The 58th Giraglia Rolex Cup came to an end after the 36 footer Viva Corte crossed the finish line some 56 hours after it set off on a long journey covering 241 nautical miles in the ocean. The title was won by Neville Crichton’s Shockwave (NZL), a mammoth craft twice the size of the puny Viva Corte. The tournament featured 220 yachts with most of them the size of the Viva Corte; one reason why Ivo Olivero’s achievement brought so much cheer to so many.

The main attraction of the Giraglia Rolex cup is the long distance race that starts from Saint-Tropez to San Remo, via the Giraglia rock.  Neville Crichton is no stranger to this event having won line honours five times and broken the course record twice. His win is the culmination of his good form at this tournament. Speaking after the win, Neville Crichton said that he would have loved to take the line honours but the presence of the 100 footer Esimit made it impossible. However, he was happy that he managed to win the competition.

Later at the awards presentation ceremony he was presented with a Rolex Submariner Chronometer for his efforts. Commending the hard work put in by the organizers he said that he would come back to defend his title next year.  However, he refused to comment whether he will be back with the Shockwave or some other boat.

Line winner, Igor Simcic is a newcomer to this event, having attained the second position in the 2008 tournament. That year, the winning yacht, Alfa Romeo II, raced by Neville Crichton, made a deep impression on him and he decided to acquire the yacht with an eye on winning the future competitions.    Ahead of this year’s race, Igor Simcic was confident of setting a new tournament record. However, the winds combined with some technical problems made sure that his plans were dashed to the ground. Commenting on the race, he said that they were satisfied that the yacht was the first over the line and had it not been for the technical issues they would have surely done better.

Simcic won almost all the major awards including the Trofeo Beppe Croce for being the first to the Giraglia rock.  He was also presented with a Rolex Yacht-Master Chronometer for his efforts.

Other awards included the best results obtained over both the offshore and the inshore race. The award went to Frank Noel, owner of the Near Miss (SUI) who received a Rolex Submariner chronometer as recognition of his feat. He was modest of his achievements saying that the result was due to the hard work put in by the team and other factors like a favourable wind that helped the yacht to keep up with the more powerful boats

The Rolex Commodore’s Cup is expected to draw competitors from a number of countries including Belgium, France, Great Britain, Honk Kong and Ireland.  The tournament will be conducted on the tight Solent course and is expected to be very competitive.

The Rolex Commodore’s Cup is characterised by intense competition and this year will see a continuation of rivalries old and new. The field includes some of the most talented yachtsmen in the world, spread generously, in all the classes of the boating championship.

The IRC Super Zero class features some of the most powerful boats in the competition promising plenty of high quality racing. Some of TP52’s that will be lighting up the Solent with their performances include Johnny Vincent’s Pace, Charles Dunstone’s Teamorigin Rio, the British Keelboat Academy’s John Merricks II and Rob Grey’s, Farr 52, Bob.

IRC Zero is stacked with talent from six different countries Including Rolex Commodore’s Cup contender, Anthony O’Leary’s Ker 39, Antix, who is the current Irish IRC Zero National champion having beaten Dave Dwer’s Mills 39, Marinerscove.ie very recently. The Marinerscove.ie is the current IRC National champions and is expected to put up a tough fight.

The IRC One will be contested by an international line up that includes class acts like the RORC Yacht of the Year, 2008, Philippe Delaporte’s Pen Azen.  Philippe saw the RORC IRC National as a perfect build up for the Rolex Commodore’s Cup that will be held in the month of August. He said that the crew will get accustomed to living in coves and the competitive atmosphere will help in preparing them for the tough conditions ahead.

The IRC One class includes First 40, La Response chartered by the duo of Andrew McIrvine and Peter Morton. The event will be the first instance when the First 40, La Response will be competing against its sister ship Coup De Coeur, raced by Marc de Saint Denis and Gery Trentesaux. The other top contenders in the class include Jim Macgregor’s Elan 410, Premier Flair, and Robert Davies Corby 36, Roxy 6.

The IRC Two class showcases the largest fleet in the championship exhibiting a wide variety of designs and sizes. Some of the top contenders in this class include David’s Aisher’s J 109, Yeoman of Wight, Wouter Borghij’s A 35, Tontin and Chris and Hannah Neve’s First 35, No Chance. Chris Neve was delighted with the performance of the First 35, saying that the new boat would increase their chances in the championship.

The IRC Three Class is represented by Mike and Jamie Holme’s J97, JIka Jika and Richard Sparrow’s J 92, Who’s to No.

