Live update of the Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race with analysis from RORC Race Director Chris Stone and RORC Race Reporter Louay Habib.
 
It has been a slow 1805nm race but the competition for class and overall honours under IRC has been intense. This half-hour show runs through all of the classes racing and has videos and news from the 30 teams competing in the race, organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club every four years. 

All of the fleet in the Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race are now racing along the West Coast of Ireland. Progress continues to be slow but the beautiful, rugged coast is providing stunning vistas. There is hope of escaping the high pressure into better breeze; IMOCA Medallia has found wind at the front of the boats and Mzungu! is the new leader in IRC Two-Handed and overall. Wildlife abounds, playing in the wake of boats.

Mzungu! leads IRC Two-Handed by a thin margin

The double-handed division has a new leader after IRC time correction. Sam White & Sam North racing JPK 1080 Mzungu! now leads by a very tight margin and Mzungu! is also ranked as the overall leader of the race. However, the margin of the lead in IRC Two-Handed is extremely slender; Rob Craigie racing Sun Fast 3600 Bellino with Deb Fish is just three minutes behind after five days and nights of racing!  Nick Martin’s Sun Fast 3600 Diablo, racing with Cal Finlayson is ranked third by less than an hour. Gavin Howe’s Sun Fast 3600 Tigris, racing with Maggie Adamson is also in the pack of leaders and ranked fourth after IRC time correction.

Deb Fish on board Bellino checked in at 0600 on Day Five giving an insight into the tactical and strategic decisions made out on the race course”

“Our little pack - Bellino, Diablo, Tigris and Mzungu! are still within a few miles of each other. Morale is high on board Bellino as we made a relative gain on the others,” wrote Deb Fish. “In such close racing you have to balance strategy - the big picture - with tactics - the opportunity to make a small gain on your neighbours. Last night we tacked inshore on the beat past Great Skellig. We reasoned that the wind was forecast to go right but had to balance this against the forecast of slightly stronger winds offshore. We tacked, Tigris followed, Diablo continued. End result - we gained a mile and a half on Diablo. Strategically the winds are so light our main aim is to position us wherever the wind is strongest. But grib files are often inaccurate when winds are this light so the big question is when to believe them. I try to look for a reason why - if I can understand I am more inclined to believe it.”

_{There's a thin margin between leaders in IRC Two-Handed with Rob Craigie racing Sun Fast 3600 Bellino with Deb Fish just three mins behind Mzungu! © Paul Wyeth/pwpictures.com}

Medallia – Shifting Along

Pip Hare’s British IMOCA Medallia finally got into good breeze in the early hours of this morning. After passing Tearaght Island, Medallia worked offshore to hook into the fresh south-westerly wind and is now away, recording over 12 knots of boat speed. On board the relief was evident in Pip Hare’s Day 5 morning update:

“We finally made it across the ridge of high pressure and sailed into the tail of the pressure system to the north of us,” commented Pip on her video blog. “The spinnaker went up this morning and we are shifting along which is great. Hopefully we have this breeze for 24 hours then it’s going to get tricky again.” Medallia passed Black Rock at 07:50 BST this morning.

_{Dolphins playing alongside Medallia yesterday and now Pip Hare's IMOCA is finally in good breeze - Photos © Pip Hare Ocean Racing}

IRC One

Three boats have made good speed along the West of Ireland. Ross Hobson’s British Open 50 Pegasus of Northumberland, racing Two-Handed with Jon McColl is still leading on the water, but two boats made big gains by their approach to Bull Rock on Day 4. Michael Møllmann’s Elliott 35 Palby Marine and Christian Heermann’s Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt (HVS) team racing German JV52 Haspa Hamburg. All three boats look to be staying inshore trying to get through the ridge of high pressure. After IRC time correction Haspa Hamburg leads IRC One, with Palby Marine second and the German JV53 Bank von Bremen skippered by Christoph Tschernischen in third.

_{Leading IRC One on the water - Ross Hobson’s British Open 50 Pegasus of Northumberland, racing Two-Handed with Jon McColl © Rick Tomlinson/https://www.rick-tomlinson.com/}

Bank von Bremen’s navigator Johannes Flume commented from on board this morning: “We are making some progress along the Irish coast but the last two days were psychologically tough - and the race so far is quite different than expected. The Celtic Sea was like the Mediterranean and some of the crew were dreaming of going to a pub in Inishmore! The last two sunsets were magnificent with truly fascinating colours and we have seen whales and dolphins. Some Irish fishermen must have some curious thoughts about German sailors as we glided passed MS Edelweiss just off Bull Rock!”

