The Royal Southern Yacht Club Summer Series starts this Bank Holiday weekend, 7-8 May with the North Sails May Regatta.

Black Group will race on a mixture of windward-leeward and tight round the cans courses. The Cape31 Class will be on their own windward leeward Red Group Course. Sportsboats and One Designs on White Group will be challenged on a separate course with sharp windward leeward races. North Sails experts will not only be racing but also out on the water, observing and recording the action for an after-racing debrief, including drone footage.

Held from Sunday over Bank Holiday Monday after King Charles III’s coronation. The North Sails May Regatta will have prizes including merchandise from North Sails. The prestigious Royal Southern Clubhouse, including Den’s Deck, will be regatta-central for the duration of the regatta.

The phenomenal Cape31 Class is expected to have at least a dozen teams racing at the Royal Southern North Sails May Regatta. The one-design class includes pro-am teams from Ireland as well as the UK boats. Internationally, the Cape31 fleet is on the up, but the biggest gathering of Cape31s is in the UK. Thrilling racing is expected at the Royal Southern this Bank Holiday.

At the top of the scratch sheet for IRC Racing are two former overall winners of the Royal Southern Summer Series. Ian Atkins’ GP42 Dark ‘N’ Stormy will be defending their win from last year against Michael Blair’s King 40 Cobra. The Performance 40 Class including Cobra, will be out in force, taking part in their first regatta for the 2023 P40 championship series. Entries include Rebecca Anthony racing J/121 Darkwood, Andrew McIrvine’s Ker 39 La Reponse, and Ed Bell’s JPK 1180 Dawn Treader.

Six J/111s will be in action including J/111 National Champion Tony & Sally Mack’s McFly and past National Champion Louise Makin & Chris Jones’ JourneyMaker 11. Defending their regatta win from 2022 will be Paul Griffiths’ Jagerbomb. One design racing in the J/111 Class has been a feature of the Royal Southern Sumer Series for many years and the action is always sizzling.

The HP30 Class pocket rockets resume combat for 2023 with the Royal Southern North Sails May Regatta. Defending champion Farr 280 Moral Compass, with a rock-star team of legends, will be led by Jerry Hill. A bevy of Fareast 28s will be in action including Geoff Poore’s Mako, Lucian Stone’s Vendetta and Alain Waha’s Go West.

Proven race winners in the IRC fleet include Gordon Craigen’s J/105 Jacana. Edward Mockeridge racing JPK 1010 Elaine Again and new to the regatta will be Julian Tickner’s Archambaud-Grand Surprise Bewitched. Lower rated yachts racing under IRC that have enjoyed passed success at the Royal Southern include three closely matched J/Boats: Becky Walford’s J/92 Brenda’s J, David Greenhalgh’s J/92 J’ronimo and Robert Hunt’s J/92 Nightjar. Yachts of a certain age, brimming with victories, include Ian Handley’s Mustang 30 Banter, which will be defending their class win from last year from Oliver & Sam Love’s SJ 320 Frank 3.

To follow all the action for the North Sails May Regatta tune into #RoyalSouthernSummerSeries on social media and visit: www.royal-southern.co.uk

Report Louay Habib

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