2009 RORC Overall Champion
In late 2008 Tris was asked to Skipper Bill Blain’s newly acquired J-133 Batfish III. His introduction was leading the boat to a win in the Hamble Winter Series. Over the winter Tris worked with Stuart Miller and North Sails to optimise the boat for offshore racing. The hull was sanded back to its original hull finish, faired and anti fouled with a super hard racing anti-fouling.
Batfish III racing the in the Solent.
The boat program started sailing at the end of February 2009, with an intensive on water training program to tune the boat and build the Crew’s confidence and ability to do complicated manoeuvres by second nature. The crew training focused around inshore racing drills to ensure that the crew work offshore was top quality. As part of the training we included a full weekend with coaching Ace Jim Saltonstall.
Batfish’s program combined inshore and offshore racing including the Rolex Fastnet Race. This meant the boat was rotating from offshore to inshore mode every two weeks. The crew were all amateur sailors from differing back grounds from Students to city of London professionals.
The program was the most successful offshore campaign of 2009, finishing consistently at the front of the fleet and winning the RORC Championship Overall. At the RORC Prize Giving that year the Batfish crew walked away with more trophies than the rest of the fleet combined.
Results:
RORC Overall Champion 2009 – Jazz Trophy
Best series Produced Yacht 2009 – Serendip Trophy
Assuage Cup – RORC best of 3,
Highwayman Trophy –
RORC 2nd Class 0 RORC championship – best of 5
Fastnet Race 26th Overall , 12th IRC Class Zero
1st Winter Series 2008
2nd Warsash Spring Series ‘09
4th Spring Big Boats Championship ‘09
6th Class 0 Red Funnel ‘09
2nd Class Zero Cerevantes RORC Race
2nd IRC 1 Royal Southern May Regatta
2nd overall Myth of Malham RORC race
Ist Class Zero Myth of Malham RORC
5th Class 1 Deauville International Regatta
4th Morgan Cup RORC Overall
3rd Morgan Cup RORC Class 0
1st RORC Channel Race Class 0 (third overall)
1st Royal Southern July Regatta
4th in Class 0b Fastnet
1st class Zero Ouistriham Race
Line honours Ouistriham Race
2nd Class 0 Cherbourg Race.