FASTNET RACE COURSE RECORD SET BY J/70 SAILOR & J/22 CAY SUPPORTER!?

In the "you won't believe what J/Sailors are doing when not sailing their J's" department, J/70 sailor Peter Cunningham and J/22 Youth sailing program supporter from the Caymans Islands Sailing Club has been exploring a few adventurous, if not extreme, elements on his "bucket list". Recently, his POWERPLAY Team tackled the Fastnet Race course record in his MOD 70 trimaran (a wee-bit different VMG than his J/70!). Here is their report.


Led by Peter Cunningham and skippered by Ned Collier Wakefield, the MOD 70 POWERPLAY completed the original Fastnet Course of 595 nautical miles in a new record of 25 hrs 4 mins 18 secs.

“It was kind of ambitious, but the conditions were right, and the team was ready to go,” commented Peter. “The POWERPLAY crew was fantastic. Miles (Seddon) did a brilliant job navigating, we had two wonderful drivers in Ned Collier Wakefield, who set up the boat and runs the program, and the fastest sailor on Earth- Paul Larsen- who drove in some incredibly bad conditions.”

Shortly after midday on Monday 05 April, in a bitterly cold strong northerly wind, POWERPLAY started their Fastnet record attempt crossing the Squadron Line off Cowes, Isle of Wight. 


POWERPLAY made short work of racing to Lands' End and powered across the Celtic Sea at speeds in excess of 30 knots. POWERPLAY rounded the famous Fastnet Lighthouse and raced through the night. On Tuesday 06 April, at 13:42 and 19 seconds BST, POWERPLAY reached the Plymouth Breakwater, where the team celebrated their amazing run of 25 hours, 4 minutes and 18 seconds.

“We didn’t leave much out there, we were pushing really hard and everything aligned,” commented Skipper Wakefield. “I am not going to lie, it was pretty full-on, especially in April with an arctic northerly with snow around. With the apparent wind we saw 50 knots over the deck, and we hit a top speed of just under 40 knots. The lads did a brilliant job, changing sails about every half an hour. It was rough, physical and very cold. As a crew, we have done cumulatively over 50 Fastnet Races, we love the course, and to do it faster than it has been done before is really cool.”


PowerPlay Crew for Fastnet Course Record: Peter Cunningham, Ned Collier Wakefield, Tom Dawson, John Hamilton, Paul Larsen, Jack Trigger, Miles Seddon, Martin Watts.   More about Team POWERPLAY

J/BOATS ARMADA FOR ROLEX FASTNET RACE

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- Forty-Seven J Boats teams have entered the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race, the largest number of entries by a single boat brand by far in the world’s largest offshore race! A record entry of over 500 yachts is expected to start the race in Cowes, on 8th August 2021. 

Notably the first entry was a J/Boat! Eva Herman’s J/122 JULIET ROMEO. She is clearly excited to get out on her boat and have "a star to steer her by". 

For the last four decades, J/Boats have featured in every edition of the race. For the 49th edition, 12 different designs of the J/Boats range will be racing. #jboats #jcomposites #RolexFastnetRace #rorc #sailboat #sailing    Learn more about the Rolex Fastnet Race here Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Fast Rolex Fastnet Race

(Cowes, England)- The 605.0nm Rolex Fastnet Race, one of the most famous offshore races in the world, saw 340 teams take off from the equally famous Royal Yacht Squadron starting line to begin their epic adventure, fantastic voyage out around the iconic Fastnet Rock Lighthouse.

For all J/Crews, the big decision everyone had been strategizing for days was whether to go inshore or offshore. The debate raged, but very experienced offshore veterans of the race saw it quite clearly and, remarkably, were quite prescient in their forecasting.

Fastnet Race meteorologist Libby Greenhalgh (part of the famous Greenhalgh family that also sails and races the J/92 J'RONIMO) spelled out the options for everyone the afternoon before the start; it turned out she absolutely nailed it. “Over the first night, the crews will have to negotiate a ‘transition zone’ that will see the wind drop before filling in from the southwest. It appears the best option is to go offshore and south (to get to the new gradient pressure first), as always, also dependent on the state of the tide. Faster boats will tend to dig further south towards the Casquets TSS (Transportation Separation Scheme- a ‘no-go’ zone) and will be the most southerly,” continued Greenhalgh. “For everyone else it will be of more rhumb line or just south of the rhumb line route. The good news is that after that scenario unfolds, it becomes straightforward, with a reach across the Celtic Sea to the Fastnet Rock. Heading back to the Scilly Isles, it will be southwesterly or WSWerly winds and in pressure that will vary between 15-25 knots according to the timing.”

Even IRC Doublehanded navigator, Henry Bomby, was “spot-on” for the overall race strategy. “I did quite a bit of pre-race analysis and whenever an IRC Three or Four boat does well it is because they just make it through the tidal gate at Portland Bill,” said Bomby. “Normally you are upwind through there, but we’ll be straight line sailing. There appears to be more wind in the south where the transition is also shorter, but then you end up more upwind anyway. So, our route will take us quite close to the Casquets and we’ll be offshore for the transition, then tacking and getting lifted. After the transition, we’ll be fully upwind, pointing at Penzance, but then eventually getting lifted. That will be quite a tricky thing– when you start getting the new breeze filling in. The more west you get, the quicker you’ll get through it, but the chance of sailing extra miles because you overlay is quite high. That will be a critical part of the race. For boats in this size range the crossing of the Celtic Sea will still be a reach but in a more moderate 12-14 knots.”

In the final analysis, the biggest issue the navigators/ strategists faced was, in fact, the transition zone. Those further south and west faired much better than those north. In fact, the further south and west you got, the greater the gain. The winners were all well south of rhumbline when the WSW’er filled in.

