Cervantes Trophy | 2006 Race Reports

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2006 Race Reports

Cervantes Trophy

CHIEFTAIN   TAKES   THE CERVANTES TROPHY

Cowes to Le Havre 29th April 2006

The RORC 2006 Offshore season kicked off from the Royal Yacht Squadron line on the morning of Saturday 29th April under an overcast sky, a light North Easterly breeze and a calm Solent.

First away at 08:30 were classes 2 & 3 with ‘Eric Tabarly’ Vincent Studer’s JOD 35 showing the way, followed at 08:40 by classes Super Zero, Zero and 1, where ‘Alice 2’ Simon Henning’s Farr 45 and ‘Chieftain’ Ger O Rourke’s Cookson 50 got the jump on the rest. 08:50 saw a clean start of the Multihulls.

RYA Sailability is the charity set up by the amalgamation of the Seamanship Foundation and Sailability. Its main objectives are to increase the number and quality of sailing opportunities for people with disabilities and to integrate their sailing into mainstream events as far as possible.   Fiona Wylie (past RYAS Eastern Region Organiser and past RORC Rear Commodore) arranged to place 8 Sailability crew on the Cervantes Trophy race and we are very grateful to all the skippers who agreed to help.

The R J Rutter Sailability Trophy was won by Richard Baker’s Bavaria 36 ‘Gem’ with Sailability sailor Eddie Baker on board.

Changes for this year included the insertion of ‘Trinity House / Cowes Mooring Buoy’ as a mark of the course, with the aim of keeping the fleet to the north of the moorings off Cowes. There did however appear to be some confusion, with a number of boats leaving the buoy to port and incurring a penalty.

Amendment 1 to the sailing instructions was published on Friday, adding an option for the committee of a fourth course (course D) of approximately 140 miles. This was indeed the chosen option which sent the fleet East out of the Solent to round the Ocean Safety Offshore Light Buoy and then beat to round Nab Tower and on to EC2 Offshore Light Buoy before finishing in Le Havre.

The light north easterly made for slow progress out of the Solent and by late afternoon there had been a handful of retirements, two of which were due to complete electrical failure.   On board the French yacht L’Adjaime there was a medical emergency which resulted in the Skipper Jean-Louis Chaix, who is also President of the Societe des Regates due Havre, being airlifted to hospital in Portsmouth.   The boat retired from the race and returned to France. Latest report is that Jean-Louis will be fine.

Ed Hall’s Night Owl also retired to Portsmouth with a minor injury on board.

As the fleet struggled with the benign conditions just off the coast, the term ‘shifty’ best described the direction of the breeze, as at one point within a 200m area there were yachts on the same heading but on all points of sail! South of St Catherines Point the breeze disappeared for a time leaving the larger boats becalmed and dismayed as they watched the smaller boats pass on both sides in their own weather systems.

Rounding EC2 before the tide turned would be the next crucial factor. Those who did not make it having to face the strengthening adverse spring tide.

Taking the bullet at 02:43 was Jean-Philippe Chomette’s Nacira 60 ‘Solune’ with ‘Chieftain’ crossing at 02:51 followed by Robert Lutener / Martin Elwood’s Volvo 60 ‘Cutting Edge on Venom’ at 03:01.

Having been caught at EC2 by the tide, it would be another 4 hours before ‘Branec IV’ Roger Langevin’s Open 50 Trimaran began the charge of the rest of the fleet into Le Havre, arriving at 07:15.

As the morning progressed the breeze increased steadily from the north west and picked up to around force 4-5.

‘John Merricks’ the Farr 45 of the Volvo RYA Keelboat Programme kept Simon Henning’s Farr 45 ‘Alice 2’ at bay to bring in Class Zero at 08:05 and was enough to take the Thalassa Cup.

Robert Boulter’s Mills 36 ‘Thunder 2’ was the first of Class 1 to find the finish line at 09:56 with ‘Hooligan V’ Edward Broadway’s Max Fun 35 in at 10:29 followed by ‘Magnum 2’ Andrew Pearce’s IMX 40 at 10:36.

The increase in the breeze made for some tight racing to the finish with Class 2 boats mixing it with Class 1 and Zero. First of Class 2 was ‘Jee-Raft’ Jean-Eudes Renier / Patrick Baune’s J109 at 10:55 ahead of Philippe Delaporte’s J109 ‘Pen Azen’ at 11:03.

Leading Class 3 on the water was ‘Botez Coat III’ Yves Dervieux’s First 31.7 at 13:19 followed by Stephen Winter’s Carter 36 ‘Mavis III of Gosport’ at 13:43 who took Class 3 on corrected time.

The RORC would like to thank the Flag Officers and Committee of the Societe des Regates du Havre for all their assistance and kind hospitality.

Following the Cervantes Trophy six of the fleet set off on Sunday afternoon racing back from Le Havre to Cowes for the Trophee Guillaume le Conquerant.

Prize winners – the main trophies were presented in Le Havre after the race.

RORC Medallions will be presented on Tuesday 16th May at 19:30 at the Clubhouse, 20 St James’s Place, London, SW1. All crews welcome.

RORC Prize – Multihulls: Ben Goodland TEAM EBERSPACHER (Raider 302)

SRH Cup – BCT IRM: Edward Broadway HOOLIGAN V (Max Fun 35)

R J Rutter Trophy – BCT Sailability Division:     Richard Baker GEM (Bavaria 36)

Seahorse Division Medallion - Steve Thomas TRUANT (HOD35)

IRC 3:
3rd   Chris Staples TANTRUM OF LANGSTONE (Sigma 36)
2nd   Yves Dervieux BOTEZ COAT 111 (First 31.7)
1st    Stephen Winter   MAVIS 111 of GOSPORT (Carter 36) winning the KINROSS TROPHY

IRC 2:

4th   Steve Thomas TRUANT (HOD 35)
3rd   Philippe Delaporte PEN AZEN (J109)
2nd Jean-Eudes Renier / Patrick Baune JEE-RAFT (J109)
1st Noel Racine FOGGY DEW (JPK 9.60) winning the VASHTI GOBLET

IRC 1:

4th   Edward Broadway HOOLIGAN V (Max Fun 35)
3rd   Nicolas Gaumont-Prat PHILOSOPHIE IV (First 40.7)
2nd   Andrew Pearce MAGNUM 2 (IMX 40)
1st   Robert Boulter THUNDER 2 (Mills 36) winning the NORYEMA VII CUP

IRC Zero:

3rd   John Liddell WATER VENTURE (First 44.7)
2nd Jonathan Goring JERONIMO (J133)
1st   Volvo RYA Keelboat Programme JOHN MERRICKS (Farr 45) winning the THALASSA CUP

RORC Prize – 1st IRC Super Zero & CERVANTES TROPHY – BCT IRC

Ger O Rourke CHIEFTAIN (Cookson 50)

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