Please select your home edition
Edition
Mackay Boats 728x90 TOP

Hamble IRC Autumn Championships 2021 - Preview

by Trevor Pountain 22 Sep 2021 15:28 UTC 9-10 October 2021
IRC One start © Paul Wyeth / www.pwpictures.com

This year's Hamble IRC Autumn Championships will take place over the weekend of 9th & 10th October. Now a regular feature of the HYS Hamble Winter Series, the championship attracts a good number of entries.

Indeed, with three weeks still to go, twenty nine teams have already entered. There will be three races on the Saturday and two on the Sunday, weather permitting.

Two of last year's winning boats are already back. IRC Class 3 winners, Ian Handley and Tim James are back with their Mustang 30 Mk11, Banter. Last year it was "Gr8 Banter", so there must be a story there! They are unlikely to have it all their own way this year however, as the current Quarter Ton Cup winner, Protis, Ian Southworth and Team Hamble, has returned to the championship after last winter's lock down. J'Ronimo, the J92 of David Greenhalgh is also likely to there or there abouts when the points calculated.

The other returning winner is Simon Perry and his Jiraffe. This time Jiraffe is a Cape 31 and not a J109, so Simon will be unable to defend his IRC Class 2 win. This should make life a bit easier for Jago, J109, Mike and Susie Yates, who were second in the IRC Autumn Championship, but nudged Jiraffe into second place in main HYS Hamble Winter Series in 2020. With sixteen of the current entries in IRC Class 2, it looks like a highly competitive affair.

The new Jiraffe is going to have to play in IRC Class 1 this year. Last year their Cape 31 sister ship, Tokoloshe 3, cleaned up in both the IRC Autumn Championship and the HWS main series. Skippered by David Bartholomew and with the added guile of David Swete, the Cape 31 performed so well that the two David's and their associates have managed to grow the fleet to some 9 boats in 2021. Tokoloshe 4 has just arrived in Hamble and the Bartolomews showed they have not forgotten how to win when they won the Cape31 Class at the Royal Southern's September Regatta last weekend. These Capes do seem to work straight out of the box - literally.

IRC Class 1 will also be racing for the Hamble Star Trophy, presented to the best "Big Boat" in memory of Jane Windsor who graced the Committee Boats of the Hamble Winter Series, the Royal Southern Summer Regattas, the RORC series and many others.

Online entries can be made at https://www.hamblewinterseries.com/

Related Articles

GKSS Match Cup Sweden & Nordea Women's Trophy D2
A challenging southerly breeze and short three-lap course put teams to task A challenging southerly breeze and short three-lap course put teams to task on the second day of racing at the GKSS Match Cup Sweden and Nordea Women's Trophy in Marstrand, Sweden. Posted on 1 Jul
Europe Masters & Youth Championships Preview
Racing starts tomorrow at Haying Island Sailing Club Sitting in the sunshine at Haying Island Sailing Club - a perfect 13 knot sea breeze kicking in and 130 Europe's getting ready for a week of racing - what more could a sailor want? Posted on 1 Jul
Rolex TP52 Worlds in Cascais - Practice Day
Will Platoon Aviation's big breeze, big pressure experience prove key to their fourth world title? Of the three past and present world championship winning crews which completed their final practice today in typically muscular 25 knot breezes and big waves out of Cascais, Portugal it was Harm Müller-Spreer's Platoon Aviation which showed best today. Posted on 1 Jul
Some thoughts on provisioning for distance sailing
A new perspective on provisioning and time spent at sea One of the great joys of distance racing unfurls the moment that the dock lines are untied. Suddenly, the myriad packing lists that inevitably define most trip-planning efforts become about as relevant as a tax return from eight years ago. Posted on 1 Jul
LA28 sailing venue decision driven by politicians
The LA28 Olympic "dinghy" events will be sailed alongside a working container port. The decision to stage the Los Angeles "dinghy" events alongside a working container port appears to have been a determination by local politicians. Posted on 1 Jul
Freestyle Pro Tour Paros day 3
The return of Super X Day 3 at the FPT Paros 2025 was a slower one - with a lay day with no wind anticipated and a late skippers meeting at 13:00 to assess the conditions, there wasn't much initially filling up the schedule. Posted on 1 Jul
McIntyre Mini Globe Leg 2 update
The Mad Bastard may be right! When the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race set off—the first solo, non-stop circumnavigation—many thought it impossible. But one sailor proved them wrong: Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, sailing his beloved Suhaili! Posted on 1 Jul
Packing for a Summer Sailing Weekend
Just because it's summer doesn't mean you're going to stay warm and dry all the time Just because it's summer doesn't mean you're going to stay warm and dry all the time, particularly when you're out on the water. The day may start windless, with a little dew on the ground, but a sea breeze can pick up in the afternoon. Posted on 1 Jul
Marina Militare Nastro Rosa Tour Cagliari day 1
The Circolo Nautico Sanbenedettese team was the first to arrive in Cagliari The Circolo Nautico Sanbenedettese team was the first to arrive in Cagliari and win the first offshore leg in Sardinia. Posted on 1 Jul
Impressive results for the Performance Academy
At the 2025 ILCA 4 Youth Europeans in Poland Nine British sailors spent two weeks in Puck, Poland with the Performance Academy and ILCA UK for the ILCA 4 Youth European Championships, supported by Head Coach Charlie Linsell and Manager James Parker-Mowbray. Posted on 1 Jul
Cyclops Marine 2023 November - FOOTERSwitch One DesignDoyle_SailWorld_728X90px_GP BOTTOM