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Myth of Malham – 11th June 2004, VIEW FROM EXABYTE III The 2004 RORC Myth of Malham started in the freshest of conditions the fleet has seen thus far this season. The westerly wind was a welcome and sprightly 18-22 knots as all classes started together, westbound on course B of “the race to nowhere”. The event was not only race #7 of the RORC Offshore Series but it was also to be used by the RYA selectors for the GBR team selection for this year’s Rolex Commodore’s Cup. There were several false starts as a postponement, caused by an incoming ship transiting to Southampton, was followed by a general recall which came as thankful relief to the many boats who were OCS as they had been initially confused by the postponement. Eventually the fleet got underway at 19:25 for a starboard beat passed the needles leaving the Needles fairway buoy to starboard for a fetch to new RORC offshore light buoy 15 miles south of St Alban’s Head. On this leg those in the fleet with jib-top’s made the best progress with a procession of the larger boats in rating orders, Venom, Bear, Tonnerre de Breskens, Fidessa - Fastwave, and Erivale setting off for the next mark close inshore at Poole. This was to prove a critical rounding for many contenders as it was the mid-point chosen by the RYA selectors for race analysis. The trials selection points system set 4 times as many points for each half of this race to uplift the offshore value of results as compared to the inshore races, 6 held the previous weekend with a further 8 to come at the IRC Nationals set for next weekend. After leaving Poole the course lead around the back of the Isle of White to the second new RORC mark, Ocean Safety Offshore Light Buoy, Southeast of the NAB Tower. The final leg was to a finish line between a committee boat and Royal Albert Light Buoy, southwest of Portsmouth, a total distance of some 125 miles. Conditions remained fresh from start to finish with the lightest pressure experienced at around 02:30 down to a low of 12.5 knots. Finishes met with a building breeze that matched conditions at the start. The Myth provided an alternative to the typical passage style of race to the shores of our French neighbours. Rounding marks in the channel and finishing in the Solent may not appeal as greatly to some, however, the racing proved very close with battles throughout the fleet providing a mass of boats finishing in the top ten places within fifteen minutes of each other. At the start Bear of Britain lead the fleet via the main channel with Jazz, Fidessa - Fastwave and Adam Goslings 43.7, Yes! well placed on an overall basis. Exabyte 3 with El Gringo made a conservative starts at the Squadron end of the line in clear air making the most of the ebb off Cowes green. Jazz retired from the race prior to clearing the Solent but west of Yarmouth reporting electrical failure which was doubtless the cause of great disappointment to her crew. Once clear of the Solent close reaching was the order of the evening with two consecutive jib-top legs delivering us to Poole at Midnight with good pressure and a perfectly clear night. Competition to the Poole buoy was particularly intense as it had extra qualifier points on offer for Rolex Commodores Cup selection. Several boats rounded with less than 2 lengths between them under the moonlit night sky. In the 40 mile run that was to follow, battles at every level of the fleet ensued. some boats favouring the right of the course whilst others played the shifts along the island shore. Most of the larger boats had favourable time with in the case of IRC1 turned obligingly at the next mark. At the leeward mark the pressure built once more and early morning sun revealed the fleet to each other, The Bear and Venom were leading the fleet back into the Eastern Solent with the ever-competitive IRC1, IMX40s and Beneateau 40.7s not far adrift. There was obviously plenty still to play for! In the final analysis it was the top competitors of IRC1 dominated the results as they beat to the finish with a building favourable tide and a solid breeze. All competitors enjoyed a very pleasant change by ending a race at pace in stark contrast to the drifters experienced at Le Harvre, Dieppe and St. Peter’s Port. Line honours went to Venom, Derek Saunders’ Volvo 60, at 08:12 followed by The Farr 52 ‘Bear of Britain’ at 08:33 and Tonnerre de Breskens at 0908. In terms of corrected results there were 4 IRC classes and an IRM class with winners as follows. In the combined IRC0 & Super 0 the IMX45, Exabyte 3 prevailed as winner for the 4th consecutive time this year, followed by the DK46 Fidessa and Kerr 11.3 Gringo in a hard fought 3rd place position. In IRC1 Tarka the Beneateau 40.7 was a highly popular winner as well as winner of the event overall. She was followed by the IMX40’s, Maverick 2 and Exabyte 2. IRC2 saw victory for Winsome, followed by Quokka and Carpetbagger, the HOD35. There was a very exciting finish between Jeronimo the J109 just keeping their nose ahead of the Elan 37, Civils with Flair by 1 second! IRC3 was won by the one-off designed Whopper from the two Beneateaus the 31.7s Arobase and Idefix. In IRM victory went to El Gringo from the IC45, Bounder with a poor second half performance from Bear of Britain causing her to bringing up the rear! Tarka won her first ever offshore with a crew that comprised some offshore racing virgins as well as a very first timer on board. Their winning result, victory in class 1 and more significantly overall beating Maverick and the rest of the 40 boat fleet by a little over 3mins demonstrating the potential of a highly motivated crews when it is well run and well equipped. The fleet turns inshore for the IRC Nationals next weekend followed by RORC race 12, to St Malo scheduled for the next offshore on the 2nd July.
Shaun Fröhlich & Steve White
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