J/109 OFFBEAT Wins IRC 2
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- A total of 1,754 entries sailed in this past weekend's JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race crewed by nearly 16,000 sailors! On Saturday, June 19, the race began at 5am, from the famous Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes, after which the fleet raced westabout to The Needles, around St Catherine's Point and Bembridge Ledge buoy and back into the Solent, to the finish line in Cowes. It's considered Britain's favorite yacht race and this year's 79th edition of this great event saw thirteen classes ranging from grand prix 100 ft high tech racing boats to the famous J/24s (some 30 years old!) take off on a gorgeous sunrise to enjoy a "shorts and shades" pleasant daysail past all the beautiful sights the Isle of Wight has to offer to its passionate enthusiasts and visitors.There were three J divisions "scored" in the race for J/24s, J/80s and J/109s. In the J/24s, William Lack's TIME ON THE WATER won, followed by Richard Fruehmann'S CLEWLESS and Quinton Hall on JABULANI in third (he claims they have oldest J/24 in the UK, built in 1979!). Said William about his team and their boat- "TIME ON THE WATER is a Parkstone Yacht Club based J/24, which is kindly leant by the owners and used all winter usually teaching youths to match race and educate in team building, however the average age for this regatta is rather higher at nearly 55. J/24 4263 is a regular front runner in the IRC white class for Round the Island race and last year won her division and second in the island sailing club trophy in her class. She is a regular winner in local regattas in Poole, where the biggest fleet of J/24s race year round. Entertainment is a high priority in the campaign, and one of the teams' aims is to distract the opposition during racing using laughter and frivolity. We promise not to shout, as in previous years when passing larger boats, 'Our boat costs less than your Genoa!'" Richard said this about their J/24 Round Island adventure- "CLEWLESS is a Westerly built J/24 from the early 80's. A bit of a handyman's special, this is now her third season under the current owners and the adventure continues. The crew met during their studies at Southampton University and share a love for sailing and all things ocean. Still dreaming of a circumnavigation, but a trip round the island will do just fine too!"
In the J/80s, SPITFIRE won followed by arch rival Andrew Ashworth on JAMMY DODGER in second and Robert Walters' WILD WALLY in third. The top three J/80s all finished in about one anxiety-ridden, ulcer-inducing minute after nearly sixty miles of racing!! Yikes, a few pints of Guinness must've been the order of the day after that clash to calm the frayed nerves and enjoy the celebration. Wing Commander Simon Ling was skippering SPITFIRE. Simon is a serving Royal Air Force Logistics Officer who has been racing for nearly 20 years. This year will be his 10th Round the Island Race and 4th as Skipper. He had sailing with him a crew comprised of a diverse mix of Royal Air Force personnel that included a Royal Air Force Helicopter Engineer, a young Trainee Pilot and a recently retired Fighter Pilot. The thirty-four J/109s sailing the race in two classes were scored as as "one-design" based on their corrected TCC handicap. Based on their elapsed time and TCC factor, David Mcleman's OFFBEAT was first by nearly five minutes, followed by Fiona Walker's JUMPING JELLYFISH placing second and Andrew Given's HIGH TENSION in third.
The premiere IRC division for the Round Island Race-IRC 1A- were a fleet of J/122s and J/133s vying for supremacy. After the gunsmoke cleared on the Royal Yacht Squadron finish line off Cowes, it was Ian Matthews' J/122 JINJA that finished at noon in time for "high tea" on the lawn at RYS, taking both second in class and second overall in IRC 1! Fifth in class and finishing just 36 seconds behind JINJA was Fiona and Malcolm Thorpe's J/133 KING LOUIE. Sixth just five minutes back was Neil Kipling's J/122 JOOPSTER. In seventh, finishing just two minutes in front of JINJA, was Louis Kenna's J/133 BNP PARIBAS. Ninth was Herman Berghaven's J/133 SOLNESS. Herman said he's done so many RI races and RORC races that he's simply lost count!
