(Muscat, Oman)- The RORC recognized 230nm Bank of Beirut Chairman’s Cup
Race came to a dramatic conclusion on Tuesday, 27th November. A 40-knot
rain squall ripped through The Strait of Hormuz, just as the bulk of the
IRC Racing fleet approached the finish line. Under pewter skies with
thunder and lightening lighting up the steep mountain province of
Musandam, it was an electrifying finish to the race. After three nights
at sea, all of the yachts competing in the Bank of Beirut Chairman’s Cup
Race are all accounted for and the feisty finale was in stark contrast
to the majority of the race, where calm seas and gentle breeze had
provided sublime sailing conditions for the best part of three days as
teams competed for a total of $50,000 USD in prize-money generously
donated by The Bank of Beirut.For the J/92 team sailing PRIVATEER, the radical change in conditions cost them at least $10,000 USD in prize-money! There was heartache for the Two-handed J/92 team from the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club- Matt Britton and Joel Bryant. The team had been in contention throughout but was caught out by the brutal windstorm within sight of the finish. Short-handed, they struggled to reduce sail and were forced to bear-away and run with the wind. After sailing away from the finish, PRIVATEER lost precious minutes and the delay cost second place by just 20 minutes, in a race lasting over three days. However, their smart action in difficult conditions was recognized by the award of the Seamanship Prize for the race.
As
it has in previous races, the decisive part of the race was the
approach and negotiation of The Strait of Hormuz. In the 19th century,
it was the location of a British repeater station used to send messages
from London to Karachi. It was not an easy posting for the operators and
is thought to be the origin of the term “go round the bend” with a
reference to the heat making British officers desperate to return to
civilization, which meant a voyage around the bend in the Strait of
Hormuz.After their second night at sea, the IRC Racing division was past the halfway point in the race. The fleet had enjoyed fast conditions in the early start of the race. However, going into the first night the wind dropped to just zephyrs and sailors were looking for pressure on the water by moonlight. During the second day, a light easterly breeze filled providing fast reaching angles under spinnaker. At this time, after time correction it was clear Matt Britton’s J/92 PRIVATEER was very much in contention for overall honors. The tactical decision facing the teams in the morning was whether to sail the extra miles into shore in search of sea breeze or to remain offshore and use the south easterly gradient, which was expected to build to ten knots during the day, especially as the funnel effect of The Strait of Hormuz starts to kick in. Plus, the weather models predicted rain coming in from the northwest by midnight, which could bring much heavier wind in the squalls. No matter which "road was taken" offshore, the teams would be sailing past some spectacular scenery in the northern most province of Oman with its lagoons, mountains & fjords, not to mention that Musandam itself was a spectacular setting for the finish of The Bank of Beirut Chairman’s Cup. For more Bank of Beirut Chairman’s Cup sailing information
