Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race Update

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The 2018 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race started from the Royal Yacht Squadron line at noon on Sunday 12th August, directly after Lendy Cowes Week. The 1,805 nautical mile race around Britain and Ireland is organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club every four years and is considered to be one of the toughest challenges in the sport of yacht racing.

For the 2018 race, 29 teams with close to 200 professional and Corinthian sailors will be competing. For the past two editions, the weather has been so rough that the RORC has reversed the route to protect the fleet from a potential battering.

J/Teams are taking on the challenge. Racing in the IRC 2 Class and the IRC Doublehanded Class is the Dutch duo on JUNIQUE RAYMARINE SAILING TEAM (Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakker).  They are currently lying in fourth place, just 35nm behind the class leader.

After the start in Cowes, England off the Royal Yacht Squadron’s famous starting line in the Solent, Revelman & Bakker have maintained pace with the top boats in very demanding conditions.  They passed Land’s End off the southwest tip of England, passed by the famous Fastnet Rock, rounded the hellishly rough southwest point of Ireland at Great Skelligh Island Lighthouse and are now headed north to leave Saint Kilda Island to starboard off northwest Scotland.  Next stop thereafter, the infamous Muckle Flugga Lighthouse off the northern end of the Shetland Islands.

There is still a LOT of sailing left in this 1,805nm adventure.  And, the weather is getting worse, as one might expect sailing across the southern parts of the North Sea- a region notorious for freak waves, rapidly worsening depressions, and full on gales instead of a sunny Force 5 day that was forecast!  Things change quickly in those parts and the race is quickly living up to its reputation as a gear-buster, people-buster- so far, eight boats have already dropped out for various reasons (1/3 of the fleet!). In fact, standing in the way of JUNIQUE RAYMARINE is a forecast for a full gale of 30-45 kts of southwesterly winds by Saturday, with 15-20 ft waves predicted in the British MET office shipping forecasts.  For more Round Britain & Ireland Race sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.


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