RORC Cherbourg Race - Preview

The Royal Ocean Racing Club's Cherbourg Race is the penultimate race of the RORC Season's Points Championship and the last race of the season across the English Channel. For many of the competing yachts, the 75-mile dash to Cherbourg will be the final race of the RORC season and several class winners are likely to be decided this weekend.

In excess of 60 yachts will be competing from Belgium, France, Great Britain and the Netherlands. Following a spectacular Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race, there are new challengers to the overall title for the RORC Season's Points Championship.

Following a gutsy performance in the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race, the Army Sailing Association's J/111,British Soldier, is the current overall leader for the championship.

"It came as a bit of a surprise to us to be leading for the season but we are not getting carried away with that," commented British Soldier's skipper, Will Naylor. "Several competitors will be taking part in the Rolex Middle Sea Race in October, so it is unlikely that we can retain the lead but you never know, we might just get to Malta as well!

"For the Cherbourg Race we are especially looking forward to a battle with Relentless on Jellyfish, which was our big rival in the last race and they are just ahead of us in IRC Two. However, we will just concentrate on our own performance, as it is the only thing we can influence. For the Cherbourg Race we will be back to a full crew of eight. Unlike the Round Britain and Ireland Race, we will be able to load up the rail and as it's a much shorter race, we will probably keep the crew there for the duration. British Soldier performs much better with a full crew hiking out."

Vincent Willemart and Eric Van Campenhout's Belgian MC34, Azawakh, is currently second overall, but the Cherbourg Race will not be their last race of the RORC Season, as Eric explains.

"We always planned to take part in the Rolex Middle Sea Race from the start of the season; we are not just doing it to win the championship. Vincent (Willemart) my racing partner thinks that the weather for the Cherbourg Race is looking quite light, so we will probably only have six on board and it will be a tricky one for us as Azawakh prefers more wind to perform well and this could be a slow and difficult race."

In IRC Canting Keel British IMOCA 60, Artemis - Team Endeavour, skippered by Mike Ferguson, returns to RORC racing after the team's world record racing run and class win in the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race. Ian Budgen and Fred Schwyn's British Volvo 70, Monster Project, is en route to Malta and will not be competing this weekend.

In IRC One RORC Rear Commodore Steven Anderson's Corby 40, Cracklin' Rosie, leads the class but the British team will need a good result in Cherbourg to stand any chance of winning the title for the first time. Piet Vroon's Dutch Ker 46, Tonnerre de Breskens 3, is in action this weekend and is unbeaten in the class this season but second by virtue of only competing in four races. A win in the Cherbourg Race will almost certainly secure a fourth consecutive IRC One title for Tonnerre de Breskens 3. RORC Commodore Mike Greville racing his Ker 39, Erivale III, is currently in third place for the season and also has a chance of toppling Cracklin' Rosie for the class title.

In IRC Four Peter Ward's East Coast MG 38, McGregor IV, is the current leader and third overall for the season. However, the competition within the class is intense with two veteran competitors in close contention: Noel Racine's French JPK 10.10, Foggy Dew, and Harry Heijst's Dutch S&S 41, Winsome.

David Annan, crew on McGregor IV, has been dinghy sailing for the past 20 years, but was attracted to offshore racing as an endurance challenge.

"Peter Ward and the majority of the crew are from the Marconi Sailing Club in Essex and we are very much sailing under the club burgee. The team has been sailing together for a couple of seasons now, including a Fastnet campaign last year and Round Ireland this year, so we have been sailing as a team for quite a bit. The Cherbourg Race will be our last race of the season and we are delighted and surprised to be doing so well. However, we are all very committed and in general we have made some decent tactical decisions over the course of the year and we are very determined; we don't give up and make sure we always finish the races we take part in. Looking at the competition in our class, we have boats that have been winning races for many years, like Winsome and Foggy Dew - it is great to be competing with them."

In the Two-Handed Class Louis-Marie Dussere's JPK 10.10, Raging Bee, is not racing to Cherbourg, giving the opportunity for Ian Hoddle's Figaro II, Rare, to end their season in style. A good result for Rare will give the Two-Handed team of Ian Hoddle and Conrad Manning the class title. "After completing the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race, we are determined to finish off the season in style in the Cherbourg Race," commented Ian Hoddle, "but Nick Martin's Diablo-J is not far behind us and Nick is a tough competitor - we won't be taking anything for granted." Also in the Two-Handed Class the Artemis Offshore Academy will have four Figaro entries including regular RORC racer Artemis 43, crewed by Robin Elsey and Will Harris, and three new rookie sailors that have just started training this week and will be making their RORC debut in the Cherbourg Race.

For more information visit www.rorc.org