Vice Admiral's Cup 2007 - Day 1

by Fiona Brown on 3 Jun 2007 The weather gods couldn't have been kinder for today's first of three days racing at the Vice Admiral's Cup, hosted by the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Cowes.

Day broke with thick fog across the Solent but by mid morning the sun had burnt through and the sea breeze was beginning to fill in. The race course for Classes 0 and 1 was located to the West of Cowes off Wooton Creek whilst the Quarter Tonner course was on the north shore near Lee On The Solent.

Despite the early fog racing for the Quarter Tonners was only delayed by 15 minutes but further west it took the wind longer to fill in and the big boat classes were delayed for an hour. By mid afternoon the wind was into the teens and a great day's sailing was enjoyed by all.

Flying Glove

In Class 0 it was Ireland's Colm Barrington and his crew aboard TP52 Flashglove that got the best of the day with three hard fought but confident wins. Throughout the day the TP52s showed more pace than the Farr 52s. In race one second place went to Benny Kelly's Panthera with Charles Dunstone's Red in third. In race two it was the same story, but in the third race Panthera went some way to redressing the balance and got the better of Red.

Werewolf

Class 1, which encompasses the Farr 45s, Swan 45s and DK46s, was the largest of the classes with 13 entries. The racing was incredibly close and even at the finish the boats were still closely bunched in every races. Race one went to Nick Lutte's DK46 Shockwave with Agne Nilsson's Farr 45 Fortis Excel second, Jerry Otter's Farr 45 Werewolf third and Glynn Williams' Swan 45 WISC fourth.

The stronger the wind got the more the Farr 45s seemed to like it and Werewolf and Fortis Excel went on to take first and second respectively in both the second and third races. The two boats enjoyed some impressive duelling whilst also having to work very hard to hold off the pursuing fleet. In race two Shaun Frohlich's Farr 45 Exabyte Four took third and Tony Mack's Swan 45 McFly took fourth.

WISC had looked good for a podium position as the boats came round the final leeward mark but the genoa caught and ripped during the hoist and forced the crew into a bear headed change loosing them vital time. In race three Robert Lutener and Martin Elwood's Farr 45 Henri Lloyd-Cutting Edge came third just ahead of WISC.

Catch Day 1

In the small but perfectly formed Quarter Ton Class (Class 4) Darren Marston's Catch got their regatta off to a flying start with wins in races one and two and a third in race three. Tom Bombadil, owned by Chris Frost and Kevin George, did their best to give them a run for their money finishing the day with a 2, 2, 1 scoreline that leaves them lying second overall.

Fleet newcomer Paul Kelsey, sailing Runway Bus in her first races under his ownership, showed good promise with a second followed by a third but a spot of over confidence at the start of race three saw then forced over the line and shut out and they were never able to recover. After a pair of fifths in the first two races Louise Morton's Super Q finally found form in the third race to take second.

The forecast looks set for another glorious day tomorrow when three more races are scheduled and the regatta runs through until Monday.