IRC BOATS

Corby 2910 in Sweden, next Gotland Runt.

Photo Johan Tuvstedt

Irish IRC Nationals

Results

Division 1 - IRC

1st Corby 3307 'Rockabill V'

5th Corby 3304 'Contango'

Division 2 - IRC

3rd Corby 2601 'Ruthless'

WIORA West Coast Championships 2009

Photo Conor Ronan

WIORA West Coast Championships 2009

Results

Division 1 - IRC

2nd Corby 3307 'Rockabill V'

3rd Corby 2908 'Esperanto'

Division 2 - IRC

2nd Corby 2601 'Ruthless'

Galway Bay 2009 Regatta

Photo Conor Ronan

The GB09 Cruiser Championships builds on the success of the previous GB events held in 2003, 2005 and 2007 and will see the top yacht crews from the West of Ireland and further afield compete for an overall prize, along with Class honours. This will be a four-day event beginning on Wednesday 3rd June and will provide plenty of action for the viewing public.

Corby 2908 'Esperanto' 1st in 1 IRC fleet

Corby 2602 2nd in 2 IRC fleet

Old Pulteney Scottish IRC Championships

Photo Wil Partington

Probably the star of day one, however, was John Corson’s Corby 33 Salamander XX. Thriving in the conditions which caused so much pain, quite literally in some cases, for others, the crew didn’t put a foot wrong and were rewarded with three first places for their efforts. “This really was a good day for us,” said foredeck crew Stevie Corson. “We’re the second fastest on handicap, but the smallest boat in the class. But we got good starts, managed to get where we wanted to be on the first beat and, once the spinnaker was up on the leeward leg, we were able to extend. “She’s a quick, wee boat, very responsive – we managed to sail smart and we just have to go out and continue to do that. Another bullet would seal it for us, but we’re not complacent.”

Also producing a starring performance at the event, was John Corson’s Corby 33 Salamander XX – she, too, posted a scoreline of four bullets, but the discard of a fifth for team Salamander was ultimately all that lay between them and the overall championship.

Fairly heart-breaking, perhaps, for the crew which, last year missed out on the overall trophy by a mere half point, after a similarly stellar performance.

Corson and crew, like the Djinn team, however, really did sail away with the competition with a clean sweep total of just four points, leaving Ian and Graham Thomson’s Sloop John T on eight points to take second place.

IRC Handicap Class 2 Series Report

Sail No	Yacht's Name	SAT 1			SAT 2			SAT 3			SUN 1			SUN 2
GBR1433R	Salamander XX		1	1.000		1	1.000		1	1.000		5	(5.000)		1	1.000		4.00	1
GBR9740T	Sloop John T		5	(5.000)		3	3.000		2	2.000		1	1.000		2	2.000		8.00	2
GBR1952L	Animal		7	(7.000)		2	2.000		3	3.000		4	4.000		4	4.000		13.00	3
2377C	Tigh Soluis II		2	2.000		8	(8.000)		5	5.000		2	2.000		6	6.000		15.00	4
IRL1666	Carmen II		3	3.000		6	(6.000)		6	6.000		3	3.000		5	5.000		17.00	5
GBR8089T	Wizard		6	6.000		4	4.000		4	4.000		6	6.000		7	(7.000)		20.00	6
4050C	Micky Finn IV		4	4.000		7	7.000		DNS	(9.000)		7	7.000		3	3.000		21.00	7
GBR1037L	Troika		8	(8.000)		5	5.000		7	7.000		8	8.000		8	8.000		28.00	8

RORC IRC National Championship

Photo Paul Wyeth

RAN ALL THE WAY HOME BUT IRISH EYES ARE SMILING

It was blowing half a gale overnight, but by dawn the skies had cleared to provide sparkling conditions for the competitors in the RORC IRC National Championship. Before the end of play, the weather closed in once more to give a variety of conditions for the crews in the eastern Solent, including a 60 degree wind shift on the last beat of the championship.

In Class Super Zero, the cream of British yachting racing Niklas Zennstrom's TP 52, RAN, finished off the regatta in style with a perfect row of eight bullets. The crew included: Ado Stead; Steve Hayles; Andy Hemmings; Guy Reid and Mo Gray who have all competed in the America's Cup.

RAN Skipper, Tim Powell commented: "It will be a while before we are sailing in the Solent again, so we were motivated to go out on a bang and eight straight wins was very satisfying. Heartfelt congratulations to Marinerscove for winning the overall title."

The overall champion is decided with a formula that reflects the size of the classes so despite a perfect score, RAN was beaten by the winners of a larger class.

There was a titanic battle in IRC Class One between Dave Dwyer's Mills 39, MarinersCove.ie and Peter Rutter's, Corby 36, Quokka and it went right to the wire. Quokka won race seven to pile on the pressure and MarinersCove.ie responded, winning the last race by under a minute. The victory not only meant a class win, but the MarinersCove.ie team from Ireland also won the glittering prize of overall champion for the RORC IRC National Championship 2009.

"I am absolutely delighted to have come here and won. It is tremendous. We came over here to practice for the Rolex Commodores' Cup, but now we have a very short time to get back to Ireland to defend the IRC National title we won in Howth last year."

