The 2022 Vantage Health and Life RC35 Championships is a wrap! Another very close season with tight racing in a great variety of locations and conditions. 

The season started with a great turnout of 10 boats at Kip Regatta, where one of the class rookies, John Minnis’s Archambault 35 Final Call II, stole the show taking an event win.

John Minnis’s Archambault 35 Final Call II Photo: Afloat

The class then moved on to Loch Fyne and the Clyde Cruising Club’s Tarbert Regatta. Even though the event had some initial organisational troubles, Loch Fyne delivered with Champagne blue sky sailing in near perfect conditions. Perennial good performer in the RC35 Class, Kevin and Debbie Aitken’s Beneteau First 36.7 recovered from a poor first regatta to take the victory in Loch Fyne.

The class then crossed the Irish Sea for Bangor Town Regatta. Wow, what a windy event. One day, unfortunately, had to be cancelled due to the conditions, but overall it was a fantastic event on and off the water run by the Royal Ulster Yacht Club. Final Call II sailed another great event and managed to take the victory despite not sailing the final race due to damage.

John Stamp on his Corby 33 Jacob VII

The class returned home for the RC35 Championships in the new location of the Holy Loch. The event was expertly run by the Holy Loch Sailing Club through some of the wettest conditions seen all season. John Stamp on his Corby 33 Jacob VII retained his Scottish Champion title in a very close regatta where the top five boats were covered by 3 points.

Then, in what turned out to be the season's final event, Charlie Frize on his Corby 33 Banshee won a light wind regatta at Largs Regatta Festival.

Robin Young’s J109 Jings

Banshee’s win at Largs Regatta Festival meant they took the overall Championship on countback from Robin Young’s J109 Jings, who had led for most of the season. The podium was completed by John Stamp’s Jacob VII.

Overall it was a very close season with three new entrants to the class and the top seven places being covered by only five points.

2022 RC35 Leader board

The class are looking forward to more close racing in Scotland and Ireland in 2023.

Thanks to the RC35 sponsors who make it all possible:

• Vantage Health and Life
• North Sails
• Marlow Ropes
• Musto
• Harken
• Scotia Tree Services
• Scotia Handling Services

Kevin and Debbie Aitken's First 36.7, Animal, has completed a three-peat as Scotia Handling Services Ltd RC35 Class Champions. The season-long championship was completed at the Clyde Cruising Club's GSS Regatta in partnership with CRhu Rigging on the 11th and 12th of September. It was all to play for between Animal, John Stamp's Corby 33 Jacob and Charlie Frize's Corby 33 Banshee going into the final event. After 5 close races in 5 to 18 knots of breeze, Animal continued a successful season with a regatta win followed by Jacob and Robin Young's J109, Jings.

With a slightly reduced series, the RC35 fleet was happy to be back on the water after the 2020 Championship was cancelled due to the pandemic. The fleet of Scottish and Irish yachts competed over five events spread from May to September on the West Coast of Scotland.

Close competition in the RC35s - Bluejay, Banshee and Animal prepare for a hoist Photo: Neil Ross

It all started at the relocated Clyde Cruising Club's Scottish Series based at Largs instead of its usual home of Tarbert on Loch Fyne. A light wind regatta saw Animal get off to the best start possible with a straight-set of first-place finishes to not only win the RC35 Class, but also pick up the 2021 Scottish Series Trophy. Jacob and Jings completed the podium with a 2nd and 3rd respectfully.

Three-peat - Kevin and Debbie Aitken's First 36.7, Animal Photo: Neil Ross

The class then moved on to the Mudhook Regatta in June. Five races were completed across two days. Saturday saw westerly winds of 8 knots gusting to 17knts. Sunday brought near perfect conditions, blue skies and warm sunshine. The south-westerly began slightly lighter but built to gusts of 20knts for some brisk and exciting racing. The results could barely have been closer, with the top 3 boats finishing on the 8 points each. The win went to Charlie Frize's Corby 33, Banshee by way of a victory in the final race. Banshee was followed by Jings and Animal in 2nd and 3rd.

Next up was the Scotia Tree Services RC35 Championship weekend in the middle of July, sailed in conditions more commonly found in the Mediterranean rather than Scotland. Sun, warmth and wind were in plentiful supply for both days. The fantastic racing was supplemented by a great dock party on Saturday evening, kindly put on by Scotia Tree Services and Makars Gourmet Mash Bar. Jacob got their first event win of the season, followed up by Animal in 2nd and Banshee in 3rd.

