Competitors enjoyed tight and energetic racing today in brisk southerly winds building ahead of a weather front. Among the largest boats in the IRC classes Peter Morton’s GP42 The Jean Genie had another spectacular day, winning the New York Yacht Club Challenge Cup, ahead of Richard Matthews’ new Carkeek CF520 Oystercatcher XXXV, another GP42, Guy Gillon and Christian Hamilton’s Khumbu, and Tony Langley’s TP52 Gladiator in fourth place.
The Sonar class is holding its National Championship at Cowes Week, with a larger fleet than has been assembled in the UK for many years. Today’s race saw a close battles throughout the class, with places three to six decided by only 19 seconds, and 14th and 15th by just 9 seconds.
Simon Clarke’s Jenny added a fourth victory to its tally today, but only 39 seconds ahead of Matt Grier’s ACF Dolphin. Another Andrew Cassell Foundation boat, ACF Limbitless, skippered by Andrew Buchanan, won today’s battle for third, 5 seconds ahead of Alastair Barter’s Bertie.
“The starboard end of the start was super competitive, but we nailed it and were first at the windward mark,” says Grier. “After that it was a tussle right round the course, chopping and changing places all the way with Jenny.”
ACF Dolphin then lost out through not hoisting a spinnaker on the tight and gusty reach to the finish. Nevertheless, it was a superb result for his team, including mainsheet trimmer Edward Kitchen, who’s blind and 50 per cent deaf.
Racing is scheduled to conclude tomorrow, which will see a return to predominately sunny weather, but with a very strong westerly airflow.
Race Detail
Black Group yachts had a reaching start from the Royal Yacht Squadron line, with a building west-going tide sweeping fleets across the line. Most fleets were therefore understandably line shy, although a few were hopelessly optimistic.
Racing has been extremely tight in the Contessa 32 class this week and today’s results saw a shuffle of the leaderboard. Eldred Himsworth’s Drumbeat started the regatta with three consecutive victories, the fight for second place could not be closer. Ray Rouse’s Blanco, and his daughter Donna Rouse-Collen’s Andaxi started the day tied on equal points. Equally, in the battle for fourth overall only two points separated Kit and Jessie Rogers’ Assent and Rob Duke and Oli Donaghy’s Gualin.
Today, the fleet was clearly feeling the pressure and approached the line far too early, even though the west-going stream was now running fast. Charles Hill’s Nimbus was the wrong side of the line 15 seconds before the start, but was able to return to start correctly without a big loss. However, Drumbeat was the wrong side of the line at the gun and didn’t return until 60 seconds into the race – a manoeuvre that cost four precious minutes.
At the finish Andaxi had a commanding lead of almost eight minutes on Nimbus, while Drumbeat took third place and Blanco was recorded as starting prematurely.
IRC Class 3, for instance, approached the line cautiously, with Mike Bridges’ JPK1010 Elaine Again leading the fleet into the line. John Howell and Paul Newell’s Archambault A35 Arcus, overall leader by a six point margin after the first five days of racing, took a more guarded approach several lengths further back. Nicky and Tim Octon’s Corby 35 NJO Sails was also well placed.
After little more than a couple of minutes Arcus had pulled into a more advantaged position, while Peter Hayward’s J/109 White Knight 7, was also doing well, having pulled up alongside NJOS.
By the finish of the three-hour race Elaine Again had built a 10-minute lead to take her second victory of the regatta. However, the next four boats were much closer, with Clemency Williams-Ives J/105 Jos of Hambletaking second place on corrected time, 10 seconds ahead of Arcus. Tony White’s Sun Fast 3200 Mzungu took fourth, his best result of the regatta so far, 20 seconds ahead of NJO Sails.
In IRC Class 5 the boats that appeared to get away first at the start didn’t make the top of the rankings today. Olly and Sam Love’s SJ320 Frank 3 took line honours, but failed to save her time on Giovanni Belgrano’s Laurent Giles classic Whooper, who took his fourth victory of the regatta on corrected time. There was then a big gap to the next finisher, Christopher Agar’s Half Tonner Secrets, who took third place both on the water and on handicap.
