RORC announces a change to the class bands for the 2010 Rolex Commodores' Cup
The Royal Ocean racing Club today announced a change to the class rating bands for the 2010 Rolex Commodores' Cup. The lower limit of Class 1 has been lowered by 10 points from 1.120 to 1.110. The rating bands for classes 2 and 3 remain unchanged.
Eddie Warden Owen, RORC CEO, explained the thinking behind the change: "We have become aware that many countries have struggled to find competitive Class 1 boats and by lowering the bottom rating limit of Class 1 and creating an overlap between classes 1 and 2 I am sure it will help countries select competitive teams."
"Interest in the event continues to grow from all over the world," explained Eddie. "America, Scandinavia, the Baltic, Germany and South Africa are all assembling competitive teams as IRC continues to grow worldwide."
The pre-notice of race has been altered as follows:
BOAT/TEAM ELIGIBILITY: A team shall consist of three boats, one from each of the following rating bands: -
Class 1 1.110 – 1.230 DLR not exceeding 200
Class 2 1.075 – 1.119 DLR not exceeding 200
Class 3 1.025 – 1.074 DLR not exceeding 215
DLR = Displacement Length Ratio
CHALLENGES: (which need not identify the boats) shall be lodged by a Member National Authority. RORC shall have the discretion to accept a Challenge or Challenges from two or three Member National Authorities in combination, with the intention that any such team is representative of an identifiable region (e.g. Scandinavia).
NATIONALITY: At least 50% (rounded up e.g. a crew of 9 = 5) of the crew of each boat on board in any race shall comprise individuals who are Nationals of the country of the relevant team or individuals who have since 1 August 2009 had their principal residence in that country or individuals who were born in that country.
SAILOR CLASSIFICATION CODE: ISAF Regulation 22, Sailor Classification Code, shall apply
(a) Crew Limitations
The crew of each boat shall include no more than:
For Class 1: two Group 3 sailors
For Class 2: one Group 3 sailor
For Class 3: one Group 3 sailor
The full Notice of Race will be published in January 2010.
Advance Notice of the 2010 Rolex Commodores' Cup
Race Date: Sunday 15th – Saturday 21st August 2010
The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), together with Rolex, is delighted to announce details for the 2010 Rolex Commodores’ Cup to be held in Cowes, Isle of Wight between Sunday 15th and Saturday 21st August 2010.
This tough mix of inshore and offshore races will be compacted into a challenging 7 day racing schedule on the testing waters in and around the Solent. As in 2008, the handicap system will be IRC (Endorsed) and there will be three rating bands.
The international teams will consist of three boats, with one boat from each of the following Bands:
Class 1, TCC 1.120 - 1.230, maximum DLR (Displacement Length Ratio) 200
Class 2, TCC 1.075 - 1.119, maximumDLR 200
Class 3, TCC 1.025 - 1.074, maximumDLR 215
Note: the RORC reserves the right to change the rating bands slightly in the light of any changes to the IRC Rule. It is not intended to change the range of eligible boats.
Within these Bands, each boat must also comply with STIX and AVS (Safety and Stability Indices) requirements.
The three bands proved successful in 2008. These remain the same for 2010. This will promote close racing on the water, whilst still ensuring competing teams have a sufficiently large pool of yachts from which to choose.
The Plan Comes Together for GBR Red
While the GBR Red team started the final day of the Rolex Commodores' Cup with a comfortable lead, a double points scoring final race combined with a front passing over the Solent bringing with it solid 30 knot winds, even stronger gusts, rain and terrible visibility maintained the tension until the very last moments of the competition.
In the end John Shepherd's big boat, Fair Do's VII made it around the race course cleanly to post a second place behind Anthony O'Leary's Antix Eile in Ireland White, while the two smaller GBR Red boats, Jerry Otter's Erivale III and Peter Rutter's Quokka 7 had a much harder time in their classes, the mid-boat finishing ninth and the small boat coming home fourth. But overall the results were good enough for GBR Red to win the 2008 Rolex Commodores' Cup comfortably, on 122 points with the two Irish teams White and Green on 144 and 161 respectively, pulling ahead of France Blue today, the defending champions dropping to fourth on 166.5.
