Cowes Dinard St Malo Race action on the horizon

by Louay Habib on 9 Jul 2014 The Royal Ocean Racing Club's Season's Points Championship continues this weekend with close to 80 yachts competing in the Cowes- Dinard - St Malo Race. Teams from Belgium, France, Great Britain and The Netherlands will race across the English Channel to the famous walled port of St Malo in Brittany, France. The 175 mile race pre-dates the Royal Ocean Racing Club by almost 20 years, with the overall winner awarded the impressive, gold plated, King Edward VII Cup, which was first presented by the British monarch to the Club Nautique de la Rance at Dinard in 1906.

Andrew Budgen and Fred Schwyn's Volvo 70, Monster Project, was in fine form during last month's Round Ireland Yacht Race, taking Line Honours and the win in IRC Canting Keel. Monster Project is favourite to be the first monohull to finish in St Malo although the IMOCA 60, Artemis Team Endeavour skippered by Mikey Ferguson, is also very capable of taking the gun.

'During the Round Ireland we found that the IMOCA 60 was probably quicker than us downwind but upwind or reaching, in enough breeze, we were quicker,' commented Andy Budgen. 'It should be a great race with Artemis. The St Malo Race is one of our qualifiers for next month's Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland, so we are keen to do well and put the team through their paces. With the current forecast we could see a fast race. Monster Project loves reaching and if we have a power reach to St Malo it should be very exciting. Many of the crew are now regular members and that is a bonus as it takes time to learn how to sail a Volvo 70: Monster Project is a very powerful machine.'

In IRC One, Piet Vroon's Dutch Ker 46, Tonnerre de Breskens 3, returns to RORC racing after a highly successful Caribbean season. Tonnerre de Breskens 3 was class runner-up in last year's Cowes-Dinard-St Malo Race. The current class leader for the 2014 season, RORC Commodore Mike Greville's British Ker 39, Erivale III, is not racing this weekend. However, Steven Anderson's British Corby 40, Cracklin' Rosie, is returning to action and likely to regain the class lead. Daniel Hardy's British Oyster 625, Lady Mariposa, is currently third for the season and will be taking part in their fourth race of the series.

Seventeen yachts will be competing in IRC Two including the current class leader, Vincent Willemart and Eric Van Campenhout's Belgian MC34, Azawakh. Chris Radford's British J/122, Relentless on Jellyfish, is lying in second place for the season and will be hoping to make up ground on the class leader. Also making an appearance at the Cowes-Dinard-St Malo Race is the 2013 IRC Two winner, Michel Péretié and his French team on the A40, Stamina III, who will be hoping to retain the trophy.

IRC Three will be the largest class for the St Malo Race with twenty three yachts competing, including the overall leader for the 2014 RORC Season's Points Championship: Louis-Marie Dussere's JPK 10.10, Raging Bee. Nick Martin's J/105, Diablo-J, is currently second in class for the season and Christopher Palmer's J/109, J-T'Aime, third. The top eight yachts in IRC Three will all be competing in the race to St Malo.

In IRC Four, Noel Racine's JPK 10.10, Foggy Dew, is the current class leader and the veteran French skipper considers the Cowes-Dinard-St Malo Race his favourite.

'Our win in 2006 is, without doubt, the most special moment for me in all of my years sailing,' smiled Noel Racine. 'It was the centenary for the race and we won it overall: it was a very special moment. St Malo is a lovely place and especially for Bastille Day. There is a great holiday atmosphere and there are excellent restaurants to enjoy French cuisine and a spectacular firework display. This year, I believe that the first few hours of the race will be crucial. It looks as though most of the race will be downwind, so working the tide in the Solent and getting out into fast conditions as soon as possible may well decide the race. Foggy Dew is a good all round yacht but perhaps the boats that are fast downwind will also like the forecast.' Ludovic Melnyk's JPK 9.60, Sous Mama Boulé, is second for the season by just 1.2 points and will also be racing this weekend in a closely fought class.

Fourteen yachts will be competing in the 175 mile race two-handed, including Raging Bee who is the current leader of this class as well as IRC Three. They will be joined by Diablo-J and Sous Mama Boulé, who lie in second and third places in the Two-Handed Class overall, respectively.

Three multihulls will be taking part including Loïc Fequet's Maitre Jacques, which set the multihull record for the race in 2012 with a time of 12 hours 39 minutes. Five Class40s will also be enjoying a close battle including Michel Kleinjans' Brusails for Belgium, who will be taking part in next month's Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race.

The Cowes-Dinard-St Malo Race is one of the oldest yacht races in the world and has always been a popular event among the competitors racing with the Royal Ocean Racing Club. The timing of the race coincides with one of the biggest celebrations in France, Bastille Day, so competitors will enjoy a vibrant atmosphere at the finish as the fortress city of St Malo will be a hive of festivities and cultural celebrations, culminating in an impressive firework display.

For more information visit RORC.