The Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Vice Admiral’s Cup came to a conclusion on Sunday 23 May after two days of racing in fresh to feisty conditions in the Solent.
Congratulations to the eight class winners: Niklas Zennström’s Rán, Rob Bottomley’s Sailplane 3, Glyn Locke’s Toucan, Sam Laidlaw’s BLT, Tony Mack’s McFly, David Richards’ Jumping Jellyfish, Russell Peters’ Squirt and Stephen Procter’s Xcellent.
The final day of racing produced more challenging conditions for the high performance classes racing under IRC and One-design Class Rules. A gentle south-westerly wind with clear skies was soon replaced by a significant rainsquall with over 20 knots of breeze, gusting over 25 on occasions.
FAST40+ Class
Niklas Zennström’s Rán won four out of six races to dominate the FAST40+ Class. Christian Hamilton & Guy Gillon’s Fast40+ Khumbu was second, just a point ahead of Peter Morton’s Jean Genie.
Performance 40 Class
Rob Bottomley’s Mills 42 Sailplane 3 continued their impressive form winning the Performance 40 Class with a race to spare.
Michael Blair & Stevie Beckett’s King 40 Cobra finished off a highly consistent performance by winning the last race of the regatta to take second place for the class. David Cummins’ Ker 39 Rumbleflurg completed the podium just a point ahead of VME Racing’s Mills 39 Zero II.
Quarter Tonner Class
Sam Laidlaw’s BLT won the last race of the regatta to win the class.
Held in over 20 knots of wind, the last race was full-on for the Quarter Tonners. Olivia Dowling’s Catch finished the regatta in second place with Julian Metherell’s Bullit third.
HP30 Class
Glyn Locke’s Farr 280 Toucan was the winner of the HP30 Class, retaining the title won in 2019.
Toucan was pushed to the maximum by Jerry Hill & Richard Faulkner’s Farr 280 Moral Compass which finished the regatta just a point behind their rivals. Jonathan Powell’s Farr 280 Peggy scored a third place in the final race to claim third, just a point ahead of Jamie Rankin’s Farr 280 Pandemonium.
J/111 Class
In the J/111 Class, Tony Mack’s McFly held off a strong challenge to win the J/111 Class. Chris Jones & Louise Makin’s Journeymaker II won the last race to finish the regatta in second place ahead of Cornel Riklin’s Jitterbug.
J/109 Class
David Richards’ Jumping Jellyfish won the J/109 Class scoring three race wins including a full-blooded final race battle with Christopher Burleigh’s Jybe Talkin’. Mike Yates’ Jago was third.
Cape31 Class
Russell Peters’ Squirt has stamped their authority on the newly formed Cape 31 UK Class, winning five straight races to clinch the class win – the first round of the Cape 31 circuit. Lance Adams’ Katabatic was runner-up for the class and Simon Perry’s Jiraffe had a great final day at the Vice Admiral’s Cup, winning the last race to take third place for the class.
SB20 Class
Conditions were right on the edge for the SB20 Class with Stephen Procter’s Xcellent scoring their fourth win of the regatta to take the title by a handsome margin. Tom Neilson’s team was second, and an impressive final race for Lizzie Farrington’s Boomerang lifted the team to third, just one point ahead of Richard McAdam’s Breaking Bod.