(Cowes, IOW, England)- Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week is a key
part of the British sporting calendar taking place in early August each
year. These dates result from early traditions when the great and the
good came to Cowes between Goodwood and the Glorious Twelfth – day one
of the grouse shooting season. The event is a great mix of competitive
sailing and a vibrant social scene and has evolved enormously since the
early days; it now attracts up to 1,000 competing boats, around 8,500
competitors and at least 100,000 visitors. The Solent is busy, busy,
busy! So are the commercial ships who could not give a "boot" about any
"blow boaters" in their midst. And, to ensure there's complete chaos
from a security standpoint, toss in a few of England's famous "royals"
down at the infamous Royal Yacht Squadron Ball and you have a recipe for
frenetic fun, lots of carousing, far too many fish & chips with
greasy, drippy "palm frittes" and lots of brown salt water mixed into
the recipe with, one hopes, a gale or two of Force 5-7 from the UK MET
Office and at least one or two instances of anchoring on the Bramble
Bank in 4-6 knots of current with "yachties" hoping to retain their
position after having eaten a "patsie" or two. Well, you get the
picture. A bit of a frolic on the Solent is always worth a few
sea-stories, and then some.This year, the RAF RED ARROWS Aerobatic Team (not the boats, the jets!), put on an exhibition equal to their friends in America- the US Navy's BLUE ANGELS. In a break in tradition from the more usual last Friday of the week, the Red Arrows carried out a sensational display over the waterfront at Cowes to mark the opening of this historic regatta.
So far, the racing has been "almost epic" for the Solent. You can expect anything from dead calm to a spectacular sunny day with an epic 15-25 kt breeze blowing in from the West. Toss in the powerful Solent tides against the wind and you can get monstrous (ginormous?) breaking waves that can break boats and egos.
Day One:
On the first day of racing, the J/109 VELVET ELVIS won the J/109s. The
fleet was dealt perfect sailing conditions, with the morning’s light
breezes gradually building to give a steady 15 knots by the end of the
day. The husband and wife team of Adam and Helen Wright were determined
to complete some unfinished business from last year when they won the
last race in the J/109 fleet at Cowes Week. They also finished second
overall, so the aim this year is to improve their result.Sailing with their all-star crew who have sailed together for many years, the Wrights were on top form today. They had a fantastic start and, according to Adam, it just got better and better. “It was a tricky day on The Solent with plenty of shifts and holes but we sailed a good first beat and that is where we gained the most.”
Having cleared the fleet after their start, they continued to keep in clear air and just pulled away from the rest of the fleet. “We actually caught up with the 40.7 class ahead but our tactician Tim Collins did a fantastic job and we managed to pick our way through that fleet as well. The key today was to keep out the tidal stream, take advantage of the puffs of wind, and stay in clear air.”
As well as finishing second at this regatta last year, team VELVET ELVIS won the Warsash Spring Championships, West Solent Championships, Vice Admirals Cup, and J/109 National Championship. “We lost out at the 2011 national championship earlier this year, so our aim is to clinch this one.”
In
the 26-strong J/80 class, after the first three short tacks, Ian
Atkins’ boats.com was well ahead on the water, but she was the only one
of the three competitors over the line at the start not to return. This
left Mike Turner’s NEMO to take an early lead, just ahead of William
Goldsmith’s EXESS. With yet more boats piling onto Grantham Rocks, two
boats that had started prematurely – Jon Powell’s La Bete and Stewart
Hawthorn’s Jumpin Jenga – were able to work their way back through the
fleet, but neither was able to catch the top four boats. RAF Benevolent
Fund Team Spitfire was first to finish, Turner second, Doug
Neville-Jones’s Jasmine third and Goldsmith fourth.
