Sunday 1 July
Louay Habib reports from the final day of the RORC IRC Championship

RORC IRC Championship

Winner: RORC IRC Championship Trophy: Love Shack, Tim Spalding, Beneteau 40.7

Jackdaw Trophy for 2nd overall:
Courrier Du Coeur, Gery Trentesaux’s, Beneteau 44.7

The last day of the RORC IRC Championship and the big breeze was back from the south west; 25 knots gusting up to 30 knots. Sunday proved to be a dramatic conclusion to the event.

IRC Super Zero

Race 6: A close battle between the top three TP52s saw Paul Winklemann’s Island Fling win on corrected time, from Colm Barrington’s Flash Glove.

Benny Kelly’s Panthera was third, by just five seconds on corrected time.

Colm Barrington commented before the prize giving: “This has been a highly memorable regatta. I must say a big thank you to Peter Harding for the loan of his rudder and also to James Hynes and Rob Greenhalgh for staying up virtually all night, two days on the trot, to keep us racing.”

Swan 45

Race 6: Glynn Williams helming WISC, returned to winning ways today, but they were pushed all the way by Charles Swingland’s, Piper at The Gates of Dawn. Only seven seconds separated them as they crossed the finish line.

Alex Roepers, Plenty, competing from the United States, was in third place.

Race 7: WISC won the last race for the class by a minute and a half from Boldit. A large fleet of Swan 45s will be racing in the Solent next week to decide their world championships and Glynn Williams was delighted with the performance of his team on WISC: “Obviously our world championships are the highlight of the season for us, but we did not come to the RORC IRC Championships just to practice. It is always good to get in the habit of winning and we definitely came here to compete. We have learnt a lot from the weekend, but have been preparing and training hard as a crew since March. I am proud to say that the crew’s boat handling, especially in big breezes was impeccable.”

IRC Zero

Race 6: Gery Trentesaux’s Beneteau 44.7, Courrier Du Coeur, had yet another close battle with John Shepherd’s Ker 46, Fair Do’s VII. The French boat scored their fifth victory, but only by 29 seconds on corrected time. Rob Bottomley’s consistent Beneteau 47.7, Pacific Interiors Sailplane was third.

Race 7: Courrier Du Coeur continued their impressive performance by winning the last race, with Fair Do’s VII second and Pacific Interiors Sailplane in third. These three yachts finished in exactly the same order for the overall title for the class, meaning Gery Trentesaux’s Beneteau 44.7, Courrier Du Coeur was awarded the IRC Championship title for Class Zero.

IRC 1

Race 6: Tim Spalding’s, Beneteau 40.7, Love Shack were unstoppable in the penultimate race, winning by a comfortable margin from John Michael Dean’s Swan 46, Lowy Worm. Tony Lowe and Paul McNamara’s Beneteau 40.7, Incognito, were in third place.

Race 7: Love Shack made it a perfect seven first places, winning a closely contested last race from Incognito, with STS Antilope in third place. To say the margin of victory was slim would be an understatement; only four seconds separated the top three boats on corrected time.

 
Tim Spalding’s Beneteau 40.7, Love Shack not only won their class, but their faultless performance meant they were awarded the title of Overall RORC IRC Champions.

Tim Spalding owner and helmsman of Love Shack commented after racing; "I'm absolutely over the moon and delighted by the win, especially as we are all amateur sailors. To win such a prestigious title against some of the best opposition around has been a very memorable experience for us.”

IRC 2

Race 6: Mike Eaton’s Seaquest RP36, Spirit of Juniper, a new production boat designed by Reichel Pugh, won their first race of the regatta by nearly four minutes from Michael Ewart-Smith’s J/109, Zelda. Radboud Crul’s Dehler 36 JV, Rosetta from the Rocks was third.

Race 7: Teng Tools picked up another win in the last race, by just 45 seconds, beating Spirit of Juniper into second place with Rosetta of the Rocks in third. Eamon Crosbie and his crew on Teng Tools should be delighted with their class win.

The IRC 2 fleet had many highly experienced sailors amongst them, however Teng Tools win will have a twinge of disappointment. On the morning of the last day, they were favourites to win the overall title, but a fifth in Race 6 put them out of contention.

IRC 3

Race 6: John Pollard’s X99, Xcellent, won the race by over a minute on corrected time, beating Ian Braham’s MG346, Dean & Dyball Enigma, into second place. Neil Vardy’s Elan 333, Esprit was in third.

Race 7: Dean and Dyball Enigma just pipped Xcellent by seven seconds on corrected time and Jackie Welch’s Elan 333, Elusive, was third. The last race had no effect on the overall class title. John Pollard and his Torquay-based crew on Xcellent, winning the class overall by a comfortable margin from last year’s champion Elusive.

Janet Grosvenor, RORC Racing Manager commented after racing: “The 2007 RORC IRC Championship has been a truly international affair with competitors from literally all over the world taking part. The event has been published in the sailing press across six continents all of which now use IRC as their rule of choice for handicap racing. We have been delighted to welcome Katsumi Shibanuma, an International Jury member from Japan, where IRC has just been adopted.”

As always, special thanks goes to the RORC Race Committee, many of whom are volunteers. Without their time and effort, it would not be possible for the event to take place.

Full results can be found on: www.rorc.org

Provisional Overall Results: