Saturday Review:
The Royal Ocean Racing Club’s IRC National Championship continued with a second day of racing in the Solent. Three windward leeward races in 5-10 knots of easterly breeze, produced contrasting conditions to the wet and wild northerly wind from the opening day.
The tight technical course put more emphasis on boat handling. Starts are always important but in light airs, getting away into clear air becomes paramount. With tide pushing the boats towards the line, a total of six boats were called over the line for the start of Race 6.
Two wind shifts during the day gave the mark layers a proper work out, as well as the RORC fleet. The IRC Class leaders after six races remain unchanged but the devil is in the detail: Niklas Zennström’s FAST40+ Rán, Stuart Sawyer’s J/122 Black Dog, and Adam Gosling’s JPK 1080 Yes! lead their classes at the RORC IRC National Championships
IRC ONE
Niklas Zennström’s FAST40+ Rán leads the class by a single point from Peter Morton’s GP42 Jean Genie. Hamilton & Gillon’s GP42 Khumbu won the last race of the day to place third in class, just two points behind Rán. With two races scheduled for tomorrow, the top three teams are all in the hunt for the national title. Peter Morton’s GP42 Jean Genie scored a 1-1-3 on Day Two, including coming back from an OCS in Race 4. Jean Genie’s Dave Lenz explains how. “Sometimes it is better to be lucky,” commented Lenz. “We were over the line and forced onto Port, straight into a right hand shift with pressure, that got us back into it and we managed to find a lane with good pressure for the run.”
IRC TWO
Stuart Sawyer’s J/122 Black Dog retained the class lead with a 3-1-3 today. Rob Bottomley’s Mat 12 Sailplane broke Black Dog’s winning streak, winning Race 4, to finish the day second in class. A race win for Russell Peters’ Cape 31 Squirt, lifted the team up to third. There was also a race win for Lance Adams’ Cape 31 Katabatic.
“We haven’t sailed that much but we are really keen,” commented Black Dog’s Stuart Sawyer. “The crew work has been brilliant. This is our eleventh year as a team and that togetherness builds trust, plus we have Nick Rogers doing tactics, making some great calls.”
IRC THREE
Adam Gosling’s JPK 1080 Yes! failed to shine in the first two races of the day, including a premature start in Race 4, but took the win in Race 6 to retain the class lead for the championship. Howell & Newell’s A35 Arcus, reigning IRC Overall National Champion, scored a 2-2-3 to climb up to second, just 3.5 points behind Yes! McNamara & Lowe’s First 40.7 Incognito won Race 5 and finished the day third in class.
When asked about the OCS call in Race 4, Adam Gosling joked that they hadn’t dried out properly form the soaking on the first day! “We still had water in our ears,” smiled Adam. “We set ourselves up a bit too early and we didn’t get the timing quite right. It’s all about learning how to get better at it. This is our second weekend sailing in two years, we have to remember how it all works, and today it was about trying to find those lower gears in light airs.”Racing at the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s IRC National Championship concludes Sunday 20th June with two further races scheduled for the regatta.
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Image: Cornel Riklin's J/111 Jitterbug © Paul Wyeth/RORC
Text courtesy of RORC
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