Sjambok takes IRC silver in A2N Race- Newport

by Media services on 9 Jun 2007 After the 475-mile Annapolis to Newport Race twenty minutes of corrected time separated the top three IRC boats. Michael Brennan and crew sailed his new 45 foot Reichel Pugh Sjambok to first place in both IRC1 and the eighteen-boat IRC fleet with a 16 minute victory over Tom Carroll’s J133 Siren Song which was 2nd in IRC1 and in IRC fleet. Third place in IRC1 and in IRC fleet went to Stephen Murray in his TP 52 Decision.

IRC2 honors went to the USCG J44 Glory skippered by Robert Lally. Another J44, Scott H Dinhofer’s Brown-eyed Girl, came in 2nd and Ed Freitag’s Beneteau 40.7 Downtime finished 3rd. Thirty-two minutes corrected time separated the first three in IRC2.

Two boats competed in the IRC Double-handed Division, sailed for the first time this year. Mark Myers and Andy Hughes took first in the Swan 51 Tonic while James Wilson and Brian Kippenstein in Wilson’s J42 S/D Ceol Mor came in 2nd by only 6 minutes on corrected time.

The 2007 Annapolis to Newport Race started in the Chesapeake Bay at mid-day Friday June 1st. Decision took line honors over Jim Muldoon’s PHRF entry Donnybrook, finishing at Castle Hill Light in Newport Sunday evening just before dark. For the early finishers, the race was no problem… a beat down the bay in a 15-20 knot southerly and then a spinnaker run up the coast to the finish.

In the IRC2 boats the USCG’s J/44 Glory, skippered by Robert Lally, had a reef and a #4 headsail throughout the night. Aboard the J/44 Brown-Eyed Girl, Scott Dinhofer reported, 'We went from a spinnaker to a jib topsail and ended with a #3 headsail and a single reef. We went outside Block Island and were reaching in from the east with winds of 35 knots. Our peak boat speed was 16 knots, which we’ve only seen with the spinnaker up before.'

The Annapolis Newport Race was a qualifier for the US-IRC Gulf Stream Series and also a qualifier for three series trophies that are offered by Stamford Yacht Club. Boats racing in the IRC Division were eligible to compete for the Northern Ocean Racing Trophy. For details go to http://www.stamfordyc.com/.

IRC racing continues in full swing this weekend in Newport with the New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta presented by Rolex.

The Rolex US-IRC North American Championship will be raced in conjunction with the Storm Trysail Club’s Block Island Race Week XXll presented by Rolex USA June 17-22. http://www.blockislandraceweek.org/. Both of these events are qualifiers for the Gulf Stream Series.

The Marion Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race starts June 15 and will offer dual scored racing in IRC for the first time. Racing will be with non-endorsed ratings that do not require professional measurement or weighing of the yachts.

In 2007, IRC racing is offered from coast to coast. Current USA Events offering IRC are listed on the US-IRC Calendar.
http://www.us-irc.org/irc-events-usa.cfm

About US-IRC
The United States-IRC Foundation, Inc. ( >) works to support and develop use of the IRC rule in co-operation with US SAILING ( >), which is the authorized body that issues IRC certificates under the auspices of the Royal Ocean Racing Council (RORC) ( >).

The US-IRC's mission is to promote and enhance big-boat inshore and offshore yacht racing throughout the country by expansion of the use of the rule. An IRC certificate is, in effect, an international passport for a yacht, enabling it to travel across national and international borders using the same certificate wherever it goes. The supporting partners for the US-IRC rule are Rolex Watch U.S.A., Inc., New York Yacht Club, Storm Trysail Club and St. Francis Yacht Club.

The annual US-IRC Gulf Stream Series, which starts in January and finishes in November, offers a comprehensive racing opportunity for sailors entering the major IRC events in the Caribbean and on the East Coast.

The IRC is the only rating rule granted 'international' status by ISAF. It has been in existence since 1999 (adopted in the U.S. in 2004) and is now the basis for more than 7500 certificates issued worldwide and 625 IRC yachts active in the U.S. The rule is used worldwide at a variety of different levels, ranging from local club races to major offshore events.

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