RORC Morgan Cup Race 2022 - Preview
by Louay Habib 16 Jun 12:32 BST
17 June 2022
Palanad 3, Class40 sailed by Antoine Magre © Carlo Borlenghi / Rolex
The Royal Ocean Racing Club Season's Points Championship continues with the 8th race of the series, the Morgan Cup Race. Starting from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line at 1800 BST on the 17th of June.
The intention is to start the RORC fleet to the east and around the southside of the Isle of Wight. The final destination will be Dartmouth where a warm welcome awaits from the Royal Dart Yacht Club. 44 teams have entered the Morgan Cup Race competing for the overall win under the IRC Rating Rule and for IRC Class Honours.
Favourite for Line Honours will be Antoine Magre's Class40 Palanad 3, one of the world's fastest Class40s. Palanad 3 won her class in the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race and the 2021 RORC Transatlantic Race overall. Magre will also be taking on the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race this August.
For the Morgan Cup Race Palanad 3 is also entered under IRC, it will be very interesting to see how the team fair against the fleet after time correction. Joining Antoine Magre for the Morgan Cup will be the highly accomplished young British navigator Will Harris and Dutch protégé Rosie Kuiper, both are destined to compete in The Ocean Race 2022-23.
The largest and highest rated boat in IRC One for the Morgan Cup Race is Jonathan Butler's Swan 62 Coco de Mer. Returning to the UK offshore arena is Tom Kneen's JPK 1180 Sunrise, overall winner of the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race and class winner for the 2022 RORC Caribbean 600.
Fresh from winning the North Sea Race overall under IRC with a full crew, Astrid de Vin and Roeland Franssens' JPK 1180 Il Corvo is back in action. This time Two-Handed for the Morgan Cup. Top teams from France include Jacques Pelletier's Milon 41 L'Ange De Milon, which is one of the class leaders for the season, along with Sport Nautique Club's Xp 44 Orange Mecanix2, skippered by Maxime de Mareuil.
RORC Honorary Treasurer Derek Shakespeare will be racing his British J/122 Bulldog. A good result will put the team into pole position in IRC One for the season. Richard Powell's Rogan Josh is one of three First 40s racing; Ronan Banim's Galahad Of Cowes and Sailing Logic's Lancelot II, skippered by Cameron Ferguson, will also be in action.
22 teams have entered the Morgan Cup Race racing in IRC Two-Handed including nine Sun Fast 3300s. The top five double-handed teams for the 2022 season will be racing to Dartmouth: Jangada - Richard Palmer and Rupert Holmes, Diablo - Nick Martin and Calanach Finlayson, Purple Mist - Kate Cope and Claire Dresser, Sea Bear - Peter Bacon and Antonio Martinez, and Tigris - Gavin Howe and Rosie Hill.
Tim Goodhew and Kelvin Matthews racing Sun Fast 3200 Cora, class winner for the Cervantes Trophy Race, is back in action. Classic yachts racing in IRC Two-Handed include Stuart Greenfield and Louise Clayton with S&S 34 Morning After and Joe Walters and Evie Herrington racing the wooden-hull Channel 32 Wavetrain.
Fully crewed entries in IRC Three include three J/109s, a fourth is the highly successful JAGO raced Two-Handed by Mike Yates and Will Holland. The Royal Navy Association's Jolly Jack Tar is second in class for the season, less than 11 points ahead of Rob Cotterill's Mojo Risin'. The Royal Armoured Corps Yacht Club's White Knight 7 will also be racing skippered by Matthew Pollard. IRC Four includes Francois Charles' French Dehler 33 Sun Hill 3, which was third in class for the 2019 and 2021 Rolex Fastnet Races.
Competing boats in the Morgan Cup Race can be tracked using AIS data, when in range, via the free YB tracker player. There is also a YB Races App for available free to download on smart devices.
View the full entry list here...
More information at rorc.org