In the IRC 1B division, Nick Angel’s J/121 ROCK LOBSTER managed a 7th in class despite not being one of the more southwesterly boats in their division.  The J/121 excelled in the fast, hard-reaching conditions from Fastnet Rock back to the Scilly Isles, past the TSS zones, and into the finish at Plymouth.

Not surprisingly, it was the dynamic French duo of Gilles Fournier & Corinne Migraine on their J/133 PINTIA that pulled off a very respectable fourth place in IRC 2A division. Frenchman Yves Grosjean’s J/133 JIVARO took 7th, Englishman Chris Daniel’s J/122E JUNO took eighth, and the French duet of Alain & Marie Catherineau sailed their J/122 LORELEI to ninth place. Notably, the J/133s were the top production cruiser/racers in the most competitive class.

The twin “flying Dutchmen” produced excellent results in IRC 2B division. The two J/122 teams are archrivals, great friends, and are extremely experienced offshore doublehanded racing teams.  The first doublehanded IRC team around Fastnet Rock was the infamous duo of Robin Verhoef & John van der Starre on their J/122E AJETO! They battled on to take second place and add yet more silver to their Fastnet Race trophy collection (having won their class in the past with their J/111!). Finishing close behind them were their friends Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakker on their J/11 JUNIQUE/ RAYMARINE SAILING TEAM, taking fourth place!  For more Rolex Fastnet Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Transpac Weather Guru- Stan Honey- tactics & strategy

Transpac Race: Tactics and Strategy as described by multiple Transpac Race winning navigator- Stan Honey.  

Stan was the Maxi 100 footer COMANCHE navigator in this year’s edition of the race. Before the race started, Stan offered tips to help the record 100-boat fleet in the 50th edition. Bookmark these links in your “pre-race strategy” briefings for future Transpac’s! Incredibly helpful and informative for any offshore racing.

• https://youtu.be/Ai1rDP97GD8
• https://youtu.be/XfZY2aCKctA
• https://youtu.be/TSYWatzdNJA
• https://youtu.be/anSuEgui3cw

Rolex Fastnet Race Preview

(Cowes, England)- For the previous four editions of the Rolex Fastnet Race, the elation of overall victory has been enjoyed by a team racing a yacht in the 35 to 42 foot range. In the 2013 and 2015 editions of the 605.0nm offshore race, the top three boats overall came from IRC Three and Four. This year, currently 340 teams will race under IRC for the overall win and over half of them will be competing in IRC Three and Four. The vast majority of the 3,000-strong competitors in the 400-boat fleet are passionate amateurs, racing on a huge variety of boats, with 88 different designs found in these two classes. A majority of the J/Teams participating in the race are in the IRC Two, Three, and Four classes.

For all of those J/Crews, the big decision everyone has been strategizing for the past week is weather routing decisions up and down the track.

Whether to go inshore or offshore, how long will it take, will it be a ‘big boat or small boat’ race, how to handle the powerful tides and will I need an anchor and an umbrella?

The answers for this year’s Rolex Fastnet Race are profoundly different according to whether you are on an monster 130 ft trimaran or one of the vast armada of J/109s.

In essence, the forecast for this year’s race is starting Saturday at the beginning of the ebb tide in an unusual southeasterly breeze (rather than upwind in the normal prevailing southwesterly).

According to Rolex Fastnet Race meteorologist Libby Greenhalgh, overnight for the leaders, or well into Sunday for the tail-enders, the crews will have to negotiate a “transition zone” that will see the wind drop before filling in from the southwest, a scenario that may benefit being north (in search of thermal breeze close to the coast) or offshore and south (to get to the new gradient pressure first), as always, also dependent on the state of the tide.

“Faster boats will tend to dig further south towards the Casquets TSS (Transportation Separation Scheme- a ‘no-go’ zone) and will be the most southerly,” continues Greenhalgh. “For everyone else it will be of more rhumb line or just south of the rhumb line route.”

In a “typical” Fastnet Race, the choice between going west or east of the TSS off Land’s End is significant. However, earlier in the week the only way to go was west, maintained Greenhalgh. However, this has since changed with the easterly route opening up for the slower boats.

The good news is that after this the scenario becomes more straightforward with a reach across the Celtic Sea to the Fastnet Rock and back to the Scilly Isles, in southwesterly or WSWerly winds and in pressure that will vary between 15-25 knots according to the timing. At present, it seems very unclear if the overall prize will go to the smallest boat in the race, which will get held up least in the transition zone or one of the bigger boats.

One IRC Doublehanded navigator, Henry Bomby, had some thoughtful perspectives on race strategy. “I did quite a bit of pre-race analysis and whenever an IRC Three or Four boat does well it is because they just make it through the tidal gate at Portland Bill,” says Bomby. “Normally you are upwind through there, but we’ll be straight line sailing. There appears to be more wind in the south where the transition is also shorter, but then you end up more upwind anyway. So, our route will take us quite close to the Casquets and we’ll be offshore for the transition, then tacking and getting lifted.

After the transition, we’ll be fully upwind, pointing at Penzance, but then eventually getting lifted. That will be quite a tricky thing– when you start getting the new breeze filling in. The more west you get, the quicker you’ll get through it, but the chance of sailing extra miles because you overlay is quite high. That will be a critical part of the race. For boats in this size range the crossing of the Celtic Sea will still be a reach but in a more moderate 12-14 knots, routing suggests a time of 3 days 12 hours.”

IRC One Division
The massive 64-boat IRC One fleet has boats that range from the high-rating boats of custom Ker 46 to low-raters of a First 40- a pretty extreme range. As the lower-rating boats, the trio of J/121s will certainly enjoy the challenges associated with the current weather forecasts as outlined above with winds forcing sailing a variety of sailing angles. Those three 121s include the recent Class and Overall Winner of the recent RORC Channel Race- Mike O’Donnell’s Irish team on DARKWOOD. Joining them to press their class hard will be Nick Angel’s ROCK LOBSTER and Andrew & Sam Hall’s JACKHAMMER.

