Phosphorus II wins RORC Cherbourg Race

Prize Giving presentation by RORC Vice Commodore Nick Martin. Phosphorus II (L-R) : Oliver Hill, David Paul, Andrew James, Tom Barker, Matt Bird, Alex Curtis, Campbell Manzoni, Josh Dawson, Mark Emerson, Ian Emerson. Photo © Merlene Emerson

Mark Emerson's A13 Phosphorus II is the overall winner of the 2019 RORC Cherbourg Race, having scored the best corrected time under IRC.

Class Winners under IRC: Venomous (IRC0), Phosphorus II (IRC1), Sunrise (IRC2), Raging-bee² (IRC3 & IRC Two-Handed), and Foggy Dew (IRC4).

“It's the end of the season for Phosphorus so it's good to end on a high, especially as we just missed out on winning the Cherbourg Race overall last year,” commented Mark Emerson. “We have a very young crew which surprises a few people. A memorable moment in this race was coming out from The Needles, setting the A4 and just taking off. The boat loves those sort of conditions and can be pushed hard. We sailed low initially as part of our strategy for the tide. It's a really nice feeling when you are screaming along the waves sailing very fast, it wasn't very dry on board. We managed to stay in hot mode across The Channel, and sailed in high mode as the tide turned and the wind went aft approaching Cherbourg. We only gybed five minutes before the breakwater, and getting the angles right during the race was the key. Phosphorus and our squad of young sailors will be back racing with the RORC next season, and especially the Round Ireland which is a cracking race.”

64 entries in the RORC Cherbourg Race enjoyed a beautiful sunset, hiking out for a beat up the Solent, before cracking sheets for a night race to Cherbourg at high speed under a waxing moon. A spinnaker reach in 10-15 knots of westerly breeze produced a fast ride across the English Channel. As the majority of the fleet approached the finish, the breeze veered north, creating a tactical finale of gybing to stay at the optimal angle and in the best pressure.

2019 RORC Cherbourg Race sunset - Photo © RORC/Rick Tomlinson

Ross Hobson's Seacart 30 Buzz was the first to finish taking Multihull Line Honours in a rapid 6 hours 24 mins 38 secs. Joerg Riechers' Class40 Imagine took Monohull Line Honours in 7 hours 1 mins 26 seconds, just over two minutes ahead of Ian Hoddle's Manic.

Tom Kneen's JPK11.80 winning IRC 2 - Photo © RORC/Rick Tomlinson Tom Kneen's JPK11.80 Sunrise winning IRC 2 - Photo © RORC/Rick Tomlinson

In IRC One, Phosphorus II was the winner, James Neville's FAST40+ Ino XXX was second and first to finish under IRC. Colin Campbell's Azuree 46 Eclectic was third in class. In IRC Two, Thomas Kneen's JPK 11.80 Sunrise won by just 17 seconds on corrected time from Pascal Tuffier's team racing Figaro II Tuf…tuf…tuf. Gery Trentesaux's JPK 11.80 Courrier Recommandé was third by just 27 seconds after IRC time correction.

In IRC Three, Louis-Marie Dussere's JPK 10.80 Raging-bee² put in the best performance winning the class and IRC Two-handed into their home port of Cherbourg. Erik van Vuuren's W36 Hubo was second. Sun Fast 3600 Bellino sailed by Rob Craigie & Deb Fish was third. Nick Martin's Sun Fast 3600 Diablo was fourth, meaning the top four teams in the class were all Two-Handed. In IRC Two-Handed Raging-bee² was the winner, Nigel & Tim Goodhew's Sunfast 3200 Cora was second, and W36 Hubo was third.

Noel Racine's JPK 10.10 Foggy Dew was the winner of IRC Four, scoring their fourth class win of the season. Cora was second and Emmanuel Pinteaux's JPK 10.10 Gioia, sailed by son Etienne was third. The final race of the 2019 RORC Season's Points Championship will be the 40th edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race starting in the Grand Harbour, Malta on 19th October.