Day Two:
The second day was blessed with bright sun and strong winds, giving
competitors a fresh set of challenges after the opening day’s light
airs. Mean wind speeds had built to more than 20 knots before racing
started, while gusts topped 30 knots at 1430, before easing marginally
later in the afternoon. It was a fast and furious day of close racing,
in which many winners were decided by only a few seconds after hours of
racing. Equally, the long lists of retirements included many early
leaders who were forced to return to port prematurely.For the Black Group, it as a challenging day. Although the tidal streams weren’t right for a classic finish along the green lawns that line The Parade, spectators were still treated to numerous broaches, the result of a tight spinnaker reach into the finish, while the tide threatened to sweep unwary competitors beyond the outer end of the finish line. The combination of mistakes in positioning and rushed sail handling cost many competitors valuable places in the final 30 seconds of their race.
In IRC 5, Grant Gordon’s J/97 FEVER finished 2nd just 40 seconds from first, who in turn was almost two minutes ahead of sistership Mike & Jamie Holmes’ JIKA-JIKA.
Day Three: The thousands of competitors enjoyed another glorious sunny day, with a brisk west-north-westerly wind providing spectacular sailing. Winds in the morning were more moderate than yesterday, at 10-15 knots, but a short shower that passed over Cowes at lunchtime heralded a rapid strengthening of the breeze. The mean wind peaked just above 20 knots, but gusts again topped 30 for a couple of hours before the breeze moderated a little in the early afternoon.
The larger boats in the Black Group classes starting on the Royal Yacht Squadron line headed east, with wind and tide behind, so a cautious approach to the start was essential.
For the White Group, the smaller day boats headed towards the north shore after starting in a westerly direction from the Royal Yacht Squadron line. This made a start at the outer end of the line, followed by a quick tack onto port being the favoured strategy. After two hours of racing the bulk of the J/80s dropped spinnakers and turned upwind at their sixth mark, Hamble Yacht Services. The beat from here to Stormforce Coaching buoy, at the entrance to Southampton Water, was followed by a tight spinnaker reach to East Knoll, just as the wind was gusting to maximum strength. The J/80s bore away on the gusts for a super-fast downwind blast, before dropping kite and luffing up for a quick white-sail reach into the mark. At the J/80s finish, it was Henry Bomby’s TEAM BALTIC first, more than two minutes ahead of Ian Atkin’s Boats.com, while William Goldsmith’s TEAM EXESS was third.
So
far, the J/122s and J/111s are leading the top of the leader-board in
IRC Class 2. Still at the top mid-week is the J/122 JINJA sailed by Ian
Matthews. Just behind are the two J/111s, SMHOKIN JOE sailed by Duncan
McDonald & Phil Thomas and JENGA 7 sailed by Paul Heys in second
and third, respectively. In IRC 3 Class, the J/39 SLEEPER sailed by Jonty Layfield is lying in a strong second position with their eye on first place.
In IRC 4 Class, the J/105 KING LOUIS sailed by Fiona & Malcolm Thorpe is hanging tough for 6th place overall.
Amongst the IRC 5 Class, the J/Teams are 6 of the top 10, with the J/97s dueling for the top of the fleet. So far, FEVER sailed by Grant Gordon is in second and in third is MCFLY skippered by Tony Mack. The J/92 J'RONIMO sailed by David Greenhalgh & John Taylor is in 6th. Ed Holton's J/110 SHADES OF BLUE is in 8th. Richard Sainbury's J/92s BOJANGLES is 9th and Andrew Dallas' J/92s HULLABALOO is in 10th!
For the J/109 class, the team of Adam & Helen Wright on VELVET ELVIS continue to lead the fleet with just 11 pts. Just behind is the Malta family team lead by the Ripard's and Calascione's sailing their family-based J/109 YEOMAN. Third is INSPARA sailed by Christopher Sharples & Richard Acland.
Amongst the J/80s, TEAM BALTIC skippered by Henry Bomby is showing everybody how it's done. William Goldsmith on TEAM EXESS is in second and third is TEAM SPITFIRE sailed by Tony Hanlon. For more Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week sailing information