IRC Two Division
The 60-boat IRC Two class has a number of highly competitive J/Crews, all proven offshore champions in recent years.  For starters, there is the J/122E AJETO that is also qualified to sail in the IRC Doublehander class, she will be sailed by joint owner-skippers- Robin Verhoef and John van der Starre- from the Netherlands. The engineer and dentist from The Hague have been Dutch IRC champions four times, and were European J/111 champions in 2015 with a previous boat, Xcentric Ripper, with which they won class in the 2015 Fastnet. It's the fourth Fastnet for another the J/122 JUNIQUE RAYMARINE Sailing Team, especially adapted for shorthanded sailing and a proven performer in the hands of Chris Revelman and Pascal Bakker who took 3rd in class at the 2018 Round Britain and Ireland race.

Up to the challenge will most certainly be the two J/133s from France- JIVARO and PINTIA.  Gilles Fournier & Corinne Migraine have sailed PINTIA to the RORC Overall Seasons Points Championship last year and are a contender again in 2019.  Plus, PINTIA has won and podiumed on a number of RORC season races criss-crossing southern England and the Channel over to France.  Yves Grosjean’s JIVARO has also podiumed in a number of French events like the SPI OUEST France Regatta in La Trinite sur Mer, France and winning IRC 1 Class in the Cowes-Dinard-St Malo Race.

Four other J/122s are joining this incredibly talented group. Moving fast up the “tune-up/ training” program on the Solent and a few RORC offshore races have been Chris Daniel’s JUNO, Clive Miles’ JANGLE, Alain & Marie Catherineau’s LORELEI, and David Richards’ Russian team on JOLLY JELLYFISH.

Joining the battle are two J/111s- Sebastien de Liedekerke’s DJINN from Belgium and Simon Grier-Jones’ SNOW LEOPARD. Additionally, Andy Middleton & Alex Fisher’s J/120 SUNSET from the USA will be well-sailed by a veteran offshore team.

IRC Three Division
A massive number of boats are sailing IRC Three class- eighty-five yachts on the starting line! 46 from Great Britain, 18 from France and also Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, and the USA.

Sailing their hearts out off the start to gain early advantage will be Philippe Baetz’s J/112E MUSIX from France, Philippe Girardin’s J/120 HEY JUDE from France, and a veritable armada of J/109s.

Sixteen J/109s will be competing in IRC Three and IRC Four. The 35ft bowsprit design has its own prize, the J/109 RORC Trophy!! The leading J/109 for the RORC season is David McGough's JUST SO, overall winner of the 2019 Morgan Cup with 85 teams racing under IRC. JUST SO won the J/109 RORC Trophy in the 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race.

The British Armed Forces have a long history in the race and this year, four teams from Her Majesty's Armed Forces will be racing in the J/109 fleet. The RAF with RED ARROW, the Royal Naval with JOLLY JACK TAR, the Royal Engineers with TROJAN, and the Royal Armoured Corps with AJAX.

JOLLY JACK TAR’s skipper- Lt Tom Thicknesse RN- started yacht racing with the Royal Navy; this will be his second race, and first as skipper. "Whatever the weather, we are expecting a mentally and physically draining race that demands everything from the crew. We have our sights set on the Inter-Regimental Trophy for the best service yacht and aim to be in the top five J/109s overall," says Thicknesse. "Offshore sailing has been a key element of Royal Navy sport and adventurous training for many years as the mental and physical challenge gives the opportunity to develop the endurance, leadership, teamwork and courage of our crew. The race epitomizes this challenge," continued Thicknesse.

IRC Four Division
This giant 87-boat class not only has the aforementioned J/109s, it also has Jerry Freeman’s J/105 JUILETTE and Chris Miles & Mike Sellers’ J/97 HIGH JINKS.

IRC Doublehanded Division
Over the last few editions of the Rolex Fastnet Race, the IRC Doublehanded class has shown steady growth from 45 entries in 2013, to 53 in 2015, and 57 in in the last race. At the time of writing, 63 doublehanded competitors were entered this year.

Back again are the other podium placers from the IRC Doublehanded class in the last race, including Dutch aces Robin Verhoef and John van der Starre once again on AJETO. “We have more experience with the boat and her performance since the last Fastnet and we are really looking forward to another tough and good competition, especially after becoming Dutch Two-Handed champions for a fifth time in a row,” says van der Starre. “The RORC North Sea Race went very well for us, beating the famous Frenchman Gery Trentesaux with his new, IRC-optimized JPK 11.80 in IRC 2. We won both IRC and ORC Doublehanded Divisions!”

For Christopher Preston, sailing with Austrian yacht design student Felix Trattner on the J/109 JUBILEE, this will be his tenth Rolex Fastnet Race, but his first double-handed. “I did the Round Britain and Ireland non-stop in 2000 doublehanded and absolutely loved it,” he says. “It was a challenging and interesting race. I loved the combination of helming and tactics and organization.” Having sailed Jubilee fully crewed with his old Clipper crew in 2017, racing it doublehanded is something of a bucket list affair. Over the winter he and Trattner has been optimizing the J/109 for double-handing in terms of the sail set-up and internal ballasting.

