J/105 DH'ers Knife Through Mist to 1-2(Cherbourg, France)- After a record breaking Rolex Fastnet Race, the final race of the RORC Season's Points Championship took place last weekend. After a scintillating season of racing with the Royal Ocean Racing Club, current weather models predict a light airs race, in sharp contrast to a very windy season, for the 78 nm dash across from the eastern end of the Solent across "La Manche" to Cherbourg.
The Royal Ocean Racing Club's Season's Points Championship consists of a testing series of races that attracts an international and varied fleet. For the serious offshore sailor, trying to win the Season's Points Championship is a real challenge. The Season's Points Championship this year included the tactically and physically challenging Rolex Fastnet Race, the oldest and most prestigious offshore yacht race in the world. Pending the outcome of the race was the IRC Overall Season Points Championship for Niall Dowling and crew on the J/111 ARABELLA as well as the top place in IRC 2 for Neil Kipling's J/122, JOOPSTER.
At the end of it all, one could call this race "the foggy bottom version". After a wet and windy season the weather gods conjured up a new and unusual challenge for the finale of the RORC 2011 season: light airs and thick fog. Speaking after the race, RORC Vice Commodore, Mike Greville said that it was a good and challenging tactical race. "The combination of thick fog and light patchy breeze made it really difficult to sail to the wind. The instruments were not a lot of help because of the wind sheer and we struggled to see the tell tales in the thick fog in the dark. The secret of success appeared for many was to go west. There was more breeze and at a better angle particularly as boats closed the finish at Cherbourg."
The fog also caused the race committee problems at the start and the RIB at the outer distance mark was invaluable in checking for OCS boats. The wind was westerly force 3 and the fleet were just able to carry their kites. Exiting the Solent to the East there were large holes in the wind to spot and avoid off Bembridge.
The light wind prevailed throughout the race. David Ballantyne's J/133 JINGS took second in both IRC One and IRC Overall finishing at 1057. After them there was a long wait until the rest of the fleet trickled into Cherbourg over the course of the afternoon. In IRC Three Nikki Curwen triumphed in her J/105 VOADOR from sister ship DIABLO-J sailed by Rear Commodore Nick Martin, a remarkable feat considering they're racing against fully-crewed boats. Both boats finished 3rd and 4th, respectively against their IRC Doublehanded competitors.
The outcomes of the race had a meaningful impact on the overall standings with J sailing teams well represented in the top five in each class, by far the best performance of any sailing brand in European waters. For IRC Overall, Niall Dowling's J/111 ARABELLA finished second overall, a remarkably good showing considering the range of conditions they faced over the course of the season, none of which ever permitted ARABELLA to kick up her heels and take-off. Also doing well overall were the J/122 JOOPSTER finishing fifth and McIrvine's J/105 DIABLO-J in eleventh. For the IRC Doublehanded series, DIABLO-J finished fifth and VOADOR ended up a close sixth. In IRC One, the J/133 JINGS finished fifth for the season. In IRC Two, the J/122 JOOPSTER wins with the J/111 ARABELLA in fifth. In IRC Three, J's top 50% of the top 10! Leading the charge were the two J/105s, DIABLO-J and VOADOR in 3rd and 4th, respectively. Just behind them were three J/109s, including Tor Maclaren's INSPARA in sixth, Greg Nasmyth's JARHEAD in seventh and Robin Taunt's JIBE in ninth. For more RORC Cherbourg Race Sailing information
