Royal Thames Yacht Club

RORC MORGAN CUP RACE

Morgan Cup Race

Organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club in association with the Royal Thames Yacht Club, the Yacht Club de Cherbourg and the Royal Yacht Squadron.

START: Friday 6th June from the RYS Cowes to the East First warning Signal 1920

COURSE: A: Trinity House (S), Snowden (S), Horse Sand Fort (P), Bembridge Ledge (S), Ocean Safety (S), RORC (P), Cherbourg. Approximately 132 miles

The 2008 Morgan Cup Race was won by David Lees High Tension 36, Hephzibah, in a lightening quick race to Cherbourg from the Solent.

“It was a picturesque start at Cowes as the fleet unfurled spinnakers in a west, north westerly, breeze of about 14 knots and sped off east out of the Solent.” commented RORC Racing Manager, Ian Loffhagen. “The last boat finished just before midday on Saturday. It was a race of high speed sailing for the competitors.”

Once the fleet left the Solent the breeze picked up further and the yachts enjoyed downwind surfing conditions making their way to the first Channel mark, Ocean Safety.
The fetch from Ocean Safety west to the RORC Channel buoy proved the decisive leg of the race.

“It was a fast race for sure.” Commented, Formidable 3 Boat Captain, Matt Trautman. “We hit a top speed of about eighteen knots on the run down to Ocean Safety but then we were virtually beating into tide for about three hours which really knocked our VMG. There were a few squalls coming into Cherbourg but we carried the same kite all the way through to the finish from RORC.”

Piet Vroon’s Lutra 56,Formidable 3, was the first to cross the line in Cherbourg covering the 132 mile course in a rapid; 11 Hours 23 Minutes and 31 Seconds.

In Class Zero, Mike Greville’s Ker 39, Erivale III continued to be impressive, winning class Zero by a handsome margin. Global Yacht Racing’s, Stimson 42 was second, on her first ever offshore race and Edward Broadway’s, Farr 40 Hooligan VI, was third. Erivale III now leads Class Zero, Season’s Points Championship by some distance.

Class One was probably the most competitive fleet with less than 40 minutes separating the winner from tenth place. Phillippe Delaporte was the first Class one boat over the line and also won on handicap from Peter Rutter’s Corby 36, Quokka 7. The Army Sailing Association’s A40RS, British Soldier, posted yet another podium finish, to take third in class.

Class Two was won by Pascal Loison’s J/105, Night and Day with Michael Boyd & Niall Dowling’s, J/105, Slingshot, second by just nine minutes on corrected time. In third place was Adrian Lower’s J/109, Jaguar of Burnham who had a great start off the Squadron line. Slingshot are currently leading the Season’s Points Championship for Class Two but by a slender margin from Jaguar of Burnham.

Winner of Class Three and the overall winner of the Morgan Cup race was David Lees and his crew on Hephzibah. “It has been a delight to return to RORC racing after being absent for over twenty years.” commented Lees. Second in class was David Crawforth’s Sigma 33, Sigress and third was Julian Berney’s Sigma 41, Houdalinqua II. Hepphzibah’s win has moved them up into second in class for the RORC Season’s Points Championship behind Clarionet.

The Two-Handed Division was won by Night and Day with Slingshot second. In third place was Nick Martin’s J/105, Diablo-J. Slingshot now leads the Two-Handed Season’s Points Championship by some margin.



RORC Season’s Points Championship 2008
The Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Season’s Points Championship consists of a testing series of races which attracts an international and varied fleet. For the serious offshore sailor, trying to win the Season’s Points Championship is the real challenge. The Season’s Points Championship this year includes the tactically challenging BMW Round Ireland Race and a new addition to the RORC sailing programme, The Cowes Madeira Race which offers an exciting opportunity of a race to Madeira and back, some 1500 miles away in the Atlantic off the coast of Africa. For those with less time, the programme also includes a race to the charming port of La Rochelle.
For the full RORC racing programme go to:http://www.rorc.org
For more information, please contact: –
RORC: Tel. 020 7493 2248, E-mail racingmanager@rorc.org.uk
PRESS LIAISON: Trish Jenkins – J2 Communications & Events, Email: trish@j2pr.co.uk, 07880 518689 / 01983 248070
RACE REPORTS: Louay Habib, Email: louayhabib@gmail.com, 07801800521

TEAMORIGIN links with The Royal Thames Yacht Club

Perfect partner and platform to challenge for the 33rd America’s Cup

TEAMORIGIN, the British sailing team intending to bid for the 33rd America’s Cup, today announced a key partnership in their ongoing development. They have made a formal agreement with the Royal Thames Yacht Club to be their official Challenging Yacht Club, a mandatory requirement for all Challengers prior to entering the America’s Cup.

