Skandia Cowes Week - day 4 Round Up

by Kate Laven CWL on 6 Aug 2008
The big boats were ruling the waves on day four of Skandia Cowes Week as the second Artemis Challenge at Skandia Cowes Week for Open 60s gave Pindar skipper Brian Thompson a fairytale ending.

Thompson, and a crew that included sailing celebrity Mike Sanderson, took 4 hours 13 minutes and 48 seconds to complete the 50 nm course and beat Seb Josse and Ellen MacArthur on BT into second place with Mike Golding on Ecover 3 in third.

Life changing experience for injured soldiers

Also on board Pindar were Jono Lee and Chris Herbert who were taking time out from their crewing duties on IRC Class 2 boat Toe in the Water to sample some elite Open 60 racing as part of an injured soldiers rehabilitation programme.

Both Jono and Chris lost legs while serving in Afghanistan and are being treated at Headley Court, the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre in Surrey.

Neither had sailed before this week, but after participating in the Injured Soldiers Sailing Initiative (ISSI) both have discovered a real talent for the sport after receiving some ace instruction from Thompson.

After three days of racing on Toe in Water competing alongside some heavyweight Commodores Cup boats and racing thoroughbreds, this novice crew are, remarkably, lying in fifth place from a field of 35, which explains why Thompson was keen to have them on his crew.

Earlier this week, Chris was voted Sailor of the Day and for Jono, the experience has already changed his life and he has decided his next step is to train to be a sailing instructor.

Tremlett makes Lazarus-type comeback

In the Victory class, John Tremlett made a Lazarus-type comeback in Zinnia to post a two minute win to maintain his undefeated form, despite his disastrous start where he careered straight into Alpha buoy on the RYS line.

Carveth moves into winning mode

Geoff Carveth stormed home to his first win of Skandia Cowes Week on Team Earl's Court to go top of the Laser SB3 leaderboard, though it was not until his girlfriend called her parents after the finish that he learned they had won.

For much of the Laser SB3 it was a two horse race between Team Pindar and Team Earl's Court but the last marker saw the Italian boat Vita Spericolata and the South African City of Cape Town come into the reckoning.

TP52 Ran takes line honours . . . Again

There was no stopping Niklas Zennstrom's TP52 Ran which for the fourth consecutive day took honours in IRC Class Zero, though on corrected time it was unbearably close with just 36 secs separating the top three boats.

Stuart Robinson's Stay Calm was runner up while Benny Kelly's Panthera was third, just 14 secs behind to go second overall with four races remaining.


Results day 4 - http://www.sail-world.com/UK/Skandia-Cowes-Week---Results-day-4/47287