Shirley back on Track at Volvo City Sailing Champs

by Jo Grindley on 15 Sep 2006 Last weekend saw the return of double gold medallist Shirley Robertson to the water after a well deserved break and the birth of her twins. The fourth Volvo City Sailing Championships were held in Cowes, Isle of Wight, where 17 crews from banks, law firms, hedge funds, software houses and management consultancies battled it out on the race track.

Robertson skippered the title sponsors yacht, 'Volvo' for the five race series, winning four out of the five races sailed. Helping Shirley on her maiden voyage since the birth of the twins was Solo sailor, and fellow Team Volvo for life member Alex Thomson and Glenn Bourke CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race and past Laser World Champion.

Robertson enjoyed her weekend back in the fray; 'It was great to be back on the water racing. I felt a bit rusty having not been on the water since April. Three race wins on Saturday was good for the confidence! The biggest tide in 15 years in The Solent and fresh winds on Saturday meant we had a bit on, but Alex and Glenn were great. I really enjoyed sailing with them both.'

Barclays Capital 2 came out on the top spot this year, with Clifford Chance coming a very close second and Slaughter and May taking third. Team Barclays Capital 2 were ecstatic about winning the regatta and even more pleased to have beaten the Team Volvo in one race during the weekend.

Quote from the winning skipper of Barclays Capital 2, Andy Phelps',

'The Volvo City Sailing Championships provides us with a rare opportunity to race against people like Shirley Robertson. It was great to talk sailing tactics off the water with Shirley, and pick up some great tips.

The event was very well organised - Saturdays racing was windy and challenging on crew work, while the Sunday proved to be one of those rare perfect sailing days with wind and sunshine and provided some of my most enjoyable sailing of the year.

We will defiantly be back next year to defend out title and experience more great racing'.

It was Robertson’s second time competing at the Volvo City Sailing Championships, which pits City firms against one another in six different sports, from sailing all the way through to a Classic Car Rally, and like the City, the competition on the water pushed everyone to their limits.

Volvo Ocean Race CEO, Glenn Bourke, also enjoyed tussling with the fierce competition, 'The Volvo City Sailing Championships is an important part of Volvo’s commitment to UK sailing. This weekend we have seen fantastic competition from the financial community with Olympic, world class and corporate sailors going head-to-head.'

Simon Jacot de Boinod, chief executive of City Championships, was very pleased with the turn out for this year’s event, 'This is our fourth regatta and our first time in Cowes. With 190 sailors this year on 17 boats the event is building to be a firm fixture on the sailing regatta calendar. We predict we will have 40 boats next year.'

'It’s great to see Shirley Robertson back for a second time plus Glenn Bourke and Alex Thomson joining us. We will be looking now to build the regatta from this firm base. Few events offer a chance of pitting sportsmen against each other in top quality racing while offering a big and fun social programme with support from companies such as Henri Lloyd and Champagne Mumm.'

Overall Results:

1. Barclays Capital 2
2. Clifford Chance 1
3. Slaughter & May
4. Marshall Wace B
5. HSBC1
6. Barclays Capital 1
7. Cleeve Financial
8. Dresdner Kleinwort
9. Clifford Chance 2
10. HSBC2
11. Finsoft
12. Marshall Wace A
13. Legal Week
14. Charles Russell
15. Hamptons International
16. Navigant Consulting

For the full results, and to view the picture gallery and film clips from the weekend see: http://www.citychampionships.com/sailing.htm