Top Tips from the Experts – RTI Race video series launched this month

Top Tips from the Experts – RTI Race video series launched this month The organisers, title sponsor and partners of the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race have combined their expert knowledge and pooled resources to produce a series of practical ‘How to’ videos with hints, tips and tricks for tackling all manner of Race-related topics, from how to prepare your boat, through to the right clothing to wear, tracking, rules and safety aspects and even how to apply your hull decals. Launched on April 12th, with new material being uploaded each week and available to watch on the official website, this informative series will run right up to Race Day on 1st June. Top sailors join the party On the start line alongside two other high profile Open 60s, Hugo Boss (Alex Thomson) and Gamesa (Mike Golding) recently announced as competing in this year’s J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race on 1st June, is a third Open 60, Artemis Ocean Racing (GBR100), with Simon Clay at the helm. Another respected name in international racing circles and signed up to compete in the Race for the very first time, is French sailor Christine Briand, a 470 World Champion, ISAF Keelboat Champion, and veteran of the Whitbread and Volvo Ocean Race. She is racing Ster Wen (FRA13343), a Jeanneau Sun Magic 44, with her all-French crew that includes 14 and 16 year olds. Murch Myst…& The four Murch brothers, all in their 50s, have competed in the Race at one time or another over the years and possibly even together but as youngsters. They will all do the Race this year on Myst (GBR3144L), a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 33i. “We have all competed in the Race before and possibly all at the same time on the same boat but some were too young to remember. This is the first time in many years that all four brothers will be together racing,” said David Murch. …four more men in a boat Alcina (GBR8172T), racing in ISCRS, is a part-owned Bavaria 34. There are four owners of mixed sailing ability and experience who do most of their sailing with family and friends. Their shared ownership plan provides them each a week at a time, plus the opportunity for a couple of weeks for each owner in the summer. As skipper Dave Hamilton points out, shared ownership is great but you can appreciate thatthe opportunities for racing are limited.”The RTI Race gives us the opportunity for some serious sailing over a single weekend but the Race doesn’t require competitors to be serious racers. Not that we don’t take it seriously, but the competition is and can be based on the small group in which you start and amongst other boats of the same class or make and model. All this whilst taking part in one of the most popular races in the world.” Nicely put.  It’s a C Breeze! Andromeda (K4738), a Sigma 33, is a first time entry from a C. Breeze! He has sailed for 40 years but it is his first time tackling the Round the Island Race with his four friends from work who usually watch the Race whilst cruising. We hope it’s blowing a breeze rather than a hoolie this year. Aspiration for students Eight students, mostly in their 20s and studying the Yacht Operations & Outdoor Education Foundation degree course at South Devon College will get the sailing experience of a lifetime as they crew on board the Sigma 38 Aspiration (GBR924R) in this year’s Race. They have varied sailing backgrounds ranging from no experience at all to coastal skipper and some have never raced before whilst others are seasoned round the cans racers. The Skipper, Andy Wright, is a Yachtmaster Ocean and Yachtmaster Instructor, lecturer and RYA Principal at Noss Marine Academy, Dartmouth, Devon. Gipsy Moth IV goes racing The Classic Racing Yacht Gipsy Moth IV is always a joy to watch racing amongst the fleet, even under last year’s moody skies. Photo: Paul Wyeth/pwpictures.com. The Race is delighted to welcome back the historic yacht Gipsy Moth IV (142), on which Sir Francis Chichester sailed single-handed around the world in 1966-7; it’s always a treat for competitors to see her sailing amongst the fleet. Now owned by the Gipsy Moth Trust, she is managed by UKSA whose work helps young people change their lives through maritime education and personal development. The aims of The Gipsy Moth Trust are to preserve and maintain Gipsy Moth IV in sailing condition as a key part of British maritime heritage; to enable as many people of all ages as is practicable to see her and sail her; to use her to promote charitable activities and to inspire future generations to achieve their full potential. Race fact:  The fleet crosses the start line off the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes in eleven separate groups, each groups starting at ten minute intervals. On 1st June thefirst start is at 0500 hrs and the starts will continue until  0640hrs. Standard race entry closes at midnight on Sat 11th May. http://rtir.me/entries Watch the Top Tips videos here http://rtir.me/videos, and to catch up on all the Race news and event details, visit the official Race website: http://www.roundtheisland.org.uk

