2021 De Guingand Bowl Race - Preview
by Louay Habib 23 Jun 2021 19:12 BST
26 June 2021
75 boats for the 2021 RORC De Guingand Bowl Race © Paul Wyeth / RORC
The Royal Ocean Racing Club Season's Points Championship continues with the De Guingand Bowl Race, which will start on Saturday June 26th from the RYS Line, Cowes.
The course will be 110-160 nautical miles around marks with a finish in the Solent or adjacent waters. 75 boats have entered the sixth race of the RORC Season's Points Championship, racing under IRC and Class40 Rules.
Favourites for Line Honours include David Collins Botin IRC 52 Tala, VME Racing's CM60 Venomous, skippered by James Gair, and Ed Fishwick's GP42 Redshift. Class40s in action include Marc Lepesqueux's Sensation, sailed by Eric Bredeka with and all French team and Greg Leonard's all-American Kite, which will be crewed by the Leonard family.
IRC One
Redshift is the scratch boat in a 12-strong class. Mark Emerson's A13 Phosphorus II will be defending their class win in 2019. Proven race winners in IRC One include: Andrew Hall's Lombard 46 Pata Negra, Rob Bottomley's Mat 12 Sailplane, and David Cummins' Ker 39 Rumbleflurg as well as Michael O'Donnell's J/121 Darkwood which leads IRC One for the 2021 RORC Season's Points Championship.
IRC Two
14 are entered, including a number of teams from yacht charter companies. Ross Applebey's Oyster 48 Scarlet Oyster, overall winner of the De Guingand Bowl Race in 2019, will be racing. Six Beneteau First 40s will be in action including Ronan Banim's Galahad Of Cowes, Capstan Sailing's Skylander and three entries from Hamble based race training school, Sailing Logic: Lancelot II, Merlin and Arthur. Thomas Kneen's JPK 1180 Sunrise is the overall leader for the 2021 RORC Season's Points Championship and will continue their duel with Ed Bell's JPK 1180 Dawn Treader.
IRC Three
23 teams are expected to be racing in IRC Three, including many teams racing Two-Handed. Fully crewed entries include Trevor Middleton's Sun Fast 3600 Black Sheep, skippered by Jake Carter. Six J/109s will be racing fully crewed, including the current leading J/109 for the season, Kevin Armstrong's Jazzy Jellyfish. Rob Craigie's Sun Fast 3600 Bellino, racing with Deb Fish, was the class winner for the race in 2019.
IRC Two-Handed
20 teams are entered racing Two-Handed, the majority racing in IRC Three and Four. The top two teams for the season so far will be in action. James Harayda's Sun Fast 3300 Gentoo, racing with Dee Caffari, and Rob Craigie's Bellino. IRC Four season leader, Nigel Goodhew's Sun Fast 3200 Cora will be racing with Mark Heuchan. Cora won IRC Four for the De Guingand Bowl in 2019. The current runner-up in IRC Four, William McGough & Christian Jeffery, will be racing J/109 Just So. Class winner for the Morgan Cup, Richard Palmer's JPK 10.10 Jangada, will be in the action racing with Jeremy Waitt.
IRC Four Classics
22 teams are entered in IRC Four, including a number of classic yachts: Mike Greville's Bowman 44 Skadi, Giovanni Mazzocchi's Swan 44 Ithaka, Stephen Brookson's Swan 411 Kiswala, Jonathan Rolls' Swan 38 Xara, and Stuart Greenfield's S&S 34 Morning After. Three Contessa 32s will have their own private battle. Rob Windsor & Stephen Davies racing Colemere, Roger Shapland and Mark Himsworth racing ATV and Christophe Declercq racing Lecas.
Yachts taking part in the De Guingand Bowl Race will start to gather off Cowes Parade from around 0700 on Saturday 26th June. Find full entry list and AIS tracking link here and also via smartphones with the YB App. Results will be available with live updates at www.rorc.org