Stunning final day for 2022 RORC Vice Admiral’s Cup with a change in wind direction to an east-southeasterly that progressively strengthened to 10-11 knots, along with more glorious sunshine for the 50 teams competing.
The Quarter Tonners enjoyed close competition, but at the front of the fleet the overall lead of Sam Laidlaw’s BLT was never threatened and he won the eight-race series counting seven points.
Victory for Julian Metherell’s Bullit in the penultimate race saw him take second overall on 13 points, while Louise Morton Bullet took third on 21 points.
The new Grand Prix Zero class was one of the three dominated by one boat, in this case Niklas Zennström’s FAST40+ Ràn, which won every race, despite being pushed hard at times by Ian Atkins’ GP42 Dark N Stormy.
Despite two disappointing final results, RORC Commodore James Neville’s HH42 Ino XXX held onto third overall on count back, having finished the regatta tied on points with Harmen Jan de Graaf’s Ker 43 Baraka Gp.
In the J/109 class David Richards’ Jumping Jellyfish won all but the final race, a result he was able to discard.
However, the fight for second place could not have been closer, with John Smart’s Jukebox and Mike Yates’ Jago tied on 12 points at the end of the regatta. The tie break was resolved in Jukebox’s favour thanks to their win in the final race.
By contrast, the Cape 31 fleet was one of three classes that went to the wire.
Two consistent third places for Tokoloshe 4 were enough for her to take an overall win with a six point margin over Russell Peters’ Squirt. While Tony Dickin’s Jubilee took third overall, a further three points adrift.
In the HP30s Chris Townsend and Richard Powell’s Gweilo got faster and faster during the regatta, finishing with three consecutive race wins. Second was Jerry Hill and Richard Faulkner’s Farr 280 Moral Compass just edging Jamie Rankin’s Pandemonium into third.
The J/111 class produced some of the most intense racing, despite being one of the smaller fleets.
The final results were decided in the final race, which Tony Mack’s McFly and Chris Jones / Louise Makin’s Journeymaker ll started the race on five and six points respectively.
However McFly went on to cross the final finish with an 18 second advantage at the end of a full-on 41-minute race and take the series.
For more action-packed and intensive close, short course racing, come to the IRC Nationals, hosted by RORC on June 10-12, 2022.
Full results available here . . .
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