ROLEX Sydney Hobart Race Preview

(Sydney, Australia)- A strong fleet of 115 boats is entered for the classic 628.0nm 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, which begins on Sydney Harbour at 1 pm, Monday, December 26th- Boxing Day. 
Two-handed entrants will for the first time be eligible to win the Tattersall Cup. A total of twenty-two doublehanded boats are preparing for the race. One of them is the J/99 RUM REBELLION sailed by Shane Connelly and Tony Sutton. Currently, RUM REBELLION leads the Two-Handed Division of the 2022/23 Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore Series and is seventh IRC overall. 
RUM REBELLION placed fifth in the inaugural Two-Handed Division in her first Hobart in 2021.  She placed third in the Two-Handed Division of the 2022 Club Marine Pittwater to Coffs race, third overall in Division 2 of September’s Flinders Islet race, winning the Two-Handed division and winning Two-Handed in the Bird Island Race. The J/99 was also third in the Two-Handed division of the Tollgate Islands Race. Shane Connolly launched RUM REBELLION last year, following on from his two-handed campaign with Local Hero (which he sailed fully crewed in the 2019 Rolex Sydney Hobart). His co-skipper is Tony Sutton, who raced in the 2019 Rolex Sydney Hobart with Connelly.
Another two-handed co-conspirator in the class is the J/99 BLUE PLANET sailed by Chris O’Neill and Larry Jamieson. His co-skipper, Larry Jamieson, is a veteran of 35 Hobarts, whose thousands of ocean miles include international yacht deliveries. The pair will race in support of the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, an Aussie company focused on the prevention and treatment of sleep and respiratory disorders, lung cancer, and tuberculosis.
The biggest J/Doublehanded team is the J/122e RUM CHASER sailed by Andrew Butler and Lee Antill. This will be their first Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. They’ve proven to be a highly competitive team. Andrew Butler placed third in ORC and PHS in the RPAYC’s 2021 Lion Island Series Two-Handed division and was second under ORC in the CYCA’s 2021/22 Two-Handed Series. RUM CHASER placed sixth in the Two-Handed division in November’s Bird Island Race. Co-skipper is Lee Antill, from the well-known Antill sailing family, who is proving to be a good asset for Butler.
In the fully-crewed division, the J/122 JOSS will be sailed by Roberto Camacho and his crew. In the lead-up, they finished 20th overall in the Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race in August, eighth in Division 4 at the Australian Yachting Championships, 22nd in the Flinders Islet Race, and seventh in the Tollgate Islands Race. The J/122’s history includes: Siska Trophy winner 2019/2020 Combined Fleet and runner-up in the 2018/19 Offshore Series 2019/20 when competing in Western Australia’s offshore program. Sailing photo credits- ROLEX/ Kurt Arrigo.  For more ROLEX Sydney Hobart Race sailing information

IRC Two-Handed European Championship Announcement

(La Trinité, France/ Cowes, England/ St Malo, France)- The inaugural IRC Two-Handed European Championship will take place at the beginning of July 2023. The Championship will be decided by the combined results from two races: La Trinité – Cowes (350nm) starting on the 2nd of July, and Cowes – Dinard – St Malo (150nm), starting on the 7th of July. The event is organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), in association with UNCL Pôle Course du YCF, and La Société Nautique de la Trinité sur mer (SNT).
Many teams race IRC Two-Handed in Europe
The inaugural IRC Two-Handed European Championship will take place at the beginning of July 2023. The Championship will be decided by the combined results from two races: La Trinité – Cowes (350nm) starting on the 2nd of July, and Cowes – Dinard – St Malo (150nm), starting on the 7th of July.
“The IRC Two-Handed European Championship results will be extracted from the two races with no additional entry fee,” commented RORC PRO Steve Cole. “The IRC rating band has been chosen to include similar boats racing in IRC Two-Handed. There will be a Prize Giving at the RORC Clubhouse following the La Trinité – Cowes Race, and the European Championship Trophy will be awarded after the St Malo Race. The attraction of the Rolex Fastnet Race, starting on the 22nd of July, means we are expecting a big fleet for the IRC Two-Handed European Championship.”

Legendary French skipper Géry Trentesaux is one of the driving forces behind the new IRC Two-Handed European Championship. After the merger of UNCL and the Yacht Club de France (YCF) in September 2022, Géry is the YCF Vice President and Racing President.
“With so many teams now racing IRC Two-Handed in France and the UK, it seems very natural to have a European Championship,” commented Géry Trentesaux. “La Trinité – Cowes is a 350-mile race connecting two famous offshore racing ports. Teams will have to manage Atlantic Ocean currents and land effects at the start, then there is the possibility of a fast reach across the Channel for a spectacular Solent finish in Cowes. The 150-mile Cowes Dinard St Malo race dates back over a century. I love the race and the finish in St Malo. I have won four times, as many as former British Prime Minister- Edward Heath!”
A Prize Giving will be held at the RORC Cowes after the La Trinité – Cowes Race.
The IRC Two-Handed European Championship is part of the RORC Season’s Points Championship the largest yacht racing series anywhere in the world.   For Royal Ocean Racing Club sailing information

J/99’s and J/122’s on Form Leading Blue Water Pointscore Series

(Sydney, Australia)- The 172.0nm Cabbage Tree Island Race (hosted by Cruising Yacht Club of Australia) was held over the December 2nd to 3rd weekend with a combined fleet of sixty-nine yachts of which fifteen were sailed two-handed.  Again, we saw more outstanding success from the J/99 and J/122 competitors. The growth of the two-handed fleet has been phenomenal and is a real credit to a remarkable bunch of sailors who band together to drive their sport.
The Cabbage Tree Island Race started in Sydney Harbour on Friday evening, heading north to the island (just north of Port Stephens) and returning to finish back in the harbor.
Shane Connelly from J/99 RUM REBELLION commented, “it was a great run up the coast to the island. I should have gybed closer to the island, but ended up going too deep. Rounding the island, we had about 3 hours of windward sailing before the wind swung east then northeast for a great run the rest of the sail home.” 
Results of the race: 

J/99 DISKO TROOPER- CONTENDER SAILCLOTH- 1st Overall ORCi and 2nd Overall IRC, 1st Div 2 ORCi and 1st ORCi TwoHanded, 2nd IRC TwoHanded.
J/99 JUPITER- 3rd ORCi Two-Handed & 4th Overall ORCi
J/99 RUM REBELLION-  4th IRC TwoHanded
J/122 JOSS- 1st in the Wild Rose Trophy
J/122 RUM CHASER- 4th PHS Two-Handed

Remarkably, four of the top seven yachts in the combined ORCi fleet were J/Boats (three Two-Handed J/99s and one J/122)!
The Cabbage Tree Island Race was the fifth race in the CYCA Blue Water Pointscore (BWPS) and is the penultimate race before the 628.0nm Rolex Sydney to Hobart race which starts on Boxing Day, December 25th.
So far, the competitors have raced over 1,000nm in the five lead-up races since July.
Of particular note, results for the 5-race Sydney Bluewater Pointscore Series to date:

J/99 RUM REBELLION is sitting 1st IRC and 2nd ORCi in the two-handed division, 2nd IRC and 2nd ORCi in Div 2 (combined with the fully crewed yachts), plus 1st IRC in the Corinthian combined division.
J/122 JOSS is 1st overall IRC Wild Rose Trophy pointscore and equal 3rd Div 2 PHS.

Congratulations to all our J/Owners on their fantastic results in the Blue Water Pointscore Series. Next up ROLEX Sydney-Hobart!  Sailing photo credits- Andrea Francolini and Cruising Yacht Club of Australia