The ‘stay at home’ rule in the UK will end on the 29th March allowing the Royal Ocean Racing Club to organise a Spring Series of racing in April and early May. With some government restrictions still in place, three races are planned to offer crews the chance for some early season training and race practice. The series is open to IRC rated boats including an IRC Two-Handed Class and MOCRA rated multihulls.
The first race of the RORC Spring Series is scheduled to start on Saturday 3rd April from the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes. One long race is planned of approximately 6-8 hours duration and online entry is open.
Michael O’Donnell’s J/121 Darkwood will be competing in the RORC Spring Series Photo: Paul Wyeth
Michael O’Donnell’s J/121 Darkwood will be competing in the RORC Spring Series. This will be the first RORC race of the year in preparation for their Rolex Fastnet Campaign. “Like everyone else, we are desperate to get back on the water and this series is a very pragmatic solution to the current restrictions,” commented Michael. “It is a safe way to get almost fully-crewed boats back racing. For us, this is an absolute no-brainer.”
Kelvin Rawlings’ Sun Fast 3300 Aries training in The Solent. Photo: John Green Cowes
IRC Two-Handed is expected to be the largest class racing in the RORC Spring Series. Early entries include 2020 RORC Yacht of the Year, JPK 10.10 Jangada. Richard Palmer will return to the fray after a knee operation and will team up with Jeremy Waitt. 2020 IRC Two-Handed Champions James Harayda and Dee Caffari, will be racing the Sun Fast 3300 Gentoo. Kelvin Rawlings’ Sun Fast 3300 Aries will be racing with the RORC for the first time. Rawlings will be racing Two-Handed with Stuart Childerley, the team won the Two-Handed class in the 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race.
“Kelvin’s got another big birthday and he wanted to treat himself, have some fun and we really enjoy racing together,” commented Stuart. “The RORC Spring Series is an opportunity for us to continue the training we started last year before lockdown. We are especially keen on developing our polars for the boat and hopefully, we will have some long legs to improve our data. Ultimately we want to improve our performance by getting to know how to sail Aries.”
Sam Laidlaw’s Quarter Tonner BLT Photo: Louay Habib
Sam Laidlaw’s Quarter Tonner BLT will be racing in the RORC Spring Series. Laidlaw has won the Quarter Ton Cup twice and BLT won the Quarter Ton Cup in 1980. The vintage Jacques Fauroux design is currently the smallest boat entered for the race. “We usually compete at the RORC Easter Challenge, as it’s a good start to the season. This is a low-key series with no stress. A perfect opportunity to shake the cobwebs away, do some training, and test the modifications to the boat over the winter.”
The RORC Spring Series Notice of Race requires that all crew shall comply with current Covid-19 guidelines, and with respect to social distancing at all times.
