarter Ton Class Secretary and past Coutts Quarter Ton Cup champion Louise Morton, who this year is racing FRA7891 Bullit, in which her husband Peter won last year's event.

Race Officer Rob Lamb has confirmed that he intends to run up to four races tomorrow and with lighter winds expected this should be achievable. The forecast anticipates a light North Westerly in the morning,which will swing South West later in the day with the promise of an afternoon sea breeze. A total of nine races are scheduled, three races are required to constitute a series and if six races or more are sailed there will be a single discard. The fleet will race together as one, but prizes will be awarded for three divisions - Open Division (for all yachts), Corinthian Division (open to all amateur crews) and Low Rating Division (for boats with an IRC rating of 0.899 and below. The regatta concludes on Friday.

You can follow the latest news from the event at the Quarter Ton Class Blog and on the RORC Facebook Page. Further information about the event can be found at www.rcyc.co.uk or by contacting Sailing Secretary Jo Chugg on [email protected] Tel 01983 293581.

Revived Coutts Quarter Ton Cup Winners

2005 - Purple Haze (1977 David Thomas design) - Tony Dodd
2006 - Enigma - (1977 Ed Dubois design) - Ed Dubois
2007 - Espada - (1980 Bruce Farr design) - Peter Morton
2008 - Tom Bombadil (1982 Doug Peterson design) - Chris Frost & Kevin George
2009 - Anchor Challenge (1978 Bruce Farr design) - Peter Morton
2010 - Cote (1990 Gonzalez design) - Darren Marston & Olly Ophaus
2011 - Overall - Espada (1980 Bruce Farr design) - Louise Morton
Corinthian - Tiger (1989 Fauroux design) - George Kenefick
2012 - Overall - Bullit - (1978 Fauroux design) - Peter Morton
Corinthian - Tiger (1989 Fauroux design) - George Kenefick
2013 - Overall - Espada - (1980 Bruce Farr design) - Louise Morton
Corinthian - Pinguin Playboy (1979 Fauroux design) - Pierre Paris
2014 - Overall - Bullit (1978 Fauroux design) - Peter Morton
Corinthain - Illes Pitiuses (1983 Fauroux) - Dominic and Jason Losty

 

#Seven people were rescued from the Solent after their boat collided with another yacht and sank this afternoon. 

The five men and two women were east of Bramble Bank when their yacht Ino collided with another named Valkyrie it has been reported.

Cowes RNLI lifeboat and Gosport independent lifeboat rushed to the scene and pulled the people out of the water.

The Cowes-based Corby 36 yacht Ino sank very quickly, according to the lifeboat team.

All people on board were wearing lifejackets and were taken to Trinity Landing in Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

No-one was seriously injured.

More on this story by the Southern Daily Echo here

#sb20 – The SB20 keelboat class will hold its 2017 World Championships at the prestigious Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes. 

It's somewhat disappointing news for Irish sportsboat sailing following a competitive tender process from five international sailing clubs including three Irish ones from Cork, Galway and Ulster.

The SB20 World Council voted for the RYS to host the championships. Event dates will be confirmed early in 2015.

As Afloat.ie previously reported last August, Irish SB20 Class President Justin Burke had been urging Irish clubs to get behind the sportsboat bid and bring the Championships here for a second time.

Ireland previously hosted the inaugural worlds – when the class was known as the SB3 – in 2009 at the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire attracting a massive fleet of 163 boats divided into two flights.

Ed Russo, President of the SB20 World Council, commented: "We are excited about the opportunity of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes hosting the 2017 SB20 Worlds. The Solent is where the first SB20 fleet began and we expect a significant number of participants from the 13 fleets around the world to return to the founding waters for this event."

The Royal Yacht Squadron is one of the most prestigious yacht clubs in the world, the host club of the very first America's Cup race (held around the Isle of Wight in 1851), and founder of the famous Cowes Week regatta. With its spectacular canon start-line at Cowes Castle, the Squadron hosts top level racing events on the Solent waters each year.

Rear Commodore (Yachting) Jonathan Perry commented: "The Royal Yacht Squadron is delighted to have been selected to host the SB20 World Championships in 2017. The Solent provides challenging sailing conditions for this truly international class, which we look forward to welcoming to Cowes."

The SB20 class is an international one-design keelboat sailed by three or four people which offers incredibly close 'level' racing, attracting both amateur and professional sailors of all ages. It is a familiar sight on the Solent, and provides superb value for money with class starts and one-design fleets at major regattas such as Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week, as well as its own class championships and Grand Slam circuit.

