(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- 104 boats lined up for the opening race
of the RORC offshore racing season, the Cervantes Trophy. Organized by
RORC in association with the Societe des Regates du Havre and the Royal
Yacht Squadron, the Cervantes Trophy race kicked off on Saturday 4th
May from the RYS line taking the fleet across the channel to finish in
Le Havre.The weather conditions leading up to the race looked uncertain, with a complex pressure system over northern Europe which could make it a good test for the international fleet from Belgium, Britain, France, The Netherlands and Russia. Nevertheless, as Saturday morning dawned on the fleet, the sailors sprang to life and took off on a fast and furious 100 nm race across the English Channel to Le Havre, France for the coveted Cervantes Trophy. A Volvo 70 completed the course in a blistering pace, just over 7 hours for a 14 kts average!
"Here
we go again! It's seven months since the last race of the 2012 season,
which saw DIABLO-J clinch the Two-Handed and IRC Three titles, 3rd in
IRC overall and the coveted RORC 'Yacht of the Year'. It's all to play
for again, with a clean slate and no advantage! Every race has to be
fought hard and won. We've done a lot of pre-season preparation;
replacing, fixing, upgrading and ensuring everything works as it should
for performance and safety. And for me, a particular feature for the
season - ensuring I have a dependable co-skipper for the full season
(unlike last year with 5 different guys!). Andy Boyle from Dublin,
Ireland, with whom I won the Two-Handed and Team Trophy in the 2012
Round Ireland Race, is fully signed up and we're excited about the
season ahead."In IRC 2, the Army Sailing Association's brand new J/111 BRITISH SOLDIER was the scratch boat and only managed to get across the Channel less than 30 minutes faster than her older J/105 sibling, correcting out to 9th in IRC 2. Finishing just behind them was the Belgian J/111 DJINN sailed by Jean-Patrick Smal. Their fleet, too, was led by "off-the-wind surfboards". For more RORC Cervantes Trophy sailing information
