Saturday, May 1, 2021

RORC SPRING SERIES OFFSHORE RACE PREVIEW

RORC Cowes Round Island offshore
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- After a year and a half of disruptions to offshore racing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Royal Ocean Racing Club is delighted to confirm an overnight race for Offshore and Two-Handed teams starting on May 1st.
 
The combined entry list for May 1st has a fleet of 48 yachts, including all the top Two-Handed boats from the inshore RORC Spring Series. For crewed entries, the RORC Spring Series will conclude this weekend. Michael O'Donnell’s J/121 DARKWOOD is just two points behind the leaders, currently holding down the bronze step on the podium. 
 
“Safety always comes first; it is just too early to run an overnight race for fully crewed teams. However, when the club offered to run an offshore race for Two-Handed teams, the response was an overwhelming!” commented RORC Racing Manager Chris Stone. “Details of the course for IRC Two-Handed will be determined by the weather, but our intention is to set an overnight race, taking the Two-Handed fleet out of the Solent. For crewed teams racing under IRC, the final race of the Spring Series will be inshore with a target time of 6-8 hours.”

Racing for their first time this spring are a few top offshore doublehanded teams that may prove to be the "dark horses" in the racing that has been dominated by the smaller 30-34 foot boats. They include Clive Miles & Will Ayliffe's J/122 JANGLE, Simon Harris & Dan Laws J/112E J'OUVERT, Deborah Blair & Tim Long's J/88 TIGRIS, and Mike Yates' J/109 JAGO. It would be a shocker to the UK two-handed offshore community if these yet untested teams sweep the podium! Stranger things have happened, time will tell.  

The RORC fleet is scheduled to start racing from the Squadron Line Cowes from 10:00 BST on Saturday 1st May.  For more RORC Spring Series sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.