Stuartgr

Offshore racing intelligence - FirstBeat is a blog all about offshore yacht racing written by Stuart Greenfield

[Stuartgr @stuartgr]

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More boats, more points: Why Cowes to St Malo is the RORC Summer’s race to win https://t.co/jmE6tiBYRJ

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Blunt force: Has a 33-foot scow conquered offshore racing and just proved it round Ireland? https://t.co/ebvM2Sy7zL

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Back to the Future: Why your next foulies may feel worse before they get better https://t.co/zj0FdRT38x

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Round the Island Race 2026: Why the smallest boat can still beat the biggest

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Why TWA matters offshore - https://t.co/SBWmIK7eYU

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FirstBeat Essential: The New Physics of Speed https://t.co/X16offgaWM

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RORC Morgan Cup race https://t.co/Av2q7pZeuM

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Yachts that broke the rules - Part 2 - the IOR era https://t.co/ocS769wWlT

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A century of offshore racing yacht design -part 1-The age of seaworthy speed https://t.co/4brFEWJn4h

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RORC De Guingand Bowl offshore race
The De Guingand Bowl this year looks like a subtle one.

Not a big breeze blast round the cans, but a proper Solent and south-of-the-Island test: light airs, weak frontal activity, cloud, veering wind and several awkward tidal gates. Peveril, Bridge, St Catherine’s, Owers and Bembridge could all matter, and the re-entry to the Solent may be just as important as the offshore legs.

I’ve put together a FirstBeat video looking at the race with routing ideas, different forecast models and some practical interpretation from having sailed a fair few of these types of races.

The important point?

Do not just sail the routing.

Use it, question it, understand it, then sail the boat you are actually on, in the wind and tide you actually have.

Video now on FirstBeat.
https://t.co/3opYRwMOmz

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RORC Myth of Malham: a slow race may be the hardest race

One of the longest races in the RORC domestic season, the Myth of Malham, from Cowes to the Eddystone Lighthouse and back to the Solent, is starting to look like a very slow and difficult affair this year.

A large area of high pressure is establishing itself over the Channel and southern England, and at the moment that means one thing above all else: light, unstable, locally driven wind.

The race team has already indicated that the situation will be reviewed before final decisions are made on the race and start schedule. For that reason, my FirstBeat race routing and strategy presentation will be held back until the final start time and course are confirmed.

In conditions like this, the usual GRIB-based routing picture becomes much less reliable. The models may agree on the broad pattern, but that does not mean they will resolve what actually matters on the water.

If the race runs in these conditions, the result may depend less on one clean strategic route and more on finding and using local wind.

That means watching for thermal effects around the land, pressure building or dying near headlands, and the way the breeze behaves around Anvil Point, Portland Bill and Start Point. It also means that even getting out of the Solent could become one of the first serious tactical problems of the race.

This may not be a big-wind Myth of Malham.

It may be something more awkward.

A race of patience, tide, local judgement, crew discipline and the ability to keep the boat moving when everyone else is parked.

That can be just as brutal as heavy weather, sometimes more so.

I’ll update the FirstBeat routing and strategy presentation once the final race information is confirmed.

FirstBeat — Offshore Racing Intelligence https://t.co/rpkgDePfEL

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First beat fatigue and win offshore https://t.co/VP91V1AINf

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The ‘route’ of all evil or why grib files are barking mad https://t.co/YGmpz2cuC2

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Modern Rope Technology in Offshore Racing https://t.co/K3iA5CodYS

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Stop BLAMING the rating ...13 ways to go faster offshore https://t.co/ddVxJuLSt5

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I didn’t mean to go to sea! https://t.co/3VfrXQBmcU