RORC Cherbourg Race Preview

ByStuart Johnstone

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The Royal Ocean Racing Club Season’s Points Championship, the world’s largest offshore racing series, comes to a conclusion with the sixteenth and final race of the series on September 6th, 2024 with the Lewmar Cherbourg Race that will feature a myriad of designs among the RORC fleet of about fifty yachts. Racing under the IRC Rating Rule, the 12-month-long RORC Season’s Points Championship is heading for an exciting finish with IRC Class position changes a distinct possibility.

The 75.0nm race to Cherbourg, starting from the famous Royal Yacht Squadron’s line off Cowes, will have multiple starts from 1800 BST on Friday, September 6th. The results from the dash across The Channel will decide the overall winner under IRC for the series.

IRC 1 Division
A trio of top J/Teams will be racing in this eleven-boat division. The top boat will be Derek Shakespeare’s J/122 BULLDOG. On the season points series they’re sitting in second place between Frans van Cappelle’s J/122E MOANA! A good result for BULLDOG will enable them to leapfrog their sistership into first place.

Joining them are two devilishly fast J/133s! They are the famous French crew on PINTIA sailed by Gilles Fournier and his daughter Corinne Migraine. In addition, there’s Lawrence and Robin Herbert’s CORAZON team from Great Britain. 

IRC 2 Division
Sailing in this large eighteen-boat fleet are two J/crews. One is Wayne Palmer’s J/112E THINKING SPACE and the other is Stuart Lawrence’s J/120 SCREAM 2. 

IRC 3 Division
A close battle between the top four teams in IRC Three will conclude with The Cherbourg Race. Ranked in second place by less than 12 points is Rob Cotterill’s British—team on J/109 MOJO RISIN. In third, less than 21 points behind is Jean-Lin Flipo’s French crew on the J/99 YALLA! The winner of IRC Three, as with all the class divisions in the RORC Season’s Points Championship, is decided by the best five race results for the season. For more RORC Cherbourg Race Sailing information.