Finished At Last! Medallia Is The Least Slow Of The RORC Round Britain & Ireland 2022 Fleet

18th August 2022

Line Honours for Team Medallia - L to R: Nick Bubb, Paul Larsen, Pip Hare, Kevin George, Ben Schwartz Credit: Paul Wyeth

There has been so much enthusiasm and energy put into setting new sailing speed records in every discipline over the years that it may well be the only way to make a breakthrough is to see just how slowly you can complete an established and prestigious course while still taking line honours - and by a large margin at that.

Certain a marker has been put down in this potential new area of record-breaking in the early hours of this morning, when Pip Hare's IMOCA60 Medallia finally crossed the finish line at Cowes to be first on the water in the Sevenstar RORC Round Britain & Ireland Race. For it was back on Sunday 7th August that 30 boats started from Cowes on the clockwise 1805-mile course, so those still at sea - with some way back in the region of the Shetlands - will have been be out on their own for a fortnight by this weekend, and inevitably running low on stores.

Pip Hare's 2024 Vendee Globe Hopeful IMOCA 60 Medallia Took Line Honours early this morning In The Ultra-Slow Sevenstar RORC Round Britain & Ireland Race

One would wonder how many have been Googling "Cannibalism for Beginners".......Meanwhile, the good news for Ireland is that James "Seamus" McHugh's Class40 Tquila (there ain't no "e" in the name, but he has the formidable skills of Brian Thompson in his crew) is lying second and first of his class, but is still a long way from the finish in a race in which boats comfortably capable of 20 knots and more have had to become accustomed to 24 hour periods when they have failed to make a hundred miles.

James "Seamus" McHugh's Class40 Tquila lies second, but she is still in the North Sea

Published in Rd Britain & Ireland

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THE RACE:

The 2022 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race is organised by The Royal Ocean Racing Club in association with The Royal Yacht Squadron. It is run every four years

There have been nine editions of the Round Britain and Ireland Race which started in 1976
Sevenstar has sponsored the race four times - 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and has committed to a longterm partnership with the RORC

The 2022 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race is a fully crewed non-stop race covering 1,805 nautical miles and is open to IRC, IRC Two Handed, IMOCA 60s, Class40s, Volvo 65s and Multihulls that will race around Britain and Ireland, starting from the Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes on the Isle of Wight starting after Cowes Week on Sunday 7 August 2022

The last edition of the race in 2018 attracted 28 teams with crews from 18 nations. Giles Redpath's British Lombard 46 saw over victory and Phil Sharp's Class40 Imerys Clean Energy established a new world record for 40ft and under, completing the course in 8 days 4 hrs 14 mins 49 secs.

The 1,805nm course will take competitors around some of the busiest and most tactically challenging sailing waters in the world. It attracts a diverse range of yachts and crew, most of which are enticed by the challenge it offers as well as the diversity and beauty of the route around Britain and Ireland with spectacular scenery and wildlife. Most sailors agree that this race is one of the toughest tests as it is nearly as long as an Atlantic crossing, but the changes of direction at headlands will mean constant breaks in the watch system for sail changes and sail trim

Published in Rd Britain & Ireland

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Round Britain & Ireland Race

About The Author

WM Nixon

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William M Nixon has been writing about sailing in Ireland for many years in print and online, and his work has appeared internationally in magazines and books. His own experience ranges from club sailing to international offshore events, and he has cruised extensively under sail, often in his own boats which have ranged in size from an 11ft dinghy to a 35ft cruiser-racer. He has also been involved in the administration of several sailing organisations.

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