Animal, Banshee and Jings

Getting to the tail end of the season, the fleet moved back to Largs for the Largs Regatta Festival in the last weekend of August. Another light and tricky weekend saw Animal pip Banshee to victory with a win in the Sunday 'Round the Island Race'. Jacob closed out the podium in third place.

The final standings after the five events, with one discard, were 1st Animal, 2nd Jacob, 3rd Banshee.

"Big thanks to everyone in the class for making the season possible and all the Clyde clubs for running the events during a difficult year. Clyde Cruising Club, Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club, Helensburgh Sailing Club, Largs Sailing Club and Fairlie Yacht Club", said outgoing Class Chairman and Class Champion Kevin Aitken.

Robin Young's Jings. Young is the new Class Chairman of the RC35 class

A big thanks as always to the class Sponsors Helly Hansen, North Sails, Harken, Marlow Ropes, Makars Gourmet Mash Bar, Scotia Tree Services and Scotia Handling Services.

"The RC35 Class will be back in 2022 with a full programme of events in Scotland and Ireland. If you would like more info, please get in touch through the RC35 Class Facebook Page", added new Class Chairman Robin Young.

Download full results below as an excel file

Jacob VII ends the RC35 season with another regatta victory but it's still not enough to unseat reigning champions Animal from securing back to back Scottish RC35 Championships writes Robin Young.

The RC35 fleet, racing in the final round of the 2019 RC35 Championship, were treated to a wild and windy weekend Clyde Cruising Club GSS North Clyde Regatta. A solid 25-knot south-westerly, with gusts closer to 30, greeted the 9 boat fleet on Saturday morning. The race committee did a fantastic job to get two races away before the winds increased even further. The strong winds saw Tangaroa going like a train and pushing Jacob VII all the way in Race 1. In the second race Jacob VII again made a break from the pack and kept clear of the trouble on the eventful downwind legs. A selection of spectacular broaches and Chinese gybes lead to a few breakages, busy nights for the local sailmakers and some promising positions being lost. The first day ended with Jacob VII leading convincingly with 2 points, followed by Jings and No Worries both on 7 points. The J109s obviously enjoying the windy conditions.

The committee was keen to get the maximum three races on Sunday, after Saturday was disrupted by the weather, and it was looking promising on Sunday morning. Still a pretty fresh 15 to 20 knots from the west. The first race saw Triple Elf heading hard left on the second beat and managing to extend on the run for the victory. Jacob followed in second further strengthening their position. Unfortunately, No Worries had a breakage which lead to them not finishing the first race and having to retire from what was looking like a promising regatta.

Jings got the best of the second start holding out a couple of boats at the CV end of the line. Banshee got clear of the pack but was chased hard by Tangaroa and Jings and couldn’t make their time on handicap. Jings pipped Tangaroa to the victory on handicap. With Jacob never recovering from the start and finishing in 6th, could Jings pinch the regatta victory in the final race?

Some errors at the corners from Jacob and Tangaroa saw Animal and Jings break away from the fleet and have a good match race on the final two legs. Animal managed to stretch just enough on the final downwind leg to take the victory by 13 seconds on corrected time.

The table ended with Jacob and Jings on equal points but Jacob won on countback with 2 victories to 1. Triple Elf rounded out the podium after consistent results all weekend. The RC35 season ended with Animal retaining their crown, Jacob VII in second after a great year including two regatta victories. Banshee got their nose into 3rd on countback from Triple Elf.

The CCC scoresheet

“Another great year of close competitive racing that never seems to disappoint”, commented the RC35 Committee. “Congratulations to the podium of Debbie and Kevin Aitken (Animal), John Stamp (Jacob VII) and Charlie Frize (Banshee).”

The consistently well-sailed Storm from Howth Yacht Club has retained the RC35 Celtic Cup in 2019 writes Robin Young.

The four-event championship was hard-fought between 14 boats in the competitive Scottish RC35 fleet and Storm were chased hard by the Scottish boats Animal and Jacob VII in second and third respectfully.

The championship started with the Scottish season opener at Kip Regatta where Animal got off to a great start in trying to wrestle the cup from Storm with a first place. Storm were never far behind in the light wind event with a second-place and Blue Jay performing well in 3rd.

