(Cowes, IOW, England)- The Royal Ocean Racing Club's Commodores' Cup
fleet received an inadvertent visit from His Majesty's Queen Elizabeth
II the morning of the 4th inshore race, her Diamond Jubilee Tour taking
in Cowes Yacht Haven where the 21 boats were based in the premier three
boat team event for international amateur crews. It proved to be one of
the highlights of the events for two of the J/Teams participating in
the regatta.That afternoon only one race was held, again along the Lee-on-Solent shoreline as it was on the first day with the 6 - 9 knot southeasterly, enough for the boats to race. The boats then had to head out into the tide to round the first mark and spreader mark before heading back downwind. The course was shortened, when a southwesterly sea breeze filled in after a brief transition just short of the finish line.
Winner
of the day was the young British Keelboat Academy crew on former RORC
Commodore David Aisher's J/109 YEOMAN OF WIGHT competing in RYA Team GBR
Black, whose time corrected out to more than two minutes ahead of John
van der Starre's J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER in the Benelux team.At the end of the regatta, the French team with the J/122 NUTMEG IV managed to finish 3rd overall and the "numero uno" GBR Black team member that shined on that special day happened to be the J/109 YEOMAN OF WIGHT.
In addition to winning on that special day, after four races the J/109 YEOMAN OF WIGHT and her young crew were the leading boat across all seven teams at the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup! And, at that time the French team with the J/122 JOOPSTER were the overall team leaders! After all the remarkably challenging racing, the youngest team at this year's RORC Commodore's Cup Team, sailing a 10 year-old design in the form of Sir Aisher's J/109 YEOMAN OF WIGHT, basically "kicked booty" against the best that European IRC teams had to offer and finished 3rd OVERALL on an individual points basis! Not bad for a bunch of "kids". :) For more Brewin Dolphins RORC Commodore's Cup sailing information
