Jens Kellinghusen's Ker 56 Varuna 6 crossed the finish line at Cowes on Monday to become the second monohull home in the 50th anniversary edition of the RORC Round Britain and Ireland Race, while tight contests emerged across multiple classes with 27 boats still racing.
Varuna 6 completed the 1,805-nautical-mile course in 8 days, 7 minutes and 19 seconds, arriving at 13:37:19 BST. After IRC time correction, the German boat could not match the benchmark set by line honours winner Pace, the Volvo 70 that was first monohull home.
"It is a long race with a huge amount of navigation, so we are very happy to be back in Cowes," said navigator Mike Broughton. "Full credit to the whole team, especially our owner Jens Kellinghusen. At 79 years young, Jens is the oldest sailor in the race and this is a tremendous achievement. The boat has been wet since the very first night and down below is like a black hole. But that is all part of the challenge."
Antoine Magre's Mach 50 Palanad 4 was expected to finish on Monday afternoon, with Valdo Dhoyer and Charles Houal's Volvo 60 Challenge Ocean holding fourth on the water.
The battle for IRC Overall appears settled, with Pace holding a commanding lead. In IRC Zero, Palanad 4 is projected to take second with Varuna 6 third. Sam Hall's Lombard 46 Pata Negra sits third overall on projected corrected time.
The Class40 division remains unresolved and complicated by a protest lodged against the provisional leader. At 1300 BST, only eight miles separated the three remaining boats. Pierre Le Boucher's Penfret led with 168 miles to go, followed one mile behind by Greg Leonard's Swift, with Jon Tyrrel's Gambit on 176 miles. Results will remain provisional until the protest is heard after both teams finish.
IRC One sees Pata Negra leading with 371 miles remaining, though navigator Jules White admitted uncertainty about the southern North Sea exclusion zones and unstable weather. "Weather routing with tea leaves at this point," he commented.
The closest contest is in IRC Two, where Rob Craigie's Sun Fast 3600 Bellino leads Sky Business - Game On by just one minute and 40 seconds on projected corrected time. Both boats had roughly 540 miles remaining, with Kestrel and Mzungu! within ten miles.
Bellino overcame a torn A0 sail after rounding Muckle Flugga, with crew member Joe Griffiths spending the night below deck on repairs.
IRC Three is led by Mark Brown's Jetpack with 640 miles remaining.
For the bulk of the fleet, passing Muckle Flugga and nearby Out Stack off Unst marks the northernmost point of the course at almost 61 degrees north. Among those rounding, Maggie Adamson aboard the double-handed Tigris had a personal connection to the Shetland landmark—she grew up in Cunningsburgh and had friends sail out to wave hello, though she had to decline her mother's offer of a Sunday roast due to rules against outside assistance.