The biggest competitors to these two top teams will be Revelman & Bakker’s J/122 JUNIQUE RAYMARINE Sailing Team, Kees Mijs’ J/109 ARETHUSA, Joppe Schepers & Jasper Heike’s J/109 JOMALIJA, Alistair Doughty’s J/109 JELENKO, David & William McGough’s J/109 JUST SO, Jerry Freeman’s J/105 JULIETTE, and the Miles/ Sellers duo on the J/97 HIGH JINKS. Not surprisingly, given the state-of-the-art in technology and boat-handling equipment in offshore double-handed racing, do NOT be surprised if a number of these experienced J/Duets produce good results!  For more Rolex Fastnet Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race Update

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The 2018 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race started from the Royal Yacht Squadron line at noon on Sunday 12th August, directly after Lendy Cowes Week. The 1,805 nautical mile race around Britain and Ireland is organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club every four years and is considered to be one of the toughest challenges in the sport of yacht racing.

For the 2018 race, 29 teams with close to 200 professional and Corinthian sailors will be competing. For the past two editions, the weather has been so rough that the RORC has reversed the route to protect the fleet from a potential battering.

J/Teams are taking on the challenge. Racing in the IRC 2 Class and the IRC Doublehanded Class is the Dutch duo on JUNIQUE RAYMARINE SAILING TEAM (Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakker).  They are currently lying in fourth place, just 35nm behind the class leader.

After the start in Cowes, England off the Royal Yacht Squadron’s famous starting line in the Solent, Revelman & Bakker have maintained pace with the top boats in very demanding conditions.  They passed Land’s End off the southwest tip of England, passed by the famous Fastnet Rock, rounded the hellishly rough southwest point of Ireland at Great Skelligh Island Lighthouse and are now headed north to leave Saint Kilda Island to starboard off northwest Scotland.  Next stop thereafter, the infamous Muckle Flugga Lighthouse off the northern end of the Shetland Islands.

There is still a LOT of sailing left in this 1,805nm adventure.  And, the weather is getting worse, as one might expect sailing across the southern parts of the North Sea- a region notorious for freak waves, rapidly worsening depressions, and full on gales instead of a sunny Force 5 day that was forecast!  Things change quickly in those parts and the race is quickly living up to its reputation as a gear-buster, people-buster- so far, eight boats have already dropped out for various reasons (1/3 of the fleet!). In fact, standing in the way of JUNIQUE RAYMARINE is a forecast for a full gale of 30-45 kts of southwesterly winds by Saturday, with 15-20 ft waves predicted in the British MET office shipping forecasts.  For more Round Britain & Ireland Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race Preview

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The 2018 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race is set to start from the Royal Yacht Squadron line at noon on Sunday 12th August, directly after Lendy Cowes Week. The 1,805 nautical mile race around Britain and Ireland is organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club every four years and is considered to be one of the toughest challenges in the sport of yacht racing.

For the 2018 race, 31 teams with close to 200 professional and corinthian sailors will be competing. For the past two editions, the weather has been so rough that the RORC has reversed the route to protect the fleet from a potential battering.

After a momentous start at the Royal Yacht Squadron line, the fleet will race through the Solent then past the famous headlands of the South West of England. The epic adventure continues into the Celtic Sea, past the Fastnet Rock and Mizzen Head onto the wild west coast of Ireland. The Atlantic racing continues past St Kilda, up to the most northerly point of the course, Muckle Flugga on the 61st parallel. Then, turning south through the infamous North Sea, the fleet will have turned their bows for home. The English Channel and Solent form the final stages of the marathon race.

Solent to Land's End- Approx. 180 nm
Getting a good start will depend upon using the best of the wind and tides to exit the Solent. The race starts to the east leaving the Isle of Wight to starboard. There are four major headlands which form tidal gates along the South Coast of England; Portland Bill, Start Point, The Lizard and Land's End. Deciding whether to go inshore or offshore at each of these headlands will depend on the wind speed, the direction and the tidal flow.

Land's End to Mizzen Head- Approx. 210 nm
 The Celtic Sea forms part of the North Atlantic Ocean and the seabed is part of the Continental Shelf of Europe, which is relatively shallow at 100 metres. The fleet will get a real taste of Atlantic weather that can produce a significant and confused sea state as the ocean waves rear up in the shallows. The boats will pass the famous Fastnet Lighthouse along the way, but the significant waypoint is nine miles further west at Mizzen Head when the fleet will turn north to race along the wild West Coast of Ireland.

Mizzen Head to Black Rock- Approx. 170 nm
 Bull Rock, Great Skelling and Tearaght Island must be rounded to starboard, but it is highly likely that the fleet will give them a good offing, as there are outlying rocks that should be avoided. The coastline features bold mountainous peninsulas with deeply indented bays. Taking the full violence of the North Atlantic's prevailing gales it is subject to heavy seas and swell.

Black Rock to Muckle Flugga- Approx. 530 nm
 Having rounded Black Rock, it is unlikely that the fleet will see land again for over 200 miles of Atlantic Ocean Racing. As the fleet head further north, the air and sea temperature will begin to fall. The fleet will round St Kilda, which is an archipelago of islands in the Outer Hebrides. Hirta is the largest island in the St Kilda archipelago with cliffs rising 430 metres sheer out of deep water. On to Sula Sgeir, that is a small, uninhabited island 40 miles into the North Atlantic from mainland Scotland. Muckle Flugga, Shetland Islands is the most northerly part of the course on the 61st parallel. The fleet will be as far north as Alaska, which will deliver cold conditions, even in August. The teams will have now travelled over 1,000 nautical miles and over the halfway point in the race as they turn their bows south towards the finish.

Muckle Flugga to Ramsgate- Approx. 580 nm
 The fleet may be heading south and away from the effects of the Atlantic Ocean, but the North Sea can be just as difficult to navigate and to avoid hazards. The North Sea is one of the world's most important shipping lanes as well as a major fishery, and in recent years has seen the developments of wind and wave farms. The approach to Felixstowe is also complicated by a myriad of sandbanks and tidal rips are notorious.

