Please select your home edition
Edition
Leaderboard FD July August September 2023

Tala wins the RORC Castle Rock Race

by Louay Habib 13 Sep 2021 01:31 PDT 10-11 September 2021
Tala, GBR - RORC Castle Rock Race © Paul Wyeth

The final race of the 2021 RORC Season's Points Championship was won by David Collins' Botin IRC 52 Tala, second was Ross Applebey's Oyster 48 Scarlet Oyster and third was Gavin Doyle's Corby 25 Duff Lite, racing Two-Handed with Alex Piatti.

The Army Association's Sun Fast 3600 Fujitsu British Soldier was the winner of IRC Three and fourth overall. Andrew Hall's Lombard 46 Pata Negra was the winner of IRC One. Sam Goodchild's Multi 50 Leyton was first to finish, taking just 7 hours and 23 minutes to complete the 91nm course. Greg Leonard's Kite was the Class40 winner.

IRC Zero

Tala's David Collins was presented with the Loujaine Trophy by RORC Commodore James Neville for the best overall corrected time under IRC.Tala was also the winner of IRC Zero. Second in class was VME Racing's CM60 Venomous, sailed by James Gair. Third was Lance Shepherd's Volvo Open 70 Telefonica Black.

"Once the shorter course was announced, our routing showed it to be much more favourable for us in terms of the tidal gates," commented Tala's Pete Redmond. "The beat against the tide worked in our favour against the boats in our class, as well as the smaller boats. Once Tala got around St. Cats and out of the really strong tide, we also had a favourable wind shift. Tala has had a really good season, David (Collins) is really happy. In a fleet with a massive range of IRC Ratings, and a lot of tidal gates in home waters, you don't always get the best conditions over the season, but we have always tried to get the best result we can. Tala's current plan for the future is the RORC Transatlantic Race and then up to Antigua for the RORC Caribbean 600. Tala has been optimised for offshore racing, but we have a lot of work planned in preparation for the RORC Transatlantic Race."

IRC One

Andrew Hall's Lombard 46 Pata Negra was the winner in IRC One for the Quailo Cup. Sport Nautique Club's Xp 44 Orange Mecanix2, sailed by Maxime de Mareuil, was second. Michael O'Donnell's J/121 Darkwood was third.

IRC Two

Ross Applebey's Scarlet Oyster was presented with the Trophee des Deux Manches for winning IRC Two. Second was Tom Kneen's JPK 1180 Sunrise, sailed by Jack Trigger. Susan Glenny's Olympia's Tigress was third.

"The Castle Rock Race was a bit of a mission," commented Ross Applebey referring to the 40 tacks in a five-mile stretch approaching St. Cats from the east. "It was full-on, but quite good fun! If we had an infinite amount of energy, we would have done a few more! We really worked hard upwind which put us in a good position." Downwind Scarlet Oyster made a big gain with their symmetrical kite, as Ross explains. "We went inshore at The Shingles with our pole, temporarily we had five knots of tide against us, which was a bit alarming, but it set us up to get inshore and the advantage of the back eddy to St. Cats. In relatively flat water we gybed out to pass St. Cats and put up our big new kite and we were really rocking with that. Looking to the future, with the permission of my wife and daughter, we hope to enter the RORC Transatlantic Race, and we do have some spaces available for sailors with the right experience."

IRC Three

The Army Sailing Association's Fujitsu British Soldier was the winner of IRC Three winning the Yacht Club de France Trophy. Second was Rob Craigie's Sun Fast 3600 Bellino, raced Two-Handed with Deb Fish. Third was Kevin Armstrong's J/109 Jazzy Jellyfish.

"We are really pleased with our class win but a bit frustrated that we were fourth overall by just five minutes," commented Henry Foster, skipper of Fujitsu British Soldier. "We had a cracking race with some very well sailed Two-Handed teams, hats off to Bellino, Tigris and Diablo, it was a hard race but good fun. To get third in class for the season is really pleasing, especially as we have had a development team on board for a number of races. For 2022, we are looking at racing Round Ireland and Cork Week, but the big focus as ever, will be the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race. Personally, I will not be on the boat for that race, but we have Phil Caswell and Wil Naylor who have done about ten races between them."

IRC Four

Two-Handed teams occupied all three podium positions in IRC Four. Gavin Doyle & Alex Piatti racing Duff Lite won the Jolie Brise Trophy. Second was Renaud Courbon racing with Rosie Hill in his First Class 10 Shortgood. Stuart Greenfield's S&S 34 Morning After was third.