GBR Red Tightens the Screw
Strong winds at the Rolex Commodores' Cup led to a change of course from the planned round the island race to a 35 mile course down the Solent and around Hayling Bay, keeping the fleet out of the worst of the winds. GBR Red took the opportunity to post their most impressive performance of the Rolex Commodores' Cup with all three of their boats winning their respective classes. Having led by ten points going into today's race, GBR Red have delivered a near terminal blow over the other teams, and now hold a 32.5 point lead over defending champions France Blue going into tomorrow's final race.
"Obviously we are all very very pleased. It's been a lot of hard work," commented Peter Rutter, skipper of GBR Red's Class Three boat Quokka 7.
Today's race was scheduled to be a clockwise lap of the Isle of Wight. However, with near gale force winds blowing on the south side of the island and the potential for severe wave conditions off the island's southernmost tip, St Catherines Point, the Rolex Commodores' Cup race committee chose to instead send the 45 boat fleet eastward down the Solent and in the lee of the island.
The Pressure Cooker Starts to Boil
Day five of the Rolex Commodores' Cup 2008 and the 45 competitors and their 15 teams found themselves challenged by a new course format. Today's single race was around a variety of marks in the central and eastern Solent, sailed in an awkward southeasterly breeze of around 12 knots.
In Class One John Shepherd's Fair Do's VII led around the race course as usual, but behind her at the weather mark was the surprising sight of John Dean's Poppy of Portland Marina, one of the slower of the big boats, hot on her heels in second place.
"We made a reasonable start and went off towards the island shore and that seemed to be the thing to do," recounted Dean modestly. "We reckoned there was a tidal advantage and the wind was a bit better that way."
Poppy of Portland Marina is a new boat for Dean this year and a sistership to Rolex Commodores' Cup defending champion Géry Trentesaux's highly successful Lady Courrier. Having earned herself such a good place so early on in the race, Dean and his Poole-based team defended well and it was only around two thirds of the way into the race that they were passed. "We didn't make too many mistakes today. We were ahead of Dark & Steamy which pleased us," continued Dean, referring to Nick and Anne Haigh's big boat in GBR Black. The unusual name of the boat relates to the new marina (next door to the 2012 Olympic sailing venue) which Dean's company is developing.
No Room to breathe at the Top
Slightly stronger breeze and more reaching than was anticipated resulted in the offshore race of the Rolex Commodores' Cup, providing the 45 yachts taking part with a most complete test.
For the small boats in Class 3, the bigger conditions also made for a shorter race with the leaders arriving home unexpectedly early, at breakfast time this morning, with the Hong Kong boat, Yeoman of Wight, skippered by Jamie McWilliam winning by a substantial margin of 17 minutes ahead of Radboud Crul's Netherland Red yacht Rosetta from the Rocks and 25 minutes ahead of France White's Felix, skippered by Samuel Prietz.
With a race that started off the Royal Yacht Squadron yesterday in drifting conditions, to the conclusion of the race for some in more than 20 knots, and with the wind shifting between the southeast and southwest on the multiple leg course, the boats were subject to a whole gamut of conditions. "The only sails we didn't use were the storm jib and the storm trysail," reported John Greenland, helmsman on John Shepherd's GBR Red big boat, Fair Do's VII, which after leading out of the Solent posted a disappointing sixth place at the finish.
GBR Red force the pace
The Rolex Commodores' Cup took on a different complexion today both in terms of the racing and the weather. The offshore race set sail at 10.30 from the Royal Yacht Squadron line off Cowes, but rather than the welcome sunny 10-20 knot conditions of the past two days was in three to five knots of southwesterly breeze under a grey sky. The start coincided with a building ebb tide to take the boats west out of the Solent.
Under the Rolex Commodores' Cup rules, the offshore race is aimed to be of 24-36 hours duration. The course for the three classes is mostly in Poole Bay and to the south of this, initially with 20 mile long legs out to marks in the English Channel. After this the boats must sail west and here there is variation between the courses the three classes take: the big boats sailing two legs, the first towards Portland Bill, the other to a mark off St Alban's Head (a total of 191 miles), Class 2 sailing two laps to St Alban's Head (a total of 173 miles) and the small boats in Class 3 sailing just once to St Alban's Head (a total of 137 miles). All classes finish at the North Head mark at the western entrance to the Solent.
