After four days of competitive sailing, Vela Veloce, skippered by its owner Richard Oland, won the seventh Rolex US-IRC National Championship. The Vela Veloce, powered by Quantum® sails, beat 35 boats to the top prize in the four-leg course. Sailing aboard the Vela Veloce were Jason Currie and David Flynn of Quantum Atlantic. Following is a report from David on the event.

The 2010 Rolex IRC National Championships brought together a strong fleet representing a broad cross-section of the handicap racing world for four days of racing in Newport, RI. Conditions were primarily light to moderate but included a glorious day of 15-25 knots for the distance race that produced some memorable downwind moments. In true IRC fashion, grand prix programs like Rambler and Numbers crossed paths with J 109s and Tripp 41s. In general, the talent level was high and the racing surprisingly close.

The regatta represented a culmination of a year-long campaign for Vela Veloce (VV)—a  Reichel Pugh 52 owned by Dick Oland—that has taken the boat from its birthplace in New Zealand to a host of top events, including Annapolis to Newport, Marblehead to Haliax, IRC East Coast Championships, Ft. Lauderdale to Key West, Key West Race Week, RORC 600, St. Maarten Heineken, St. Thomas Rolex, and the BVI regatta. Dick’s enthusiasm and insistence on jumping in with both feet to learn how the whole yacht-racing thing works kept the boat on the move and the crew working hard.

Vela Veloce, a near sister ship of the successful R/P 52 design Vincitore, is a long way from Dick’s previous ride, a J-46. Sailing the boat with proficiency proved a bit of a learning experience. Designed with distance racing and windy venues in mind, VV is a big boat in terms of the TP 52 gold standard. Nearly 1200kg heavier, with the commensurate freeboard and beam, she looks huge by comparison to her MedCup-derived stable mates. While the size and spacious (relatively speaking) interior, and great downwind speed and stability proved wonderful offshore, they also made it a struggle to beat the pure race boats on windward leeward courses in under ten knots of wind. With wins and podium finishes at nearly every event, it was humbling to get our butts kicked at Key West Race Week. Prior to the Rolex IRC Championships, we made a concerted effort to focus on our weaknesses. After the BVI regatta the boat went into the shop for extensive fairing. A number of systems were modified and athwartships jibleads were added to improve our sheeting angles and trim flexibility for course racing. A new light jib and VMG spinnaker were built.

When we arrived at the course for the start of the first race with only six to eight knots, the nerves kicked in. We were running out of excuses if we couldn’t get the boat going in light air. Having raced against many of the same boats before, we knew we were in for a struggle. A lame, second row start at the pin directly behind the Ker 55 Soforzando did nothing to improve the mood on board.

Footing through to get clear air and finally tacking into a clear lane, things began to look up; we were going pretty well. Well enough, in fact, to round in second behind the Farr 60 Captivity with Robbie Doyle calling the shots. We were a little quicker downwind, held up on the beat, and caught her at the finish line for the win. The second race was very similar, though a better start made it easier and we managed to finish and correct out for another bullet. This is the way racing is supposed to go! What an incredible difference a little extra speed makes. Over the four days, we sailed five races in under 12 knots, gaining confidence in our speed with every leg. We could recover from a less than perfect start or a missed shift. These things happen and the only cure is good wheels.

In between there was the distance race and VV was in her element. Pounding upwind 18 miles to Block Island in building chop and breeze was the price to pay for 20 miles of hair on fire running. With boat speeds in the high teens, VV ran away from the tight group that had rounded the weather mark and extended to a relatively comfortable lead, battling with Privateer, the well- sailed Cookson 50, to the finish line with a margin of 12 seconds in hand.

The overall championship was awarded using an interesting system which compared boats in the fleet by converting corrected time into seconds per mile sailed; the boat with the lowest time winning. These were averaged over the course of the six-race event. It seems a reasonable way to compare performance with boats of widely different speeds often sailing different courses. It is certainly less arbitrary than picking “the toughest class” or comparing the closeness of corrected times. While “overall” wins in handicap events will always be a matter of luck to some degree, this system rewards consistency. If margin of victory is any measure of success, the .13 of a second six-raced average gap between VV and Steve Benjamin’s Robotic Oncology should be proof.

In the end, all successful programs have hard work and time in the boat as common denominators, but it is the team that makes the difference. Dick Oland masterfully orchestrated all the elements and put the people in place that could make the most of good tools. Hats off to my team mates: Stuart Bannatyne, Richard Clark, Geoff Ewenson, Jason Currie, Jeff Brock, Alan McGlashan, Jason McShane, Tyler Bijorn, Jamie McCormick, Matt Brink, John McCabe, Evan Harrell, and Ben Bardwell.