IRC Two-Handed

Duff Lite was the winner of the RORC Trophy. Shortgood was runner up and Tim Goodhew & Kelvin Matthews, racing Nigel Goodhew's Sun Fast 3200 Cora, was third.

"I asked Alex (Piatti) how many tacks we did, and he replied - too many!" commented Duff Lite's Gavin Doyle. "If we are going inshore, we like to be the guys that go in the furthest and get the most out of it. We are absolutely delighted with the result. This is our first season with the boat, next up will be the IRC Two-Handed Championship, and we are looking forward to a head-to-head with another Corby 25 in the Hamble Winter Series."

There was something of an end of term party atmosphere after the Castle Rock Race with a Race Prizegiving and BBQ hosted at the RORC Cowes Clubhouse. The RORC Annual Dinner, a spectacular black-tie awards ceremony for the RORC Season's Points Championship, will be taking place on Saturday, 27th November at the Intercontinental Park Lane, London.

Full results available here.

For more information about the Royal Ocean Racing Club please visit www.rorc.org.

Related Articles

Admiral's Cup 2025 | Welcome from Cowes
Bow Caddy Media provide an introduction and interview with Shane Guanaria from Zen Ahead of the first race, Crosbie Lorimer provides an introduction and interviews Shane Guanaria from Zen Posted on 18 Jul
4 Ultim rocketships to contest Rolex Fastnet Race
The giant 32m long by 23m wide flying trimarans are taking part in the 100th anniversary edition While the 50ft flying catamarans competing at SailGP Portsmouth this weekend will be impressive, charging out of the opposite western end of the Solent will be giant 32m long by 23m wide flying Ultim trimarans taking part in the 100th anniversary edition. Posted on 18 Jul
Admirals' Cup: Predictwind weather supplier
Predictwind champions diversity and empowers Women in Offshore Racing PredictWind, a global leader in marine weather forecasting, is proud to announce its significant involvement in the upcoming Admiral's Cup 2025. Posted on 17 Jul
IMOCAs in the Rolex Fastnet Race
Ocean racing's state of the art One of the most historic and eternally ground-breaking oceanic racing yacht classes is the IMOCA. These 60 footers are the world's most advanced offshore racing monohulls, the class used in the Vendée Globe since its inception in 1989/90. Posted on 16 Jul
Blind Sailor's solo Round the Island Challenge
Dani A. Pich is aiming to navigate his Patí Català catamaran around the Isle of Wight next week A truly remarkable challenge is underway on the Solent, with blind sailor Dani A. Pich aiming to sail solo around the Isle of Wight in a catamaran dinghy that has no rudder, no centreboard, no boom and is steered by the use of balance and body weight. Posted on 16 Jul
RORC Channel Race 2025 Preview
The high-stakes opener of the 2025 Admiral's Cup The 2025 RORC Channel Race is the high-stakes opener of the 2025 Admiral's Cup—and the pressure is on. With double points on the table and no discard allowed, this race could make or break a team's Admiral's Cup campaign. Posted on 16 Jul
The Iconic Admiral's Cup Returns!
Harken UK caught up with the RORC CEO and Admiral's Cup sailors ahead of the event After a long hiatus, this prestigious international yachting regatta makes its grand comeback from 17- 31 July at The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) in Cowes, Isle of Wight. Posted on 15 Jul
A century of human endeavour
The Fastnet Race is regarded as one of offshore sailing's most complete proving grounds For 100 years, the Rolex Fastnet Race has been regarded as one of offshore sailing's most complete proving grounds. It is a place where ambitions and dreams meet harsh reality, where skill, endurance and fortitude are severely tested. Posted on 15 Jul
Rolex Fastnet Race IRC Four preview
The pinnacle of grass roots sailing has 97 entries The very largest yachts, including the 100ft Ultim foiling trimarans and 60ft IMOCAs are an essential part of the spectacle of the Fastnet Race, however a critical element in the race's enduring appeal is that this is predominately a grass roots event. Posted on 14 Jul
RORC Cowes Dinard St Malo Race concludes
Farr 100 Leopard 3, skippered by Joost Schuijf, completed a remarkable hat-trick Organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), in association with the UNCL, Yacht Club de Dinard, Société Nautique de la Baie de St Malo, JOG and the Royal Yacht Squadron. Posted on 14 Jul
Sea Sure 2025Armstrong 728x90 - Wing FG Board Range - BOTTOMRS Sailing 2021 - FOOTER