J/105 Jumps Into RORC Season Points Lead!(Cowes, IOW, England)- The Royal Ocean Racing Club's offshore racing season continued this past weekend with the 4th race of the RORC Season's Points Championship. Designed to last 24-36 hours, the De Guingand Bowl Race starts and finishes in the Solent and is a flexi-course allowing the Royal Ocean Racing Club to design a bespoke course.
"Without the constraint of finishing the race in a totally different location, we concentrate on the weather and tidal conditions to decide the course," explains RORC Racing Manager, Nick Elliott. "We try to get all of the fleet to finish the first leg in the same tidal vector, so as to avoid a tidal gate early in the race and that is often why we start the slower yachts first. After that, wherever possible, we try to set turning marks that give tactical options to yachts during the race, although trying to predict exact wind speed and direction can be difficult. The race should last over 24 hours but the breeze looks to be changing over the weekend and that will be a factor in what is possible with the course."
This year’s DGB Race was held in the Solent and South Coast of England in highly changeable conditions. During the course of the race, the wind direction swung to every point on the compass and the wind strength varied from zephyrs to 16 knots. Keeping your head out of the boat for the changes and pre-empting and correctly adapting to them was the key to success. RORC racing manager, Nick Elliott, chose a longer course of 123nm for the faster yachts and a shorter course of 105nm for the smaller and slower boats, with the overall result being decided on average speed.
In IRC 2 Class, the Army Sailing Association's J/111 BRITISH SOLDIER took third place. In IRC 3 class, James Chalmers' Weymouth team racing the J/35 BENGAL TIGER was third in class and fifth overall in fleet! Proof that you cannot keep a good’ole fast classic off the podium for very long!
In IRC 4, Robert Nelson's J/105 BIGFOOT was fourth in IRC 4 and fourth in IRC Two-handed division, which was enough to put the Two-handed team in first place overall for the RORC Season's Points Championship! Just behind them was Nick Martin’s J/105 DIABLO-J in 5th place.
The Royal Ocean Club's Season's Points Championship continues on Saturday 28th May, over the May Bank Holiday with the Myth of Malham Race. The 256 nautical mile Cowes - Round Eddystone - Cowes course is weighted 1.2 for the championship and a highly competitive fleet is expected to be racing. For more RORC De Guingand Bowl Race sailing information
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