British Bulldogs bite back
If yesterday conditions allowed crews to ease gently into the 2008 Rolex Commodores' Cup, today's conditions proved that much more testing. With the wind having backed around to the southeast overnight, racing was held off Hill Head, in the Central Solent, in more breeze, occasionally gusting to more than 20 knots and a short chop making for a wet ride.
Once again two windward-leeward courses were held with different teams moving into the lead after each one. After the first race it was the turn of Ireland Green to move ahead with a comfortable 4.5 point margin over GBR Red, Monday's leaders France Blue relegated to third place after all three boats in Gery Trentesaux's team posted fifth placed finishes.
Photos from Monday's racing
Please find some Photos from Monday's racing here:
All Photos by: Rolex / Kurt Arrigo. Find the complete gallery on http://www.regattanews.com/photos.asp?eventid=179.
French start where they left off
After a two hour delay waiting for the wind to fill in, the 2008 Rolex Commodores' Cup got underway shortly before lunchtime today with two windward-leeward inshore races in the Western Solent. Conditions could not have been better for the 45 boat fleet with 12 knots of wind from the southwest and brilliant sunshine.
Race one saw the French defenders, Géry Trentesaux's France Blue, pull into first place tied with GBR Red, led by John Shepherd's big boat Fair Do's VII, followed by the two Irish teams. In particular Trentesaux's own Class 1 boat Lady Courrier, won her division with their small boat, Marc Alperovitch's Prime Time, scoring second, while in GBR Red Peter Rutter took honours in Class 2 aboard his new Corby 36 Quokka 7, and Jerry Otter posted a third on Erivale III.
Let Battle Commence
A record-matching fleet is due to take to the water tomorrow for the first inshore races of the 2008 Rolex Commodores' Cup. Organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club, the event will see 45 yachts, divided into 15 three boat teams, representing six nations competing in what is the world's premier event for cruiser racers. The crews, who are almost entirely amateur, will race over the next week on a mixture of courses: windward-leewards in the Solent, a long offshore and - new for this year - a race around the Isle of Wight.
Rolex Commodores' Cup 2008 Team line up complete
The main event begins on Sunday 29th June, with the first race scheduled for 10.30AM on Monday 30th June, but there has been no shortage of activity since close of challenges for the 9th biennial Rolex Commodores’ Cup 2008.
Organiser, the Royal Ocean Racing Club, has had to deal with last minute changes to the British Blue team following the IRC Nationals, the French making their final team selections at the last possible moment and the usual amendments to ratings.
The teams are leaving nothing to chance. Every advantage is a good advantage and no detail is being overlooked. Fifteen teams, comprising a total of forty-five yachts spread over six nations will be on the start line next week all fired up in anticipation of a highly competitive event.
The full National team listings are available on line at www.rorc.org and www.regattanews.com, and here are some highlights:
Fifteen Teams to contest 2008 Rolex Commodores' Cup
Close of Challenges for the 2008 Rolex Commodores' Cup was on Monday 26th May. The result: 6 nations and 15 teams, two up from 2006. With the weeklong competition commencing on 29th June, team managers are putting final touches to some of the combinations and continuing the process of honing skills.
Event Organisers, the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), are understandably delighted with the increase in interest. The participation of Spain and Hong Kong is extremely positive and, alongside the strong, multiple challenges from Ireland, France, The Netherlands and the UK, bodes well for some intense action on the water.
Read more: Fifteen Teams to contest 2008 Rolex Commodores' Cup
Battle lines begin to form
Two weeks to close of entries for the Rolex Commodores’ Cup 2008 and a battle royal looks on the cards between the big guns of recent competitions – Ireland, France and Great Britain. But the teams from Spain and Hong Kong will undoubtedly feel that they are in with a chance too, since you do not take part in this international regatta just to make up the numbers. And, whilst the sixth participating nation, The Netherlands, has never won the Rolex Commodores’ Cup, the Dutch would happily point to their success in the Admiral’s Cup in 1999 together with second overall at this event in 1998 and 2002 as proof that they will be no pushover when the event starts on 29th June.
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