RORC
Club page Not so challenging
The ‘coaching while racing’ format of the RORC Easter Challenge makes for a very productive way to spend the long weekend if you really want to up your game in 2016. The event is supported by North Sails who fly in Andreas Josenhans and Chuck Allen, who lead North U Regatta Services, and who provide on-the-water coaching all over the USA and elsewhere.
Based out of Rhode Island, Chuck Allen is a two-time college all-American and a North one-design specialist. Andreas, meanwhile, is a Soling plus two-time Star world champion (the latter with Buddy Melges); he was also crew on Bill Koch’s America’s Cup winner America³. While these men know their stuff they do, however, doff their caps to our own coaching champion Jim Saltonstall, who must be one of the all-time winners of medals as a coach. Jim’s influence cannot be understated as he has guided some of the best sailors in the world to Olympic and world championship success. Jim will lead a coaching team that also includes your humble scribe… To allow coaching during racing the rules limiting outside
600 winner, the Cookson 50 Lee Overlay, Jens Kellinghusen’s brand new Ker 56 Varuna and the Volvo 65 Team Brunel. They will pit themselves against the fastest monohull in the world – Comanche – which is out to break the monohull record set by her skipper Ken Read when sailing George David’s Rambler 100 back in 2011. IRC Zero has 18 boats and is where the Maxi 72s feature, most likely setting the pace for the handicap win. Last year’s winner Bella Mente has strong competition from Jethou, Proteus and the Italian entry Momo. Irvine Laidlaw has also entered his Reichel-Pugh 82 Highland Fling; but all these boats will be looking over their shoulders to see how Steve Benjamin’s TP52 Spookie and Piet Vroon’s Ker 51 Tonnerre are performing on corrected time. IRC 1 has 11 boats including Eric De Turkheim’s A13 Teasing
This is perhaps the one (only) aspect of sailing that does bear comparison with F1… not the outrageous performance of a big offshore tri – that we have known about for years – rather the way they now steal each other’s talent. Last year Phaedo3
course record, with Michel Desjoyeaux joining Brian Thompson and his experienced crew. However, for 2016 Desjoyeaux was lured away by the Concise team for their sister MOD 70
assistance are relaxed so those competing can receive advice that may have an immediate effect upon performance. Coaches may also board boats during racing, or collect a crew, so that they can highlight trim and set-up from the coach RIB. All the post-race debriefs are supported by relevant video footage.
A fleet to envy
By the time you read this another RORC Caribbean 600 will have run its course. Sixty-eight boats have entered this year and, while the number of boats seems to have settled around a manageable 60, it is the fleet quality that is most impressive. The longest competitor is the 178ft Djikstra schooner Adix and the smallest the Sunfast 3600 One and Only; in between are found many more competitive and experienced offshore sailors.
Every year since its inception the race has grown and captured the interest of some of the best boats worldwide, but this year the world’s top sailors are here in big numbers. The IRC Canting Keel division has six very special boats, including the inaugural Caribbean
44 SEAHORSE (above) set a new Caribbean 600
Machine, straight from the Sydney Hobart where she narrowly missed the overall win. This boat likes breeze and waves and will be one to watch. Andrew Weiss’s Sydney 43 Christopher Dragon also has the potential to win this class but will have to see off a yacht that rather obviously has waterline length on its side, since this is the class where the IRC has placed Adix! Also in IRC 1 is the Grand Soleil 46 Belladonna, chartered by RORC Admiral Andrew McIrvine with a crew of experienced club members including Commodore Michael Boyd as navigator. IRC 2 has 11 boats and some of the perennial charter competitors including Scarlet Oyster, Southern ChildandNorth- ern Child plus the Sailing Logic yachts of Team Vancouver and Arther Logic. IRC 3 has seven boats with Jonty Layfield hoping that his brand new J-11s will carry his crew to a class victory and good overall position. Jonty raced two- handed with his son in 2015 but has opted for a full crew this time to push his new boat as hard as possible. Interestingly, the rise in two-handed sailing in Europe is not reflected here with only Elin Haf Davies taking up the challenge in her J/120 Nunatak. (Or perhaps it’s a case of that hoard of new friends ‘available’ to race in Antigua proving overwhelming.) The multihull division has attracted six boats including the two MOD 70s Concise 10 and Phaedo who match-raced their way from Lanzarote to Grenada in the RORC Transatlantic Race. Concise have shipped in French offshore racing legend Michel Desjoyeaux who set the multihull
race record last year with Lloyd Thornburg on Phaedo. Another course record has to be on the cards if the weather plays ball. The same goes for Comanche and the monohull race record – it will all be fascinating to watch.
Cowes upgrade
For those visiting our new Cowes clubhouse I thought I would intro- duce you to our new general manager Andrew Overton. He has an extensive background in the hospitality industry with experience of top-end start-ups, acquisitions and integrations in this field. Andrew has built his experience from the bottom up, learning the trade at the Marriott Hotel group, developing his knowledge at the Pomme d’Or Hotel in Jersey, the Marine Hotel in Troon and more recently as the manager of UK operations for the Orient-Express company. He is delighted to have the opportunity to bring his expe- rience to the benefit of RORC’s clubhouse in Cowes and is looking forward to getting stuck in during a busy sailing season. Eddie Warden-Owen, CEO, Antigua!
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RICHARD LANGDON
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