With the wind forecast to be gusting into the mid-20s, the fleet out on the Solent this weekend for the Royal Ocean Racing Club's IRC National Championship is due for some lively racing.
As usual for this leading championship for the RORC/UNCL-owned yacht rating system, the fleet is a diverse one. The longest and highest rated is the Ker 46 Van Uden (IRC TCC: 1.284), her Dutch crew led by round the world sailor Gerd-Jan Poortman, while lowest rated in IRC Three is Kevin Downer's heavily modified Fun 23 Ziggy (IRC TCC of 0.871).
The top end of the fleet is an international one, with Van Uden joined by Solent regulars, the de Graaf family, aboard their Ker 43 Baraka GP, while from Sweden are Filip Engelbert's Ker 40+ Elvis and Niklas Zennström's Carkeek 40 Ràn VII. All are in IRC One which is effectively the new Grand Prix Zero class for this event, catering for grand prix racing yachts of 37-50ft, or specifically in this case, the two Dutch Kers to the two IC37s, Robert Bicket's Fargo and Nick Griffith's Icy.
While Ràn VII is considered favourite in the Grand Prix Zero class, nipping at her heels this weekend will be Dark N Stormy, the GP42 better known from the FAST40+ as Jubilee, now campaigned by well-known industry figure Ian Atkins. The aim of Grand Prix Zero is to reignite racing under IRC at this size range both in the UK and abroad.
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