2024 International Paint Poole Regatta Day 2 - Anything but a leisurely Sunday
Image: Carkeek 42 Rán © Ian Roman
Competitors at International Paint Poole Regatta incorporating the GBR IRC Nationals had a boisterous day on the water in Poole Bay, with a building south westerly breeze and sea state to match. © Ian Roman
2024 International Paint Poole Regatta Day 2
Competitors at International Paint Poole Regatta incorporating the GBR IRC Nationals had a boisterous day on the water in Poole Bay, with a building south westerly breeze and sea state to match.
Things started off reasonably enough, with a nice 12-15 knot wind, but soon built up as per the forecast (according to some models). By the end of the day of racing, there was a solid 24 knots on the race courses, with gusts approaching 30.
On the whole, the sailors handled the conditions admirably, with IRC 0 and IRC 1 carving up the outer Red course with speed. There was the odd mishap and breakage, which is inevitable in the rough conditions, but the full programme of races was completed, bringing the total up to six in two days.
A fair few bruises and bumps will no doubt be being nursed as well, but today was Poole Bay at its finest, bathed in sunshine and blessed with breeze, testing and exhilarating, filling sailors with memories of a great day on the water.
Red Course
In IRC 0 Niklas Zennstrom's Carkeek 41 Ran turned the tables on Karl Kwok's TP52 Beau Geste to win all three races, leaving them tied on 7 points going into the final day.
Watching the three Grand Prix race yachts majestically powering over the swell was breathtaking, with the sound of the winch drums revealing the loads of the sheets during the bear away at the weather marks.
James Neville's Ino Noir scoreline may not look pretty, but this is a team working up their boat against two seasoned crews on inshore-optimised yachts. Regattas like this will be invaluable to increase their knowledge of the Carkeek 45.
Julian Metherell's Cape 31 Bullit continues to lead IRC 1 by a comfortable margin, despite a fifth place in race 5. Nick Phillips Cape 31 Chaotic has move up to second after finishing second in race 4 and first in race 5, but a U-Flag penalty for starting prematurely in race 6 means their discard has now been used.
Ben Pritchard’s Akheilos is just a point behind Chaotic, so the Cape 31s continue to dominate the podium, but Francois Goubau’s First 47.7 Moana revelled in the conditions to be just two points further back in fourth overall.
The well-honed team on Adam Gosling's JPK 1080 Yes! pulled away from the pack in IRC 2 after posting a 2,1,1 scoreline today. The podium had been separated by just a single point after day 1, but they now enjoy a 3-point advantage on overnight leader James Chalmets' J/112 Happy Daize and Charles & Rosie Berry's J/109 Jenie is a further 6 points behind.
Green Course
Taking in the big wheel beside Bournemouth Pier wasn’t on sailors’ minds on the green course where the swell had built considerably. In IRC 3, the previously unbeaten team on James Crew & Peter Rutter's Half Tonner Quokka saw their lead reduced to just two points by the Ruthless team of Sam and Sophie Pearson on their Dehler 33. They are tied on points with Ian Braham’s MG 346 Haven KJ Enigma, who had been putting a consistent series with four second places until sail damage in the high winds forced them to retire from the final race of the day.
Pink Course
'Team Hamble' on the Quarter Tonner Protis continue to dominate IRC 4 but lost their perfect record in the final race of the day, when Rob Macgregor’s Dark Horse team on their Mustang 30 pranced to a win. Andrew Rushworth's Limbo 6.6 Marmite continued to hold second overall, despite a 7th in race 4, while Annie & Nick Haigh’s Fire Fox RF290 enjoyed the stronger winds to move up to third.
A thank-you to the RIB crews, and club members the Pearce & Taylor family, including a 6-month-old, for assisting with a 2.4mR recovery.
Report by Mark Jardine