Kick start your IRC racing season with the RORC Easter Challenge

It will soon be time to go sailing again and anyone wanting to have a go at IRC racing, whilst also benefitting from some personal and practical coaching, can count on the RORC Easter Challenge to deliver the goods over the Easter Bank Holiday (29th-31st March). 

In addition to offering a unique training ground for owners and crews, the RORC Easter Challenge is the first Solent regatta in 2013 where owners who only compete occasionally can race under IRC at a reduced cost.  British owners will be able to enter this event with the new Spinlock IRC Limited Validity (LV) TCC which is valid for the full three days of the regatta.  There’s more on this here: www.rorcrating.com/lv-tcc 

Immediate, hands-on, coaching 

In a unique initiative, and as the first event in the RORC racing calendar, the RORC Easter Challenge offers on-the-water coaching, comprising immediate and hands-on advice from coaches and sail makers to climb aboard during racing at the request of crews wanting some tuition. 

Each day’s racing is followed by expert post-race video debriefs in the Events Centre in Cowes Yacht Haven by coaching legend Jim Saltonstall, supported by past Olympian Barry Dunning and America’s Cup coach, RORC’s CEO Eddie Warden Owen. 

Keronimo being coached at the RORC Easter Challenge 2012. Photo: RORC/Paul Wyeth pwpictures.com

There will be a separate race course for J80′s and Class 4 IRC, also supported by coaches and sail makers. 

Big savings for short-term event racing

The Spinlock IRC Limited Validity (LV) TCC has been launched for 2013 by the Rating Office, the technical centre of the RORC in Lymington.  It is aimed at British owners who only plan to enter one or two IRC events a year, or who would like to compete in an IRC event for the first time without committing to a full certificate. 

Andrew McIrvine’s First 40, La Réponse, at the RORC Easter Challenge 2012. Photo: RORC/Paul Wyeth pwpictures.com

Spinlock IRC LV TCCs are issued by the Rating Office and are compatible with full Spinlock IRC ratings. However, the LV TCC application cost for a 33 ft boat is just £30 for a 3-day event such as the RORC Easter Challenge, a saving of 70% on the fee for a full IRC certificate. 

A growing list of regattas around the UK will accept LV TCCs during 2013, in regions ranging from Cornwall to Scotland and including many of the Spinlock IRC Regional Championships.  The RORC Rating Office website http://www.rorcrating.com/lv-tcc offers advice for owners contemplating their rating options and clubs wishing to increase participation, and it also provides details of all approved events.

Entries close for the RORC Easter Challenge on 14th March, and interested owners can find the details and enter online at www.rorc.org.

ENDS

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as exclusive GBR sail number goes up for auction on Valentine’s Day!

The RORC Rating Office is offering sail number GBR 1000 R for sale by auction, and will donate 50% of the sale proceeds to Toe in the Water, the charity that offers competitive sailing opportunities to injured servicemen and women.  

This could make the most unusual and unique of Valentine’s Day gifts!  The closed auction commences on February 14th and runs until noon on February 28th and is only open to British owners.

The Rating Office, the technical arm of the Royal Ocean Racing Club based in Lymington, Hampshire, issues sail numbers in the ‘R’ series to British racing boat owners. RORC sail numbers have long been revered amongst the sailing fraternity since the RORC was formed in 1925.  

The most desirable sail numbers were rapidly snapped up by boats racing under the RORC and IOR rating rules during the last century, but it has only just come to light that sail number 1000 was never officially allocated.

