RORC Cancelled
It has been a very fast-paced few weeks as the coronavirus spread its wings across the world causing the cancellation of virtually every sporting event. One day an event was definitely going ahead and overnight the reality of the effects of social interaction surrounding big events and specialist medical advice caused it to be closed down. First it was the Six Nations Rugby Championship which for all rugby fans, especially a Welshman like me, was a huge disappointment. Then Britain’s Premier League cancelled which was devastating for soccer fans all over the world. How would we in the UK manage without our staple diet of soccer news for the foreseeable future? The cancellation of the Masters Golf championships, soccer’s
European Championships and then the big one, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, suddenly put this pandemic into focus. This is no longer some strange sci-fi film where the baddies spread a horrendous
had to cancel – an event that many people have been planning for many years. Not only is this a huge blow for the club and all its supporters and volunteers but also for the many sailors who would be using this special event as a way to reconnect with old friends. The question we are all asking ourselves is how long will this
last? This summer season we can see shrinking as each day more news arrives of the extent of the pandemic. Does that mean events like the Rolex Middle Sea Race in October are at risk and even the ever-popular ARC in November – which is a feeder for the next Caribbean season that now could be at risk because of the lead time needed for people to make their plans. The water is our escape, for many like me, our raison d’être, and
when the restraints are removed we know there will be a rush to hit the water, to be released from this enforced isolation. Let us hope that day is soon.
Close to home Both RORC clubhouses are closed and RORC staff, wherever possible, are working from home. The UK furlough initiative is allowing the club to keep paying its support team, knowing that we can bounce back efficiently once the shackles are removed and it is safe for the club to go back to some kind of normality. Obviously the sailing programme has suffered. The
RORC Easter Challenge was the first domestic event to be called off. We considered running the racing and not having the later debriefs, but made the decision to cancel before the enforced isolation was directed by the UK government. This was quickly followed by the cancellation of the Cervantes Trophy, the first offshore race of the domestic programme, and the North Sea Race, both in May. The increasingly popular Vice Admiral’s Cup also had to be cut. The club will review the running of each offshore race as they come up during the season. Postponing an offshore race is not an option but
moving the IRC National Championships from June to September to coincide with the Double Handed Cham- pionships is a possibility that is being considered.
That was never going to
work.The 140-footer Mari Cha IV ‘abbreviates’ a stalled 50-footer at Antigua Race Week. Mari Chawas later the subject of a magnificent conversion at Royal Huisman in the Netherlands into the beautiful, fast cruiser Samurai – unusually for such a large yacht the word ‘fast’ really is appropriate
plague, only for the goodies to unlock the magic antidote; this is real and a stark reality. Meanwhile, the enforced home isolation has created a new way of working and one that will surely change the way many of us operate in the future. Video conferencing has become the norm – it has become second nature already to check what my home office environment looks like before I go into virtual meetings. The very real life or death situation has had a positive effect of
reconnecting family and friends. I have had emails and messages from sailors I’ve not seen for many years as we all (the whole world) find ourselves in uncharted territory fighting an invisible foe. Here we are in the middle of April wondering how long our
wonderful sport is going to be affected by non-stop news of can- cellation of yachting events the world over. The cancellation of the America’s Cup World Series in Cagliari was quickly followed by the cancellation of the Portsmouth event, SailGP cancelled, then more local events such as Antigua Sailing Week for whose economy such regattas are vitally important. The tricentenary celebrations of the oldest yacht club in the world, the Royal Cork Yacht Club, have also
62 SEAHORSE
Lockdown live As part of the effort to keep delivering for members and others the RORC race team and media support have been setting up a series of interviews and online seminars with well-known sailors from all over the world – programmes that are designed to prompt inter- active discussion rather than just ‘watch and learn’. The first programme in the Time Over Distance series was an interview with Briton Brian Thompson
in early April. Brian has had an amazing career in our sport, having been part of teams who have broken 33 world sailing records. The programme featured videos and live commentary about a career that has taken in the Vendée Globe, Rolex Fastnet Race, Jules Verne Trophy and MOD70 campaigns in the RORC Transatlantic Race and RORC Caribbean 600. The second edition featured two young professional sailors:
Australian Jack Boutell and Frenchman Alexis Loison. Jack started his sailing as bowman on Piet Vroon’s Tonnerre and eight years later was lifting the Volvo Ocean Race Trophy with Dongfeng. Alexis and his father Pascal were the first – and still only – two-handed team to win the Rolex Fastnet race overall, in 2013. Time Over Distance is designed to inform and entertain any
serious offshore sailor and more big names will follow. Repeats of the interviews can be accessed through
www.rorc.org/multimedia. We hope that the Time Over Distance library might become another highly regarded RORC resource for years to come. Eddie Warden-Owen, CEO
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Club page
SHARON GREEN/ULTIMATE SAILING
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