The second round was the ever-popular CCC Scottish Series in Loch Fyne. A wide variety of conditions saw all 14 boats competing over a mixture of courses. Chimaera sailed an excellent regatta, not only securing the class victory, but the overall prize as well. They were pushed all the way by fellow Irish boats Hi Jacker, Storm and Something Else. The 3 rd place gave Storm a little breathing room going into the third regatta but it was close behind them.

Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta was the third event in the series. Seven Scottish boats made the biennial pilgrimage south to Dublin Bay to compete in the internationally recognised event. They joined 4 other local boats competing in the Celtic Cup and another 15 boats in the exciting Class 1. Storm secured an excellent 3rd place overall in the hyper-competitive Class 1 fleet meaning they were the first of the Celtic Cup boats, further extending their lead. Animal, Jacob VII and Triple Elf followed them, keeping the race for the remaining podium positions close.

A pretty wild forecast lead to a reduced fleet competing in Pwllheli for the Spinlock IRC Welsh Championships, the final event in the Celtic Cup. Scottish boats Triple Elf and Jings still made the journey and were treated a windy and exciting regatta. Close racing between the two boats eventually saw them finish second and third in Class 1. If not for a UTD in the last race it would have been a victory for Triple Elf!!

The RC35 committee sums it up well, “overall it was a great Championship and it is fantastic to be able to add an international angle to the class and showcase the close competitive racing we are enjoying with the RC35 Class in Scotland. Watch this space for the schedule announcement for 2020".

Download overall results below

Pat Kelly’s J/109 Storm continues to hold the lead in the RC 35 class at Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta, but John Stamp’s Corby 33 Jacob VII from Port Edgar YC on Scotland's East Coast was in good form to move into second overall, while Debbie Aitken with the First 36.7 Animal found the fresher wind to her liking to take a 2nd and a 3rd (discarding an 8th) to move into third OA.

After all the crews enjoyed a great night sampling the hospitality of Rothesay it was back to business for Day two of the Luddon Construction RC35 Scottish Championships last weekend.

The first race began with a gusty 15 to 20 knots from the northeast. The increased wind strengths were more to the liking of Triple Elf who secured a good second place in Race 1 behind Jacob and Banshee in third place. This left the overall scores very close between the Animal, Banshee and Jacob with only the final race to go.

The winds decreased slightly for the final race and Animal got a cracking start setting them up for the hard-earned victory over Triple Elf that they needed to try and secure the event. Banshee was hot on the leaders heels and almost caught them after taking advantage of a big shift on the final beat, however, they could only manage a third place by nine seconds.

The Banshee crew in distinctive blue tops

This meant Animal was crowned Scottish Champions on countback from Banshee with Jacob and single point further back.

A big thanks for the support from our sponsors, Luddon Construction and the hosting club, Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club.

The competitive eight boat fleet was treated to glorious conditions in Ascog Bay off the Isle of Bute on day one of the Luddon Construction RC35 Scottish Championships writes Robin Young.

Day one of the annual championships held under the burgee of the Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club saw a generally southerly wind of between 6 and 15 knots and sunny skies. The race committee did an excellent job to get four quality races away in short order.

The two Corby's of John Stamp and Charlie Frize got off to a good start sharing a first and a second each in the first two races. As the wind began to lighten in the later races Animal capitalised with two bullets in the last two races of the day.

Jings lies fifth Photo Cameron Shaw

The rest of the fleet are tightly packed as ever with Blue Jay having an ever-improving day to lead the chasing bunch.

With similar conditions forecast for the second day of the event all the competitors will be looking forward to another great day on the water.

Blue Jay Photo: Cameron Shaw

Andrew Craig's J109 Chimaera from the Royal Irish Yacht Club continues her lead in the Scottish Series but a penultimate day challenge for the RC35 title has emerged from Strangford Lough's Hijacker, a former Irish Commodore's Cupper.

Irish boats hold the overall lead of IRC divisions one, two and three going into today's final rounds on Loch Fyne, a great indication so far of the health of Irish Cruiser Racer interests versus the local RC35 interests on the Clyde. Of particular note is the failure of RC35 Champion Animal to break into the top three overall so far this weekend.

The Northern Ireland Ker 32 skippered by S. Cranston & J. Buchanan is now second overall in the RC35s, leapfrogging the Dublin J109s Storm and Something Else in the overall standings. 