The Rating Office is pleased to support Toe in the Water, recognising the charity’s dedication and success in its mission:  ”Competitive sailing is a physically and mentally challenging adventurous sport and provides a unique opportunity for injured men and women to sail and race on equal terms with their able bodied contemporaries.”   (www.toeinthewater.org)

A cheque will be given to representatives from Toe in the Water by staff from the RORC Rating Office at a presentation in March at the RORC Clubhouse in London.

Owners interested in bidding for GBR 1000 R should contact the RORC Rating Office at info@rorcrating.com for further details and the Terms and Conditions of the auction, or you can read these at:

http://www.rorcrating.com/images/stories/pdf/2013/2013_sail_no_auction_tc.pdf

RORC Rating Office takes to the road with Cruiser/Racing Seminars at local clubs

World renowned as a centre of excellence for measurement, the UK-based RORC Rating Office, the technical hub of the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), is delivering a series of Seminars to clubs all over the UK this Spring. The main focus of the presentations is to examine the current state and future opportunities for club cruiser racing at a local level. The aim of these ‘roadshows’ is to encourage all the clubs in a specific region to work together to offer cohesive and attractive racing to club sailors for the benefit of all.

Sailors have different priorities & concerns about racing 

The idea for the seminars came from a survey run by the Rating Office last winter, which showed that sailors had many varied priorities and concerns about racing, either under Spinlock IRC or local handicap/PY.

The Seminars are being presented by Mike Urwin, RORC’s Technical Director, who explained: “These seminars will offer a discussion forum about improving turnouts generally; the advantages of dual scoring, class splits, types of courses, and any other issues relating to cruiser racing.  They should also dispel some of the many myths surrounding IRC, such as the idea that it is only suitable for grand prix racers, which is very far from the truth!“

Mike will also be explaining the highly practical initiative for 2013, the Limited Validity TCC, for those who might like to do one or two IRC events a year.

In addition, members of the RYA Technical office will be attending at least one of the seminars to introduce the new National Handicap scheme for Cruisers (NHC).

All are welcome 

The RORC Rating Office is urging all the individuals undertaking key roles at the local clubs to attend, such as the sailing secretary, club secretary, captain of racing and other flag officers; and of course the sailors, whether they usually race PY/ local handicap or Spinlock IRC. All are welcome.

There are currently nine events scheduled between the end of January and the end of March, with venues stretching from the Isle of Wight on the South Coast to Inverkip on the Clyde in Scotland.  Others include South Wales, the East Coast and the Channel Islands.

Full details of the venues and dates can be found here: http://www.rorcrating.com/component/content/article/40-irc-rating/irc-misc/220-cruiser-racing-seminar-roadshow

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• The RORC Rating Office is situated in Lymington, Hampshire, UK. It is the technical hub of the Royal Ocean Racing Club, responsible for the administration of the IRC Rating system and other technical aspects of the sport. It is recognised globally as a centre of excellence for measurement.

• http://www.rorcrating.com

• Twitter: @RORCrating

• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rorcrating

• There is also a dedicated website for IRC: http://www.ircrating.org

• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ircrating

• Twitter: @IRCrating

• A simple explanation of IRC can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC_(sailing)

• From January 2013 IRC is sponsored by Spinlock in Great Britain and France.

The Royal Southern YC gears up for the new season. Providing more affordable variety is key

by: Peta Stuart-Hunt

The Hamble-based Royal Southern Yacht Club continues to develop and implement opportunities to get people onto the water and using their boats. The Club held a Seminar last September entitled ‘Where have all the dayboats gone?’ from which has stemmed a host of practical initiatives covering both dayboats and IRC that will appeal to many existing and new members. The results from the dayboat seminar, combined with other surveys and research undertaken by the RORC Rating Office and the SB20 Class, confirm that owners and their crews are suffering from not just a shortage of money but also from a shortage of time.

Judging the start in the Impala class, whose National Championship formed part of the RSrnYC’s July 2012 175 Regatta. 

 

Sailors have families too!

