Category: News
On the final day Mariners Cove stormed around the last inshore race in winds over 25kn to record another race win by 3 minutes, and thus win Class 2 and help secure the 2010 Rolex Commodore’s Cup for Ireland. David Dwyer’s (second from right below) Mills Design IRC 39 along with teammates Antix and Roxy decisively grasped the prestegious biennial title by dominating the mix of inshore and offshore races competed for by 10 three-boat teams from around the world.
Hong Kong secured second place, sailing intelligently in the double-points final race to record a major upset over teams such as previous winners France and Great Britain. Team members Summit 40 Blondie and the Mills 41 Mandrake meant that 3 of the 6 boats in the top two teams came from the pen of Mark Mills, the designer with the largest representation in the fleet, with boats sailing for GBR and South Africa, including the last days big boat class winner the Landmark 43 Windpower.
Mills was excited by the success of the Irish team: “They meant to bring it back this time, which was reflected in the preparation, the boats, and the execution. In particular I am very happy for David and his team who deserve this after setting such a high standard with the extraordinary success of the boat”.
See Final Results
Andy Soriano helming his IRC 68 Alegre has won the 57th edition of the famous 243 mile Giraglia Race from St. Tropez to Genoa via the rocky outcrop of Giraglia off Corsica, as well as the preceding Giraglia Rolex Cup inshore race series held in St. Tropez. Alegre finished at the head of a tightly packed Mini-Maxi fleet composed of the worlds latest Grand Prix IRC Racers, most of whom owe her time producing a significant IRC win in her class. Alegre earlier won the intense three race Giraglia Rolex Cup inshore series held in St. Tropez over the weekend, including a coastal race corrected time win by 7 minutes. Owner Soriano said “the racing was truly tight all the way through, with all the mini-maxis coming up to the windward mark even on port …amazing”.
More on the IRC 68
Mark Mills was honored with the Asian Marine & Boating Best Designer Award 2010 at the Louis XIII-sponsored China International Boat Show (CIBS) Gala Dinner in Shanghai last week. The award was collected on Mills’ behalf by the Irish Vice-Consul in Shanghai John Lynam, below.
Mills Design has racked up a string of IRC Championship titles this year Mariners Cove has been crowned the Overall British IRC Champion as well as winning the Irish Championship, Argie Bargie won the Scottish IRC Championship, and Ngoni took the Italian IRC Championship. These and other successes for both custom and production designs at events like the NYYC Annual Regatta, Scottish Series, and Red Funnel reflect the balance in IRC and bodes well for future projects.
More on the IRC 39
Mark Mills was honored with the Irish Independent / Afloat.ie Sailor of the Year Award: “Globally successful yacht designer Mark Mills of County Wicklow is the Afloat.ie/Irish Independent ‘Sailor of the Year 2009′ after a year of exceptional achievements which built on his original accolade as Sailor of the Month a year ago.”