Island Double race - Champagne sailing for the fleet

by Cathy Crawley on 23 Jul 2013 The RSYC Extra Corona Island Double forecasts of 11-14 kts from the E-NE at 06.00 on Saturday 20th July were a welcome relief after a week of morning zephyrs and race postponements till afternoon sea breezes. With the weather set fair for the east-about race, the Race Management team arrived at RSYC's reciprocal Club on the island on Friday evening to find the ODM, Trinity Buoy, missing! Alongside it's location was Patricia, the Trinity House vessel, and a cleaned, shiny buoy was dropped back in the water later that night.

With an 06.00am first warning to take full advantage of the favourable tide, a great Island Double was anticipated. With no guns allowed in consideration of local residents, the starts were managed over the radio and all classes started on time.

Feedback from the 72 racers in the 34th Island Double was extremely positive and underlined why this challenging race remains a favourite fixture in the RSYC double handed calendar.

Race Results:

Line honours and first to finish at 12.47.33 was Multihull Class Kittyhawke (Barlow 30) with an elapsed time of 6hrs 02mins 33secs, nearly 17 minutes ahead of second to finish Wardance (F32RX). On corrected time positions didn't change, and Simon Forbes' Cold Fusion Reloaded (Dragonfly 35) took third place on the Multihull podium.

First Monohull to finish, and third on the water, was Class 3 Swish (Class 40) at 13.59.49 in an elapsed time of 7hrs 34mins and 49secs.

First to finish in Class 1 was Jua Kali (Grand Soleil 43) at 14.12.31. On corrected time, she moved to fourth place, just 10 seconds behind third place. On corrected time, Straight Dealer (JPK 1010) took first place in Class 1, with an elapsed time of 7.53.34, corrected to 8.00.22. Elevation (Élan 333) was second and Jacana (J/105) was third.

After a great performance, Edith (Elan 33) in Class 2 crossed the line at 14.35.10, eight seconds behind a Class 40 competitor, but dropped to sixth on corrected time. Taking first place was Jiminy Cricket (Contessa 26) and second place went to Mandarin (Folkboat). Meow (Contessa 26) was third and another Folkboat, Connie took fourth.

Taking the gun for second place on the water in Class 3 was Arc at 15.10.57, less than two minutes ahead of Jammin. On corrected time Arc slipped to fourth place while Jammin took first place. Second place went to El Dorado (Dehler 35) and third was Asante (Maxi 1100).

First on the water in Class 4 was Squander (Westerly Typhon 37), crossing the line at 14.50.28. On corrected time ExTip (Limbo 21) took the top spot in Class 4, with Zahir (Nicholson Jolina 35) second and Squander third.

The Corona Extra Island Double delivered some changes to the overall Class 1 and Class 3 standings in the RSYC Double Handed Series, and are shown below.

Series points overall

Corona Extra Double Handed Series	1st	2nd	3rd
Class One	Jo Jo Gunne	Weebear	Juliette
Class Two	Hydra	Pastime of Hamble	Edith
Class Three	Asante	Arc	Amy Lou
Class Four	Aquarius Ventures	Larissa	Alma

With all to play for, the final race of RSYC’s Corona Extra Offshore Double Handed Series will be the Long Distance Double, this year visiting Le Havre. The first warning signal is expected to be at 19.00 on Friday 23rdAugust 2013. The Inshore Series concludes with the Extra Corona Nab Double on 7th September and Autumn Solent Double on Saturday 5th October.

RSYC has been running Double Handed racing for more than 30 years and offers both challenging short-handed racing on the water and a friendly welcome to the competitors ashore. RSYC website