Charles Stanley Cowes Classics Week – It's a wrap

by Cowes Classics Week on 29 Jul 2015 The most triumphant win of the week at the Charles Stanley Cowes Classics Week, which finished today, undoubtedly had to be that of the XOD class. The 60-strong one design class was the one with the most boats to beat and the joint owners of Ibex, Paul Woodman and Oliver James, did just that, along with their third crew member Simon McCarthy. “We had a very good start to the week and sailed consistently,” sail Oliver. “We are always looking for boat speed and the all-important clean start and clear air.”

Conditions were all change today (Friday) when the wind moved round to blow from the east, a full 180-degree change from the westerlies of the week so far. The rain came down and the four committee boat course areas across the mid-Solent area had just one race to get in this morning for the classic one design classes, who have spent the past three days vying against each other in the eight-race series.

The XOD fleet needed to have their enthusiasm curbed today with two general recalls forcing the Bob Milner’s committee boat to enforce a black flag at the third start. But this did not deter the competitors from starting a closely fought race Today’s winner, Roger Yeoman on Xcitation showed what he is capable of, this being his second win of the week. In fact, Xcitation was the only XOD to win more than one race, but it was Ibex’s consistent performance which won the day.

The Bembridge One Designs chose not to race in today’s wet weather but four firsts were plenty to assure John Deacon in BOD 6 an overall win. The BOD, introduced in 1936, is based on the XOD, but with three inches less draught to cater for the shallow approaches of Bembridge Harbour. Despite the yacht not having a spinnaker racing is tight in the fleet.

The Daring Class is also a development of another design, the 5.5 metre, a former Olympic Class. David Gower and Dolphin celebrated today’s Daring win but it was one of the original 1961 builds, of which there are three in the class, Decoy, owned by Richard Ottaway, which won overall.

In the Solent Sunbeam class Cathy and Joe Burnie Fleury had an almost clean sweep of firsts from their eight races, the only other first place going to Roger Wickens who was just nine points behind at second overall. The fleet will sail back to their Chichester base now the event is over.

The Flying Fifteen and Swallow Classes raced the same course and it was the youngest helm in the fleet who showed the way. No one could get close to William Heritage, aged 14 who took Flying Fifteen Freddie Flintoff to six firsts in seven races.

David Hopkins races with his wife Christine in his diminutive Chough, a pretty old Gaffer built in 1927. Collecting the trophy for the Old Gaffers Silver Class, he said, “We love coming to Cowes Classics Week. This is the fourth year that we have been here.” Hamble-based Chough races regularly with the Old Gaffers’ Association, and David admits to adding a few racing ‘tweaks’ to keep the boat competitive. “We completely restored the boat in 2009 after it sat ashore for 25 years.”

Another historic yacht which took first in class was Anne-Marie Coyle’s Responsive, a Nicholson 32. Although beaten in today’s final race by Ted Fort OBE in his Tofinou 9.5 Pippa, taking first, and Caroline Aisher’s Tofinou 8 Lennie¸in second, she scored three firsts in the five races to secure Responsive’s position. Anne-Marie, who is the Class Captain for the Nicholson 32s, said, “Responsive was built in 1973 and we have owned her for 13 years. We only started racing three years ago. The secret of our success may be that we bought a new mainsail and remembered to empty the water tank!”

In the Classic Yacht Blue Fleet, Douglas Peniston’s 1964 Folkboat Finvara convincingly took first place, ahead of Michael Harrison’s Jiminy Cricket in today’s race, securing them first and second overall. The 13 strong fleet enjoyed some great competition around a Solent course against others in their class which included South Coast One Designs, Twisters and two Contessa 26s.

The majestic six metres also had an undisputable champion. The six six metres which came to the event were all ‘classics’ as opposed to ‘moderns’ as the newer sixes are known, and amongst them was Fenton Burgin in Sioma who won every race to take the championship during a week of conditions sometimes a little more blustery than this class likes.

