RORC IRC National Championship - Day 2 - Life in the FAST40+ lane

by Fast40 Class on 26 Jun 2016 The Fast40+ Class permits guests to sail on board, although not allowed to take part in the racing, your reporter was permitted to 'sit at the back of the bus' and watch the action on board Sir Keith Mills Ker 40+ Invictus ...and there was plenty of it.

Torrential rain, thunder and lightening caused a huge disruption to the second day of Round Two of the FAST40+ Circuit being held at the RORC IRC National Championship. The wind speed and direction was in turmoil for most of the day and accompanied by torrential rain. Only one race was successfully completed.

Race five was initially abandoned, as a huge squall spread stair rods of rain across the Solent with over 20 knots from a totally different direction. This was followed by a vacuum of any breeze at all for a good ten minutes. PRO Stuart Childerely, pulled the plug via VHF, a difficult but correct decision. After a half an hour wait, the gradient breeze from the south west returned and race five was underway.

Coming in to the line on final approach, Invictus navigator, Simon Fisher, called time to burn. The helm went down in a big bare away and the sideways inertia was evident. Then back up we came, onto the wind at full chat, heading for the line. Bang! Off went the gun, followed by the gut wrenching second blast of - X-Ray! - from the RORC Committee Boat. Two boats were over and Invictus was one of them. The crew sprang to life, swinging Invictus around the pin end to start correctly and then we were off after the fleet.

Invictus was behind the eight ball and tactician Robert Greenhalgh didn't mince his words. Snarling and snapping at the crew, and they responded. Big hikes, decisive breeze calls, and a lot of tenacity in the tacks and gybes. With all the fruit in the air, Invictus made one massive gain, holding the kite when it was right on the edge, water gushed down from the bow. One by one, Invictus started to pick off the opposition and clawed back through the fleet to finish fourth and retain second overall for the regatta. The mood on board was upbeat. After a good recovery, Greenhalgh congratulated the crew on a good job in difficult circumstances.

Peter Morton's Carkeek 40 Mk3 scored another well-deserved win, showing great speed and tactical awareness. Mike Bartholomew's GP42 was second in race five, pushing the team up to third, ahead of Bill Coates' Ker 43 Otra Vez. A special mention for Andrew Pearce's team, racing Ker 40+ Magnum4 at their first regatta. Magnum4 was third, their first podium finish.

Racing concludes tomorrow, the first warning signal has been scheduled for an earlier start at 10:00 BST. PRO Stuart Childerely intends to run three races tomorrow to bring the regatta to conclusion.