(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The Royal Ocean Racing Club has over 100 entries for "Race the Wight", scheduled to start on Saturday, 1st August. All entry fees will be donated to the NHS Trust and the Scaramouche Sailing Trust. Race the Wight will be the first of a four-race RORC mini-series during August and September.
“As a charity, we rely on donations and grants. Every pound we receive goes towards getting more students from different backgrounds sailing,” commented Jon Holt, Scaramouche Sailing Trust. “Our next big goal is to be on the start line of the Rolex Fastnet Race 2021. We are grateful for the ongoing support from RORC and proud to be named as one of the charities for the race.” The Greig City Academy will have upwards of a dozen students on different boats for the race.
IRC Classes for the 60.0 nm race around the Isle of Wight are still to be confirmed. However, early entries indicate a fleet full of champions with any number of potential victors.
Thirty-two J/Crews are entered in the race, looking forward to their picturesque circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight. Sailing in the thirteen-boat IRC 1 Class is Mike O’Donnell’s J/121 DARKWOOD; they won last year’s RORC Channel Race and will be competing with a crew of five.
“With water ballast and a sail configuration designed for short-handed sailing, we are actually sailing with our optimum crew, even with the restrictions,” commented Michael O’Donnell. “The race around the Isle of Wight, starting at the Royal Yacht Squadron, is possibly the most iconic in the world - we just can’t wait to get out there.”
In the twenty-three boat IRC 2 Class are a duo of J/122s and quartet of J/111s. The J/111 teams include Chris Jones' JOURNEYMAKER II, Simon Banford's KESTREL, Tim Tolcher's RAGING BULL, and Simon Grier-Jones' SNOW LEOPARD. The 122's sailing are Clive Miles' JANGLE and Andy Theobald's R&W.
The enormous forty-three boat IRC 3 Class includes some of the top J/Crews that race on the Solent. Two J/112E's are racing- Jim Chalmers' HAPPY DAIZE and Bruce Huber's XANABOO. Joining them are two J/88s- Alistair Ray's JUMUNU 5 and Gavin Howe & Sam Cooper's TIGRIS. Joining them is Jim Owen's J/99 JET. Then, eight J/109s are racing, that include notables like Simon Perry's JIRAFFE, Rob Cotterill's MOJO RISIN, Mike Yates JAGO, and Chris Burleigh's JYBE TALKIN. As the lowest rated boat, Tom Hayhoe and Natalie Jobling will be racing J/105 MOSTLY HARMLESS Two-Handed and both work for the NHS Trust.
Another enormous forty-three boat IRC 4 Class has Dave McGough's J/109 JUST SO, four J/105s (Mark Stevens JACANA, Bill Newton's JELLY BABY, Steve Roberts' JIN TONIC, and Jerry Freeman's JULIETTE). Joining them are Rachel Woods and Robert Hunt's J/97 JUMBLESAIL 2, Jack Banks' J/92 NIGHTJAR, Robert Salter's J/92 JACKDAW and two J/80s (Keith Willis' DARK & STORMY 2 and Ross Bowder's JUSTIFY).
Notably, the largest class is the IRC Doublehanded Class with forty-four boats! Those teams include Jones' J/111 JOURNEYMAKER II, Miles' J/122 JANGLE, Frans van Cappelle's J/122E MOANA, Howes' J/88 TIGRIS, Joppe Scheppers & Jasper Heikens' J/109 JOMALIJA, Yates' J/109 JAGO, Hayhoe & Jobling's J/105 MOSTLY HARMLESS, Roberts' J/105 JIN TONIC, Freeman's J/105 JULIETTE, and Woods & Hunt's J/97 JUMBLESAIL 2.
In summary: permitted crew can be up to a maximum of 6 people from any household or two-thirds of a boat’s IRC crew number, whichever is the least. Competitors are also reminded of the government guidance on social distancing and other Covid-19 pandemic measures. For more RORC sailing information, including online entry. Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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