Thanks go to title sponsor Charles Stanley and supporting sponsors Hudson Wight, Harken, Haines Boatyard, Winkworth, Cowes Harbour Commission, nms marketing, Kendalls, The Yachting Studio, and Classic Boat Magazine.

Ranking	Boat	Helm/Owner	Class	Sail No.	Calculated Points	New Helm
1	Fleury	Cathy Burnie	Solent Sunbeam Class	V 41	11.8
2	Finvara	Douglas Peniston	Classic Yacht	168	16.6	NH
3	Freddie Flintoff	William Heritage	Flying Fifteen Class	GBR 3654	16.7	NH
4	Lightwood	Michael O'Donnell & John Tremlett (R7)	XOD Class	X 64	17.2
5	BOD 6	John Deacon	Bembridge One Design Class	BOD 6	19.0	NH
6	Ibex	Paul Woodman	XOD Class	X 32	21.2
7	Danny	Roger Wickens	Solent Sunbeam Class	V 26	21.2
8	Rosenn	Bob Fisher & Barry Dunning	Old Gaffer Class	OS7	25.0
9	Destroyer	Magnus Wheatley	Daring Class	32	27.5
10	Decoy	Richard Ottaway	Daring Class	7	27.5
11	Sioma	Fenton Burgin	6mR Class	K 17	28.6
12	Chough	David Hopkins	Old Gaffer Class	1704	28.9
13	Foxglove	Alastair Ashford	XOD Class	X 174	29.1
14	Responsive	Anne-marie Coyle	Nicholson 32	3674 L	30.0
15	Leading Wind	Hamish Calder	XOD Class	X 108	31.8
16	Query	Tim Hill	Solent Sunbeam Class	V 25	33.0
17	Xcitation	Roger Yeoman	XOD Class	X 50	33.1
18	Valquaro	Bobby Salmond	Flying Fifteen Class	4027	33.3
19	Lucrezia	Adrian Jardine	XOD Class	X 140	35.8
20	Fifty Fifty	Andrew Millband	Flying Fifteen Class	GBR 3926	36.7	NH
21	Dolphin	David Gower	Daring Class	15	37.5
22	Finesse	Diana Christie	Daring Class	6	37.5
23	Astralita	Michael Martell	XOD Class	X 91	38.4
24	Jiminy Cricket	Michael Harrison	Contessa 26	GBR 1251	38.8	NH
25	Harmony	Duncan O'Kelly	Solent Sunbeam Class	V 11	42.4
26	Madeleine	Kim Slater	XOD Class	X 58	46.4
28	BOD 10	Hugh Doherty	Bembridge One Design Class	BOD 10	47.4
27	BOD 8	James Row	Bembridge One Design Class	BOD 8	47.4
29	Lone Star	Stuart Jardine	XOD Class	X 119	47.7	NH
30	Beeleigh	Charles Wallrock	Old Gaffer Class	OS 10	50.0	NH
31	BOD 1	Peter Summerhayes	Bembridge One Design Class	BOD 1	50.6
32	Sepia	David Pennison	Old Gaffer Class	2768	52.0
33	Doublet	John Corby	Daring Class	22	52.5
34	Pippa	Edward Fort OBE	Classic Yacht	FRA 68	53.3	NH
35	Audax	Roger Marwood	Daring Class	4	55.0	NH
36	Sea Urchin	Richard Hargreaves	Twister	1377 Y	55.5
37	Red Coral	Roy & Nick Froud & Ed Coates	XOD Class	X 57	55.6
38	Swallow	Simon Russell	XOD Class	X 166	57.0	NH
39	Mandamus	Rod & Sue Moody	Classic Yacht	50	58.2
41	Gleam	James Meaninjg	XOD Class	X 156	58.3
40	Zephyr	Jonathan Clark	XOD Class	X 73	58.3
42	Misty	Humphrey Van der Klugt	Solent Sunbeam Class	V 67	58.9	NH
