Contributors EDITOR
DESIGNER
SUB-EDITOR
EUROPE
Onne van der Wal could never in a million years have guessed where racing the Whitbread on Flyer would lead him
USA & CARIBBEAN
JAPAN
Tom Slingsby recovered brilliantly from the most agonising of failures at China 2008 since when he’s never looked back
SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
COLUMNISTS
Nathan Outteridge did, however, nail it in Beijing before also successfully going on to the SailGP and America’s Cup trail
AC TECHNICAL
TECHNICAL BRIEFINGS
ACCOUNTS AND CIRCULATION
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Ben Ainslie has been on that same Cup mission since 2003. A brilliant win with Oracle; but still chasing a home victory
EDITORIAL
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Paul Goodison will now always be known for his vain attempt to prevent the Patriot capsize. He also has a gold medal…
6 SEAHORSE
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For all those of us guilty at one time or another of failing to share with the crew the fact that we are about to tack…
The pioneering design of this structure became the template for future offshore lighthouses and was so revered that the main body was preserved and can be seen today on the Hoe at Plymouth just 12 miles away. The current structure, the Douglass Lighthouse, was first lit 139 years ago and sits in the middle of the treacherous rocks, hence the need to take a wide exit to the lighthouse rounding. Then it was upwind to beyond Portland Bill with the breeze rising to over 20kt and a nasty wind-against-tide chop. More adventures were to come as the wind died and we
got to practise our anchoring in 40m. Congratulations to overall winner David Collins on his TP52 Talawho picked the precise moment to tack over out in the Channel and was lifted all the way to the finish in the dying breeze. Also to James Harayda and Dee Caffari on Gentoo for their convincing win in the double-handed division against a spectacular 38 starters. So we move into the main part of the season with weather
improving and excitement building as we look forward to the big one, the Rolex Fastnet. It looks as though we will have a record entry of over 450 entrants, vindication perhaps for our decision to move the finish to Cherbourg for the next two iterations. We are building confidence that the race will go ahead normally (with crews all expected to undertake their own Covid procedures) and are taking precautions that will hopefully allow all finishers to enjoy the festivities of our new French finish destination.
James Neville Commodore
q
Commodore’s letter M
ay was unseasonably cold and wet and was overshadowed by Covid rules and rule changes. However, the month finished with a flourish with our first inshore event, the Vice Admiral’s Cup, and our first fully crewed offshore, The Myth of Malham.
The VA Cup suffered a delayed start as a storm blew through
on the Friday but then we had two excellent days of challenging Solent conditions. The event is ‘quasi one-design’, with IRC doing a great job enabling similar boats, in this case Fast40s, Performance 40s, HP30s and Quarter Tonners, to race against each other with minor rating differences meaning that the results on the water nearly always stand. This not only provides for great racing but also enables owners to express their individuality away from the constraints of strict one-design rules – an area where IRC really comes into its own. The Myth of Malham is always a popular race in a Fastnet
year as competitors get to practise the first part of our biggest race and bank 230 qualifying miles. This race is often tough and a good early season test and this year was no different. Unusually we had a downwind start and 120-plus starters held spinnakers and code zeros all the way to the Eddystone Light. We were lucky enough to round at first light, passing the eerie stub of the previous Smeaton Tower, first lit in 1759.
ONNE VAN DER WAL
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