(St. Malo, France)- The 164 nm race to St. Malo from Cowes has always
been a popular event and this past weekend 177 yachts raced across the
English Channel to the famous port where the the race finishes just
outside St Malo- the medieval walled port. It was a spectacular start
from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line in Cowes, England. The impressive
RORC fleet got off to a flying start reaching across the line in an
awesome display of power. The Race Committee elected to start the fleet
to the East to avoid sending the fleet through Hurst Narrows where 30
knots of wind over tide and congestion may well have proved hazardous
for the racing yachts. The wind persisted in direction and strength as
the fleet sailed down the Eastern Solent to turn to the west and out
into the English Channel."The wind was forecast to abate and veer to the West, which it did and those yachts that went West made big gains" commented RORC Racing Manager Ian Loffhagen. "The tricky decision was how far West to go and those that got their tactics right held the advantage. The breeze dropped as it veered but the wind held for most of the fleet until they got to Jersey. However, the faster boats had breeze all the way into the finish, this year, the conditions definitely favored the faster boats."
Twenty-four yachts entered IRC One, including three J/133s. Two of them were British boats, Dave Ballantyne's JINGS earning a 7th in class and 13th IRC Overall and Angus Bates ASSYRIAN IV finishing 10th. Just behind JINGS was the French J/133 JIVARO sailed by Yves Grosjean and Alain Roualt finishing 8th overall.
In IRC Two 48 yachts entered in one of the most competitive divisions. Proving their RORC Season Points win two years ago was no fluke, Frenchman Phillipe Delaporte's J/122 PEN AZEN finished fourth in class and 12th IRC Overall, just 8 minutes out of 2nd overall and 34 minutes shy of winning the class. Another French J/122, NUTMEG IV sailed by Francois Lognone finished 9th and yet another French J/122 LORELEI sailed by Alain Catherineau finished 14th. Top British J/122 was Dave Richard's JOLLY JELLYFISH lying in 24th place.
Another hotly contested class racing to St Malo is IRC Three. Nick Martin's J/105, DIABLO-J, currently leads the class for the RORC Season's Points Championship. DIABLO-J's success so far is even more remarkable as the yacht is also sailed Two-Handed. In all 23 yachts sailed to St Malo in the Two-Handed Class. Despite strong showings in the past in this race, Nick and crew managed to score a DNF as the breeze simply shut down after the fast boats finished. Top J/105 was Frenchman Frederic Nadaud sailing VERONIKA in IRC 3 class. Top J/109 was the British team on Greg Nasmyth's JARHEAD in 15th. Contributions from Louay Habib. For more RORC Cowes-Dinard-St Malo Race sailing information
