Please select your home edition
Edition
Rooster 2025

2025 RORC Easter Challenge - Overall

by Louay Habib / RORC 21 Apr 09:23 PDT 18-20 April 2025
2025 RORC Easter Challenge © Paul Wyeth / RORC

The RORC Easter Challenge wrapped upon the 20th April with two final races in the Solent for all four IRC Classes. With no discard to the scoring in the six race series, all class winners were decided in the final race.

After two days of intensive coaching on and off the water, the final day was all about putting into practice what had been learnt and ultimately getting into the Easter chocolates to boost team morale for a big season of racing with the RORC.

The competitors experienced a full range of wind conditions over the regatta. On the final day, with a light north easterly breeze, PRO Stuart Childerley and the RORC Race Team delivered a windward leeward race course with pin-point accuracy for two races for all classes.

2025 RORC Easter Challenge Class winners

IRC One - Peter Harrison's TP52 IRC Jolt 3
IRC Two - Per Roman's JPK 1180 Garm
IRC Three - Alain Waha & Matt Waite's J/99 Further West
IRC Four - Boardman Kelly & O'Leary's Half Tonner 2 Farr

Congratulations to the final day race winners including Peter Rutter's Half Tonner Quokka 9, Ian Atkins' Western Solent One Design Arrow, Derek Shakespeare's J/122 Bulldog, and David Frank's J/112 Leon.

2025 Easter Challenge Results

IRC One

Peter Harrison's TP52 Jolt 3 delivered an impressive performance, scoring four bullets and two second-place finishes to win the big boat class. Second place went to Max Klink's Botin 52 Caro. Carkeek 40+ Jolt 6, with Nick Cherry on the helm, was third.

Notably, all three podium finishers Jolt 3, Caro, and Jolt 6, will be competing in the 2025 Admiral's Cup this July. ROST Van Uden (Ker 46) and Baraka GP (Ker 43), which placed fourth and fifth respectively, also gained valuable knowledge for the forthcoming Admiral's Cup.

Jolt Team Project Manager Matt Adams explained why the team chose to race in the RORC Easter Challenge as part of their build-up to the Admiral's Cup.

"Several members of the squad and I have done the Easter Challenge before, and we knew it was an excellent event for the early stages of our programme," said Adams. "We've been focusing on sail design and adapting to the Solent's tidal conditions. Racing against strong competition like Caro has helped us validate some of the modifications we made over the winter. It's been a really worthwhile weekend—especially for our crew from Australia and the USA, who now have a much better understanding of the local conditions."

IRC Two

Per Roman's JPK 1180 Garm, which will be competing in the 2025 Admiral's Cup for the RORC Red Team, scored four race wins to win the class. Runner-up was Dave Cullen's Irish First 50 Checkmate XX, with Shirley Robertson driving. Checkmate gave Garm a serious race all regatta. The Dutch Landmark 43 Olympix made the podium in four races to claim third for the regatta.

Over the winter, Per Roman has implemented rig and rudder changes to Garm. The team organised a few days training before the RORC Easter Challenge and then into the regatta itself. "First and foremost, we wanted to see if the new modifications to the mast and rudders have worked, essentially we are racing a 'new boat'," explained Per Roman. "Despite initial trepidation, we found the rig and mast improvements significant. For the regatta we raced against bigger and more powerful boats like Checkmate. For the Admiral's Cup we will also have bigger faster boats in our class, so racing against a 50-footer with Shirley Robertson driving was a good example of what we will be up against this July. We also gained more knowledge about the tide and wave state, which gave great learnings into how to adapt to the complexities of racing in the Solent."

IRC Three

Alain Waha & Matt Waite's J/99 Further West improved with every day of racing to win the class with a 1-2 on the final day. Max Walker's Sun Fast 3600 Elysium IV, which had led the class for the first two days finished second. The Army Sailing Association's Sun Fast 3600 Fujitsu British Soldier, skippered by Lt Col Will Naylor, won the battle for third. British Soldier tied on points with Ian & Imogen Watkins' FarEast 28 Mako, but the British Army team took the podium spot on countback. David Frank's J/112 Leon had gear failure on the first day but showed their pedigree, winning three of the six races to finish fifth.

Alan Waha explained that the Further West team's ultimate goal this year will be to perform well in the Rolex Fastnet Race with two of his sons among the crew. The RORC Easter Regatta was used as a platform to try out and refine several areas.

"We wanted to continue to progress on moving across the range settings and identify what works and what doesn't," commented Alan. "Offshore we cannot just have crew in single roles, this weekend we tried to ensure that everyone on the team knows how to handle the jib and the main, so we swapped around crew positions to get everyone familiar with different roles. This has been a very well organised weekend with exceptionally well laid courses, a big thank you to the RORC and the coaches for their professionalism."

IRC Four

Boardman, Kelly & O'Leary's Irish Half Tonner 2 Farr scored four bullets to dominate IRC Four. Olly & Sam Love's J/109 Frank 4 was runner up. Rob Cotterrill's J/109 Mojo Risin' was third.

2 Farr's Rob O'Leary has been competing at the Easter Challenge since he was a teenager, often alongside his father Anthony and brothers Peter and Nicholas O'Leary. However, for much of the 2 Farr crew from Rush SC, including co-owners Patrick Boardman and David Kelly, this was a new experience.