Marie Tabarly’s 73 ketch Pen Duick VI is the heaviest boat in the race and is struggling to make progress, but their minimal boat speed and their large black hull is also an attraction to whales! Check out the Live! Competitors’ blog for a video clip. https://roundbritainandireland.rorc.org/live

_{Whale sighting enjoyed by the crew on Marie Tabarly’s classic ketch Pen Duick VI © Rick Tomlinson/https://www.rick-tomlinson.com/}

Class40s

Due to slow progress and work commitments two of the leading Class40s have retired from the race: Andrea Fornaro’s Influence and Antoine Magre’s Palanad 3. Both teams are returning to base and all is well on board. Just three Class40s are now racing, with James McHugh’s Tquila leading by seven miles from James Stableford’s Mussulo 40 which got ahead of Greg Leonard’s Kite after rounding Tearaght Island.

_{James Stableford’s Class40 Mussulo 40 © Paul Wyeth/pwpictures.com}

All of the boats racing in the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race have now rounded Bull Rock Island off the southwestern tip of the beautiful Beara Peninsula, West Cork. Nicknamed the ‘Entrance to the Underworld’, Bull Rock is pierced by a natural tunnel at its centre.

This is the calmest start to the race in modern editions, but at least the competitors have the joy of whale watching and seeing some of the 1,805nm course’s amazing wonders.

Live update of the Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race with analysis from RORC Race Director Chris Stone and RORC Race Reporter Louay Habib.
 
It has been a slow start to the 1805nm race but the competition for class and overall honours under IRC has been intense. This half-hour show runs through all of the classes racing and has videos and news from the 30 teams competing in the race, organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club every four years.

The international fleet in the Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race is now in the Celtic Sea heading for the West Coast of Ireland. Pip Hare’s IMOCA Medallia has raced 217 miles in the last 24 hours and is just over 30 miles from passing Bull Rock on the South West tip of Ireland. Rival IMOCA, Oliver Heer Ocean Racing retired from the race at 22:00 on 08 August. Antoine Magre’s Palanad 3 leads the Class40 Division but has one eye on Andrea Fornaro’s Influence. Nick Martin’s Sun Fast 3600 Diablo continues to impress in IRC Two-Handed, plus updates from double-handed warriors Marco Polo and Snifix Dry reveal how yesterday’s strategy played out, and life on board some of the more adventurous entries.

IMOCA Medallia alone as rival retires

Pip Hare’s IMOCA Medallia is 40 miles ahead of Ross Hobson’s Open 50 Pegasus of Northumberland. Medallia surfed past the Isles of Scilly at 16 knots at around midday yesterday but high pressure has now slowed progress. The centre of the high is right over Bull Rock which they must leave to starboard. Medallia is to the south west of Ireland looking to get round the high to reach the low pressure system to the north.

Unfortunate news came in last night from Oliver Heer Ocean Racing: “IMOCA Oliver Heer Ocean Racing has had to make the tough decision to retire from the round Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race after a medical incident on board. All crew and boat are safe and heading back to base,” commented Ollie Heer to the RORC Race Team.

_{Ollie Heer's IMOCA Oliver Heer Ocean Racing have unfortunately had to retired from the race. All OK on board and heading back to port © PKC Media/Oliver Heer Ocean Racing}

Changing gears in the Class40s

Antoine Magre on board leading Class 40 Palanad 3 contacted the media team via satellite phone from the middle of the Celtic Sea at 0800 BST. “It has been a good start for us. We managed to stick with the Class40s that are built for lighter weather. We took off during the first night which was good, but yesterday was difficult when we were stuck in the light wind for a few hours. However, the wind came back and we were on our way and through the second night progress was great. Now, we are in the middle of the Celtic Sea, once again stuck in very light winds! We are still going but at only about three knots. This is difficult especially as we have just had position reports of a group of Class40s to the north (Kite, Influence & Mussulo 40). It is tricky to navigate but let’s see how it goes. We are hoping to get to the corner of Ireland in 15-20 hours.”

IRC Two-Handed

Nick Martin’s Sun Fast 3600 Diablo, racing with Cal Finlayson continues to lead the ranking for the double-handed class. At 1000 BST on Day 3 Diablo was estimated to be 83 minutes ahead after IRC time correction from Sam White & Sam North racing JPK 1080 Mzungu! Ranked third is Rob Craigie racing Sun Fast 3600 Bellino with Deb Fish. One of the big rises in ranking is Shirley Robertson & Dee Caffari racing Sun Fast 3300 Rockit, which has raced 159 miles in the last 24 hours. Of the leading pack of double-handers only Diablo has raced more and then just by one mile. Rockit is the furthest north of the pack.