43	Streak	Malcolm Lofts	Daring Class	23	60.0
44	BOD 12	William Bland	Bembridge One Design Class	BOD 12	60.1
45	Nancy	Vincent Hayter & Andy Short	6mR Class	US 60	61.2	NH
46	Beltana	Hugh Crothers	Nicholson 32	K 3031	63.3	NH
47	Dainty	Peter Nicholson	Solent Sunbeam Class	V 1	66.0
48	BOD 9	Mark Grzegorczyk	Bembridge One Design Class	BOD 9	66.4
49	fforemark	Peter Needham	Flying Fifteen Class	2660	66.7
50	Mystery	Viv Williams	Solent Sunbeam Class	V 16	68.4
51	Relaxation	John Long	XOD Class	X 177	68.9
52	Fals Cappa	Alan Thorne	Nicholson 32	2415	70.0
53	ffickle	Christopher Evans	Flying Fifteen Class	3510	70.0
54	Damsel	Daniel Stephenson	Daring Class	28	70.0
55	Dynamite	Douglas Harckham	Daring Class	9	70.0	NH
56	Fay	Richard Pearson	Solent Sunbeam Class	V 24	70.7
57	Polly Agatha	Kim Hartley	Old Gaffer Class	2856	75.0	NH
58	Lennie	Caroline Aisher	Classic Yacht	8696	76.7	NH
59	Double Knot	John Hackman	Daring Class	27	77.5
60	Princess Jalina	David Palmer	XOD Class	X 188	82.1
61	Jabberwocky	Michael Weston	Solent Sunbeam Class	V 14	82.5	NH
62	Mayday	David Da Cunha	XOD Class	X 161	83.4
63	Falconet	Alan Perry	XOD Class	X 55	84.8
64	BOD 4	John Harbord Hamond	Bembridge One Design Class	BOD 4	85.4
65	Thistle	Tom Richardson	6mR Class	GBR 72	85.7
66	Winifred	Brian Corbett	Old Gaffer Class	H 4	86.6
67	Seamist	John Claxon	XOD Class	X 83	87.4
68	Stirling	Jaik Tari	SCOD	SC 104	88.8
69	Darter	Anthony Glover	Swallow Class	S 88	90.0
70	HeyDay	Gillian Clark	XOD Class	X 173	90.1
71	Twister of Mersea	Allan Beswick	Twister	263 Y	91.5
72	Clair De Lune	Jeremy Baker & Max Crowe	XOD Class	X 33	92.7
73	Quailo III	Jonathan Napier	Classic Yacht	GBR 684	93.3	NH
75	Little Lady	Gayle Palmer	Solent Sunbeam Class	V 6	96.6
74	Argosy	Oliver Gilchrist	Solent Sunbeam Class	V 12	96.6	NH
76	Westwind	Freddie Davies	XOD Class	X 4	99.3
77	Carlotta	Piers Rowlandson	Old Gaffer Class	23	100.0	NH
78	BOD 2	Martin Bonham	Bembridge One Design Class	BOD 2	101.2
79	Symphony	Anthony Robinson	Solent Sunbeam Class	V 33	101.4
80	Diamond	Michael Fox	Daring Class	5	102.5
81	Whimbrel	Michael Cover	Swallow Class	S 60	103.3
82	BOD 7	Norman Marshall	Bembridge One Design Class	BOD 7	104.4
83	Skiffle	John Edmonds	XOD Class	X 143	104.6
84	Melody	John Tanner	Solent Sunbeam Class	V 36	106.1
85	Firecracker	Antony Fanshawe	SCOD	SC 69	106.8
86	Defender	Robert Laird	Daring Class	29	107.5
87	Maisy	Susan Smith	Solent Sunbeam Class	V 64	108.4
88	Xin Bai	Andrew Cooper	XOD Class	X 99	108.6
89	Bobkat II	Andrew Webster	6mR Class	US 54	110.2	NH
