IRM Series run by the Royal Thames Yacht Club - Weekend 1

Bear of Britain forcing Wolf to bear off in light airs during the first weekend of the IRM series © Malcolm McKeag

“Bear of Britain” showed that her recent training weekends in Cowes were paying off as Stuart Childerley helmed her into first place overall as the IRM Series kicked-off with the first of four weekend regattas – three run by the Royal Thames YC and one with the Royal Lymington Y.C.

Ten IRM rated boats lined up on the start-line on Saturday 8th May in very lumpy Solent conditions and with TCMs ranging from 1.188 for a Farr 52 to 0.979 for Bob Fisher’s new Mumm 36 “..Zzing”, the fleet was continual spread out along the windward/ leeward course. Huge wind gusts and a stomach-churning sea meant the fleet was a little depleted come the warning signal of the first race as “Zzing” headed back to Lymington with a break in the main and the Ker 11.3, “Highlife”, returned to Hamble for pit-stop repairs.

Initially, racing didn’t all go the way of the Farr 52. The Europrix 45 “Wolf” behaved very characteristically as she continually hunted down the “Bear” and dominated the first days racing proving to be her nearest rival. Race 1 saw “Wolf” attack the fleet as soon as the start gun was fired and with the “Bear” broaching spectacularly on the first run, “Wolf” took full advantage of the slip-up finishing 1st on corrected time followed by a huddle of Ker 11.3s. The “Bear” limped across the line in 5th place and really should have listened to advice Little Red Riding-hood about wolves.

Race two was again snatched by Glynn Williams’ “Wolf” but come the final two races on Saturday the Farr 52 had up-ed her level and crossed the line first on corrected time. Half way and “Wolf” led by two points.

Sunday saw much lighter airs from the North-west and a ferocious flooding tide so tactics were vital. The Mumm 36 “..Zzing” returned to the start-line with some ground to make up and her perfect committee boat end start on race 5 showed she had every intention of making her presence felt. Unsurprisingly, “Bear” dominated the race and the little Mumm 36 finished in an impressive 2nd place. Being a nocturnal creature “Wolf” was perhaps a little slow Sunday morning and finished in 4th place – her lowest of the weekend.

The biggest battle however was left until race 7 and “Bear” finally seized her opportunity to get revenge on “Wolf” once and for all. Childerley helmed the Farr to the leeward mark perfectly, left it to port, tacked immediately onto starboard and steered the boat straight into the path of “Wolf” who was completing her first downwind leg of the race on starboard. Finding herself the windward boat, “Wolf”, having been sailing very high angles downwind in the light airs, bore off dead downwind to avoid the fast approaching Farr 52, and took an age to find her wind and speed again. The sweet taste of revenge.

So, whilst building tents in Cowes may seem an odd form of “team training”, it paid off for “Bear of Britain” in this regatta. Will it work for the rest of the season?

The remaining three regattas are on the following dates:

• 29th & 30th May (R.T.Y.C)
• 13th & 13th June (Royal Lymington YC)
• 18th & 19th September (R.T.Y.C)

Overall Results:

1st Bear Of Britain Farr 52 K.Hobday / T.Louis
2nd Wolf Europrix 45 Glynn Williams
3rd El Gringo Ker11.3 Nick Hartshorn
4th Minnie the Moocher Ker11.3 Anthony Richards
5th Too Steamy Farr40 Nick Haigh
6th BlueBelle Ker11.3 Michael Cover
7th HighLife Ker11.3 Peter Rogers
8th Hooligan Max Fun 35 Edward Broadway
9th Zzing Mumm36 Bob Fisher
10th I-Site Ker 11.3 R.Cameron Davies

Full results and corrected times can be found on www.royalthames.com