_{IRC Two-Handed: One of the big rises in ranking is Shirley Robertson & Dee Caffari racing Sun Fast 3300 Rockit © Paul Wyeth/pwpictures.com}

“Yesterday was a real game of cat and mouse, losing our lead as the wind shut down we were the first into a light area of wind which meant gybing south,” explained Sam White from Mzungu! “Those behind having the advantage of seeing our speed drop, gybed south just before the wind hole. They made big gains on us and after a few hours of gybing south we crossed just behind Bellino and Diablo. But their lead (on the water) was short lived as we accelerated away from them again by heading further south in better wind. Chilli Pepper went furthest south and made some good gains on the whole fleet.”

Will Best on board Steve Berry’s Sun Fast 3600 Marco Polo contacted the media team at 0300 BST on Day 3. Marco Polo was one of the first yachts to head offshore after rounding Start Point on the morning of Day 2 but then went back inshore.

_{Interview with Stephen Berry and Will Best on Sun Fast 3600 Marco Polo before the start.}

“We did a nice job getting offshore early but it all looked too good inshore so we thought maybe that bubble (area of no wind) was not there. We went back to try and cut the corner like a few boats ahead of us and got sucked into a wind hole while everyone else sailed around us, which was quite frustrating. There you go – caught by the Lizard!”

_{Sam White & Sam North racing JPK 1080 Mzungu! © Paul Wyeth/pwpictures.com}

The overall winner of the Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race is decided by the best elapsed time after IRC time correction. The first three days have been raced in relatively light conditions but weather models are showing medium to strong south easterly wind off the West Coast of Ireland which may shake up the overall ranking.

While winning the race is the dream of every team, just finishing deserves huge praise. Dirk Lahmann & Wilhelm Demel are racing German Peterson 43 Snifix Dry in IRC Three and the Two-Handed Division. The pair have raced the 1978 two-tonner over 50,000 miles, including finishing the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race. “The mood is great,” commented Wilhelm Demel. “We have got a few of our tactical decisions right, but we are running low on sunscreen. The sandwiches are coming up the companion way and we have dolphins showing us the way!”

_{Dolphins showing Dirk Lahmann & Wilhelm Demel's 1978 Peterson 43 Snifix Dry (GER) the way}

The boat speed has ramped up in the Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race with the two IMOCAs in the race wicked up and closing in on The Isles of Scilly. The Class40s are yet to taste full downwind conditions but are expected to round The Lizard early this afternoon. The fully crewed boats in IRC One are following the Class40s line looking to stay relatively inshore. The big tactical battle on the morning of day two is in the Two-Handed fleet with a number of boats heading offshore rather than following the boats ahead.

IMOCA Class

Oliver Heer Ocean Racing, skippered by Ollie Heer hung onto the line honours lead until The Lizard. Pip Hare’s Medallia took a slightly more offshore line during the first night and caught up with their rivals and then smoked past them after The Lizard. The breeze is up and the 125 degree wind angle is the sweet-spot for Medallia’s foils, which has now seen boat speed increase to over 15 knots on the YB Tracker.

Class40 Division

Antoine Magre’s Palanad 3 has powered to the front of the Class40s and is about an hour from rounding The Lizard. Six miles astern is James McHugh’s Tquila, followed by Andrea Fornaro’s Influence and Greg Leonard’s Kite.

_{Antoine Magre’s Palanad 3 has powered to the front of the Class40s © Rick Tomlinson/https://www.rick-tomlinson.com/}

Brian Thompson, navigator on Tquila checked in on the first night: “Fascinating racing since the start and the boat is going very well in these conditions. Tonight is beautiful with the sunset and the moon rise…the boat is doing 10.5 SOG now that the tide is finally in our favour! Making up for the scores of tacks against the tide along the south coast of the Island near Ventnor.”

Fully Crewed

The HVS’ JV52 Haspa Hamburg, skippered by Christian Heerman is three miles ahead of their rivals, the SKWB’s JV53 Bank von Bremen, skippered by Christoph Tschernischen. However, under IRC Haspa Hamburg rates higher than Bank von Bremen, which leads the duel after IRC time correction. Marie Tabarly’s 73ft ketch Pen Duick VI has picked up speed as the French team get into better breeze and is 80 miles from The Lizard. Sun Fast 3600 Fujitsu British Soldier is in good company. The British Army Sailing Association team has sailed south of the rhumb line and is mixing it up with a number of Two-Handed teams including Gavin Howe and Maggie Adamson on Sun Fast 3600 Tigris.

