RORC Channel Race

Harry Heijst's S&S 41 'Winsome' wins the RORC Channel Race © Paul Wyeth / www.pwpictures.com

One of the closest races of the RORC Season's Points Championship took place over the weekend with side by side battles right through the fleet of seven classes racing in the 10th fixture of the series. The race started on the Royal Yacht Squadron Line, with the RORC fleet beating into a light southwesterly wind helped on by a positive tide. After leaving the Solent, the wind was enhanced by sea breeze, giving the fleet a tactical dead beat to a DZB buoy south of Anvil Point followed by a run to a virtual mark south of the Isle of Wight, before beating up to Poole. The course then took the competitors around the south of the Isle of Wight bringing them into the finish at Gilkicker vis the Nab Tower.

Harry Heijst's S&S 41, Winsome was the overall winner, the Dutch team claiming their first winner's trophy of the 2014 season, as well as their first win in IRC Four. Winsome had a tremendous battle with Noel Racine's French JPK 10.10, Foggy Dew, taking the victory by just 2 minutes after 24 hours of racing.

"We got the better of Foggy Dew in the beginning but the lead changed hands many times during the race. When we started the last beat we were just two seconds ahead after time correction. It was a thrilling race, my heart is still pounding!" laughed Harry, "the course was good, I especially liked the use of the virtual mark and the RORC got that just right. It was a true beat to start the race rather than a rat race, where you just follow the others and the legs up and down Poole Harbour worked very well. Foggy Dew did well winning on the leg to The Needles but we got back at them by St. Catherine's Point and for the last beat there was nothing between us. Winsome goes very well to windward and we just managed to save our time on Foggy Dew. Noel (Racine) is a great sailor, so to win against him is always an achievement. Winsome is 42 years old but she is in excellent condition after a lot of work over the winter. This is only our fourth race of the season and there is more to come, we plan to do the Cherbourg Race and the Rolex Middle Sea Race to end the season."

Peter Ward's MG38, McGregor IV, sailed by Derek Brown completed the podium for IRC Four. The much travelled East Coast boat from the Marconi Sailing Club was a late entry, after damaging two head sails in storms delivering the boat to Cowes after the East Coast Race.

IMOCA 60 Artemis Team Endeavour, skippered by Mikey Ferguson, took line honours for the race from Andrew Budgen and Fred Schwyn's Volvo 70, Monster Project and the win in IRC Canting Keel.

In IRC One, Piet Vroon's Ker 46, Tonnerre de Breskens 3, was the class winner, the flying dutchmen are unbeaten in Class One this season however Stephen Anderson's British Corby 40, Cracklin' Rosie, was second and retain the class lead for the season. RORC Commodore, Mike Greville racing Ker 39, Erivale III with a young crew, held on for third.

In IRC Two, Vincent Willemart and Eric Van Campenhout's MC34, Azawakh was the victor, propelling the Belgian team to the overall lead for the championship with three races to go. Ross Applebey's British Oyster 48, Scarlet Logic took line honours for the class but was second after time correction by just under 14 minutes. Robin Elsey's Figaro II, Artemis 43 crossed the finish line overlapped with Azawakh but the young British team finished third.

IRC Three was won by Pascal Loison's Rolex Fastnet winner, Night And Day, which was also the winner of the Two Handed Class. RORC Committee member, Nicolas Gaumont-Prat, racing his First 40.7 Philosophie IV, was second with Mike Moxley's HOD 35, Malice, also racing Two Handed, in third position for IRC Three and the Two Handed division. Malice crew, Hugh Phillips commented after the race. "It was a really interesting race, we had everything from flat calm to 20 knots and the wind direction went right through 90 degrees, from south west to northwest."

Ned Collier Wakefield's Concise 8 and David Pearce's Forty Shades of Grey had a sensational battle around the course. "We got our nose out in front and were ahead of Concise all the way to St. Catherine's Point. We managed to hold them off but we gybed offshore looking for more pressure and Concise came with the new breeze and got by us inshore, which was a big disappointment. After the Nab Tower we regained the lead, sailing higher and faster than Concise. We forced Concise to tack into the channel and they suffered from the foul tide and that did the trick really, but it was a great race and really good fun, it is just a pity that we didn't have more Class 40s taking part."

The next race in the RORC Season's Points Championship is the longest and toughest race of the series. The 1760-mile Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race starts on Sunday August 10th from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line. For full results of the RORC Channel Race go to www.rorc.org