Wednesday, July 6, 2011

SHMOKING Round Island Race

J/111 Wins IRC 1 Overall!
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The famous Around Island Race, an epic 50 nautical mile adventure that is also the original "America's Cup race track", was run this year with nearly 2,000 entries from all over the world (1,908 to be exact).  And, the brand-spanking new J/111 SHMOKING JOE really did "smoke" the fleet around the 50 nm race-track, and with a no-guts, no-glory approach nearly pulled off the overall win for the Gold Roman Bowl-- missing it by just 11 minutes!

Weather is always a major factor in a race of this size and stature. Saturday's forecast was particularly important given the vast number of yachts starting off the Royal Yacht Squadron's famous starting line in front of Cowes' equally famous waterfront walk- "The Parade".  Although some of the smaller boats felt it best to withdraw owing to threats of bad weather, the bulk of the record-breaking fleet of 1900 plus yachts turned up to take part in this historic event, the fourth largest participation sporting occasion in the UK. Some 16,000 sailors faced wind speeds of up to 28 knots and there were huge swells up to 20 feet to contend with off the Needles and at St. Catherine's as the record-breaking fleet undertook this most famous westabout Island circumnavigation on Saturday.  In short, the race was a blast through waves upwind to the infamous Needles, then flying downwind at enormous surfing speeds down around St Cats to the Forts and a final near fetch home to the start/finish line off Cowes-- one of those rare races where the weather Gods simply provided epic conditions and record speeds around one of the world's best "round island" races.

At the end of it all, it was an "epic first voyage" for the brand spanking new (barely 24 hours old in the water) J/111 called SHMOKING JOE sailed by sailed Phil Thomas and Duncan McDonald-- they not only managed to finish first overall in IRC1 division and 1st in IRC Division 1A, they were also 6th overall in a fleet of 400+ IRC boats! Read more about their story in the riveting account outlined below in the J/Community section by Paul Heys- an able and willing deck-hand aboard that maiden voyage.  Just behind them in IRC 1A was the French J/122 NUTMEG IV sailed by Francois Longnone finishing 4th and 14th was the J/133 JERONIMO sailed by Julian James.

 For more Round Island Race sailing information.    A fun YouTube sailing video of the Round Island Race.