3 Jeanneau Sun Fast boats challenged the Nab Tower Course on Friday (24th March) with 2 yachts – Tigris and Orbit – breaking IRC records.
The previous record holders on the course were ‘Redshift’ Farr GP42, holding the fully crewed time at 4 hours, 5 minutes and 36 seconds, and the double-handed record, held by The Greig City Academy’s ‘Riot’ with a time of 4h 55m 29s.
First to cross the start line at the Royal Yacht Squadron was the Jeanneau Sun Fast 3600 Tigris, helmed by owner Gavin Howe with a full crew, setting an asymmetric with a deep first reef in the mainsail flying off to the east.
30 minutes later, the Jeanneau Sun Fast 3300 Orbit, helmed by Dan Fellows with a family crew onboard, set their distinct red A-sail. The 3rd boat, starting an hour later, Kestrel – also a Sun Fast 3300 – had a different setup. Sailing double-handed, Kestrel’s co-skippers – Simon Bamford and Jerome Carson – set a Fractional Code 0 [FR0] with a Staysail and Reefed Mainsail. They crossed the line in a particularly strong gust with 19kts of boat speed.
All 3 boats enjoyed a fast downwind ride in flat water, carrying the last of the flood tide to the forts in the Eastern Solent. Each boat sat at high teens of boat speed, with one team even setting a new boat personal best. The short leg out to the Nab Tower was followed by a long slog on port tack into the breeze, back to the west.
The first 2 boats – Tigris and Orbit – didn’t fully benefit from favourable tide on the return west. However, a flatter sea state delivered a slightly more manageable leg back to the Squadron Line. Kestrel – with the later start – returned west in stronger winds and currents, leading to a bumpier ride. Gusts topped out at 40 knots, against their 3 knots of favourable tide.
Tigris crossed the line at 12:31:02, completing the course in 3h 24m 42s, lowering the fully crewed record – 40 minutes off the previous record set by Ed Fishwick’s ‘Redshift’ team. Orbit finished at 12:52:39, with a great corrected time of 3h 35m 48s, which would have been a record had the time not been lowered by Tigris some 20 mins earlier. Clearly picking the right start time is everything in record-setting.
The Double Handed team onboard Kestrel crossed the line at 13:56:54, delivering a corrected time of 3h 33m 18s, knocking over an hour off the previous time set by the Greig City Academy’s ‘Riot’
Tigris crew member Maggie Adamson commented:
“Amazing day on the water! The racing today was cancelled because of too much wind, so we decided to go out and try to beat the IRCRecord for the Nab Tower course. It was an absolute blast with a great crew onboard.”
