J/121 ROCK LOBSTER Rocks in IRC 1 Debut!(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The overall winner of the 2018 Cervantes Trophy Race after IRC time correction is Gilles Fournier's French J/133 PINTIA, winning the Cervantes Trophy for a third year in a row. And, in her RORC Offshore Racing debut, it was Nick Angel’s brand new British J/121 ROCK LOBSTER that took second in IRC One class!
Forty-seven yachts competed in the Cervantes Trophy Race, the first summer race of the 2018 RORC Season's Points Championship. It was a glassy start to the race, with a light breeze and a warm sunshine bathing the Solent. The Royal Ocean Racing Club chose to select a course of approximately 130 nautical miles, with strategic and tactical decision required for the Solent start, crossing the English Channel, the
North
Coast of France, and a reaching finish into Le Havre. After a light
airs downwind start, the fleet experienced a building breeze overnight
in the English Channel from the northeast, increasing boat speed towards
Cussy Buoy, nine miles off the Normandy Coast. A light wind 23-mile
beat to navigational buoy A5, was followed by a fresh broad reach to the
finish, giving the fleet a variety of wind angles in which to maximize
their performance.Gilles Fournier was delighted to win the Cervantes Trophy and celebrated in his home club Société des Régates du Havre, having won by nearly 40 minutes on corrected IRC handicap time over a brand-new JPK 11.80 IRC rule-beater. Speaking to RORC Racing Manager, Chris Stone, Gilles commented. “It was a
tactical
race, but I have to admit a lucky one for us as well. Staying in the
best breeze was the key, and we found breeze west of the rhumb-line in
the Channel, and for the last beat we managed to keep boat speed up by
heading east after Cussy Buoy.”In IRC One, Nick Angel's brand new, freshly launched, British J/121 ROCK LOBSTER was second in her class; she was just 12 minutes off from winning her race debut in class.
In IRC Three, third was Rob Cotterill's J/109 MOJO RISIN’. Then, in IRC Two-handed Class, Jerry Freeman's J/105 JULIETTE was third.
The RORC Season's Points Championship continues Friday 11th May with the North Sea Race, approximately 180 nautical miles from Harwich to Scheveningen. Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth For more RORC Offshore series sailing information a data-flip-widget="flipit" href="https://flipboard.com">Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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