Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Royal St. George Win Cumberland Cup in J/80s

J/80 one-design sailboat- sailing at Queen Mary Reservoir in England

(London, England) - With a close to perfect score, Andrew Fowler's team of Sam Hurst, Brendan Fafliani, John Sheehy, Nick Smyth, Guy O'Leary, Peter Bailey and Phil Lawton from Royal St George YC in Dublin, Ireland, won the 2010 Royal Thames Cumberland Cup from Ian Ilsley's team from Yacht Club de Monaco.  Firm friend and arch-rival were the Southern Yacht Club of New Orleans that  finished third, claiming by dint of that result the Bourgne Cup, contested on each and every occasion the clubs meet.

The seven teams sailed a total of 54 races over three days at Queen Mary Water hard by Heathrow airport.  A classic bright scarlet Routemaster double-decker omnibus, that iconic symbol of London,  ferried the crews to and from the RTYC's Knightsbridge clubhouse.

Sailing in a fleet of eight carefully-matched J/80s, the competition began with a two-day double round-robin in which each team raced each other team twice. St George topped the league, winning 11 out of their 12 matches and losing only to the hosts and current holders, Royal Thames, and thus apparently setting the scene for the finals. It was a scene dramatically re-shaped by the winner-take-all nature of the Cumberland Cup's competition structure.

With teams traveling from across the globe to compete in this regatta, the organizers deliberately eschew a competition format that eliminates teams early from the competition, espousing instead a format that keeps every team sailing into the final round. The result is The Ladder. On The Ladder, a win carries the double bonus of promotion to the next rung - but every loss earns the double-penalty of relegation. On The Ladder, it is just possible by dint of really good sailing to redeem a disappointing result in the round-robin and climb all the way to the top - as did the Monegasques - while the series leaders - in this case the Irish - must not put a foot wrong if they are to retain their fingertip grip on the crown. -- Malcolm McKeag   For more Cumberland Cup J/80 sailing / regatta information