Ian Hoddle and Willow Bland have won IRC Two and IRC Two-Handed in the RORC Round Britain and Ireland Race after a 1,805-nautical-mile match race that came down to 45 seconds on the water.
Kestrel crossed the Royal Yacht Squadron finish line at 02:10:15 BST on Friday, just 45 seconds ahead of Sky Business – Game On. But Hoddle and Bland's lower IRC rating reversed the positions after time correction, giving them provisional victory in both divisions. The two boats also sit provisionally third and fourth overall under IRC.
The duel carried extra edge: Bland and Kestrel's Zeb Fellows were former teammates at the 2025 Offshore Double Handed World Championship. This time they raced against each other for nearly 12 days, with the margin finally settled in the final hours.
"For the last three days I could hardly sleep," Hoddle admitted. "Kestrel had been more than 20 miles behind, but they kept coming. Suddenly we were fighting them boat-for-boat, sometimes only boat lengths apart. That continued day and night for two days. It was the most intense racing I have ever done."
The victory completed a long pursuit for Hoddle, who had finished runner-up in the race twice before. "This is the third time I have done the Round Britain and Ireland Race," he said. "Twice I have been runner-up, so the ambition this time was to win it."
Bland revealed the less glamorous reality of offshore victory: their Jet-Boil broke after Muckle Flugga, leaving her surviving the final 24 hours on "about a pack and a half of Babybels." Kestrel's shore team greeted them at the dock with pizzas.
Simon Bamford and Fellows took provisional second in both IRC Two and IRC Two-Handed. Fellows described going up the mast in 30 knots to recover a lost jib during the final upwind battle off Beachy Head: "It was pretty bouncy up there."
Sam White and Nathan Steffenoni's Mzungu! completed the provisional IRC Two-Handed podium. In IRC One, Andreas Buchheim and Tim Behrendt's Frida finished first double-handed and provisionally second in class, while Nick Edmonds' J/45 Stickleback holds third.
RORC Commodore Deb Fish's Bellino finished provisionally third in IRC Two despite racing the final 200 miles without a mainsail after a broken boom ended podium hopes. "All credit to the crew. We have been pushing as hard since the breakage as we were before it," Fish said.
The young RORC Griffin crew completed their lap shortly before 07:00, photographed having breakfast at the Cowes clubhouse. Several boats remain at sea, including Cameron Davis's Farr 40 Espresso Martini Too, expected to finish later today.