Ramsgate to Finish- Approx. 130 nm
 The English Channel with its busy shipping routes and tidal streams forms the last open water leg of the marathon before the teams enter the Solent to finish the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race. For many teams they will have been at sea for up to 14 days, catching a few hours of sleep and dining on snacks and freeze-dried fare. The Royal Ocean Racing Club will welcome each team after they cross the finish line with a warm handshake and cold beer.

Two J/Teams are taking on the challenge. Racing in the IRC 2 Class are two J/122s.  Sailing with a full crew is Andy Theobald’s R&W from the United Kingdom.  Then, the Dutch duo on JUNIQUE RAYMARINE SAILING TEAM (Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakker) will be scored in both IRC 2 as well as IRC Doublehanded Class!   For more Round Britain & Ireland Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Volvo Cork Week Reports

(Cork, Ireland)- 120 teams from eight different nations will compete at Volvo Cork Week, enjoying up to six days of racing in the Celtic Sea and Cork Harbour on a variety of courses. This year, the biennial regatta organized by the Royal Cork Yacht Club is celebrating 40 years and Volvo Cork Week continues to provide fantastic racing, superb award wining facilities and great fun ashore.

Volvo Cork Week provides racing for yachts racing under IRC, including the highly popular non-spinnaker and coastal classes. Once again, Volvo Cork Week will include an offshore element to the Beaufort Cup with a race around the iconic Fastnet Rock. All competitors will take part in the scenic yet tactically challenging Cork Harbour Race.

“There have been big changes for the format of this year's regatta, splitting up into a number of different series. This was done to ensure that we were catering for everyone's needs,” commented Volvo Cork Week Chairman, Kieran O'Connell. “We have teams from 32 yacht clubs and entries are up 30% on 2016, which shows that the new format is working for people.”

Full podcast with Afloat.ie Tom MacSweeney here.

The Beaufort Cup starts with the challenging Fastnet Race on Monday 16th July followed by three days of short course racing to test the all round ability of the teams. Beaufort Cup entries feature 50% of the crew coming from active personnel in the Armed Forces and Emergency Services. 17 teams will be racing from Ireland, Great Britain and the United States of America. The inaugural Beaufort Cup was held as part of the 2016 edition of Volvo Cork Week, Commandant Barry Byrne skippered the Irish Defence Forces to victory, and the team is back to defend their title. The winner will once again nominate a charity to win €10,000.

“The Beaufort Cup is fully part of Volvo Cork Week, and any team competing is eligible for the boat of the week,” commented Barry Byrne. “The Beaufort Cup is challenging, and a test in a real environment of leadership, team work and resilience, which are all values of the services we represent. The inter-services rivalry is very exciting; something special that raises the level of the competition, whilst still keeping the friendly rivalry and banter, which is brilliant. The field has really toughened up this year; everyone competing has done their best to raise their game. It is a great fleet and the fastest growing element of Volvo Cork Week.”

Day One- Monday
“If you don't like the weather at Volvo Cork Week – wait a minute,” is the common refrain you here around the Cork waterfront.

A mixture of clear blue skies and blankets of clouds made for highly changeable conditions for the first day of Volvo Cork Week. Thankfully, the warm sunshine won the day, providing light air racing in beautiful Cork Harbour and the Celtic Sea. The teams returned to the dock with color in their cheeks, a glint in the eye, and a thirst for the refreshments at the Royal Cork Yacht Club.

Racing kicked off with an early start for the 17 teams racing in The Beaufort Cup, which set off on a 150-mile offshore race from Cork Harbour, bound for the Fastnet Rock and back to the finish. After a fly-by from the Irish Air Force, the Baltimore RNLI team, skippered by Andrew Algeo, and the Irish Defence Force team, led by Barry Byrne, got away to a great start with the duo leading the fleet past the iconic town of Cobh. However, it was Simon Coveney's Irish Defence Force team that led out of Cork Harbour and away along the south coast of Ireland. The fleet will be on the wind for the first night, and expected to make the Fastnet Rock in the early hours of Tuesday 17th July.

Day Two- Tuesday
The wind gods smiled on the second day with a 15-knot southwesterly piping up, giving the international fleet a day to remember in the Celtic Sea. Barry Byrne's J/109 Irish Defence Forces team came from behind to win the double points scoring Fastnet Race for the Beaufort Cup. During the 130-mile race, four teams swapped the lead in an intense battle around the Fastnet Lighthouse. Meanwhile 100 teams were competing inshore for the second day of Volvo Cork Week. A long coastal race, in good breeze along the wild South Coast of Ireland produced fantastic racing.

The Irish Defence Force team, racing J/109 JOKER 2, skippered by Barry Byrne, opened their defence of the Beaufort Cup with a win in the 150 mile Fastnet Race. After digging in for trench warfare, with a beat all the way to the Fastnet Rock, JOKER 2 was fourth around the iconic lighthouse, and picked off the leaders to take the gun by just over four minutes from the Baltimore Lifeboat team skippered by Youen Jacob. The Baltimore Lifeboat team, with Olympian Peter O'Leary calling tactics staged their own comeback, sailing offshore into extra breeze to move up the ranks and threaten the leaders. Tánaiste Simon Coveney (Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland) racing J/109 JEDI, with an Irish Defence Force Team, led the fleet for much of the race, but lost out in the last few hours to come third.

The Fastnet Race is a double scoring race for the Beaufort Cup, three days of inshore racing will decide the overall winner, who will also nominate a donation of 10,000 Euros to the charity of their choice.

“Incredible,” commented Barry Byrne as JOKER 2 crossed the finish line of the Fastnet Race for the Beaufort Cup. “The offshore race was a great battle, we were fourth at the Fastnet, but I knew that we were still in it, and we were confident of our downwind speed. We know the job is not done yet. We have three more days of racing with no discard and the last race will be weighted 1.5. The level of competition is very high, probably the highest at Volvo Cork Week.”