"The Easter Challenge is always a good shakedown; good racing at an early stage of the season," commented Rob O'Leary. "Also we have a new kite and it was good to get that up against good competition, but you are always learning and trying to get stronger. This year the fleet was more competitive with an increase in numbers, it's good to see IRC racing so strong in the early part of the season, we definitely plan to be back next year.

The Easter Challenge Prize Giving was held at the RORC Cowes Clubhouse, which had been the central hub for the daily video debriefs for hundreds of sailors. Crew suppers and the Fastnet Bar had been well-attended for the weekend with sailors discussing their performance and looking forward to the season ahead.

Awarding the top teams at the RORC Easter Regatta was RORC Racing Manager Steve Cole, joined by North Sails Ben Saxton, who had been racing on Jolt 6 and RORC Vice Commodore Derek Shakespeare, who had been racing on his J/122 Bulldog. Derek kept up the tradition of the Easter Egg Toss into the packed crowd!

North Sails UK General Manager Ian Walker, who had been coaching all weekend, alongside top trainers and professionals commented: "North Sails have been supporting the regatta for many years, it is the first Cowes event of the season, it's a regatta designed for teams to really brush away the cobwebs that have maybe gathered over the winter. The coaching team try to help as much as possible with better starts, boat speed and boat handling." Summarised Ian. "Certainly over these three days, we've had some really challenging conditions, so it's been a really tough test at the start of the season, but hopefully something that should set up everybody well for a big season of racing this year."

The RORC racing season continues with the Cervantes Trophy Race from Cowes to Le Havre starting on May 03 with about 100 teams expected. The Cervantes Trophy Race is part of the RORC Season's Points Championship which is the world's largest offshore racing series. The Cervantes Trophy Race is also the first race of the new RORC Cowes Offshore Series.

The 2026 RORC Easter Challenge is scheduled for the Bank Holiday weekend 3-5 April, 2026. More details will be available when the 2026 Notice of Race is published.

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

Related Articles

Introduction to the Admiral's Cup/Fastnet 2025
After a 22 year abscence, the renowned Admiral's Cup is back. After a break of 22 years, the renowned Admiral's Cup is returning to the international yacht racing scene in July 2025. One short ocean race, three days of inshore racing, and then the fabled Fastnet to finish Posted today at 4:37 am
Rolex Fastnet Race at 100 – the making of a giant
At present 469 yachts have entered this special edition - a far cry from its humble origins in 1925 One month remains until the 26 July start of the Rolex Fastnet Race, this year celebrating both its centenary as well as that of the club it spawned: the Royal Ocean Racing Club. Posted on 27 Jun
Tschüss 2 - Transatlantic Titans
Line Honours for Christian Zugel's Volvo 70 in the Transatlantic Race 2025 Volvo 70 Tschüss 2 (USA), owned by Christian Zugel and co-skippered by Johnny Mordaunt, has taken Line Honours in the West to East Transatlantic Race 2025 in an elapsed time of 07 Day 15 Hrs 29 Mins and 10 Secs. Posted on 26 Jun
GBR IRC Championship continue into Autumn & beyond
Attention now turns to the second half of the season With the first half of the GBR IRC Championships successfully complete, attention now turns to the second half of the season, running from July to the end of the year, with events spanning the East Coast, South West, Channel Islands, and inland waters. Posted on 26 Jun
Can a maxi achieve the Rolex Fastnet Race triple?
The fight to claim the prestigious monohull line honours prize is lining up to be a tough one The fight to claim the prestigious monohull line honours prize in the centenary edition of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's Rolex Fastnet Race is lining up to be a tough one between the world's fastest 100ft maxi yachts. Posted on 25 Jun
Tschüss 2 powers ahead in Transatlantic Race
Her nearest rival, some 300 miles astern, is Oliver Kobale's VO65 Sisi Six days into the West-East Transatlantic Race, Christian Zugel's Volvo 70 Tschüss 2, co-skippered by Johnny Mordaunt, has raced over 2,000 miles and is the clear leader for both Monohull Line Honours and the overall IRC win. Posted on 23 Jun
2025 Morgan Cup Race Preview
Over 100 boats expected to be on Yacht Squadron Line with crew competing from 24 different nations The Morgan Cup Race is the tenth race of the RORC Season's Points Championship—the world's largest offshore racing series. It is also the fourth race of the inaugural Cowes Offshore Racing Series. Posted on 22 Jun
Class40 top guns enter Rolex Fastnet Race
One of the most successful genre of offshore race boat ever Now 20+ years old, the Class40 has proved itself one of the most successful genre of offshore race boat ever. Posted on 18 Jun
IRC UK National Championships overall
Adam Gosling's JPK 1080 Yes! crowned overall champion The final day of the 2025 IRC National Championships, part of the Royal Thames Yacht Club's 250th Anniversary Regatta, began on schedule, with a steady south-westerly breeze bringing yet another twist to the range of conditions experienced. Posted on 16 Jun
IRC UK National Championships day 2
Caro leads in IRC Zero after three races by a single point In Race 1, Karl Kwok's TP52 Beau Geste scored a dramatic victory, overlapped through the finish line with Stefan Jentzch's Botin 56 Black Pearl. Beau Geste took the gun and the race win after IRC time correction. Posted on 15 Jun
RS Sailing 2021 - FOOTERPalm Beach Motor YachtsArmstrong 728x90 - HA Foil Range - BOTTOM