The Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race was a long, slow affair, eventually decided by just over 7 minutes. YW boat tester Rupert Holmes racing with Richard Palmer on Jangada took the overall winA flurry of competitors in the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race crossed the finish line in Cowes today after an intense race which saw many boats take a full two weeks in order to complete the course.
\nDespite the light airs forecast, the 1,800-mile race took even longer to complete than predicted for many, with some boats having run very low on food and non-emergency water by the time they finally crossed the line.
\nTen teams finished the race today, with the very relieved crews enjoying an impromptu dock party on Trinity Landing was followed by a welcome meal at the RORC Clubhouse in Cowes.
\nAmong them were Richard Palmer, sailing with Yachting World regular contributor and boat tester Rupert Holmes on the JPK1010 Jangada, who are currently leading as 1st IRC overall, having finished this morning with an elapsed time of 14d 22h. They are also 1st IRC 3 boat and 1st double-handed team.
\nThough five boats are still racing none can realistically better the IRC corrected time scored by JPK 1010 Jangada, so the Royal Ocean Racing Club has declared Jangada the overall winner of the 2022 Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race.
\nRichard Palmer\u2019s JPK 1010 Jangada, racing Two-Handed with Rupert Holmes is the overall winner of the\u00a02022 Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race Photo: James Tomlinson\/RORC
\nRound Britain and Ireland Race winners
\nThe overall win was decided by the thinnest of margins, as after 15 days of racing, Jangada won overall on IRC corrected time by just seven minutes and nine seconds. Rob Craigie\u2019s Sun Fast 3600 Bellino, racing two-handed with Deb Fish was 2nd.
\nIn percentage terms, RORC calculates that\u00a0Jangada won by just 0.03% of the time taken to complete a race of 1,805 nautical miles.
\nSam White and Sam North racing JPK 1080 Mzungu! are 3rd overall, with all three top teams racing in IRC Two-Handed.
\n\u201cJust a full-on race, absolutely no let-up; snakes and ladders all the way. The pressure was always on. Mentally this race was totally exhausting, but great fun with really close competition,\u201d explained Jangada\u2019s Palmer.
\n\u201cThe final 12 hours was incredible. As soon as Bellino crossed the line the clock started ticking and we had a goal to aim for. Our routing programme predicted we could reach that goal with two minutes to spare. I woke Rupert up and told him it was game on and we went for it.\u201d
\n\u201cThis race really is the pinnacle of offshore racing because it offers absolutely everything; close racing on the IRC ratings and the race track has plenty of headlands and tidal gates, all with weather systems that are constantly changing. This race just throws everything at you and it tests you to the limits,\u201d continued Palmer.
\nMedallia at the start of the 2022 Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race \u00a9 Paul Wyeth\/RORC
\nPip takes line honours
\nFirst to finish was Pip Hare on Medallia, this time sailing her IMOCA with a crew of five. Hare and team completed the circumnavigation in 10d 13h, with even the foiling 60-footer languishing at sub-3 knots at times as a high pressure system dominated the first portion of the race.
\nMedallia took over seven days to get to Muckle Flugga, at the northern turning point of the course, from the start on the Isle of Wight.
\n\u201cIt is not often I go into a race wanting to take line honours, but that really was a goal, so we are very happy,\u201d commented Pip Hare. \u201cWe concentrated on trying to extend from the other boats in the race and get around the course as quickly as possible. I am really stoked to get line honours in a race around Britain and Ireland.\u201d
\n\u201cIn the Vend\u00e9e Globe it is a big deal to race around Cape Horn, but the Shetland Islands is way further north than Cape Horn is south. I\u2019m very, very proud to have my name against line honours in this edition of the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race. I have full admiration for everyone out there; this is a tough race for all of us.\u201d
\nStronger breezes for the second week saw Medallia cover the eastern return leg in just over three days, and as Hare was pulling back into Cowes, competitors at the back of the fleet were rounding Muckle Flugga in near gale conditions.
