(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The Morgan Cup Race started on the early morning of Saturday 5th May in a cold, north-easterly wind. The RORC, having been given permission by the RYA to trial new rules, could set a course that uses virtual marks for the offshore course. This exciting new development offers the Club a new versatility in course setting and was being used for the first time in this race.
Under a greyish, overcast morning sky the first boats away were IRC 3 & 4. The tide was beginning to run west, favouring the Royal Yacht Squadron end of the line. Although most boats were slightly line-shy, most all boats quickly hoisted their kites and flew down the Solent. The first leg took the fleet downwind to Anvil Point and the DZB Buoy. The run was quick, seeing boat speeds exceeding 10 knots even for the smaller boats. The slight differing angles between the wind and a fast flowing tide posed a tactical challenge, keeping the navigators on their toes working the angles.
This run, however, couldn't last forever. On the way back from DZB to a virtual mark just south of Freshwater Bay, the competitors got a first taste of what was waiting further ahead. A close reach spilled some cold water over the deck, and wind over tide pounded the hulls.
One of the first victims to the weather became Nikki Curwen's J/105 VOADOR, who had to retire when they were still two-handed but only three-footed (not having literary lost a foot, Nikki was relatively relaxed about it). Nikki told us that she felt it best not to take any risks with a leg injury in the dark and bailed out just short of Waypoint 1.
After reaching Waypoint 1, the boats were sent south towards the shipping lanes. To hold a kite, or not to hold a kite was the question on that leg. One competitor jokingly asked following the race, "When does the British winter actually end?!" There were lots of kites blown-up and lots of gear failures across the fleet.
Said one of the sailors about the "virtual marks (waypoints), "It was very entertaining approaching the second of the waypoints, watching the yachts in front of them acting exactly as if they were rounding a physical object but with nothing there. There were even some last minute gybes as yachts realized the tide was carrying them past the point, if only I had filmed it! Unfortunately we were very busy at the time!"
Had all competitors known what lay ahead of them now, we might have seen a few more cancellations-- a tough and cold 30-mile beat to Owers Buoy followed waypoint 2. With a tide of nearly 4 knots reported by some at Owers, it became the deciding factor to which class took the overall win. Luckily, as the pain dulls, we tend to quickly forget. So Competitors will hopefully only remember an exciting course and a great start to RORC's domestic offshore season; there is plenty to get excited about with IRC 1, 2 and 3 being won by GBR Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup trialists.
In the end, the J/122 JOOPSTER skippered by Neil Kipling got a 10th overall IRC and 2nd IRC Class 2 just 8 minutes off the mark. Behind them were the J/109 YEOMAN OF WIGHT sailed by David Aisher, attaining a 24th overall IRC and 4th in IRC Class 3. Finally, in the Double-handed division, the J/105 DIABLO-J sailed by Nick Martin did well considering the conditions and managed a 6th in class. For more RORC Morgan Cup sailing information