Full Audio Interview with Irish Defence Forces Commandant Barry Byrne:

In IRC One, Jonathan Anderson's J/122 EL GRAN SENOR (Clyde Cruising Club) was today's winner. “I have been coming here for year's, because it is always a good regatta,” commented Jonathan. “We were competing with the same team in Bangor a few weeks ago, and we have a great crew. We have managed to beat Conor Phelan's Jump Juice in two races, which is a rarity, and there are plenty of well sailed boats in the class.”

In IRC Two, Ronan Harris' J/109 JIGAMAREE (Royal Irish YC) corrected out to win by under a minute from yesterday's winner, Dunlop & Cox's J/109 MOJITO (Pwllheli SC). “I am a Cork Week virgin,” admitted Ronan Harris. “I have a home in Baltimore and love to come and sail in West Cork. We are having a cracking battle with MOJITO. We chose to duck them near the end of today's race, and it worked out for us, plus the crew did a good job getting us through the light airs patch near the finish.”

Day 3- Wednesday
85 yachts formed an impressive single starting line for Volvo Cork Week's signature race in the beautiful surroundings of Cork Harbour. After a General Recall, the fleet readied themselves for a Black Flag restart, which was far from conservative, many of the massive starting line up hitting the line on the B of the Bang! A kaleidoscope of spinnakers made for an amazing sight as the fleet entered Cork Harbour for close quarters racing past Spike Island and Cobh. Race Officers Jack Roy and Rob Lamb were roundly applauded at the daily prize giving for their team’s efforts in producing a great day of racing.

The Beaufort Cup switched to inshore mode for the Harbour Race. Barry Byrne's Irish Defence Force team, racing JOKER 2, pulled off a Harry Houdini Act to win the race by just seven seconds from Simon Coveney's Irish Defence Forces Team, racing JEDI. JOKER 2 was deep down in the class rounding in front of Cobh, but came back with some tenacity. The two J/109s were overlapped going through the finish line, JEDI took the gun by one second but JOKER 2 was the victor after time correction. Youen Jacob's Baltimore RNLI team, racing J/109 JUGGERKNOT was third. JOKER 2 now has a three-point lead in their defence of the Beaufort Cup. JEDI and JUGGERKNOT are tied for second place.

In IRC Two, Brian & Mary Jones' J/109 JELLY BABY (Royal Cork YC) put in a strong performance to win the Harbour Race and in doing so lead the class for the series after three races but only on countback from Dunlop & Cox's J/109 MOJITO (Pwllheli SC).

Day 4- Thursday
After a delayed start, a warm sea breeze blew into Volvo Cork Week to give over a thousand sailors champagne conditions in the Celtic Sea outside Cork Harbour. Leaders in all classes are emerging but many of them will be going to the wire.

For the Beaufort Cup, Barry Byrne’s Irish Defence Forces team, racing J/109 Joker 2, still lead the series but their lead has been cut down to just three points after two races today. Youen Jacob’s Baltimore RNLI team, racing J/109 Juggerknot, moved up to second place, and could have gone into the lead, but for a headsail problem in the first race.

In IRC Two, Ronan Harris’ J/109 JIGAMAREE (Royal Irish YC) was in sparkling form, winning both of today’s races to go top of the class after five races. Brian & Mary Jones J/109 JELLY BABY (Royal Cork YC) scored two podium results, but dropped to second, just two points off the lead. Dunlop & Cox’s J/109 MOJITO (Pwllheli SC) now sits in third.

For all the stories, pictures and videos from Volvo Cork Week like our Facebook page   For more CORK Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

RORC Vice Admirals Cup Preview

(Cowes, IOW, England)- This Solent-based inshore regatta is primarily for one-design classes or similar style of boats to enjoy three days of intense racing.  After each day's racing, competitors can enjoy the welcoming atmosphere and socials in the RORC Cowes Clubhouse.

The regatta takes place from Friday, May 18th to Sunday, May 20th.  A mixture of windward/ leeward and “random leg” round-the-cans races are planned for the fleet with up to four races per day!

There are over a dozen J/crews sailing the event, with a J/109 class of seven boats, a J/111 class of seven boats, and the sole J/team in IRC 1 class is Chris Daniel’s J/122E JUNO.

The J/111s include the 2016 J/111 World Champion, Martin Dent’s JELVIS, along with a cadre of top U.K. crews like Chris Jones/ Louise Makin’s JOURNEYMAKER II, Paul Griffiths’ JAGERBOMB, Tony Mack’s McFLY, Cornel Riklin’s JITTERBUG, and the top Dutch Team- Hans Zwijnenburg’s SWEENY.

The top J/109 crews include Simon Perry’s JIRAFFE, Dave Richards’ JUMPING JELLYFISH, John Smart’s JUKEBOX, and Roger Phillips’ DESIGNSTAR 2.  For more RORC Vice Admiral’s Cup sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Great J/Team Performance @ Rolex Fastnet Race!

J/133 Wins IRC 2, J/122E 2nd in Doublehanded, J/122E Wins IRC 2B, J/109 Wins IRC 3B!
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- There is no question that well-sailed, all-around J/designs, even those over ten years old, can win major events like the RORC’s ROLEX Fastnet Race.  In a tour’de’force, the French J/133 PINTIA, the Dutch J/122E AJETO! and the Irish J/109 JEDI quite handily won their respective IRC divisions in this years incredibly challenging 605nm race.

The Royal Ocean Racing’s biennial flagship event this year attracted another record-sized fleet of 362 boats, six more than 2015. It continues to be the world’s largest offshore yacht race, and also the most popular – when registration opened, the IRC fleet’s maximum limit of 340 boats was reached in just 4 minutes and 24 seconds!