\nNot just for lightweight flyers \u2013 Marie Tabarly\u2019s 73ft, 34-ton ketch Pen Duick VI was the winner of IRC 1 Photo: James Tomlinson\/RORC
\nClass 40s round Britain
\nNext to finish was James McHugh\u2019s Tquila, the first\u00a0Class 40, sailing with a highly experienced crew of Brian Thompson and Alister Richardson.
\n\u201cIt was a fantastic race but very long,\u201d commented McHugh after the finish.
\n\u201cAs we were passing Galway where my parents are from, a few boats had retired and the thought did cross my mind, but we carried on! It was a real change to see the scow bow boats pull out as it was interesting to match up against them to see how we would go against them.\u00a0
\n\u201cThis is only my third Class40 race [\u2026] and Brian and Richard have been putting me through my paces to get up to speed. They are great sailors, really intuitive. It has been wonderful to do this race with them and work as a team.
\n\u201cFor me going around the Shetlands was something special; it is an incredible landscape.\u201d
\nFormer Vend\u00e9e Globe racer Mike Golding was also in the Class 40 fleet, racing on Greg Leonard\u2019s Kite (USA). \u201cThis was great fun to do, if rather long,\u201d Golding said afterwards.
\n\u201cWe always saw that it was going to be a slow race but I don\u2019t think any of us expected it to be quite that slow. Everything was very well prepared on the boat, we didn\u2019t run out of anything. Greg is really organised and we even had enough water \u2013 we did economise when we saw the writing on the wall but, to be honest, we\u2019ve got another two days left.\u201d
\nRising talent
\n\u201cI love the Class40, it\u2019s a fantastic class,\u201d added Golding. \u201cThe boats actually feel like the first Open 60s; they feel very powerful and they are quick. They sail so beautifully, as a class I really like them.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s interesting sailing on different boats and particularly the scows, which I know a lot of sailors don\u2019t like, but don\u2019t knock it until you\u2019ve tried it because they are rather good. Kite isn\u2019t particularly scow-ish but it is a powerful boat.\u201d
\n\u201cHannes Leonard (Greg\u2019s son) is really the hidden star in all this. Unbelievable. It\u2019s a very long race for us, but for an 18-year old to have maintained the endurance and stamina and staying power to do a race like that is quite something.
\n\u201cHannes is a fantastic sailor and a credit to his Dad and his family. I wish I was that good at his age.
\n\u201cThese long races do take a lot of preparation and for Greg, this is part of his prep for the Route de Rhum (solo from Saint Malo to Guadeloupe in November) and that\u2019s quite a commitment. But RORC\u2019s Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race is definitely accessible and it is a matter of biting the bullet and going out there and giving it a go.
\n\u201cUnderstandably some of the competitors have had to retire because of time constraints, but most have stuck with it so that\u2019s a testimony to all the people out there.\u201d
\nDouble-anded competitors Deb Fish (Bellino), Maggie Adamson (Tigris), Shirley Robertson (Rockit), Ellie Driver (Chilli Pepper) and\u00a0Dee Caffari (Rockit) Photo: James Tomlinson\/RORC
\nStaying power
\nOf the 23 boat fleet, just four were still racing this evening, with 11 finishers.\u00a0
\nThe final boats still racing include Charlene Howard on her Sun Odyssey 45 AJ Wanderlust. Howard commented as she rounded Muckle Flugga:\u00a0 \u201cThis has been a slow race so far but it is not mentally tough if you flip your thought progress.\u00a0
\n\u201cAJ Wanderlust and her crew (Robert Drummond) love sailing, so the longest on the water wins, right? We just try to enjoy all the magic of nature in its various moods. AJ Wanderlust does not come to start races, she comes to finish them!\u201d
\nThe post Epic Round Britain and Ireland Race decided by minutes appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race was a long, slow affair, eventually decided by just over 7 minutes. YW boat tester Rupert Holmes racing with Richard Palmer on Jangada took the overall winA flurry of competitors in the Sevenstar … <\/p>\n