Craig's Chimaera consistent performance since Friday, however, means she has an eight-point cushion going into today's final races of Scotland's biggest sailing regatta but with as many as four races scheduled for today, big changes in the leaderboard are still possible.

As Afloat predicted in its pre-regatta assessment, in class three, it is Howth Yacht Club Half Tonners that hold sway with Jonny Swan's Harmony holding the lead from the Wright brother's Mata.

In Class One, Down Cruising Club's Forty Licks has the overall lead from one time Jonathan Anderson's El Gran Senor. 

Day three of the Clyde Cruising Club Series saw another different day of weather on Loch Fyne. With gusts focusing the concentrations of skippers and crew throughout the day, there was some exhilarating racing.

Full results are here.

”Kevin and Debbie and their team on Animal, with a near-perfect scoreline in very challenging conditions, were worthy winners of the class and the overall AW Steven trophy,” commented Ross Lang, Commodore of the Royal Western Yacht Club, the organising club of the Pelle P Kip Regatta “With conditions at Kip being light and variable, getting the full schedule of 5 races away over the course of the weekend was a great result for the race committee.”

The RC35 fleet, racing in Round One of the 2019 RC35 Championship and RC35 Celtic Cup, started the last day of the Pelle P Kip Regatta with Debbie and Kevin Aiken’s Animal and Pat Kelly’s Storm II holding commanding positions at the head of the leader board. However, the next five boats, separated by only a handful of points, were locked in a battle for the remaining podium place.

Animal, Jings, Storm and Triple Elf at the Kip Regatta Photo: Marc Turner

Robin Young’s Jings led this group on 12 points, ahead of Jacob VII on 14 points, Blue Jay on 14.5 points, Banshee on 15 points and Triple Elf on 17.5.
The class had two races on Sunday, initially, the committee had to signal a short delay to allow the fickle winds to fill enough for a race, well at least the sun was out.

The First 36.7, Animal Photo: Marc Turner

The wind filled in from the south and the race committee got a windward-leeward course set and the first race was off. With Jings and Jacob getting off to bad starts it was always going to be a long way back in this tight fleet. Banshee capitalised, grabbing third place and closing up the battle for the final podium position.

The final race started with the definite sensation that the wind was dying. The fleet split off the line with Animal, Blue Jay, Banshee and Triple Elf heading right into the main channel, greater tide and hopefully more wind. Jings, Jacob VII and Storm headed left and hopefully out the tide, who was correct?

Pat Kelly's J109 Storm II Photo: Marc Turner

The group on the right arrived at the windward mark a long way ahead. The first downwind leg was tricky with areas of pressure appearing and disappearing across the course, though Animal managed to extend their lead and continue their dominant weekend. They were followed round by Blue Jay, Banshee and Triple Elf. With a shortened course looking likely would there be any more place changes on the windward leg, which now seemed very long.

Blue Jay Photo: Marc Turner

Again a split, Triple Elf and Jings going hard right, it looked like it was going to pay off, but when a new breeze filled in and lifted from the left, Blue Jay and Banshee had a good angle to the line finishing second and third behind Animal. This was enough for John Stanley-White’s Blue Jay to pip Banshee for third place on countback.

Round Two of the RC35 Champion and also the Celtic Cup takes place in a truly fabulous and unique location, Tarbert Loch Fyne. Organised by the Clyde Cruising Club, Scottish Series (See the Irish boats going to Scotland previewed here) takes place from the May 24th to 27th. Up to 10 races are planned with a mixture of windward/leeward and coastal races and a great social programme, it is always a great event.

Scottish RC35 champion Debbie Aitken's First 36.7 Animal has taken first blood of the season beating the Howth Yacht Club J109 Storm (Pat Kelly) at this weekend's two-day Kip Regatta on the Clyde.

As Afloat readers will know, the Storm crew who hail from Rush in North County Dublin opted to defend their 2018 Kip title instead of racing closer to home at the J109 Eastern Championships on Dublin Bay.

Animal took four wins to produce a convincing victory in the ten-boat fleet on four nett points with Kelly's Storm second on ten points, some five points clear of the Scottish J109 Blue Jay.

Full results are here.

Following the Royal Western Yacht Club hosted event, the next big event in the Irish Sea is, of course, the Scottish Series at Tarbert in a fortnight where a bigger than normal Irish fleet is expected.  Storm is also the Scottish Series RC35 class winner so will face Animal again in two weeks time.