Performance Cruiser B is another class that has seen very close racing so far, with only two points separating the top three points at the start of the day. Gareth and Emma Jordon’s Maxi 1300 Salt was more punchy in approaching the line than the rest of the fleet, gaining an immediate 100 metre advantage on Adam Ridett and Phil Moore’s First 40.7 Challenger. Another First 40.7, Brendon McMahon’s Fandango, and Richard Strong’s Hanse 445 Solid Air, also looked reasonably well placed to observers on the RYS platform.
Fandango went on to take line honours and first place on corrected time. Salt was next over the line two and a half minutes later, but with only a 21 second advantage on the water over the lower rated Solid Air, slipped to third place after time correction.
Two boats have dominated the top of the Performance Cruiser C fleet to date. Peter Hopps’ Sigma 38 Samand Jonathan Gardiner’s X-34 Minx 4 started the day tied on eight points. Sam misjudged today’s start and was half a length premature, leaving Paul Newell’s Half Tonner Chartreuse lll looking best placed, although Andrew Hadfield’s First 36.7 Bayonet was soon overlapped to leeward and Peter Dickson’s First 25.7 Star-Born 4 to windward.
They continued in line abreast until Star-Born 4 span around and headed back to the start, clearly worried that she had started prematurely. Despite returning immediately after her false start, Sam lost close to 90 seconds in restarting. However, she worked her way back up the fleet to take line honours and first on corrected time, 35 seconds ahead of Minx 4.
Louis Kenna’s Morris M36 Chameleon of Cowes has dominated the Club Cruiser class so far, but today approached the line too early and was forced to luff head to wind to avoid being premature, allowing Ian Smyth’s Westerly Fulmar Panda of Hamble to overtake to leeward, while Mark Attrill’s Dehler 101 OptimaAqua slowly gained a windward advantage.
Panda finished with an advantage of almost seven minutes on the higher rated Chameleon of Cowes, though Kenna was able to save his time on one of the lowest rated boats in the fleet, William Mumby’s Marieholm International Folkboat Frk Fryd, who took third place on corrected time.
Sunsail has a smaller than usual fleet of their new Jeanneau F41.0s at Cowes this year, but these boats sail with a large enough team to represent a significant number of sailors. As in previous years the top group of boats has enjoyed some very close racing and today the first five boats finished in only 54 seconds.
Tenzing took her first victory of the regatta, a mere 2 seconds ahead of Ophir, while Hollis 2 was third, with a slim 14 second advantage on Don’t Panik.
Text: Rupert Holmes
Photo: Arcus racing in IRC Class 3 today. Photo: Paul Wyeth - pwpics.com
Thursday Results
