RORC Nelson's Cup Series - Day 2
by Louay Habib 19 Feb 21:48 PST
18-21 February 2025
The second day of the RORC Nelson's Cup Series was once again blessed with superb conditions off the South Coast of Antigua, with 20 knots of trade winds pumping in for exhilarating racing for three IRC Classes.
The RORC Race Team assisted by the Antigua Yacht Club set courses with a variety of wind angles, including deep water reaching legs for the IRC Maxi Class. The race team mixed it up for Race Four, essentially laying windward leeward racing for all classes. IRC Two finished the day with a long tough beat into ocean swell past Willoughby Bay, followed by a spectacular downwind leg back to the finish under the Pillars of Hercules outside Nelson's Dockyard.
Congratulations to today's race winners: Chris Flowers' Wallycento Galateia, Niklas Zennström's Carkeek 52 Rán, Dunlop & Cox's J/122 Mojito, and Filip Balcaen's Maxi 72 Balthasar.
RORC Nelson's Cup Series Results here.
Galateia & Balthasar Shine as Maxi Battles Intensify
In an edge-of-the-seat Race Three, Chris Flowers' Wallycento Galateia powered across the finish line clinching victory on IRC correction by just 51 seconds over Andrea Recordati's Wally 93 Bullitt. The fight for the podium was razor-tight, with Filip Balcaen at the helm of Maxi 72 Balthasar finishing just four seconds behind Bullitt on corrected time to take third.
Galateia claimed Line Honours and the race win, but Farr 100 Leopard 3, helmed by Joost Schuijff, was hot on their heels, finishing just 44 seconds later. Meanwhile, Bryon Ehrhart's Juan K 88 Lucky wasn't far behind, crossing the line less than two minutes after Galateia.
Race Four produced the first regatta win for Maxi 72 Balthasar by 40 seconds after IRC time correction. A great comeback for Karel Komarek's Wallycento 'V', was correcting out to beat Bullitt by just 18 seconds to take second. On the first day, Wallycento 'V' sustained damage when the water ballast system flooded the interior; it was great to see the team back out racing.
Andrea Recordati's Bullitt leads the class for the regatta by five points with one day of racing remaining. Galateia is second, just one point ahead of Filip Balcaen's Mills 72 Balthasar and Wendy Schmidt's Botin 85 Deep Blue.
After winning the final race of the day in the IRC Maxi Class, Filip Balcaen and his crew were soaking up the hospitality at Antigua Yacht Club. Balcaen, who always sails with a mix of pro-sailors and close friends, emphasised the strong team dynamic: "The spirit on board is great with this mix and I've been sailing with Bouwe (Bekking) and many of the professionals for so long that we're all friends." His Mills-designed 72 has undergone significant modifications, including twin rudders and hydraulic winches: "The hydraulic winches mean we don't need a larger crew and the twin rudders are great for offshore racing, though maybe not ideal for the inshore format of this series."
Balcaen is making the most of his racing time in Antigua: "It was great to take the win today. Since the boat is here for the RORC Caribbean 600, we're racing as much as we can. We'll be in the Maxi Class tomorrow and also taking on the Antigua 360 on Friday."
Rán unstoppable in IRC One Thriller
Race Three was epic for the top four boats: Niklas Zennström's Carkeek 52 Rán, Frederic Puzin's Carkeek 54 Daguet 5 and James Neville's Carkeek 45 Ino Noir. Rán and Daguet were overlapped going through the finish line after nearly two hours of racing. Rán was given the photo-finish by one second and after IRC time correction, scored their third bullet, maintaining their unbeaten regatta record. Ino Noir stormed home to snatch second place after time correction by just four seconds from Daguet 5. To add to the uber-close podium finish, Jon Desmond's PAC 52 Final Final was just 18 seconds off the podium after time correction.
In Race Four, Zennström's Rán was unstoppable, taking the win on IRC corrected time from Puzin's Daguet 5. Desmond's Final Final was third by just 28 seconds after time correction. With just the Antigua 360 race to go, Rán has an unassailable lead in the class. Ino Noir, Daguet 5 and Final Final will battle for the podium in the final race.
James Neville's Ino Noir is in the red-hot IRC One Class for the RORC Nelson's Cup. "Well done to all of the organisers and volunteers for putting on such a great series," commented Neville at today's prize-giving. "It's incredibly close, just so tight with four of us going hammer and tongs and the conditions are so tough. There is plenty to play for, especially under the cliffs, but the waves are pretty big, as are the Maxis on the same race track. There were a few close crosses today, so you are nervous at times. We don't do a lot of round the cans racing, so we were a bit rusty on day one, but we got into it more today."
Mojito Dominates with Back-to-Back Wins in IRC Two
In Race Three, Peter Dunlop and Victoria Cox's J/122 Mojito scored their first race win. Having come runner-up in the two previous races, Mojito corrected out to beat the Antiguan youth team on Jim Voss' RP37 Warthog by 59 seconds. Third after IRC time correction was Philippe Frantz's NM43 Albator.
Mojito took another bullet in Race Four to complete a perfect day on the water. Warthog was second by just 14 seconds after time correction, and Albator were once again third. Mojito now leads the class for the regatta by two points from Warthog with Albator in third.
Peter Dunlop and Victoria Cox's J/122 Mojito is an amateur team of friends from Wales and Ireland that race out of the Pwllheli Sailing Club, the heart of sailing in Wales.
"We had a few drinks at the ISORA Annual Dinner and came up with the idea to bring the team and the boat to Antigua for this regatta and the RORC Caribbean 600. It seemed a crazy idea at the time but here we are and we are absolutely loving it!" commented Peter Dunlop.
Vicky Cox started racing about 15 years ago and drives the boat for the team. "Peter and I raced with Andrew & Sam Hall's Pata Negra in the 2022 RORC Caribbean 600 and we have always wanted to come back, especially now that there is the RORC Nelson's Cup Series, which gives us a two-week programme. We only got the boat off the ship a few days ago and we are thrilled to be doing so well against great competition like Warthog and Albator. We have the IRC Welsh National Championship from the 2nd to the 4th of May this year. I can guarantee anybody coming will have as warm a welcome as we have received in Antigua."
Après-Racing at the Antigua Yacht Club
A fantastic number of sailors attended the informal prize-giving on the lawn at Antigua Yacht Club, with complimentary Carib Beer for all and 5 Year Old English Harbour Rum for race winners.
After another day of ballistic racing in the RORC Nelson's Cup Series, Classes IRC One and IRC Two will have a rest day tomorrow. The IRC Maxi Class will duke it out with their final day of racing tomorrow Thursday 20th February.
The grand finale for the series will be the Antigua 360 Race which is scheduled for Saturday 21st February with the multihulls swelling the numbers to 32 entries for the blast around Antigua.
Follow the third edition of the RORC Nelson's Cup Series with live results and full media coverage at www.caribbean600.rorc.org.