_{Marie Tabarly at the helm of Pen Duick VI with 12 on board including Vendee Globe skipper Alexia Barrier © Rick Tomlinson/https://www.rick-tomlinson.com/}

IRC Two-Handed

Ross Hobson’s Open 50 Pegasus of Northumberland leads on the water 20 miles from The Lizard. After IRC time correction two Sun Fast 3600s are ranked at the top, Nick Martin’s Diablo, racing with Cal Finlayson and Rob Craigie’s Sun Fast 3600 Bellino, racing with Deb Fish. However, a number of Two-Handed teams have ventured well south of the rhumb line including Steve Berry’s Sun Fast 3300 Marco Polo and Sam White and Sam North racing JPK 1080 Mzungu!

_{IRC two-Handed - Nick Martin’s Sun Fast 3600 Diablo, racing with Cal Finlayson  © Rick Tomlinson/https://www.rick-tomlinson.com}

_{Sam White and Sam North on board Mzungu! © Paul Wyeth/pwpictures.com}

Sam White checked in from on board Mzungu!: “A busy day and night onboard Mzungu! We set ourselves the target of leading the double-handed fleet around St Cats and after getting our tides wrong at the start found ourselves with a lot to do to make that happen! We had good boat speed up the Solent and were eating away at the others before a short tacking duel with Tigris up the Ventnor coast saw us pop out in front at St. Cats, marginally in front- just! Nice pressure overnight meant a much faster passage towards Start Point than expected. Overnight we went from an upwind sail set to jib and staysail, then onto the Jib top, jib and staysail, then Code Zero and staysail. We now have the A2 flying with the spinnaker staysail. Passing Start Point now having just made a double espresso Americano with cream on a beautiful sunny morning! Life at sea!!”

Weather forecasts are showing less wind inshore and potentially more wind and a better angle offshore, but will south pay? The YB Race Tracker will reveal all later on the second day of the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race.

The 2022 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race started on time from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line in Cowes at midday on Sunday 7th August.

The international fleet got away for the non-stop 1,805-mile race without incident. The infamous Solent tide changed favourably just before the start and coupled with light headwinds the fleet raced to the east. The major decision after the start was which way to go; the majority of the fleet went for deep water rather than the island shore where the tide would have turned earlier. After rounding No Man’s Land Fort, the game was to get into a fresh southerly breeze of over 13 knots. Considering the light airs forecast, progress was above expectation, with the boats fully powered-up into open water.

Ian Walker, as skipper of VO 65 Azzam holds the Monohull Record for the race and was a live commentator for the start: “All the teams, especially the double-handed, are going to have to manage their energy for this race; that is going to be absolutely crucial as this is a marathon. It is going to be nip and tuck at every headland and every tidal gate it will be very tough, mentally and physically for many days ahead.”

Ollie Heer’s IMOCA Oliver Heer Ocean Racing was the first to round Bembridge Ledge Buoy, stealing a march on their IMOCA rival, Pip Hare’s Medallia. As the two IMOCAs approached St Catherine’s Point, Medallia was faster in the new breeze, hauling in the leader.

The 2022 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race started on time from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line in Cowes at midday on Sunday 7th August.

Live from the Squadron line in Cowes

The Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race starts tomorrow, Sunday 7^th August. All 30 teams attended the Skippers Briefing held at the RORC Clubhouse in Cowes. RORC CEO Jeremy Wilton welcomed all competitors to the race: “This is the fifth edition of the race sponsored by Sevenstar Yacht Transport and on behalf of the Club and the competing teams, a big ‘thank you’ for your continued support.”

Race Director Chris Stone ran competitors through the important aspects of the race, especially safety and communication with the RORC Race team. Meteorologist Chris Tibbs gave a detailed weather outlook for the race, summing up the situation for the start. High pressure is expected, giving a north easterly beat off the Squadron Line, with the possibility of a light sea breeze developing later in the day, giving a beat out of the Solent. The wind speed is expected to remain light, although some models are showing 10-15 knots from the southwest.