New York Yacht Club Challenge Cup 1, The Jean Genie (Peter Morton) 2, Oystercatcher XXXV (Richard Matthews) 3, Khumbu (Guy Gillon / Christian Hamilton) 4, Gladiator (Tony Langley) 5, Icy (Ian Atkins) IRC Class 0 1, The Jean Genie (Peter Morton) 2, Oystercatcher XXXV (Richard Matthews) 3, Khumbu (Guy Gillon / Christian Hamilton) 4, Gladiator (Tony Langley) IRC Class 1 1, Icy (Ian Atkins) 2, Fargo (Bertie Bicket) 3, McFly (Tony Mack) 4, Journey Maker II (Chris Jones) 5, Eclectic (Mr Colin Campbell) IRC Class 2 1, Jooped (John Cooper) 2, Yes! (Adam Gosling) 3, Leon (David Franks) 4, Stiletto (John Barrett & Paul Woodward) 5, T I L T Racing (Alex & Andy Moore) IRC Class 3 1, Elaine Again (Mike Bridges) 2, Jacana (Craigen, Stevens, Parsons) 3, Jos Of Hamble (Clemency Williams-Ives) 4, Arcus (John Howell / Paul Newell) 5, Mzungu (Tony White) IRC Class 4 1, La Vie En Rose 2 (Craig & Emma Dymock) 2, Jackdaw (Rob Salter, David Ward, Dave Lord, Carl Matthews, Jon Coman,) 3, Upstart (Robin Stevenson) 4, Crescendo (JAMES W FLYNN) 5, Jaywalker (Bob Baker) IRC Class 5 1, Whooper (Giovanni Belgrano) 2, Frank 3 (Olly & Sam Love) 3, Secrets (Christopher Agar) 4, Jetwho? (Charlie Ellis) 5, Reflection (Patrick Blake) IRC Class 6 1, Ziggy (Kevin Downer) 2, Scherzo Of Cowes (Peter Morton and Alison Morton) 3, Banter (Handley James Families) 4, Scallion (Martin Moody & Cara Golden) 5, Prospero Of Hamble (Allan Fraser) IRC Class 7 1, Suvretta (Chris & Victoria Preston) 2, Woof (Jo Richards) 3, Madelaine (Madelaine & Isobella Donald) 4, Silver Fox (Richard Cooke) 5, Inxs (Graham Peter Lord) Performance Cruiser A 1, Alcibiades III (Christopher R Parker QC) 2, Panther (James Stableford) 3, Baby X (Charles Esse) 4, Eager (Chris Cecil-Wright) 5, Zephyr (Lord Grade) Performance Cruiser B 1, Fandango (Brendon McMahon) 2, Challenger (Adam Ridett and Phil Moore) 3, Solid Air (Richard Strong) 4, Salt (Gareth & Emma Jordan) 5, Ratatosk (Adam Beaumont) Performance Cruiser C 1, Sam (Peter Hopps, Hilary Cook & Serena Alexander) 2, Minx 4 (Jonathan Gardiner) 3, Islay (David Neville) 4, Chartreuse III (Paul Newell) 5, Bayonet (Andrew Hadfield) Cape 31 1, Squirt (Russell Peters & Family) 2, Sardonyx (William Edwards) 3, Katabatic (Lance Adams) 4, Harlequin (Jonnie Goodwin) 5, Nifty (Ashley Bower) Contessa 32 1, Andaxi (Donna Rouse-Collen) 2, Gualin (Rob Duke & Oli Donaghy) 3, Nimbus (Charles Hill) 4, Drumbeat (Eldred Himsworth, Mark Himsworth, Roger Shapland) 5, Corafin (Robin Holland) Club Cruiser 1, Panda Of Hamble (Barnes & Smyth) 2, Chameleon Of Cowes (Louis Kenna) 3, Frk Fryd (William Mumby) 4, Illusionist (Darren Longley) 5, Aqua (Ushaka) (Mark Attrill) Daring 1, Dauntless (Giles Peckham, Milo Carver, Richard Romer-Lee) 2, Doublet (Graham Wilkinson) 3, Darling (Robin Pegna & Bob Gatehouse) 4, Debutante (Sir Richard Ottaway) 5, Dancer (Kim Orchard) Dragon 1, Ecstatic (Eric Williams) 2, Bluebottle (Graham Bailey) 3, Bertie (Simon Barter) 4, Furious (Owen Pay) 5, Jerboa (Gavia Wilkinson-Cox) Etchells 1, Exabyte (Shaun & Emily Frohlich) 2, China Wight (Nick Stagg) 3, Rocketman (Rob Goddard) 4, Mano (MANO) 5, Sumo (Anthony Parke) Flying 15 1, Fflashback (Mike Dixon) 2, Ffervida (Lisa & Roger Guy) 3, Crews Missile (Peter & Stephen Card) 4, Men Behaving Badly (Rupert Mander) 5, Fourwinds (Charles & Charlie Apthorp) HP30 1, Moral Compass (Jerry Hill & Richard Faulkner) 2, Toucan (Glyn Locke) 3, Jester (Mike Lewis) 4, Go West Cogital (Alain Waha & Matthew Waite) 5, Peggy (Jon Powell) J/70 (Race14) 1, Calypso (J Calascione & J Peters) 2, Jellyfish (Finley Dickinson) 3, Endeavour (Katie Davies Daniel Budden William Heathcote Milly Moss Isa) 4, Cosmic (Patrick Liardet) 5, Offbeat (David McLeman) J/109 1, Brown Teal (Clementi, Sheldon & Walker) 2, Jukebox (John Smart) 3, Jenie (Charles & Rosie Berry) 4, Jybe Talkin' (Chris Burleigh) 5, Jazzy Jellyfish (Jamie Scrimgeour, Jamie Campbell & David Bennett) Mermaid 1, Amethyst (Ben Few Brown) 2, Bluebell (CHARLES GLANVILLE) 3, Halluf (Anthony Eaton) 4, Zara (Steve Stewart) 5, Miranda (Senan Bottomley, Josh Bottomley, Ian Prideaux, Noel Dobbs) Quarter Ton 1, Blt (Sam Laidlaw) 2, Bullit (Julian Metherell) 3, Bullet (Louise Morton) 4, Belinda (Tom Hill) 5, Cote (Kai Hockley) Redwing 1, Enigma (Mark & Jo Downer) 2, Quail (James Wilson & Edmund Peel) 3, Skua (Rory Morrison) 4, Musicus (Nicholas Robertson & David McCue) 5, Harlequin (John Raymond & Matt Alexander) SB20 1, Sportsboatworld (IAKA Youth Team) Sigma 33 1, Prospero Of Hamble (Allan Fraser) 2, Kerry Jeanne (Kerry Jeanne) 3, Stan The Boat (Toby Gorman) 4, Workout (Jeff Worboys) 5, Spirit Of Kudu (Mark Watkins) Sonar 1, Jenny (Simon clarke) 2, Acf Dolphin (Andrew Cassell Foundation) 3, Acf Limbitless (Andrew Cassell Foundation) 4, Bertie (Alistair Barter) 5, Josh (WILL HOLDEN) Sonata 1, Wasp (Luke Goodall) 2, Sonic (Robin Leather) 3, Dick Dastardly (Dawn Bee) 4, Bd2 (Alistair Bolton) 5, Xandt (Brandom Morales) Sportsboat 1, La Vie En Rose 2 (Craig & Emma Dymock) 2, Crescendo (JAMES W FLYNN) 3, Justify (Ross Bowdler) 4, Laughing Fish (Neil Angel, Nick Denyer) 5, Premier Cru (Tom Richardson) Squib 1, Bacchante Vii (Joe Henry) 2, Squiggle (Jono Brown) 3, Lady Penelope (Malc Hutchings & Andy Ramsey) 4, Maverick (Daniel Henderson) 5, Guy Fawkes (Phillip Aspinall) Sunbeam 1, Harmony (Patrick Green) 2, Firefly (Stewart Reed) 3, Danny (Roger Wickens) 4, Dainty (Peter Nicholson) 5, Betty (Robin Richardson) Sunsail F41.0 1, Tenzing (TENZING) 2, Opihr (Opihr Ocean Racing) 3, Hollis 2 (Mr Malcolm Hollis) 4, Don'T Panik (DON'T PANIK) 5, Hollis 1 (Hollis 2) Victory 1, Shearwater II (Russell Mead) 2, Unity (Matt Salt & Marie-Claire Sothcott) 3, Zinnia (Team Scammell) 4, Zelia (Mr & Mrs Geoff Dixon & David Price) 5, Zilch (Nick Benham, Ian Perryman & Clive Good) X One Design 1, Astralita (Fraser Graham & Tim Copsey) 2, Tortoise (Jonathan Clark) 3, Madeleine (Penelope Fulford) 4, Lone Star (Paul Woodman, Ollie James & Phil Lawrence) 5, Xcitation (Roger Yeoman, Mike Moss & Chris McLaughlin)