J/Teams Silver in Ghosting to Gusty RORC Cervantes Trophy Race

ByStuart Johnstone
Two men sailing on a boat with legs dangling over the side.

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The RORC Cervantes Trophy Race delivered a dramatic shift in conditions that tested skill and strategy from the very start, followed by raw pace for a spectacular finish. The fleet ghosted off the Royal Yacht Squadron line in barely a whisper of breeze, but any thoughts of a slow passage to Le Havre were soon blown away.

Mid-channel, the race ignited as a powerful north-easterly filled in, sending boats surging downwind at top speeds. As the 128.0nm race unfolded, the action intensified with the tightly packed RORC fleet locked in a fierce battle for IRC supremacy— dozens of boats, seconds apart, all chasing the coveted trophy and vital points for the world’s largest offshore racing series: the RORC Season’s Points Championship.

IRC 2 Division
In IRC Two, the silver medal went to CORAZON, a J/133 owned by Robin Herbert and skippered by his son Lawrence, with brother Will among a tight-knit crew of family and friends. The family continued the tradition of family crews garnering silver in RORC races like the famous father/daughter team on the French J/133 JIVARO.

Not to be outdone, Derek Shakespeare’s team on his championship-winning J/122 BULLDOG took fifth place, just 30 minutes behind the J/133.

IRC 4 Division
In IRC Four, Tim Tolcher’s J/99 RAGING BULL managed to place sixth, while fellow J/99 owner Mark Kendall finished eighth in the huge 27-boat class.

For more RORC Cervantes Trophy Race sailing information
https://www.rorc.org/2024-race-programme