As ever, the course took the giant fleet west down the English Channel, either side of the prohibited ‘traffic separation scheme’ zone between Land’s End and the Scilly Isles, across the Celtic Sea to the Fastnet Rock, four miles off southwest Ireland, back south leaving Bishop Rock and the Scilly Isles to port and then, on past the Lizard, to the finish off Plymouth– in total 605nm..

Equally impressive as the size of the Rolex Fastnet Race fleet was its diversity, ranging from many of the world’s top offshore racing teams, either privately owned or sponsored, down to smaller amateur family and friends entries and to sailing schools featuring individuals for many of whom the Rolex Fastnet Race would rank as their “Mount Everest” (the world’s tallest mountain at 29,000+ feet) of their offshore racing careers.

The traditional Sunday staggered start on the Solent, taking place the day after Cowes Week, was spectacular.  The giant fleet setting off by class, starting with the multihulls at 1100 and finishing 1hr 40 minutes later with the biggest monohulls. They were accompanied west down the Solent by the substantial spectator fleet before squeezing through the bottleneck at Hurst Castle Narrows and out into the English Channel headed west to the first turning point at Land’s End.

This year’s race was a “classic” weather-wise.  The race started off with a prolonged beat all the way to the Fastnet Rock, followed by a run back to Bishop Rock and a reach to the finish. Conditions for the frontrunners were moderate, albeit somewhat awkward with a front lying across the southern UK, creating a small pause in the wind before filling in from the northwest.

The medium-small sized boats got their money’s worth with a hard beat into winds approaching 30 knots en route to the Fastnet Rock. These same conditions made for a blistering sleigh ride back from the Rock for the larger boats.  J/Boats excelled in the all-around conditions.

In IRC Two Class, Gilles Fournier and Corinne Migraine’s J/133 PINTIA won the first prize following their arrival at the finish line at 0533 hours. Incredibly, they placed 4th overall in IRC for 340+ boats!!  They were, by far, the highest finishing standard production boat in the entire race!

“We had some good results already in IRC Two this year,” said Fournier. “But, the Rolex Fastnet Race is the peak of the season. We have had an internal battle with our friends on Lisa, including Commodore of the RORC Michael Boyd, since the beginning of the season.”

Due to the tidal state at the time, PINTIA went to the west of the all-important traffic separation scheme off the Scilly Isles. Fournier said he enjoyed rounding the Fastnet Rock, even though it was at night.

“You are pleased when you round that because it is an amazing place. You wouldn’t want to spend your holidays there, but it is a legendary place and we are now part of the legend!”

RORC Commodore Michael Boyd acknowledged that PINTIA had stolen a march on them at Portland Bill.  “We failed to get to there in time. PINTIA went in and we probably should have followed her and they just managed to get through the gap. We went outside and lost quite a few miles, but we gained them back at Lyme Bay when an awful lot of boats went inside and we were surprised to see some of our competitors at anchor there. We were further offshore, in the wind. That kept us up with the IRC One boats.”

The boats in IRC 2 Class saw 25 knots on the nose, some of the strongest conditions crossing the Celtic Sea to the Fastnet Rock, requiring the crew to live on the rail. Boyd described the Fastnet Rock, off his native Ireland, as “extraordinary, absolutely magical.”

The IRC Two Handed prize was just missed by “the Flying Dutchmen” on the J/122e AJETO!- sailed by Dutch Two-Handed Champions, Robin Verhoef and John van der Starre. The Netherlands boat had been leading the IRC Two-Handed class until Night & Day finally overhauled them yesterday, leaving them second.  They also placed 4th overall in the entire IRC 2 division and were the winners of IRC 2B Division!

The Dutch duo, racing their new J/122E, which they have optimized for two-handed racing, had an up and down race.

"We sailed well, but we had some bad luck with a wind hole at the Lizard,” said Verhoef. “We were not close enough to the shore and not far enough from the shore to get away from there. There was a big wind hole and we had to anchor twice for about 30 minutes letting out 120m of line!”

This episode dropped them to 13th by the time they reached Land’s End, however they recovered this lost ground by going up the favorable east side of the Land’s End traffic separation scheme and then sailing into the favorable right hand shift in the Celtic Sea.

“The Irish Sea was like lake sailing– wind shift-tack, wind shift-tack,” said van der Starre. “Then at the TSS we were up with the leaders in the group again.” They rounded the Fastnet Rock shortly before dawn, under the full moon. After the prolonged upwind conditions, there was tangible relief as they turned downwind. “That was one big smile. Then at the Scillies we saw for the first time we were leading our class again.”

However, soon after they got stuck in another wind hole forcing them to back down, virtually perpendicular to the course, and then sail south in order to extricate themselves. It was this huge problem that allowed Night & Day to move ahead of them in the IRC Two Handed class! How frustrating for one of Europe’s top two-handed duos!  A win firmly in their grasp, not once, but twice, only to lose it again!  It seems they had a similar fate two Fastnet Races ago on their J/111, sitting stranded in no wind within 200 meters of the finish line, in no wind, anchored against the current flowing out of Plymouth Harbour, talking to the finish line officials- for 7+ hours!!  Yet, they did not go crazy, and still got second despite the fact they were winning by a country furlong on their approach to the final few meters at the Plymouth pier!

The J/122 JUNIQUE RAYMARINE SAILING TEAM sailed by yet another top Dutch crew- Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakker- took 8th in IRC Two-handed Division and 7th in IRC 2 Division overall and 4th in IRC 2B Division!  They were followed by Nick Martin’s ever-present J/105 DIABLO-J in 11th and Wim van Slooten’s J/109 FIRESTORM in 12th.