The selection of a yacht club before the end of the current 32nd America’s Cup puts TEAMORIGIN in a strong position ahead of the programme for the 33rd America’s Cup and represents an important step forward in building the British Challenge. All Challengers to the Cup must be organised as part of a recognised yacht club that meets the qualification criteria laid out under America’s Cup rules.

TEAMORIGIN has chosen to partner the prestigious Royal Thames Yacht Club after a careful selection process. The Royal Thames offers not only the benefits of a modern and flexible organisation but also boasts strong historical ties to the America’s Cup. Established in 1775, the Royal Thames is the oldest Royal yacht club in Britain and was the first Challenging Yacht Club for the America’s Cup in 1870, backing the British bid with Cambria following the inaugural victory of Schooner America in 1851.

Based in Knightsbridge, the Royal Thames offers a unique clubhouse venue in central London that is a focal point for the sailing world. This renowned club equally provides world class expertise and facilities across the UK, participating in a wide range of sailing events in home waters and internationally. The Club has Royal patronage and the Commodore is HRH The Duke of York. The Vice Commodore, John Stork, heads a 1,500 strong membership, many of whom have been involved in national and international competition, with a number of younger members competing for Olympic status.

The Royal Thames is also building a bright future, developing youth sailing skills and training the best talent among young champion sailors through the Club’s Sailing Academy Scheme. Overall, the Club delivers a powerful and distinguished platform for TEAMORIGIN to manage and organise a global operation, characteristic of any challenge for the America’s Cup. The selection by the management team reflects the fact that the Club exceeded the objectives set out in the ongoing TEAMORIGIN strategy to bring the America’s Cup back to British shores.

Sir Keith Mills, Team Principal TEAMORIGIN, commented:
“I am very pleased to announce The Royal Thames Yacht Club’s selection as our official Challenging Yacht Club. We are required to choose a yacht club as part of our bid to win the Cup and needed to ensure that club met the necessary criteria and would give us the skills and experience we need – The Royal Thames certainly meets our requirements and we are thrilled that they are joining the TEAMORIGIN family. We look forward to working together closely with the club.”

John Stork, Vice-Commodore of the Royal Thames Yacht Club, added:
“The Royal Thames is delighted to have been selected as the Challenging Yacht Club for TEAMORIGIN’s bid to win the America’s Cup. We aim to support TEAMORIGIN’s vision and values, in particular helping to encourage participation in our sport by building awareness and excitement across Britain about the ambitions of the team and why winning the America’s Cup is such an important and worthwhile goal for the whole country.”

The Mansura Trophy Competition - A Showcase for Innovation

The Trustees of the Mansura Trophy Competition that was launched worldwide in February under the auspices of the Royal Thames Yacht Club, are now delighted to announce that, thanks to the the support of The Green Blue,http://www.thegreenblue.org.uk/, they are able to offer free entry for the 2007 Competition to ensure a truly level playing field for the competitors, irrespective of corporate size and resources.

Interest gathers pace
As the expressions of interest have gathered pace since the launch of this prestigious competition, the Trustees, led by Chairman Jack Edwards from the Royal Thames Yacht Club, have been struck by the enormously wide technical variety and disparate sizes of the 20 plus entries to date, not to mention the differences between large and successful yards on the one hand and solitary inventors ploughing a lonely furrow on the other. They are confident that an entry for the Mansura Trophy will ensure that competitors’ technical skill and innovation is brought to the attention of a global audience.

Those entrants who have already submitted a payment will receive a full refund and new competitors need only complete the entry request available on the Mansura Trophy website, www.mansuratrophy.royalthames.co.uk &lthttp://www.mansuratrophy.royalthames.co.uk/> to receive their numbered entry pack and be registered for the 2007 competition. Completed entry forms should be submitted to the Secretariat, The Royal Thames Yacht Club, 60 Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7LF by 1200 noon GMT on Monday 19th November 2007. The full rules and background to the competition can also be found on the Mansura Trophy website.

Equalising the opportunity of success
Trustee Jack Edwards from the Royal Thames Yacht Club said, when announcing the elimination of the entry fee: “The Green Blue has helped us to promote this great opportunity to show off the skills and successes of hybrid technology.”

Sarah Black, Project Manager for the Green Blue, said: “This is relatively new technology and we need to give it every support we can to develop into the marine sector. We must all play our part in cutting emissions and this is an excellent way of achieving just that.”

The Mansura Trophy competition seeks to encourage and develop hybrid-electric craft, particularly, but not exclusively, offshore and to ensure widespread exposure for those who seek to develop new, ecologically attractive methods of water-borne travel. It is open to private or commercial vessels of any nationality, with an overall length not exceeding 122m (400 ft), powered by a hybrid or all-electric propulsion system deriving energy from more than one source. It is open to both corporate and individual entries, but military vessels are excluded.