Tactician Andy Beadsworth added: "I have sailed with Dave and his crew on MarinersCove on many occasions and they are always great fun to sail with. I would have to add that I would be amazed if the boat is not selected to represent Ireland at the next Rolex Commodores' Cup."

Quokka was second in class and overall to claim The Jackdaw Trophy. Third in the class was John Patterson's J 122, Panacea.

There was high drama in IRC Class Two as the runaway leader, Steve Northmore's A 35, Waterjet and Mike Bridges Elan 37, Elaine had a collision. However, Waterjet managed to hold on to claim first place in IRC Class Two overall, but lost their chance of winning the overall title with two mid-fleet results on the last day's racing. Chris & Hannah Neve's First 34.7, No Doubt was third overall and was also the best performing First 34.7 at the championship.

Adam Gosling's Corby 30, Yes! was the clear winner of Class IRC Three. "It was a great three day event with a bit of everything; a good range of courses, variable wind conditions and some superb sailing. I think the medium to heavy weather really suited the Corby, but make no mistake, the well prepared and sailed Quarter Tonners have really improved the standard of racing amongst the smaller boats in the Solent."

OVERALL CLASS RESULTS: (AFTER 8 RACES)

Super Zero
1. RAN, TP 52, Niklas Zennstrom (Series Points 7) 
2. Cutting Edge, TP 52, Robert Lutener & Martin Elwood (16) 
3. Chernikeeff 2, Farr 52, Peter Harrison (20)

IRC Zero 
1. Tonnerre de Breskens, Ker 46, Pieter Willem Vroon (10) 
2. Tokoloshe, King 40, Michael Bartholomew (19) 
3. Atomic of Cowes, Farr 45, Tony Langley (28)

IRC One 
1. Marinerscove.ie, Mills 39, David Dwyer (9) 
2. Quokka, Corby 36, Peter Rutter (11)
3. Panacea, J 122, John Patterson (22)

IRC Two
1. Waterjet, A35, Steve Northmore (19) 
2. Sleeper, J 39, Jonty Layfield (23) 
3. Salvo, First 34.7, Peter Morton (29)
6. No Retreat!, Corby 33, David Riley (47) 

IRC Three 
1. Yes!, Corby 30, Adam Gosling (12) 
2. Espada, Quarter Tonner, Louise Morton (22) 
3. Runaway Bus, Quarter Tonner, Paul Kelsey (31)

Day Two IRC National Championship

Photo Paul Wyeth, Corby 30 Yes!

IRC 2

Corby 33 'No Retreat' 5th in class after 15th, 12th, 3rd, 7th, 3rd and 2nd

IRC 3

Gosling in Corby 30 Yes! top boat after 4th, 1st, 3rd, 1st, 1st and 1st

In IRC Class Two, Plymouth based, Steve Northmore's A 35, Waterjet continued their sparkling form. The stable downwind speed machine reveled in the brisk conditions to win two of today's races and now leads the class by a handsome margin.

Jonty Layfield's J 39, Sleeper had a more consistent day's racing and in doing so retains second place in class. Peter Morton's, First 34.7, Salvo was well sailed today to move into third place and best of the 34.7s racing within the class, but only on count back from Chris & Hannah Neve's, No Doubt.

There is a new leader in IRC Three, and it was a frantic day in the small boat class, as probably some of the smaller boats were on the edge in the 20 knot gusts. Adam Gosling's Corby 30, Yes!scored a perfect three bullets today: "Racing under IRC, every dog has his day and it was definitely ideal conditions for the Corby," commented Adam Gosling. "The Quarter Tonners are extremely well sailed and have been rebuilt to modern day standards but in the breeze we have an advantage. Also local knowledge played a part, we used the bank well today and that paid a dividend."

Two races are scheduled tomorrow to conclude the RORC IRC National Championship where conditions are forecast to be similar to today with perhaps the chance of some vicious gusts in rain squalls.

Day One IRC National Championship

Photo Paul Wyeth

IRC Class 2

Corby 33 'No Retreat' currently 8th after scoring 15th, 12th and a 3rd.

In IRC Class Two, Steve Northmore's A35, Waterjet could only manage sixth in race one, but reveled in the stronger breeze to win the next two races to lead the class. By comparison, Chris & Hanna Neve's First 34.7, No Doubt won the first race, but two fourths knocked them back to second overall. Beating the other First 34.7s will be a lift to the husband and wife team from Lymington. Jonty Layfield's J 39, Sleeper,recovered from a poor first race to post two podium finishes and claim third place in class after three races.

IRC Class 3

Great to see Adam Gosling back in a Corby design, this time in a 30 one-off. 3rd place after scoring 4th, 1st and 3rd.

In IRC Class Three, Peter Morton's Quarter Tonner, Anchor Challenge was in devastating form, winning race one by a good margin. However Adam Gosling's Corby 30, Yes! corrected out to win race two. Paul Kelsey's Quarter Tonner, Runaway Bus was the victor in the last race of the day. Anchor Challenge leads the class, but will have to carry an 11 point discard for the rest of the regatta, after not finishing the last race of the day. Runaway Bus is just a point behind with Yes! in third on count back. IRC Class Three is proving to be a highly competitive division.

Corby 33 'No Retreat' wins IRC Solent Race 2

Photo by John Greenway