Shaun Fröhlich has now owned three X-Yachts in succession, an X-332 “Exabyte” (National Champion 1999) an IMX-40 “Exabyte 2” (IRC National Champion 2003) and now the IMX-45 “Exabyte 3”. We asked Shaun for a summary of his successful season campaigning his IMX-45, he writes:
Easter Challenge – 2nd overall
Taking delivery of the IMX-45 in late March 2004, our first outing was the Easter Challenge, where we were still wet behind the ears with regard to experience of sailing the IMX-45. In the light airs we slipped along very well and were somewhat surprised and encouraged by a string of good results that left us with a chance of wining the regatta overall at the start of the last race. Despite our determination to repeat our victorious 2003 form, we ended up 2nd, but still very pleased.
Offshore racing – 6 trophies from 3 races
Our offshore campaign started in April with a trip to Le Havre (Cervantes) followed by Dieppe (De Guingand Bowl) and St. Peters Port (Morgan Cup). On the eve of the first offshore we reduced our headsail size to 100%, and consequently enjoyed a significant rating drop. Despite light winds for all three races we scored class and overall IRC wins and figured 6 trophies from 3 races. Next came the Royal Thames Regatta, a Commodore’s Cup selection, in which we performed well. The second part of the trials involved racing around Channel marks in the Myth of Malham, where we enjoyed a class win. The final qualification event, the IRC Nationals, was not our finest. Yet, we had enough to get a call from the RYA selectors, asking us to represent the country in the Commodores Cup, a great honour, and a significant logistical challenge!
Cork week
Ireland was our next port of call for the bi-annual pilgrimage to Cross haven for Cork Week. The event started with tension and controversy as we arrived to find ourselves moved from IRC1 to IRC0 alongside the professionals and the Maxi’s Z86s. Competing with an incredibly wide rating band created all manner of complaint from others affected in the same situation, so the organisers rapidly created a Corinthian sub-division in which we faired well; coming second to the Russian IMX-45 “Follow Me”.
Commodores Cup
One week after Cork, saw the start of the Commodores Cup. Whisper light condition for the event tested the RORC’s race management team to the maximum, yet we only lost one of the 8 scheduled inshore races. “Exabyte 3” was in the GBR Black team, with “Yes” (Beneteau 44.7) and “Fair Do’s” (Kerr 9m) as our team mates.
It was clear from the start that all fleets would see very close racing, none more so than for the big boats. We sailed consistently well in the trying conditions. We ended the inshore element of the regatta as the leading team overall, and 2nd in the big boat division. However, our team failed to excel in the offshore event, pushing us down the leader board. The event saw “Exabyte 3” in great light, and we were commended for an excellent inshore performance, that contributed in no small way to GBR Red Teams overall victory.
End of season – Great plans for 2005
Our season ended with our annual dash to Cherbourg, after which we retained the Allen Paul Trophy as the boat with the highest average performance across the season, and we won the most coveted Assuage Trophy. Our reward for 1,550 miles of offshore racing, an even greater number of delivery miles, and a sum total of 55 races, was 9 trophies and 10 RORC medallions. In short, another highly successful year with many happy memories, some good lessons learned, and a great plan for 2005.
Shaun Fröhlich
IMX-45 “Exabyte 3” |  |
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