J/99 WHIMJY Crowned Fastnet Race IRC 3 Winner

ByStuart Johnstone

J/120 HEY JUDE first to finish IRC 3 Division in Fastnet Race

(Cherbourg, France)- IRC Three line honors went to Philippe Girardin’s J/120 HEY JUDE, one of the highest rated boats in the fleet. She had held the lead not just on the water but under IRC too for much of the race. She was slowed more by the adverse tide, around Alderney and the Cotentin peninsula, than the lower-rated boats which arrived at that point later.

Eventually, she took sixth place after IRC time correction, less than four minutes behind Mzungu!

“We were pleased with weather this year, because Philip has a problem with his back – we are now old men,” mused crewman and much capped doublehanded sailor Louis-Marie Dussiere, who has been a friend of Girardin’s since they were at dental school 40 years ago. “We had a very bad start but were able to come back towards the head of the IRC Three fleet leaving the Solent. We had a very good exit at the Shingles and we were back at the head of the IRC Three fleet at Portland.

“At the Rock there was a little rain and very low cloud. We could see nothing – not even the light of the Fastnet Rock until we were one mile away – and we did a very late tack for Fujitsu British Soldier.

J/99 WHIMJY wins IRC 3 Division honors in Fastnet Race

Ultimately, it was Julien Bentz’s J/99 WHIMJY 99 that crossed the Cherbourg-en-Cotentin finish line at 0042 local time to take victory in IRC 3 after IRC time correction by 19 minutes.

“It changed a lot and was really difficult over the last 24 hours, because the conditions were shifty and the current challenging,” Bentz commented. “It was a roller coaster of emotions, but we fought until the end and it paid off.

“For most of the crew it’s our first Fastnet, so it’s a great achievement. We have been working on this project for two years and, while it was a mix of intense racing and adventure, there was also a lot of discovery for us along the way.

What was their winning formula? “A mix of many things of course and we prepared very well for two years. The crew and the atmosphere also – we’ve been sailing together for a very long time – maybe 45 years with Romain Troublé.”

“It was a very good race for this boat – upwind and downwind, with no reaching – it was perfect,” added Troublé, son of former America’s Cup skipper and supporter Bruno. “The Fastnet Rock two days ago in the fog and in the dark at two o’clock in the morning was quite an amazing memory for us.”