130 yachts set for RORC Cowes Dinard St Malo Race
by Louay Habib 11 Jul 2018 06:06 PDT
13 July 2018
The start of the Cowes – Dinard – St Malo Race will be an impressive sight, the fleet will be in the starting area along Cowes Green and Cowes Parade from 0900 on Friday 13 July © Rick Tomlinson
Organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club in association with UNCL, Yacht Club de Dinard, Société Nautique de la Baie de St. Malo and the Royal Yacht Squadron.
130 yachts with nearly one thousand sailors competing, will be racing to St. Malo with the Royal Ocean Racing Club this weekend, arriving in the historic French port for massive celebrations.
The Cowes – Dinard – St Malo Race is one of the oldest races in the RORC calendar, with the overall winner under IRC receiving the magnificent 1906 King Edward VII Cup. The weekend celebrations will also feature a magnificent firework display for the French National Day on Saturday July 14th, and the FIFA World Cup Final on Sunday 15th July between France and England or Croatia.
Eleven Class40s from England and France will be racing, including 2017 RORC Season's Points Champion, Halvard Mabire & Miranda Merron's Campagne de France and last year's race winner, Marc Lepesqueux's Sensation. Tony Lawson's British entry Concise 8, skippered by Jack Trigger, class winner of this year's Myth of Malham, will also be in contention. Many of the Class40 teams will be taking part in their final race before the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race including Gery Atkins Colombre XL, Peter Harding & Sam Goodchild's Phor-ty, and Sandrine Pelletier's Oman Sail.
In IRC One, a dozen yachts will be vying for the IRC class win and overall honours. Ed Broadway's British Ker 40 Hooligan VII will be looking to consolidate their class lead for the season. The current podium boats for the season in IRC One will also be in action; Mark Emerson's British A13 Phosphorus II and Maxime de Mareuil's French Xp44 Orange Mecanix2. James Neville's HH42 Ino XXX will be defending their class win from last year, and hoping to go one better than runner up overall under IRC in 2017.
In IRC Two, the leader for the season, the Army Sailing Association X-41 British Soldier, will be in action for their penultimate race before the Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race. The class features 24 yachts including strong teams from France; Gilles Fournier's Pintia, Nicolas Loday's Codiam. Arnaud Aubrey's JPK 11.80 Courrier Recommande will make their RORC debut. Proven winners Ross Applebey's British Scarlet Oyster and Vincent Willemart's Belgian Azawakh will also be racing
79 yachts will be racing in IRC Three and Four including 34 teams racing Two-Handed, forming the lion-share of the impressive fleet racing in the Cowes-Dinard-St.Malo Race.
The 37-strong IRC fleet includes the top seven teams in the class for the 2018 season; Richard Palmer's Jangada, Rob Craigie's Bellino, Ian Hoddle's Game On, and Nick Martin's Diablo, will all be racing Two-Handed, plus Rob Cotterill's Mojo Risin', David Richards' Jellyfish, and Trevor Middleton's Black Sheep. Nicolas Gaumont-Prat's Philosophie IV is back in action, having won the Morgan Cup Race overall on their last outing. Philosophie IV will be defending their class win for the St. Malo Race in 2017.
IRC Four forms the largest class in the 2018 Cowes – Dinard – St Malo Race. 47 teams have entered including last year's runner up Marc Noel's China Girl and third place Cooper and England's Longue Pierre. Class leader for the 2018 season, Noel Racine's Foggy Dew, is a past winner of the race. Multihulls entered for the race include Simon Baker's Hissy Fit, Phillippe Damour's Red-avel, and Francois Corre's Friends and Lovers.
The start of the Cowes – Dinard – St Malo Race will be an impressive sight, the fleet will be in the starting area along Cowes Green and Cowes Parade from 0900 on Friday 13 July. To follow the progress of the race, all teams in AIS range can be tracked via the YB Tracker player.
For more information about the RORC Season's Points Championship: rorc.org