91	Blue Tit	Andrew Dunlop	Swallow Class	S 80	113.3
90	Bambella	Peter Halliday	Nicholson 32	2266	113.3
92	Cockleshell	Jonty Sherwill	Classic Yacht	518 Y	115.1
93	Viveza	Peter Mulville	Twister	None	116.5
94	Defiant	Charles Perry	Daring Class	10	117.5
95	La Mouette	Dorian Stoodley	XOD Class	X 144	121.9	NH
96	Helmi	Andrew Hitt	Classic Yacht	781	126.7
97	Thora	David Priscott & Ted Roose	XOD Class	X 101	127.2
98	Derring Do	Peter Scott	Daring Class	24	130.0
99	Scorcher	Chris Kemp	Twister	46 C	131.7	NH
100	Valdai	Robert Owen	6mR Class	GBR 40	134.7	NH
101	Lass	Jeremy Lear	XOD Class	X 80	137.8
102	Myrtle	Cordelia Ellis	XOD Class	X 76	143.0	NH
103	Thousand Knights I	Richard Pickance	Contessa 26	CO 320	144.2	NH
104	Rachel	Penelope Fulford	XOD Class	X 127	144.4
105	Julia	Stephen Whiteman	XOD Class	X 42	149.7	NH
106	Stardust	Tim & Evelyn Street	6mR Class	GBR 91	151.1	NH
107	Madcap	Chris Torrens	XOD Class	X 5	152.3
108	Dancer	Kim Orchard	Daring Class	14	160.0
109	Sunshine	Peter Nicholson	XOD Class	X 77	170.9
110	Adelie	Barry Easton-Corke	SCOD	64	172.0
111	Betty	Rebecca Wickens	Solent Sunbeam Class	V 61	172.1
112	Mersa	James Markby	XOD Class	X 34	182.8	NH
113	Onyx	Timothy Cath	XOD Class	X 189	182.8	NH
114	Clary	Matthew Kelly	Solent Sunbeam Class	V 8	186.2	NH
115	Jinx	Mark Dobson	XOD Class	X 89	190.7	NH
116	Jenny	Phillip Ingham	Solent Sunbeam Class	V 27	195.6
117	Tortoise	Mike Condliffe	XOD Class	X 165	196.0
118	Waverley	Ben Few Brown	XOD Class	X 190	200.0
119	Delight	Mike Till	XOD Class	X 75	217.2
120	Anitra	Paul Kelsey	XOD Class	X 52	219.9	NH
121	Dreamer	Brian Hardy	Daring Class	36	225.0
122	Satu	Andy Hamlett	XOD Class	X 21	225.2	NH
123	Vanity	Stephen Marsh	XOD Class	X 47	226.5
124	Xanadu	Jasper Bardon	XOD Class	X 151	227.8
125	Perdix	John Shaw	XOD Class	X 169	246.4	NH
126	Veronique	Michael McNish	XOD Class	X 65	246.4	NH
127	Senex	Richard Simpson	XOD Class	X 7	254.3
128	Sirena	Neil Payne	XOD Class	X 94	257.0
129	Thalia	Philip Chowienczyk	XOD Class	X 116	260.9
130	It	John Butt	XOD Class	X 10	270.2
131	Waxwing	Christopher Stannard	XOD Class	X 98	276.8
132	Sandpiper	John Doree	XOD Class	X 106	276.8
133	Drover	Ashley Hatton	XOD Class	X 154	280.8
134	Dolphin	Thomas Rogers	XOD Class	X 36	283.4	NH
135	Morena	Brian Harding	XOD Class	X 120	332.5
136	Mischief	Diana Wilson	XOD Class	X 13	341.7
137	Onward	Frits Janssen	XOD Class	X 30	345.7	NH
138	Judy	Bill Mallam	XOD Class	X 191	352.3
139	Eve	Nicholas China	XOD Class	X 122	357.6
140	Frivol	Reg White	XOD Class	X 31	390.7	NH