Myth of Malham (Round Eddystone) Race - Ker 40 Keronimo takes IRC One

by RORC on 31 May 2011 Myth of Malham (Round Eddystone) Race is a qualifier for the upcoming Rolex Fastnet Race and has seen three of the top four spots taken by the French with 125 yachts in total braving a windy forecast to compete.

The fleet raced in west north west winds ranging from fifteen to twenty-five knots and gusts of 30+ knots. This made for a tough test and a great warm up for the fleet who had to race to the Eddystone lighthouse off Plymouth and back to the Solent.

Jonathon Goring's brand new Ker 40, Keronimo was the winner of IRC One and fifth in IRC overall. By all accounts, the new yacht from the drawing board of America's Cup designer Jason Ker is a real speed machine. Tonnerre de Breskens was second and previous Myth of Malham winner, Mike Greville's Ker 39, Erivale III put in a great performance to take third.

'Ten days out of the box and straight into a very breezy race was bit of a baptism of fire!' commented Goring: 'A 120 mile beat to Eddystone and then a screaming run back in 30 knots of wind was a great test for this brand new design. We got a good start in the middle of the Squadron Line and we were chuffed to be the first of the big boats out of the Solent. The run home was brilliant and we had some amazing surfs on the tidal over falls at each headland with long periods where the speed was over 20 knots. At times there was white water past the mast but we didn't broach once for the whole trip.'

French boats dominated the results taking three out of the top four places with Noel Rascine's Foggy Dew the overall winner. Foggy Dew, a JPK 10.10 and one of the smallest boats in the race, found the conditions very tough but finished the 240 mile course in 33 hours - seven hours behind the line honours winner, the Ker 46 Tonnerre de Breskens with her owner Piet Vroon on board. Second overall was another French yacht, the JPK 9.6 Ultreia!, owned by Matthias Kracht.

Matthias Kracht was sailing in and won the Two-Handed Class. Considering the weather conditions, this is a pretty special feat. Both Noel and Matthias were unable to comment today, as they were delivering their yachts back to France!

Third overall was Ross Appleby's 24 year old Oyster 48, Scarlet Oyster, and the winner of IRC Two. Ross was delighted with the result having pushed this old design very hard to achieve a podium place: 'As we left the Solent we could tell by the boats around us that we were doing well. We got headed quite early and we changed our plan by heading into Lyme Bay. We were a bit anxious about the move in case the breeze died on us however, the move really paid off,' explained Ross.

'It was a ballistic run back from the Eddystone with gusts of over 35 knots off Portland. We managed to keep the rig on top of the boat but the kite had other ideas blowing up in one big gust and we ran right over it and then broke the pole! We used our jockey-pole on our No. 3 headsail, which was not as fast, but that did mean we could sail straight down the rhumb line in control and we still managed 20 knots on the surf.'

IRC Zero saw an epic duel between two yachts: Derek Saunders' CM 60, Venomous, crossed the finish line a mere 11 seconds ahead of Jens Kuehne's Reichel Pugh 48, Sjambok. However after time correction, Sjambok was declared winner of the class.

Neil Kipling's J 122, Joopster was second in IRC Two behind Scarlet Oyster. RORC Commodore, Andrew McIrvine's First 40, La Réponsewas third, after a close battle with another First 40, Edward Broadway's Carpe Diem.

As well as winning overall, Foggy Dew had a convincing win in IRC Three. James Heald's J 105, Flawless J was second overall with Peter Olden's A 35, Solan Goose of Hamble in third. 24 yachts competed in the Two Handed Class and only one of them did not finish the course; a testament to the seamanship of all the crews. The top three boats Ultreia!, Night and Day and Flawless J finished second, fourth and seventh overall, which is a huge achievement in this top class fleet.

Two Class 40s enjoyed the fresh conditions, especially Cathrine Pourre's Earwenwhich took the class win from Mark Denton's MAXVMG. Ultreia! won IRC 4, Pascal Loison was second in another JPK 960 Night and Day. In third place was Peter Diamond's Rapscallion, which also won the Sigma 38 class by nearly an hour, from Nigel Goodhew's Persephone of London. Jon England's Vitesse was third.

The conditions were tough and a good test for any serious offshore racer who has his eyes set on competing in this year's Rolex Fastnet race. A number of boats had incidents including a man overboard, a dismasting and severe seasickness. This necessitated the emergency services being called out on three occasions.

The Myth of Malham counts for points towards the RORC Season's Points Championship and the overall leader is still Piet Vroon's Tonnerre de Breskens. Niall Dowling's J 111, Arabella is in second place and by virtue of his win this weekend Noel Racine's Foggy Dewmoves up to third overall.

The next race in the series is scheduled to start, next Friday 3rd June. The 180-mile North Sea Race from Harwich to Scheveningen in Holland. The Royal Ocean Racing Club's Season's Points Championship consists of a testing series of races, which attracts an international and varied fleet. Trying to win the Season's Points Championship is a real challenge for the serious offshore sailor.

This year the Championship includes the tactically and physically challenging Rolex Fastnet Race, the oldest and most prestigious offshore yacht race in the world.

RORC Mainseries IRC Overall Myth of Malham Race 2011 Start: Fri 27 May 11 Provisional Results:

Points	Factored Points	Sail No	Boat	Type of Boat	Owner	Sailed by	Elapsed	Handicap	Corrected	Finishing Place	Comments	Points	Factored Points
100	120	FRA37310	Foggy Dew	JPK 10.10	Noel Racine		1 - 08:59:45	1.008	1 - 09:15:35	1		100	120
90	108	GBR1702T	Scarlet Oyster	Oyster 48	Ross Applebey		1 - 07:20:34	1.072	1 - 09:35:58	3		90	108
86	103.2	FRA27997	Night And Day	JPK 9.60	Pascal Loison		1 - 09:50:24	0.996	1 - 09:42:17	4		86	103.2
83	99.6	GBR6889R	Keronimo	Ker 40	Jonathan Goring		1 - 04:17:44	1.196	1 - 09:50:29	5		83	99.6
80	96	GBR4757R	Joopster	J/122	Neil Kipling		1 - 07:08:58	1.088	1 - 09:53:26	6		80	96
78	93.6	GBR6905R	Flawless J	J/105	James Heald		1 - 09:25:33	1.016	1 - 09:57:38	7		78	93.6
76	91.2	NED46	Tonnerre de Breskens 3	Ker 46	Piet Vroon		1 - 02:57:25	1.262	1 - 10:01:11	8		76	91.2
74	88.8	GBR42N	La Réponse	First 40	Andrew McIrvine		1 - 07:45:43	1.085	1 - 10:27:42	9		74	88.8
72	86.4	GBR236R	Erivale III	Ker 39	Michael Greville		1 - 06:53:56	1.117	1 - 10:30:51	10		72	86.4

Royal Ocean Racing Club website.