As the Club’s Rear Commodore Sailing, Karen Henderson-Williams , affirms, “Racing has to offer better value and recognise that sailors have families too. Sailors are also starting to tire of the ubiquitous Windward/leeward courses and are looking for more variety.”

The Club has responded with a series of initiatives that will go some way to addressing these issues. Regatta fees have been frozen, new ‘early bird’ discounts introduced and some berthing fees have been reduced. Races will be offered for IRC, J/80, SB20, XODs, Club Class for cruisers and a new dayboat handicap class, plus individual Class Championships such as J/109s and X-Yachts. New short course racing will start and finish at the end of the River Hamble.  These races will take place on Friday evenings, and as a trial, Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings.  They will be free to members and just £10 to non-Members. Once the Sailing Committee has analysed the entries, they will do more of the same to encourage people to just turn up and go sailing.

Simple, user-friendly, joined up thinking

‘Club Class’ is being rejuvenated by making it much more user-friendly, and by adopting the RYA’s new National Handicap for Cruisers being developed in association with the RORC Rating Office.  This will also be used to start a new dayboat handicap class designed to give other classes e.g. the 707s and 1720s a way back on to the race course.

The Royal Southern has also negotiated with the Harbour Master for an eight-week pontoon berth at half price for boats entering Hamble Club races.  With the IRC Classes, the new Limited Validity (LV) IRC TCCs will also be accepted.  These enable a boat to get an IRC rating for a single event at a reduced cost to encourage owners to try IRC.

Further detail on the RORC Rating Limited Validity TCC can be found at www.rorcrating.com/lv-tcc

The Club’s four Monthly Regattas continue and the 51^st Cowes-Deauville Race continues to lead the passage race series.

The cruisers have not been forgotten as the Club will add a cruise in company to Benodet for Bastille Day and other warm water cruises to its popular Solent based programme.

All of these changes are designed to get more boats on the water and give owners more sailing opportunities, which adds up to more value.

XODs racing in the 175 Regatta in 2012. Photo: Michael Austen

Prior to the start of the sailing season, the Club’s International and National Race Officers are getting together to agree a common approach to the Club’s race management so that competitors know what to expect, and the Club’s own race officers and mark layers have training days.

International Judge, Philip Gage, is running a seminar at the Club open to everyone on 15 March on the new ISAF Racing Rules of Sailing covering the changes made following the Olympic cycle.  On 16th March the renowned Jim Saltonstall is holding a coaching day afloat and ashore at the Club.

On 6 April, the Saturday after Easter, the Royal Southern Yacht Club will be joining in the River Hamble Combined Clubs’ Open Day, a fabulous family day on and off the water. To encourage new members, there’s a temporary waiver of the usual Club membership joining fee for the Open Day.

http://www.royal-southern.co.uk

 

DrySail™ by VersaDock targets the sports & sail boat sector Stand: E140 / Tullett Prebon London Boat Show

 

The clue is in the name.  DrySail™ by VersaDock has been designed and engineered specifically for the modern-day lifting keelboat market; a revolutionary system that ensures the boat is kept, and can be maintained, 100% out of the water.  This innovative system is built on the proven VersaDock Drive-on Docking System. There’s more detail about this at http://www.versadock.com. The DrySail in situ, in action, hosting a J70. Photo: VersaDock The DrySail™ System being launched at the 2013 European Boat Shows, including the Tullett Prebon London Boat Show (12-20 Jan) and Boot Dusseldorf (19-27 Jan), shows it in use with the high-octane J/70 sports boat, also being exhibited at the London Boat Show however, it will also suit, for example, other sports boat designs such as the SB20 and the B/One by Bavaria. The London Boat Show model displayed on the Key Yachting stand #G145 (right next to VersaDock) shows the J/70 parked on a DrySail™ dock. ###

General Enquiries:Chris Wilson, Managing Director VersaDock International Ltd Mob: +44 (0) 7817 965 672 Email: chris@versadock.com ###

