Amp-lifi leads the charge in RORC De Guingand Bowl - IRC Two-Handed National Championship round 1
by Louay Habib / RORC 19 May 2025 13:14 BST
17 May 2025
RORC De Guingand Bowl 2025 © Rick Tomlinson / RORC
The RORC De Guingand Bowl Race marked the fifth race of the 2025 RORC Season's Points Championship - the world's largest offshore racing series. It also served as Round One of the IRC Two-Handed National Championship and the second event in the newly launched RORC Cowes Offshore Racing Series.
With the hottest May in over 30 years, 71 teams took part in the race in sparkling conditions. The RORC fleet made for a spectacular sight as they raced east out of the Solent.
Chris Frost's Carkeek 40+ Amp-lifi claimed Line Honours and overall victory after IRC time correction. Second place went to Gery Trentesaux's Ker 43 Long Courrier, while Chris and Vanessa Choules' 37-year-old Sigma 38 With Alacrity finished third overall and took the win in IRC Four.
"We only saw a maximum of ten knots of wind, and as the fastest-rated boat in the fleet, we knew we had to keep in the pressure to be first across the line to have any chance after IRC time correction," said Chris Frost, owner of Amp-lifi, which will be competing for the RORC in the forthcoming Admiral's Cup.
"We got a good start and went north of the rhumb line for more breeze—which paid off, especially as we managed to cross ahead of the Class40s exiting the Solent. On the return leg, we took a tactical gamble going further inshore. While the tide wasn't ideal, the lifting pressure and better breeze worked in our favour."
Formerly Peter Morton's Girls on Film, Amp-lifi has undergone a winter of optimisation for the rigours of offshore racing in the Admiral's Cup, including the Rolex Fastnet Race.
"This was our first race and we're still fine-tuning a few systems—our depth sounder failed during the race, which made for some tense moments around Selsey Bill and back through the Solent!" continued Frost. "Crossing the finish knowing we'd likely done enough to win overall was a joy. After a big winter refit, it was fantastic to see the hard work paying off—and to finish ahead of a boat like Gery Trentesaux's Long Courrier gives us a real confidence boost.
Our crew is a great mix of pros and experienced amateurs, and while we're serious about performance, we never forget to have a laugh. The banter onboard was flowing—this is a team that knows how to race hard and enjoy it."
IRC Two-Handed National Championship (Round One)
Competition in the 23-strong double-handed division was intense, with just 12 minutes separating the top four boats after IRC time correction: Tim Goodhew & Kelvin Matthews on Sun Fast 3200 Cora won the class by just over three minutes and lead the national championship with one race remaining.
Dan & Zeb Fellows on Sun Fast 3300 Orbit finished a close second. Sam White & Sam North on JPK 1080 Mzungu! took line honours in the Two-Handed Class but corrected to third. Just missing out on the podium was Simon Bamford's Sun Fast 3300 Kestrel, finishing only 74 seconds behind after IRC correction.
Despite having meticulously prepared Cora for their first race of the season, Goodhew & Matthews started the race with a six-hour power outage, depriving the team of navigational instruments and auto-pilot. "Kelvin raced the boat solo while I became a marine electrician!" commented Tim Goodhew. "However, we were in a good position as we rounded Owers by staying on the northern edge of the fleet to benefit from a right-hand shift."
Goodhew believes another crucial part of the race was in the middle of the night as Cora negotiated Selsey Bill. "We thought another right-hand shift would come, so we were ready to hoist our Code Zero and that seemed to be the right sail as we were going a few knots quicker than the opposition, allowing us to catch the faster boats."
The 2025 IRC Two-Handed National Championship concludes with the next race, the Myth of Malham and for Cora, the championship is very much unfinished business, as Goodhew explains: "Last year we also won the first race, only to make a mistake in the second race to lose out on the championship by six seconds. So, this year we are fully focused on not making mistakes. For the whole series, consistency is important; you don't need to win every race but scoring well in everyone is the recipe for success."
IRC Two
Ross Applebey's Oyster 48 Scarlet Oyster won IRC Two following a thrilling battle with Frans van Cappelle & Michelle Witsenburg's J/122 Moana. Scarlet Oyster beat Moana by a razor-thin 57 seconds on corrected time. Line Honours for the class went to Adrien Popieul's Figaro II Méfie Te, who placed third on corrected time.
IRC Three
In IRC Three, victory went to the father-and-son team of Dan & Zeb Fellows on Orbit. RORC Commodore Deb Fish & Rob Craigie claimed second aboard Sun Fast 3600 Bellino. The race for third was very close after IRC time correction: Mzungu! made the podium just 94 seconds ahead of Nicolas Dezeustre's Sun Fast 3600 Princesse Gotionude II. Alan Waha's J/99 Further West was just four seconds behind Princesse Gotionude.
IRC Four
Chris & Vanessa Choules' Sigma 38 With Alacrity was the winner of IRC Four by just under three minutes from Cora. Philippe Benaben's Sun Fast 3200 Platypus was third.
The British couple have owned With Alacrity for over 20 years and along with the WARTs (With Alacrity Racing Team) will be taking on their 9th Rolex Fastnet Race later this year.
"The De Guingand Bowl was the start of our Fastnet campaign and pretty much it is the same crew that has raced the Fastnet all those years," commented Chris Choules. "We are very much an amateur team but because we have been racing together for so long, teamwork is one of our strengths."
Choules believes one of the defining moments in their race was the approach to Selsey Bill racing west. "The Sigma 38 is not suited to light upwind, which we had for the majority of the race. However, we had done a lot of work analysing the tide near Selsey Bill and we managed to navigate in the shallow waters to our advantage. It involved a lots of tacking but in relatively flat water it was a real boost to our ranking and definitely paid off."
Class40 Division
Greg Leonard's Manuard Mach 40.6 Swift took the gun for the Class40 Division completing the race in just over 18 hours. Second was Renaud Corbon's Etienne Bertrand designed the 3 Bros. Stuart Sawyer's Manuard Mach 40.3 Black Dog VI from the Royal Cornwall YC was third.
This edition of the De Guingand Bowl showcased tactical racing, tight margins, and strong performances across the fleet. Congratulations to all teams who competed in this exciting event. The RORC Season's Points Championship continues on Saturday 24 May with the RORC Myth of Malham Race, which will be the third race of the RORC Cowes Offshore Series. The 230-mile race over the UK Bank Holiday weekend mirrors the start of the Rolex Fastnet Race. 147 boats have already entered the Myth of Malham Race, including 27 teams racing double handed to decide the 2025 Two-Handed IRC National Champions.
Full Results