IRM Class National Champs at Royal Southern Yacht Club
by Eddie Mays 4 Sep 2006 16:34 BST
1 – 3 September 2006
Over half the entries to the championships were Farr 45s and with only four handicap points separating them they were in for a weekend of virtual level racing. At the top end of the ratings band was Benny Kelly's very successful TP52 'Panthera' whilst at the lower end of the ratings was David Murrin's Farr 40 '2XL'. With no set number of races declared P.R.O. Tony Lovell's aim was to get in as many races each day as possible before the daily time limit.
On Friday morning a course was set using Gales HSB as the first mark. The course then cascaded across the central Solent. Murrin tried a daring entry into the starting line from the committee boat end, was a couple of seconds too early and found 'Panthera' powered up below him and 'Werewolf' (Jerry Otter) close to windward. By the time they had passed him and he was clear to return to the start line the fleet was long gone. 'Panthera' set the trend for all the races by taking line honours each time. The question was always whether she could establish a long enough lead to win on corrected time. On this occasion 'Werewolf' managed to beat Rob Goddard's smaller Farr 40 'Farrfalina' by 2 secs, with 'Panthera' 3rd.
As the fleet was finishing this race the wind moved towards the Southwest and the course had to be re-aligned using the Prince Consort buoy off Cowes as the first mark. 'Werewolf' got squeezed the wrong side of the IDM at the start and had to sail round the committee boat. Most boats followed 'Panthera' up the right hand side of the beat but 'Atomic' (Tony Langley) sailed a lonely furrow on the left and it paid. He came into the mark 2nd and stayed there for the rest of the race. Duncan Morris sailing his Farr 45 'Rebel' was close behind but was later disqualified after a protest for an incident at Prince Consort. There was not enough time for another race.
On Saturday morning The forecast for the day was not encouraging. Already the wind was at 20 kts and gusting more, the clouds were unbroken and angry looking and a persistent rain was falling. The hope was to get in another couple of races before the wind increased too much. Starting at 11:00 from a start line laid just below Marinetrack.com the windward mark was West Ryde Middle, with a run back to Marinetrack and a beat up to the Island at Norris. The start was clean and tidy and on time. 'John Merricks' (RYA Volvo Team) tacked on to port early and then went back left and forced a couple of the other Farr 45s to go with her. 'Panthera' was again first to the top mark but behind her boats were rounding in groups. The situation stayed the same until Marinetrack.com when both 'Atomic' & 'Rebel' were forced away from the mark by other boats. 'Werewolf' was 2nd and 'Cutting Edge' (Robert Lutener & Martin Elwood) took advantage of the confusion to start the beat in 3rd place. 'John Merricks' suffered a completely torn spinnaker and 'Windsong' (Huw Evans & Stuart Bowen-Davies), who had had sail handling problems yesterday, had more problems at this mark and retired. The two Farr 40s '2XL' & 'Farrfalina' were side by side at this point and they both overtook 'Shockwave' (Nick Lutte) & 'John Merricks' at the start of the beat as these two sorted themselves out. With the rain and wind increasing the race became processional over the last few legs. Closest finish of the morning was the 3 seconds that 'Atomic' beat 'Alice II' (Simon Hennine) by for 8th place.
The 2nd race started at 11:45 from the same start line. The wind was becoming gustier in the central Solent but up at Norris, the windward mark, the Island was providing an area of relative calm. 'Panthera' was still the fastest thing afloat and behind her 'Cutting Edge', 'Werewolf' & 'Rebel' were all vying for 2nd spot. The first run back and the following beat were civilised. The fun really started at the bottom of the 2nd run as the boats approached East Bramble with 'Rebel' lying 2nd and 'Werewolf' 3rd. First to go was 'Windsong' in a bad broach. 'Alice II', 'Shockwave', & 'Atomic', all had problems and followed her in quick succession. By now the wind was over 25 kts mean and gusting nearer 35 kts. The remaining boats made it safely to the finish and were sent home for the afternoon. 'Panthera' was 2nd in both races and held a one-point lead overnight.
The heavy winds of Saturday afternoon were still blowing at more than 25 kts, with gusts towards 40 kts, during Sunday morning preventing any further racing. Benny Kelly added more glassware to his cabinet, Jerry Otter came 2nd with Robert Lutener & Martin Elwood 3rd. Encouragingly the two Farr 40s, David Murrin and Rob Goddard finished 4th & 5th respectively.
Overall Results:
1st, TP52, Panthera, Benny Kelly
2nd, Farr 45, Werewolf, Jerry Otter
3rd, Farr 45, Cutting Edge, Robert Lutener & Martin Elwood