RORC Nelson’s Cup Series kicked off in spectacular style with high speed action and tight finishes right through the three IRC Classes.
Congratulations to Tuesday’s race winners: Karel Komarek’s V, Niklas Zennström’s Carkeek 52 Rán, RP37 Warthog skippered by Jules Mitchell, Andrea Recordati’s Wally 93 Bullitt, and Philippe Frantz’s NM43 Albator.
The IRC Maxi fleet roared into action hitting speeds of over 20 knots.
Karel Komarek’s Wallycento V claimed Line Honours and secured victory after IRC time correction by just nine seconds over Andrea Recordati’s Wally 93 Bullitt. Wendy Schmidt’s Botin 85 Deep Blue rounded out the podium.
The second IRC Maxi race also went to the wire with Bullitt taking the win from Deep Blue by 48 seconds after IRC time correction. Chris Flowers’ Wallycento Galateia took Line Honours but was third after time correction. The winner of the first race, Wallycento V. retired from the second race with gear failure.
Bullitt leads the class by two points from Deep Blue, with Galateia in third, just ahead of the chasing pack.
The first IRC One race saw a full-throttle battle for the podium in IRC One. Niklas Zennström’s Carkeek 52 Rán claimed victory after IRC time correction by 84 seconds.
Frederic Puzin’s Carkeek 54 Daguet 5 took Line Honours but was second after IRC time correction.
The fight for third was even more fierce, Jon Desmond’s PAC 52 Final Final edged out James Neville’s Carkeek 45 Ino Noir for the race podium by just five seconds after IRC correction.
Team Rán also won the second race of the regatta, becoming the only boat with a perfect scoreline, but it was far from an easy win. James Neville’s Ino Noir finished just 29 seconds behind after IRC time correction.
Desmond’s PAC 52 Final Final secured its second podium finish, correcting out for third place.
Zennström’s Rán now leads the class by four points, while a peloton of three boats; Ino Noir, Daguet 5 and Final Final are tied for second place.
In a nail-biting IRC Two first race Jim Voss’ RP37 Warthog, skippered by Jules Mitchell, clinched victory for the young Antiguan team, winning by just two seconds after IRC time correction over Dunlop & Cox’s J/122 Mojito.
Philippe Frantz’s NM43 Albator took Line Honours, but after correction, had to settle for third place.
In the second race, Frantz’s Albator took race Line Honours and corrected out to win by just over a minute from Dunlop & Cox’s Mojito. The Antiguan youth on Warthog was in third, just over a minute behind Mojito on corrected.
After two races, Albator, Warthog and Mojito are tied at the top of the class leaderboard.