_{Meteorologist Chris Tibbs © Rick Tomlinson/https://www.rick-tomlinson.com}

Libby Greenhalgh will be navigator on IMOCA Oliver Heer Ocean Racing. Skipper Ollie Heer will be taking part in his first race with the boat which he intends to race in the 2024 Vendée Globe. In 2014, Libby was navigator of Volvo Ocean 65 SCA and Ollie Heer was on Giles Redpath’s Pata Negra, which was the overall winner of the 2018 Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race.

“This is a great opportunity for me to do an amazing race and to support Ollie at the start of his Vendée Globe campaign,” commented Libby Greenhalgh. “The start is looking pretty calm with a light sea breeze. Some of the routing data suggests a push to the French coast, but it is a long way to go to traverse that no-wind area. I think we will be trying to maximise the little wind that we have and looking at the current to optimise our position. There will be a key point when the wind returns to gradient from sea breeze. The first 48 hours are looking like hard work to make good progress, but we should see the gradient return which should speed up the race to Ireland.”

“This is the perfect first race,” commented Ollie Heer. “I have some great experiences in the past and having a crew on board like Libby doing all the navigation will allow me to really look at the performance of the boat and how to improve it. We are looking to take as many learnings away as we can.”

_{Navigator Libby Greenhalgh and Oliver Heer of the IMOCA Oliver Heer Ocean Racing © Rick Tomlinson/https://www.rick-tomlinson.com/}

Sun Fast 3600 Fujitsu British Soldier is crewed by the Army Sailing Association. Skipper Phil Caswell will be taking part in his third race and navigator Will Naylor his fourth. The team of seven are all serving in the British Army and Will Naylor estimates that the team could finish the race in 11-14 days.

“The Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race is the biggest race of the season; it is really important to us,” commented Will Naylor. “It is a fantastic sailor’s race because it is as long as three Fastnets. We come from all backgrounds, but one thing we are good at in the military is coming together as a team. We are good at being wetter and colder than anyone else. As a team, we are serving soldiers and officers from a Lieutenant Colonel to Privates and all of the crew have raced the miles required.”

_{The Army Sailing Association's Will Naylor will be competing in his fourth Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race with the Army Sailing Association's Sun Fast 3600 Fujitsu British Soldier © Rick Tomlinson/https://www.rick-tomlinson.com/}

Christian Heermann will skipper an HSV crew on JV52 Haspa Hamburg. The young team are all from Germany and have the two youngest crew members in the race; Inken Borrman and Reemt Bruhn are both 17 years old.

“We had a windy sail delivering the boat here from Hamburg, but I really enjoyed it and as there was a place for me on the race, I have decided to join the racing team,” commented Inken Borrman. “I have never done anything like this before, so everything is new to me, but I have known Reemt since  we were very young, so it will be great to sail with him and the whole team.”

_{Inken Borrman and Reemt Bruhn are both 17 years old and racing on the HSV's JV52 Haspa Hamburg © Rick Tomlinson/https://www.rick-tomlinson.com/}

Reemt Bruhn comes from a sailing family; his father and uncle race Class40 Iskareen and his grandfather’s boats were all called by the same name. “Haspa Hamburg is such a powerful and fast boat, it is going to be thrilling to race. The longest race I have done is the Fastnet and the start from Cowes is magical. To race this 1,800-mile course is going to be just an amazing spectacle. I think we are going to be very proud as a crew if we can finish this race.”

Sam White and Sam North are old friends but only started racing together recently on JPK 1080 Mzungu! “I think we really make a good team as Sam (White) is really good around the boat and on navigation, while I have strengths on the tactical side and we make a really good unit,” commented Sam North.  “Just to finish would mean we have achieved a huge amount in terms of preparing for the race and if we get a half decent result, I would be really proud of that.”

_{JPK 1080 Mzungu: Sam North and Sam White © Rick Tomlinson/https://www.rick-tomlinson.com/}

The RORC’s 1,805nm non-stop Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race starts on Sunday 7^th August at midday. Watch the starts live from 1140 on RORC YouTube, track the fleet and keep up-to-date with all the news on the race website. Here’s how to follow the toughest race on the RORC race programme.

Live Streaming

Join us LIVE on RORC Racing's YouTube channel - 1140 BST, Sunday 7th August

With expert commentary by Ian Walker (Two-time Olympic medallist, America's Cup veteran, Volvo Ocean Race winner) and Louay Habib (RORC Race Reporter & race pundit) reporting on all the action from their position on the RYS platform. Subscribe to keep up-to-date with all the latest stories from one of the toughest pro-am races in the world.

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