The SB20 class has over 750 boats sailing worldwide with established fleets in the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Dubai, Singapore and Australia, and regularly attracts fleets of over 100 boats for international events. A global fleet is expected for the 2017 World Championships as well as a strong UK entry.

The SB20 will hold its 2015 World Championships at Torbole, on Lake Garda, Italy and in 2016 in Cascais, Portugal, giving the fleet three superb venues for the next three overall World Championship contests, which also include Youth, Masters and Ladies titles.

#powerboat – The Cowes Torquay Powerboat Race is the toughest powerboat race in the world. The stretch of water between the Solent and Devon Coast has long been regarded as one mean piece of water.

It's reputation however for punishing boats and crew, and crushing even the most prepared teams has been somewhat subdued for the last two years as the south west coast of Britain has turned on spectacular weather with much calmer seas and gentler breezes than the racers are used to.

The question on everyone's lips was; 'Who would have thought this was possible?'

South West England provided yet another stonking day, a day suited for fast racing and spectacular viewing. After the recent bad weather the sunshine and clear skies were a welcome relief. We received reports from Torquay that the sea was as flat as a billiard table, and fast times would be possible. Back at Cowes the situation was similar with a light breeze and little wave activity.

Tim Powell, a 29 year veteran organiser of the race fired the canons from the Royal Yacht Squadron at Cowes at 09:00 sharp this morning, setting the fleet on its way as they raced once more from their historical starting point.

Being close to shore the race start was everything that could be hoped for. The air filled with the sound of well-tuned, high powered engines. The fans turned out in force to experience the full spectacle of sight, sound and smell as the fleet powered away down the Solent.

Peter Dredge and Simon Powell got out to a handy lead in 'Vector Martini' and led all the way to Torquay. They were chased hard out of the Solent by 'Smokin Aces' driven by Chris and Nicholas Dodge and 'Silverline' driven by Drew and Ali Langdon, with the rest of the pack chasing hard.
The Ribs 'Hot Lemon V' (D50) and 'Birretta Due' (B41) chased the leaders fiercely, getting very close as the boats rounded Portland. They in turn were pursued by Team Barwood (C7).

It was great to see Preben Sorensen from Norway racing in his Predator 337 SuperSport. Competing for the first time in the Cowes Torquay he ran well on the unfamiliar course finishing eleventh in the first leg.

Both 'Cube 52' and 'Flyin Falcon' withdrew during the first leg and returned to Cowes.

After winning the race to Torquay Peter Dredge commented, "We had a wonderful run. It's really great to be in Torquay. The Vector Martini Boat is going fantastically well and we have had no problems. We're looking forward to turning around for the run back to Cowes. We'll be going downwind and we might even go flat out on the way back."

On the second leg of the race back to Cowes after a clean start in brilliant Torquay sunshine 'Vector Martini' kept their word and led by one and a quarter nautical miles after clearing the Ore Stone turning buoy at Torbay. By Swanage the lead had grown to 4.62 nautical miles and they were to extend this even further by the end of the race. They were clocked racing into the Solent at 83 knots so it was no wonder 'Vector Martini' crossed the finish line at Cowes to a salvo from the canons at the Royal Yacht Squadron and a cheering crowd.

'Smokin' Aces' took second place on the return journey with 'Team Barwood,' who were competing in their first Cowes Torquay Race, taking a well-deserved third place.

With the tail wind adding to the fast conditions and full on racing on the return journey it was not surprising that two teams made navigational errors on their way back to Cowes. Both Black Ball Racing and Predator 337 SuperSport incurred a one hour time penalty for missing buoys.

After the race Preben Sorensen from Norway commented that it was great race but a bit rougher than they expected. They really enjoyed the hospitality but would need to come back with a bigger boat for next years race.

When congratulated on his double win by Dorian Griffith the Race Director, Peter Dredge of 'Vector Martini' said they had enjoyed the race very much and were delighted with the performance of their boat.

And so concludes another fantastic event on a magnificent summer's day. The crowds came out in their thousands to make the most of the spectacle, lining the vantage points and headlands along the way and visiting the pits at both ends of the race to see the colourful noisy beasts up close. The drivers were once again amazed at the number of spectator boats that made the effort to come out to watch the racing, toot their horns and cheer as the boats went past.