The Quarter Ton Cup would feature Paul Kelsey’s Runaway Bus, James Morland’s Menace and Lousie Morton’s Espada. Lousie said that it would be great if people turn up in large numbers at the boating competition.

The RYA announced the teams that would be competing in the Commodores Cup beginning Saturday 15th, 2010.  The championship is a biennial event, conducted on the trying waters around the Solent, featuring several in-shore and out-shore events that stretch over a period of seven gruelling days.

The Brits are the defending champions and are expected to come up with a strong showing at this challenging event. RYA GBR will be putting up a strong team comprising of Team GBR Red, Blue, White and Black; team GBR Red being the cynosure of all eyes, having won the event in style in 2008.

The competition will have each team entering one boat in each of the three IRC class rating bands. Accordingly, team GBR Red will feature White Heat (King 40, Class One), Quokka 8 (Grand Soleli 43, Class Two) and Premier Flair (Elan 410, Class Three).  Not to be left behind, team GBR White features Alice II (Farr 45, Class One), La Reponse (Beneteau First 40, Class Two) and No Chance (Beneteau First 35, Class Three).

Roger Wilson, head selector stated that the team was chosen in a way that maximized harmony between the team and the owner. According to him, this was important as the very success of the team depended on how well the team gelled with each other and how willing they were to put in the same level of commitment.

Team GBR Red is heavy on experience, with Premier Flair’s owner, Jim Macgregor having competed in the 2008 and 2004 events and Quokka’s owner Peter Rutter having won the 2008 event.  On the other hand White Heat that has comparatively less experience has been making up for it with excellent results in the 2009 IRC East Coast Championship, along with picking up a title event at Key West Week at Florida.

The Red Team captain sounded upbeat about the team’s chances at the Rolex Commodore Cup, saying that the team was professionally run and in Jim Macgregor they had an expert sailor.  According to him, teamwork was one of the reasons behind last year’s success, and they hoped to replicate last year’s success at the championship.

He further added that the competition would be tough this year as the field included several world class competitors gunning for the top prize.

Team GBR White is equally rich on experience with the duo of Chris and Hannah Neve on “No Chance�. Alice II is another top performer within the group having done exceedingly well in the Royal Thames YC David Diehl trophy April, last year. Last but not the least, RORC Commodore Andrew Mclvirne will be offering his invaluable guidance on the La Reponse.  The Class Two partner has had excellent results in the past, which include wins at all the major events except for the ones at the Warsash Spring Series and the Royal Southern YC Summer Series.

The Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series returns to the Watkins Glen International, after extensive renovations were made to the track last season.  Scott Pruett and his Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates co-driver Memo Rojas are the favorites at the Glen. However, many feel that NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, racing with the GAINCOS/ Bob Stalling Racing team has a chance to upstage the favorites.

The Watkins Glenn International, second in distance to the Rolex 24 at Daytona, starts at 2 P.M on Saturday after the completion of practice and qualifying session on Friday.  The event will be televised by Speed in two parts starting from race start.

Pruett and the Ganassi Daytona Prototype team have always done well at the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series at Glen since their initiation to the event way back in 2004. In six appearances they have racked up an impressive array of three wins, one second place position and one third place position; the only blemish being an 11th place in 2006. However, the team received a major setback, when the No. 1 Telemex BMW-Riley was damaged in the recently concluded Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car event at Lime Rock Park, Connecticut. Pruett estimated that it would take $100,000 to repair the damaged car. However, he was confident that the team was up-to the task and the machine would be ready by race day.

Pruett and Rojas have had an incredibly good season, winning three events on the trot before the mishap at Lime Rock International interrupted their series of victories. The mishap occurred when the two time reigning champion Jon Fogarty, forced Rojas car off the tarmac in the opening lap. The duo of Fogarty and Gurney have had a disaster prone season so far, plagued by a series of mechanical failures and crashes that have put paid to their hopes to retain the championship.

The defending NASCAR champion has three top five finishes on the Glen’s 2.45 mile NASCAR layout. However, this will be the first time he will be racing on the traditional 3.4 mile circuit. Sounding very upbeat he stated that he was thrilled at the prospect of racing at the Glen.

Johnson, not used to racing for long hours, enlisted the help of Dale Earnhardt Jr. to set up a racing simulator so that he could get accustomed to the tough driving conditions.

The NASCAR champion will have to do a bit of juggling as he is also competing in the Gilette Fusion ProGlide 500 Sprint Cup. Johnson expects to put in a few minutes of training at the Rolex Series Practice session before rushing to Pocono for the session starting at noon. Depending on the qualifying time he expects to be back for a final crack at the training session starting 3.40 P.M Friday evening.