In IRC 1B and 1C were two lone-wolves (at least in terms of J's sailing in the race) competing for handicap honors. In IRC 1B, Adrian Cook sailed a beautiful race to finish third in class with his J/120 MOJO. David Walters continues to avidly campaign his beautiful J/39 JACKDAW and sailed a nice race to finish seventh in IRC 1C division.
In IRC 2B was a small fleet of J/109s sailing in IRC "wardrobe". Top J/109 was Bruce Huber's JOLENE II finishing seventh. Smith and Rotta sailed the J/109 YEOMAN OF WIGHT to ninth and Richard Griffith rounded out the top ten taking tenth in class sailing his J/109 OUTRAJEOUS.
In IRC 2B it was clearly a J-Party! There were a total of 26 J's in this large fleet of 58 boats. Leading the charge was David Mcleman's J/109 OFFBEAT, taking not the off-beaten path, but the fastest one, eclipsing all J/109s and vanquishing any remaining competitors in their huge class, winning both class and IRC 2 Group overall. Third was world-renown sailor Fiona Walker (Sailing Logistics Inc) racing her notable J/109 JUMPING JELLYFISH with a bunch of fun-loving friends. Fourth was Andrew Given sailing his J/109 HIGH TENSION. Rounding out the top 15 in this class (ten of which were J's- eight J/109s and two J/105s) were Glaister's J/109 INSTINCT in sixth, Robin Taunt's J/109 JIBE at seventh, Mike Wallis' J/109 JAHMALI in eighth, Paul Griffiths' J/109 JAGERBOMB in tenth, Ivan Trotman's J/105 JOLENE at twelfth, Richard Watney's J/105 JEOPARDY in thirteenth and Robert Stiles' J/109 DIAMOND JEM in fifteenth! In IRC 2C there was a gaggle of J/92's (in various forms) with Andrew Dallas leading this J group home finishing 4th in class on his J/92s HULLABALOO. Seventh were brothers Pip and Pete Tyler racing their J/92s NEILSON REDEYE. The Swedish boys, Chris and Tony Harris had a great time finishing 11th on their J/92 SWE1 called VEGAS....next time try rolling the dice perhaps yet another way to get better winning odds on the outcome! The J/92s NEILSON REDEYE is owned by 2 directors, Pip & Pete from Neilson Active holidays. The boat has a good racing record - 2009 J/92 National champions, 2010 Sussex champions and 2010 BMYC champions, 3rd place at 2010 J Cup regatta. Their crew were a mixture of staff and contacts from Neilson Active Holidays; current staff - Pip, Pete, Stu & Andrew. Ex staff - Wooderz & Audrey. Pikey from BBC Sussex and Jamie, old time crew taking a break from childcare!?
In IRC 2D, the J/97 INDULJENCE raced by Mike Flood sailed to a respectable 5th in class and 15th overall in IRC Group 2. Finishing 11th in class was Mike and Jamie Holmes' J/97 JIKA-JIKA. Said Mike about his new J/97 INDULJENCE- "As crew of winning boat in 1993 and class wins in J109 with JB2 and earlier class wins in Contessa 32, we're looking to keep our end up with the new J/97. As for my crew on this race? Far too many collective roundings to remember, Jeff Dakin has 30 but memory fading so probably nearer 50. It's a family and friends event with two lots of father and son, two brothers, a top bloke (Stormy) and a first for a good friend (Thomas) from Cologne, Germany to give us the Schumacher effect - excluding bumping other competitors."
In IRC 3A, the J/92 J'RENIMO sailed by John Taylor was 9th and newcomer to the "mini-offshore" fleet, Bill Blain, finished 18th in his first Round Island Race on his new J/97 BATFISH IV. If you recall, last year Bill was RORC Boat of the Year Winner racing his J/133 BATFISH III. For more Round The Island sailing information