 

About VersaDockVersaDock began creating modular floating dock systems back in 1997. The company focused its early attention on commercial and residential applications. Realising the growing potential of the Drive-on docking market, the team spent several years working on a safe design that would both protect the watercraft and allow the driver to approach and dock the boat in a very controlled manner. Existing systems on the market at the time were neither fully safe nor practical and they wanted to get it right! In 2004, VersaDock released its patented V-Float technology that allowed it to create safe and controlled drive-on docking systems for most small and mid-sized boats. Their design focused on customer safety and the result is quite different than any other solutions in the marketplace. In 2006 they launched their new double floats which radically changed the design of the docks and allowed expansion into new markets. The two double floats gave VersaDock significant advantages in terms of price as well as performance.

 

J.P. MORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT ROUND THE ISLAND RACE 2013 – ENTER NOW!

5th January 2013 Cowes, Isle of Wight: The Island Sailing Club opened its entries for the 82nd J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race at 12.01 a.m. Friday morning (4th Jan) and can confirm that the first entry to be approved and processed was Redshank, a Devon-based 30 year-old Evolution 26, owned and raced by Stuart Palmer , 47, from Teignmouth in Devon. Stuart, who is self-employed, married and with two  young children, is entering the Race for the first time but has two crew members who have competed before. Julian Weyer Brown won the family class with his yacht Coral of Teignmouth in 2006 and Mathew Owen competed and finished last year helming Moon-Stream. “We race at our home club and at the Torbay Regatta but the Round the Island Race is the biggest event for us to compete in. Even the delivery trip from Devon is a big adventure!” said Stuart. “During 2012 we achieved 2nd in the Cruiser Class at Torbay Week and won ‘Fleet 2′ at our local club, Teign Corinthian Yacht Club. We consider these very good results given the age of the boat and third-hand sails!“ Redshank racing off Teignmouth with Stuart Palmer at the helm. Photo: Heather Davies Early bird entries remain open until midnight on Feb 2nd when standard entry fees then apply through to midnight on May 11th. Final entry numbers for this year’s Race, taking place on Saturday 1st June, are expected to be in the region of 1,700 with around 16,000 sailors competing across this massive fleet. Enter here: http://rtir.me/entries Competitors enter from around the world to race the 50 nautical miles from the famous Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes, Isle of Wight. The massive fleet heads west to the Needles, often flying their colourful spinnakers, and everyone finishes back in Cowes. The majority of the fleet will take many hours to complete the Race however, there will be teams challenging the existing course records. These still stand at: 3hrs 53mins and 05secs for a monohull, set by Mike Slade on ICAP Leopard in 2008 3hrs 08mins 29secs for a multihull, set by Francis Joyon in 2001 aboard Dexia Eure et Loire  Rod Nicholls, the Commodore of the Island Sailing Club and Principal Race Officer for the 2013 J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, extends his good wishes to all previous and new competitors and to all the Race followers around the world. “The Race Management Team takes this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy New Year as we look forward to another memorable and successful Race day on 1st June.” This year, organisers have combined with Race Partners to run a free-to-enter prize draw for the duration of the Tullett Prebon London Boat Show (Jan 12th- 20th). The draw can be entered every day on the Henri Lloyd stand A112 and there is a range of fabulous prizes to win, including: Island Sailing Club – One free Race entry for 2013 J.P. Morgan – £3000 in a Stocks and Shares ISA Henri Lloyd – Official Race Jacket and Cap Timex – A Watch A Sailing Logic skipper for a day’s coaching on your own boat to prepare you & your crew for the 2013 Race A signed copy of Dame Ellen MacArthur’s book ‘Full Circle’ Ben Ainslie #benandrita – Pair of Port & Starboard Socks Haven Knox-Johnston – A Henri Lloyd Kit Bag Old Pulteney – A bottle of 12 year-old Whisky A Raymarine 101E Radio http://www.roundtheisland.org.uk ENDS