Oystercatcher XXV wins Rolex Race Around the Island

— 16 Jun 2005

The Humphreys designed Oyster 72 ‘Oystercatcher XXV’ is the overall winner and performance cruising class winner of the Rolex Race around the Isle of Wight. The Rolex RTI, which took place on Monday 13th June, was hotly contested and included yachts such as Mari-Cha IV, Maximus, Leopard, Nokia Enigma and Sojana, all fresh from the Rolex Transatlantic Challenge. Oystercatcher XXV, a high performance version of the Oyster 72, proved very fast in the early light wind part of the race, staying in contact with the much larger Leopard of London and Sojana. The sea breeze then filled in as the boats sailed round the south side of the island, allowing Oystercatcher to show off her exceptional upwind performance in 25 knots of breeze. Whilst winning on corrected time, Oystercatcher also beat some notable yachts on elapsed time including a Swan 80 and a Swan 86 and the grand prix class Santa Cruz 70, which started 10 minutes beforehand. As overall winner on corrected time, Oystercatcher XXV owner, Richard Matthews, was presented with an exact replica of the silver plate presented to Lord Nelson after his victory in the Battle of the Nile.

Oystercatcher XXV, launched in late April, has had a promising start on the race circuit. Racing under IRC rating, she won the EAORA Ralph Herring Race and the EAORA Pattinson Cup on her first outing. A week later she won Class Zero in the RORC North Sea Race. Oystercatcher will participate in a series of inshore and offshore races in UK waters this summer, including Cowes Week and the 650 mile RORC Fastnet Race.

The Humphreys designed Oyster 72 ‘Oystercatcher XXV’ is the overall winner and performance cruising class winner of the Rolex Race around the Isle of Wight. The Rolex RTI, which took place on Monday 13th June, was hotly contested and included yachts such as Mari-Cha IV, Maximus, Leopard, Nokia Enigma and Sojana, all fresh from the Rolex Transatlantic Challenge. Oystercatcher XXV, a high performance version of the Oyster 72, proved very fast in the early light wind part of the race, staying in contact with the much larger Leopard of London and Sojana. The sea breeze then filled in as the boats sailed round the south side of the island, allowing Oystercatcher to show off her exceptional upwind performance in 25 knots of breeze. Whilst winning on corrected time, Oystercatcher also beat some notable yachts on elapsed time including a Swan 80 and a Swan 86 and the grand prix class Santa Cruz 70, which started 10 minutes beforehand. As overall winner on corrected time, Oystercatcher XXV owner, Richard Matthews, was presented with an exact replica of the silver plate presented to Lord Nelson after his victory in the Battle of the Nile.

Oystercatcher XXV, launched in late April, has had a promising start on the race circuit. Racing under IRC rating, she won the EAORA Ralph Herring Race and the EAORA Pattinson Cup on her first outing. A week later she won Class Zero in the RORC North Sea Race. Oystercatcher will participate in a series of inshore and offshore races in UK waters this summer, including Cowes Week and the 650 mile RORC Fastnet Race.