(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- Saturday 1st of June was certainly a
day to remember, a day of highs, and more highs and, it was a day for
Round the Island Race records to tumble. It was the day when Great
Britain's most successful Olympic sailor, Sir Ben Ainslie (past J/24,
J/80 and J/109 sailor/tactician) and his all-British crew aboard JP
Morgan BAR, trounced the existing Round the Island Race multihull
record, held for 12 years, by an impressive 16 minutes. Equalling this
awesome, impressive feat was Simon Ling's team aboard the J/70 SPITFIRE,
just blowing away their 15 boat Sportboat Class by 15 minutes on
corrected time and were declared winner of the prestigious Sir Edward
Heath Trophy (named after a former British Prime Minister who dearly
loved sailing).As dawn broke over the Solent, a weak weather front was clearing away to the east, leaving clear skies and a northerly airflow in its wake. The wind strength peaked at 17-22 knots as the front passed over, reducing to 13-17 knots for the first starters. It was clear it was going to be a day to break records for all kinds of boats, especially with flat water and a good wind angle on every leg of the course. A critical turning point in the race, St Catherine's Point, had a comfortable 15 kts with occasional gusts to 20-25 kts to make for fast surfing or planing for the lighter boats. It was nearly idyllic sailing conditions for the massive 1,500 boat fleet. However, by the time Simon Ling’s J/70 SPITFIRE, the leading sportsboat, was approaching Bembridge Ledge at 1030 hrs there were holes appearing in the breeze, with just 5-6 knots reported in places. Otherwise, conditions remain glorious on the water, with almost unbroken sun now warming the 15,000 sailors after a cold start to the day.
The many J teams that sailed enjoyed a fabulous day on the water, many having the opportunity to hop on the podium as well. In IRC 1A with 28 entries were the five J/111s. As J/111 champion and sixth in class was Tony Mack's McFLY. Second J/111 and 10th in class was JITTERBUG. Third J/111 and 14th in class was Rick Barne's MUNKENBECK. Fourth J/111 and 16th in class was James Arnell's JEEZ LOUISE. Fifth J/111 and 19th in class was the Belgian team DJINN sailed by Sebastien de Liedekerke. The J/122 JACOB's LADDER was 21st in class. Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth @ PWPictures.com. For more Round The Island Race sailing information
