Grey skies, big breeze and white horses were served up at breakfast for the second day of the MeesPierson IRC Championship. Solid pressure constantly over 20 Knots and gusting over 30 knots was the order of the day and many of the competing yachts suffered gear failure or sail damage.

RORC reporter Louay Habib took a trip out to the combat zone on the mighty Farr 52, Bear of Britain steered by Mark Campbell-James and asked him to reflect on the previous day:

"All four boats in Super Zero are having a good tussle, Patches is extremely fast downwind but we are happy on board because we managed to beat Aera by the end of day one, so all in all we were very happy. Maybe with more wind today we can do a bit better as we are a bit heavier but all in all our heads are up and we are looking forward to some electric racing in this breeze."

Winning in big breeze is all about keeping the mistakes to a minimum and a big part of that is good boat preparation to avoid gear failure. Kit Hobday’s Bear of Britain was the only boat in class Super Zero to finish all three races and therefore leads by just one point from Patches who retired with minor gear failure. Unfortunately the repairs to the TP 52 will not be done in time for racing tomorrow as they want to make sure the yacht is in top condition for the delivery to Ireland to continue their campaign.

The Bear of Britain crew are very young with an average age of only 24 and that includes monumental grinder Graham Street who is only a few years short of free bus rides. They spend many hours preparing her for racing and today this attention to preparing the boat paid off. The spoils of the day went to the Farr 52 and now lead their class and are uncatchable with two races to go.

Shirley Robertson, Tactician on TP 52 Patches commented:

"Although it is a shame that we have had to retire we have achieved a lot at the Championship. We are very happy with the boat speed and the overall design and are looking forward to the season ahead including the Rolex Fastnet in August."

In IRC 0 Colm Barrington’s Ker 39 Flying Glove revelled in the conditions posting two bullets and would have had the hat trick except for a Z Flag infringement in Race 5. The Irish crew are often faced with this kind of weather back home and their experience seemed to pay off, the boat handling was smooth in the rough conditions save one wipe out downhill.

Jonathan and Lisa Goring’s J133 Jeronimo had a consistent day with some cracking starts and are now tied with Tim Costello’s Mills 40 Tiamat for second place and either could catch Flying Glove tomorrow.

In the second race Jeronimo tore the luff of their number four headsail out of the bottom of the track the owner of Jeronimo, Jonathan Goring explained how they got out of that one:

"We had to do the whole leg bare headed. However America’s Cup legend Ben Morrison-Jack was on board and with true Aussie grit, laced the No. Four to the headstay. We didn’t drop the jib until the end of Race 6, it was a bit full on to say the least but she is absolutely flying, especially upwind."

In IRC1 Jerry Otter’s IMX 40 Exabyte 2 with a well drilled crew came out top on the day and have stolen the overall lead in class from Eamonn Rohan’s Corby 35 Mustang Sally. Exabyte 2 posted two first and a second. However Lance Stevens Bavaria Match 42 Sidney is still very much in contention just two points off the lead with two races to go.

A particular mention for the designer John Corby who was spotted at the back of Mustang Sally grinning from ear to ear as she was ‘smoking’ downhill.

John Corby threw a party for all of the Corby owners and crew last night and commented:

"I have had a couple of years off from designing as I was getting a bit disenchanted. I set up a retail shop instead but now I am back and on my own terms. I am delighted to see all the Corby’s doing so well and am thoroughly enjoying racing on a fully restored Mustang Sally."

IRC2

Anthony O’Leary’s Corby 35 Antix has extended their lead in IRC2 with three straight bullets but it was not easy for the sleek downhill flyer, especially in Race 4 where they overcame the main competition by just 35 seconds on corrected time. Peter Jackson & Gary Shaffur’s J39 Assassin is lying in second place overall.

Gary Shaffur owner of Assassin commented: "I am praying for lighter winds tomorrow, we are carrying a 150% Genoa which puts are rating up and we couldn’t use it today, we seem to have good pace downwind but to have a chance of catching the Irish lads we need less wind tomorrow."

In IRC3

The love affair between David Pinner’s X332 Kiss and Adam Gosling’s Corby 29 Yes! has taken a very interesting twist, Gauntlet of Tamar, crewed by the Royal Navy has got amongst the courting couple posting a first, second and fourth.. Going into the last day Kiss looks to have the upper hand but if the Navy have another good day these three could swap overall positions.

Following racing today, a prize giving ceremony took place on the platform of the Royal Yacht Squadron where engraved glassware was awarded to winners of races from day one and two and Pimms was served compliments of MeesPierson.