Everyone would have to agree it was magnificent to see the boats racing once more from their historical starting point in the Solent and we look forward to another exciting event from the same place next year.

Provisional Results Leg One

1st - Vector Martini

2nd - Smokin Aces

3rd - Silverline

4th - Hot lemon

5th - Biretta Due

6th - Team Barwood

7th - Black Ball racing

8th - Dry Martini

9th - Fugitive

10th - Grey Ghost

11th - Predator 337 Supersport

12th - HTS Perkins

DNF - Cube 52

DNF - Flyin Falcon

Provisional Results Leg Two

1st - Vector Martini

2nd - Smokin Aces

3rd - Team Barwood

4th - Biretta Due

5th - Hot Lemon V

6th - Dry Martini

7th - Grey Ghost

8th - Fugitive

9th - Silverline

10th - HTS Perkins

11th - Black Ball Racing

12th - Predator 337 Supersport

#Cowes - The Island Echo reports on the death of a yachtsman on the Solent this afternoon after a blow to the head from his vessel's boom.

It's understood that the yachtsman was en route from Southampton to Yarmouth when the boat was diverted to Cowes on the Isle of Wight to shelter from persisting high winds.

It marks the second incident in two days in which strong winds from the tail end of Hurricane Bertha were a factor, after a Norwegian man was treated for arm and shoulder injuries in a gybe accident.

And this afternoon at least 10 dinghy sailors were injured when the GP14 Worlds fleet capsized in a squall on Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland.

#rorcbdcc – There are euphoric scenes on the Solent this lunch time as Ireland's three boat team crossed the line in a crucial double points climax to clinch an historic second win of the Commodores' Cup. A lead that held all week was extended this morning when Catapult, Antix and Quokka sailed a top class final race outwitting four British and four French teams for cruiser–racing's top team prize.

Official confirmation of the win came from Ireland's team management, Barry Rose of ICRA, who confirmed the final scores and Ireland's second win of the prestigious yachting trophy.

A jubilant Irish team captain Anthony O'Leary, who had cautioned against any premature celebration – despite Ireland's emphatic 100–point lead –  was celebrating with sons Peter, Nicholas and Robert, all members of Ireland's 31–man victorious Irish Cruser Racing Association (ICRA) team. O'Leary's Antix from Royal Cork Yacht Club romped home to win the final race in the same tricky light airs that typified the week long regatta.

Quokka (Michael Boyd and Niall Dowling) of the Royal Irish Yacht Club was second and Catapult fourth (Marc Glimcher) in a final double points race that further extended Ireland's overall winning margin.

The Irish win marks a classy comeback for Ireland to the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) competition after ICRA failed to mount a team to defend the title it first won in 2010.

Ireland's three boat team, comprising Anthony O'Leary's Ker 39 Antix, Marc Glimcher's Ker 40 Catapult and Michael Boyd and Niall Dowling's Grand Soleil 43 Quokka 8, today scored the most comprehensive victory in the 22 year history of the Commodores' Cup. The Irish previously won the Royal Ocean Racing Club's biennial flagship event for national teams with amateur crews in 2010, but were unable to defend in 2012. This year they returned with a vengeance finishing the regatta on 268 points, with an unprecedented lead of 173.5 points. After a disappointing result in yesterday's race around the Isle of Wight, Ireland bounced back strongly in today's double points scoring inshore held on a round the cans course in the central Solent in a light northerly. Impressively the Irish boats claimed three of the top four places on corrected time. Antix put in a particularly powerful performance following the damage she sustained when she hit the rocks close to St Catherine's Point yesterday that bent the aft end of her keel and split the bottom 1ft of her rudder. Lifting the boat out in Cowes yesterday evening, her shore crew worked through the night to ensure she was ready for racing today. "We were determined after yesterday's fiasco to finish stronger, which thankfully we did," said Anthony O'Leary.

