The appropriately named J39 "Assassin" took some impressive scalps at the IRC Championships in the Solent. Although pushed into second place overall she took great pride in beating Sydney -Hobart winner, Quokka.

Assassin is supported by Barton Marine, who supply the yacht with all its blocks and control gear. Barton's Paul Botterill is especially interested in keeping Assassin's deck fittings working fast as he is also halyard man on board. "We specialise in making high load blocks for yachts like Assassin," commented Paul, "so its essential for me to experience them working flat out. The IRC Championship certainly did that as it was blowing over force 6, and while it was disappointing not to take the trophy, our second place in such a powerful fleet was extremely satisfying. I was delighted to see that the performance of our blocks under pressure was fantastic!"