In the IRC 2A Class, the J/122 LORELEI from France, skippered by Marie & Alain Chatherineau, took 4th place.  Meanwhile, just 45 minutes corrected behind them in 5th place was their J/122 sistership- Andy Theobald’s R&W. Yet another J/122E took 9th place- Chris Daniel’s JUNO.

Then, in IRC 3B class J/crews were 9 of the top 12 teams! First was the Irish J/109 JEDI skippered by Kenneth Rumball.  Third was yet another J/109, Peter Dunlop & Vicky Cox’s MOJITO, and 5th place was Nick Martin’s J/105 DIABLO-J!   YB Tracking video  For more Rolex Fastnet Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Fastnet Race Preview

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The Solent laid on ‘classic’ conditions for the start of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s 47th Rolex Fastnet Race. In brilliant sunshine and with brisk westerly winds gusting up to 20 knots, the giant fleet tacked up the western Solent before compressing through the usual bottleneck at Hurst Narrows. A record-sized fleet of 368 boats started the race, 12 more than two years ago, confirming the Rolex Fastnet Race’s position as the world’s largest offshore yacht race.

By mid-afternoon, competitors in IRC Two were favoring the inshore route, closest to St Alban’s Head at 1620 were class favourite Gilles Fournier and Corinne Migraine’s J/133 PINTIA.

The inshore-offshore spread was the great debate amongst the smarter tacticians, strategists, navigators in the fleet.  For example, Joan Vila, MAPFRE’s legendary navigator from Buenos Aires, Argentina, confirmed the forecast: “Once we leave the Solent, the wind will blow at around 20 knots. From there, it will drop until tomorrow morning, with the probability of encountering areas of very light wind. As we get closer to Plymouth, the wind will build again.”

One of the growing classes in many RORC offshore events is the Doublehanded Class.  In fact, some of the boats are so well sailed that they have proven then can win both the doublehanded and open full crew divisions overall!

Thanks to our modern day lifestyles, a frequent problem facing race boat owners is finding willing and available crew. One solution is to sail with less people, an ultimate expression of this being two-handed racing. Therefore, it is no surprise that the IRC Two Handed class in has swelled, with 60 boats entered.

This was also helped by the outcome of the 2013 race, famously won for the first time ever by a two-handed crew - Pascal and Alexis Loison, a French father & son team on a 35-footer.

Dutch two-handed offshore champions, Robin Verhoef and John van der Starre, are entered on the J/122E AJETO! The last three Rolex Fastnet Races they campaigned a J/111, finishing seventh in the 54 boat Two Handed class last time. They acquired their new boat to be optimized for shorthanded racing, with a heavier, deeper keel and less sail area. “To make it easier to sail shorthanded,” explains van der Starre. “And we can adjust the mast while racing, which will be an advantage.”

So why do they race doublehanded? “Why? Because we are both a little bit crazy probably! Robin and I really like sailing shorthanded and it is always a hassle with a big team,” van der Starre explains.

As to how they divide up the labor, generally if one is sleeping, the other goes into solo mode, calling the other on deck for maneuvers. When both are up, they typically play to each other’s strengths: “Tactics is more my part,” says van der Starre. “Robin is little stronger, so he does the heavy stuff, getting jibs up and down and gennakers, etc.”

On board they don’t run a watch system and they do rely on the autopilot. “The first 20 minutes you (the human) is better, but after that the pilot beats you every time,” says van der Starre!

In the huge 60-boat IRC 1 class, two very well-sailed J/133s will be competing for class honors, David Ballantyne’s JINGS and Angus Bates’ ASSARAIN IV.

The enormous 65-boat IRC 2 class has two J/111s (Paul Griffiths’ JAGERBOMB and Sebastien de Liedekerke’s DJINN), six J/122E’s (Chris Daniel’s JUNO, David Richard’s JOLLY JELLYFISH, Andy Theobald’s R&W, Robin Verhoef & John van der Starre’s AJETO, & Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakke’s JUNIQUE RAYMARINE), Gilles Fournier & Corinne Migraine’s J/133 PINTIA (leading class in the RORC Offshore Series), Alain Catherineau’s J/122 LORELEI, and four J/120s (Simon Ruffles’ JAMEERAH, Joost van der Wal’s J-QUATTRO, Elin Haf Davies & Chris Frost’s NUNATAK, & Chris Schram’s MAVERICK).

The IRC 3 Class is composed mostly of J/109s, including top boats like Alain Bornet’s J/109 JAI ALAI
and Chris Preston’s J/109 JUBILEE.  Hoping to spoil that party is Jonty Layfield’s J/11S SLEEPER 11.  YB Tracking video  For more Rolex Fastnet Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/111 JELVIS- Perspectives Sailing Round Island Race

(Cowes, England)- J/111 owner, Martin Dent from the United Kingdom, was sailing his boat JELVIS in the JP Morgan Round Island Race last weekend.  Here is his commentary on that epic ride around the famous 60nm race track:

“On this year’s Round the Island, we discovered a whole new level of love for the J/111.  The beat to the Needles was good, sending it at 15–20 knots under the A3 from the Needles to St Cats was better, and then being fully arced up under the A4 at 20+ knots, from St Cats was orgasmic!  I did wonder a few times what was going to happen next, like when one second we’d be doing a steady 18 knots and then we’d suddenly accelerate to 23 knots. Or, when we’d be properly launched off the top of a wave and there was nowhere to go except piling the bow into the next one, I wondered would the bow actually come back up?  Or, on the several occasions when we did wipe out I was just waiting for the inevitable gear failure. And yet, every time, she answered the question with the right answer.  She’d get back on her feet and start ripping again!  We had a great team together on the boat.  As we begin our preparations for the Worlds in August in Cowes, everybody sailed well.  There was nothing but smiles the whole way round the island, and as we arrived back in Cowes Yacht Haven to a virtually empty marina it capped off a great day! What a great boat!”