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Today Antix led around the weather mark and ultimately claimed her third bullet of this Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup. "The amount of work that all 31 people have put in over the last five or six months has been considerable," said O'Leary of the Irish team's victory. "We are very lucky that it all paid off in the end. There is a lot of experience with three boats and it gelled very well and there was great encouragement from one boat to the other. You don't often get a chance to sail as a team - which is the really good thing about this event." Making his debut at the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup in the Irish team was American Marc Glimcher who had brought his 'turboed' Ker 40 Catapult over from the USA. Rating-wise Catapult was the fastest boat at this year's regatta and across the 27 boat fleet finished highest placed individual boat. "What a great week - this is absolutely my number one regatta," enthused Glimcher. "And what an unbelievable team! We had the 'surgeon' - Antix - telling us what to do and the 'clean-up crew' - Quokka - which would always come to the rescue. It was a great group and we sailed the boat better than we ever have. Next time we need to bring a bunch more Americans!" Being the lowest rated boat in the Irish team, Quokka 8, co-skippered by Royal Ocean Racing Club Vice Commodore Michael Boyd and Niall Dowling, had the hardest job among the trio of attaining consistent results. "It has been a very long campaign this," admitted Boyd. "We are newcomers to the event, but we have had fantastic leadership from team captain Anthony O'Leary and we were very fortunate to choose Quokka. It is just very satisfying to have mission accomplished and to do it in a such a comprehensive way today is a huge bonus. At our level as amateurs, the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup is the pinnacle of racing." While the Irish have been the stand out performers this year, the fight remained fierce for the remaining podium positions, where French teams scored a coup. Going into today's final race, France Green was holding second 100 points behind the Irish, with GBR Red third, 15.5 points behind them.

After today's race both lost their hold on the remaining podium positions to France Red - comprising Emmanuel le Men's First 40.7, Pen Koent; Oliver Pesci's Grand Soleil 40, Beelzebuth 3 and Hervé Borgoltz Grand Soleil 44R, Eleuthera - and France Blue comprising Jean Claude Nicoleau's Grand Soleil 43, Codiam; Gilles and Samuel Prietz' A40, Goa, and Bernard Gouy's Ker 39, Inis Mor. This was a particularly spectacular turnaround for France Red jumping from fifth to second after today's race. "Without the Irish it would have been better!" joked Eleuthera's Hervé Borgoltz of his team's performance. "It has been a fantastic race, a fantastic level and a very honest attitude on the water. Two years ago we were third, this year we are second and when we come back in two years we will be first. So slowly, but surely! "What is incredible is how the level is going up - Codiam was second at SPI Ouest France and Inis Mor was yacht of the Year with the RORC last year."

After winning the 2012 event, the performance of GBR's four teams was disappointing with GBR Red the top British team, finishing fourth. Among GBR's 12 boats, Robert Lutener's Ker 40 Cutting Edge was the top performer and second in this regatta. Despite his team's result Lutener remained upbeat: "It was an absolutely top week. Ireland was the top team and they have a top boat and they sail it very very well, but we were close to them and unfortunately the wind let us down yesterday on the offshore.

Otherwise everyone is delighted and has thoroughly enjoyed themselves." GBR Scotland big boat, James McGarry's Swan 45 Eala of Rhu, was also a top performer. "We had a couple of disappointing results, but there were very very difficult sailing conditions," admitted McGarry. "We've been up there consistently inshore and struggled offshore. Otherwise we have had a fantastic week. We have had our moments of glory and we are pretty confident that the boat is going well, just sometimes you don't get the roll of the dice. "The regatta is superb. The level is second to none. You can see why it is billed as the 'premier amateur yacht racing regatta'. Everyone has performed exceptionally; it has just been fantastic fun and a nice atmosphere as well." The prizegiving for the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup was held this evening at the Royal Yacht Squadron.

Team Name Team Points Team Place

Ireland 268 1

France Red 441.52

France Blue 446.5 3

GBR Red 448 4

France Green 456.5 5

Scotland 457 6

GBR White 526 7

GBR Blue 557.5 8

France White 613 9

#rorcbdcc It is now official. Team Ireland have won the 2014 Commodores' Cup!! You may uncork at will.

— Irish Cruiser Racing (@cruiserracingie) July 26, 2014

@AfloatMagazine @royalcork Ireland take Commodores Cup, Catapult sailing under @BaltimoreSC is boat of series!!!!! http://t.co/IjGwBDOjNy

— Peter O Flynn (@Flynner004) July 26, 2014

@cruiserracingie just saw final results - well done to all involved - dominant performance all week. Enjoy the celebrations! #rorcbdcc

— Joe Conway (@Joeconwaydublin) July 26, 2014

Congratulations Team Ireland !! - official results are in and Ireland have won the 2014 Commodores Cup - well... http://t.co/lTV0co0OUn

— Howth Yacht Club (@howthyachtclub) July 26, 2014

Congratulations to #teamireland: Catapult, Antix & Quokka on winning the #commodorescup #smashedit

— Team Scotland CC (@teamscotlandcc) July 26, 2014